Tip set for 7 p.m. inside Ford Center
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Three of the next four games will take place inside the Ford Center with the University of Evansville men’s basketball team opening the stretch on Wednesday against Indiana State. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT with the Purple Aces Radio Network and ESPN+ having the coverage.
Setting the Scene
– In the first meeting of the season on Dec. 29 in Terre Haute, it was the Sycamores finishing with a 91-63 victory
– Julian Larry paced the Sycamores with 21 points as ISU led by as many as 34 points
– Tying for the game’s scoring high was Kenny Strawbridge Jr., who posted 21 – since that time, Strawbridge has scored 18 or fewer in eight consecutive games
– The Sycamores have won 11 of the last 12 games in the series against UE
Last Time Out
– Jumping out to a 12-0 lead to open the game, Valparaiso fended off a late challenge to defeat the Purple Aces, 81-69, on Saturday evening inside The ARC
– Gage Bobe registered a career scoring high with 22 points
– Ben Krikke paced the Beacons with 30 points and 9 rebounds
Sharpshooter
– Continuing his rise from a walk-on to starter, Gage Bobe reset his career scoring high on Saturday with 22 points at Valpo
– Bobe drained six of his 11 tries from long range while playing his top total of 36:49
– It was his third double figure game of the season following 11 at Southern Illinois and 12 in the Dec. 21 win over Bellarmine
– He is a 37.0% outside shooter on the season but after starting the season hitting 3 of his first 22 attempts (13.6%), he has knocked down 20 of the last 41 (48.8%) since Dec. 21
Making the Adjustment
– Yacine Toumi has put together a nice 5-game streak that has seen him average 12.2 points per game
– Highlighting the stretch was an 18-point game at home versus Valparaiso, which tied his career mark
– On the boards, Toumi ranks 14th in the MVC with an average of 5.9 per game
– He has grabbed at least five rebounds in 10 of the last 11 contests while raising his season average from 5.1 to 5.9 per game
– His top tally of 11 came in the win over Bellarmine
– Over the last two games, Toumi has knocked down 3 of his 4 attempts from long range – prior to that, he converted just three of his previous 26 tries
Scouting the Opponent
– Indiana State ended a 5-game skid on Saturday with a 79-71 home victory over Northern Iowa
– Prior to that, the Sycamores dropped road games at Drake, Murray State and Missouri State along with home games against Bradley and Southern Illinois
– Courvoisier McCauley continues to lead ISU with 16.2 points per game
– McCauley is a 42.9% shooter from the field and has a team-best 66 makes from outside
– Cameron Henry comes into Wednesday’s game with a 10.9 PPG average while Cooper Neese is recording 10.2 PPG
– Julian Larry was the top performer in the first meeting on Dec. 29 scoring a game-high 21 points
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