Tip set for 1 p.m. at the Ford Center
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Riding the first 3-0 start since the 2019-20 season, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team is back at the Ford Center on Saturday to welcome an undefeated Ball State squad. Tip is set for 1 p.m. with ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network covering the action.
Last Time Out
– For the second game in a row, Evansville never trailed while improving to 3-0 with a 76-57 road win at SEMO
– Yacine Toumi tied his career scoring mark with 20 tallies while Ben Humrichous posted his second 18-point game of the season
– Cam Haffner recorded his first double figure outing with the Aces, scoring 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting
– The win was the largest road margin for the program since defeating Miami Ohio by a 69-50 margin in 2014
Another 18-Point Effort
– Ben Humrichous posted his second 18-point game of the season in the win at SEMO on Wednesday, hitting 7 of his 10 attempts
Tying His Mark
– Converting 10 of his 13 field goal tries, Yacine Toumi tied his career scoring mark with 20 points
– Toumi scored 20 last season against UIC
– He remains second on the squad with 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game
– Through three games, Toumi has shot 72.4%, which is second in the MVC
– Over the last two games, he has shot 80% (16-for-20)
Back in the MVC
– Scoring eight points in each of the last two games, Antonio Thomas is settling into his role at UE
– Thomas leads the Aces with 8 assists, 6 steals and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.67
– He ranks in a tie for 7th in the Valley with his average of 2.00 steals per game
– Thomas, who is in his fifth collegiate season, opened his career at Bradley where he was part of the 2020 MVC Championship team as a freshman
Scouting the Opponent
– Ball State takes to the road for the first time this season after opening with three home games
– The Cardinals come into Saturday’s game with a 3-0 mark with wins over Goshen, Old Dominion and Oakland City
– Three players average double figures with Jalin Anderson leading the way with 19.7 points per game
– He is a 64.7% shooter and has added 5.0 rebounds
– Basheer Jihad is second on the team with 15.0 PPG while Mickey Pearson Jr. checks in with 11.3
– Jihad is tied with Anderson for the team lead in rebounds with 5.0 per contest
