University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball opens the 2015-16 campaign at 2 p.m. (CST) Sunday when it visits Illinois State University for an exhibition game in Normal, Illinois. The exhibition game is the only tune-up the Screaming Eagles will have before opening the regular season versus the University of Findlay and Lake Superior State University in the DII Vegas Showdown November 13-14 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Game coverage for the exhibition game, including live stats and audio broadcasts, is available at gousieagles.com. The games also can be heard on WEOA 98.5FM/1400AM and WPSR 90.7FM.
USI Men’s Basketball vs. Illinois State Exhibition Game Quick Notes:Â
USI picked to place 3rd in GLVC East. The Eagles were predicted to place third in the GLVC East Division in 2015-16. USI was selected behind Bellarmine University, which was predicted to win the division, and the University of Indianapolis.
USI finished strong in 2014-15 regular season. USI finished strong in 2014-15 regular season, winning seven of the last eight games, including a season-best seven game winning streak. The Eagles rebounded after a rough January that saw them post a 6-5 mark.
Top returning scorers from 2014-15 . Senior forward George Edwards is the Eagles top returning scorer from 2014-15 with 12.9 points per outing. Junior guard Bobo Drummond is the second leading returning scorer with 9.9 point per game.
On the glass. Senior forward George Edwards led USI on the glass with 7.8 rebounds per game off the bench in 2014-15. Edwards had a team-high six double-doubles and eight double-digit rebound games last year.
New team in 2015-16. The Eagles are almost an entirely different team in 2015-16 with nine new players. These new player need to replace an average of 41.9 points (55 percent) and 14.1 rebounds (38.7 percent) per game.
Championship tested newcomers. The last time junior guards Jeril Taylor and Cortez Macklin were on the same court, they helped Rend Lake College win the 2013 NJCAA National Championship, while freshman guard Alex Stein and freshman forward Jacob Norman made it to the IHSAA state championship game at Reitz High School.
Carter is third over 7-foot. Sophomore center Davis Carter becomes the third player over seven-foot tall in the history of the program. Carter follows seven-foot-six All-American John Hollinden (1979-81) and seven-foot-two Antonio Reyes (1986-89).
Eagles looking for first Division I exhibition win.  The Eagles are looking for their first victory in exhibition games against Division I opponents in 16 tries since 2003. USI has been competitive against its Division I preseason opponents – the University of Evansville (four games), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Tennessee (two games), University of Louisville, University of Cincinnati, Southern Illinois University, University of Illinois, Vanderbilt University, Purdue University, and Indiana University – but still is being outscored by an average of 79.1-64.6. The last time the Eagles defeated a Division I opponent came in the 1990-91 regular season when they defeated the University of Wisconsin, 78-66, in Madison, Wisconsin.
USI exhibition record since 1990: USI slipped under .500 in exhibition games since 1990 last year, falling 16-17.
Against the Illinois State and the Missouri Valley Conference. The USI-Illinois State exhibition game is the first meeting between the two programs (exhibition or regular season), while the Eagles are 0-4 in the regular season (0-3 vs. Southern Illinois University; 0-1 vs. Missouri State University) and 0-5 in exhibition games (0-4 vs. the University of Evansville; 0-1 vs. SIU) against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.
Illinois State in 2014-15. The Redbirds of Illinois State finished last season with a 22-13 overall record and advanced to the finals of the MVC before finishing the season in the second round of the NIT.
