Riding a 4-game win streak, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team embarks on its final non-conference road trip of the regular season on Saturday, traveling to Green Bay for a 6 p.m. game. Following the contest against the Phoenix, the Purple Aces travel to Alabama for a Monday evening game against Jacksonville State. Both games will be carried on ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network.
Setting the Scene
- Evansville faces Green Bay for the ninth time overall and the first time on the road since Nov. 25, 2000
- It will mark the Aces first game in the state of Wisconsin since that contest
- UE has won four games in a row for the first time in head coach Walter McCarty’s tenure
- In last year’s meeting at the Ford Center, UE won by a final of 80-75; K.J. Riley was 12-of-14 from the line on his way to a game-high of 24 points
Last Time Out
- DeAndre Williams shot a school record 94.4% hitting 17 out of 18 shots to lead the Aces to a 101-87 win over Miami Ohio on Saturday
- The RedHawks had a 47-45 halftime lead, but the Aces erupted for 56 points in the second half while shooting 66.7% in the final 20 minutes to finish off the win
- Williams finished the game with a career-best 37 points while adding 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks
- Sam Cunliffe had his best game in an Evansville uniform, adding 21 points while John Hall had a solid 14-point game and hit four triples
- With the win, Evansville improved to 12-5 in the series against Miami and 8-1 at home
Win Streak
- As a team, the Aces have improved in several facets over the recent win streak; in the three losses, UE was outrebounded by 13.3 boards per game - the last four games - all wins - the Aces have outrebounded the opposition by 1.5 per game
- UE’s shooting has gone up - the Aces have shot 52.1% in the win streak while the three losses saw the team finish at 37.9%
- Evansville has shot 50% or better in the last two games and three of the last four, including 64.2% against the RedHawks - the top effort in the Coach McCarty era
Weekly Award Sweep
- In the win over Miami Ohio, sophomore DeAndre Williams had one of the best performances in NCAA history before going on to earn MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week recognition
- Williams was 17-of-18 from the field and finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds. - He knocked down 15 shots in a row, which was just one off of the NCAA record of 16, which was set by Doug Grayson of Kent State in 1967
- His 94.4% shooting effort was the best in the NCAA this season with over 10 attempts and the best effort in UE program history
- The 17 makes is tied for the most in an NCAA game this season and was the most for an Evansville player since Colt Ryan had 17 against Creighton in 2012
- Over the last three games, Williams’ averages are astounding - he is averaging 26 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4 assists in that span while hitting 79.5% (31/39) of his attempts
Pin Point Accuracy
- In his last three games, John Hall has drained 7 of his 10 3-point attempts and is shooting 44.8% from outside this season
- He was 4-for-6 from long distance against Miami Ohio - by comparison - he took a total of just six 3-point shots in his first season with the program
Scouting the Opponent
- Green Bay fell to 3-7 on the season with a 79-66 loss at UCF on Tuesday evening; the Phoenix have lost three in a row, all coming on the road
- Amari Davis leads four double digit scorers for the team with 16.3 points per game and shoots 60.9%
- JayQuan McCloud is just behind him with 15 points and team highs in rebounds (4.6/game) and assists (43)
- PJ Pipes and Kameron Hankerson average 11.1 and 10.3 points per contest, respectively
- Averaging 80.1 points per game, the Phoenix are 42nd in the nation in scoring offense, but their defense gives up 83.5 PPG, which is 343rd in the country
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