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VALPARAISO, Ind. - For some, it'll feel like old times again when the IUPUI basketball team heads up I-65 to take on former Summit League foe Valparaiso on Thursday (Dec. 20) night inside the Athletics-Recreation Center. Tip-off is slated for 8:05 p.m. Eastern with pregame coverage beginning on 1260 AM, WNDE.com and through the free iHeartRadio app available on smartphones, beginning at approximately 7:45 p.m.. Scott McCauley (pxp) will have the call from courtside.

Valpo (7-4) was a member of The Summit League before joining the Horizon League in 2007. Thursday's game will be the 24th meeting all-time on the hardwood with the host Crusaders having a 15-8 series advantage entering play. However, IUPUI (4-9) has won five of the past six meetings between the two schools including a 97-88 win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Dec. 23 last season.

IUPUI had a 17-point halftime advantage in that game, but saw the Crusaders open the second half with a 28-11 burst over the first eight minutes. After squandering the lead, IUPUI quickly regained traction en route to the nine-point victory as Alex Young led the way with 27 points and six assists and Stephen Thomas added 20 points, including hitting all 14 of his free throw attempts.

Valpo enters this year's meeting ranked No. 18 in the most recent CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.

Thursday's game is the first meeting in Valparaiso since Jan. 13, 2007 when the Crusaders won 69-55 behind 19 points from Samuel Haanpaa. Gary Patterson led IUPUI with 17 points and David Barlow chipped in 13. IUPUI is 4-5 all-time in the nine prior meetings in Valparaiso.

IUPUI is amidst a five-game stretch against in-state foes, the next two of which will come on the road. Following Thursday's game at Valparaiso, the Jaguars will trek to Ball State for a game on Sunday afternoon.

On Saturday, sophomore Jordan Shanklin scored a career-high 19 points in the loss to Indiana State while both Donovan Gibbs and Mitchell Patton scored 12 points each. Patton hit 6-of-9 shots, but was limited to just 20 minutes in his first game back from injury. Gibbs also grabbed a team-high seven boards and continues to rank second in The Summit in rebounding at 7.3 rpg.

Valpo lost a 70-68 decision at Oakland on Monday (Dec. 17), but is a perfect 5-0 inside the ARC this season. Ryan Broekhoff leads the Crusaders in scoring (16.5 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rpg), threes made (28) and steals (16) and has started all 11 games. Head coach Bryce Drew's squad got a shot in the arm with the addition of LaVonte Dority at the turn of the semester. The transfer from South Florida has scored 34 points in his first two games since becoming eligible and has gotten to the foul line 14 times. Kevin Van Wijk is also averaging double-digits at 13.2 points per game on the inside.

Senior John Hart continues to lead the Jaguars in scoring at 14.5 points per game, ranking sixth in The Summit in that category. Shanklin upped his scoring average to 7.4 points per game and is now shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range in 13 games, all as a reserve.