Live Stats I Live Audio I Game Notes (.pdf)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The IUPUI basketball team will make its first of numerous televised appearances on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 16) when the Jaguars head north to face Purdue on the Big Ten Network in a 3:00 p.m. tip. Chris Denari (pxp) and Shon Morris (analyst) will be on the call. The game will also be heard on WNDE.com and the iHeartRadio app as Morgan Adcock (pxp) will describe the action. 

Sunday's game marks IUPUI's first-ever meeting with Purdue and the Jags' first trip to Mackey Arena since the 2002 season. That year, the Jaguars played in the four-team Boilermaker Invitational, losing games to San Diego and Middle Tennessee, opposite the Boilermakers. 

IUPUI (0-1) is coming off a heartbreaking 79-66 overtime loss to Indiana State at the Fairgrounds Coliseum on Friday night in front of 3,159 fans. The Jaguars trailed by four in the final minute, but ultimately forced overtime when Marcellus Barksdale swished a pair of free throws with 0.3 seconds left in regulation to tie the score. Barkdale led two Jaguars in double-digits with 12 points and Mason Archie made his IUPUI debut with 11 points, including hitting 3-of-5 from downtown. Senior forward DavRon Williams added a game-high 11 boards in a starting role. 

QUICK HITTERS
- IUPUI christened the newly renovated Fairgrounds Coliseum and opened the Jason Gardner-era on Friday night (Nov. 14), dropping a 79-66 overtime decision to Indiana State. Neither team led by more than five during regulation, but ISU scored the first 11 points in overtime and outscored the Jaguars 15-2 in the extra period for the win. Ironically, Friday was Gardner's 34th birthday. 
- This marks the 43rd season of IUPUI basketball, beginning with the 1972 campaign.
- IUPUI will play every home game at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum this season in year one of a five-year pact. IUPUI last played home games at the Coliseum from 1975-79. The building was home to the Indiana Pacers from 1967-74.  
- More than half of IUPUI's 13-man roster is newcomers this year. All total, the Jaguars welcome seven new faces this year with four Division I transfers and three true freshmen.  
- Tonight marks the first-ever meeting between IUPUI and Purdue on the hardwood. That said, IUPUI is 0-2 all-time at Mackey, having lost two games in the Boilermaker Invitational on Dec. 6-7, 2002 (81-74 loss to San Diego and 64-60 loss to Middle Tennessee). 

FIVE COUNT - QUICK TIDBITS FROM THE LAST GAME
Indiana State 79, IUPUI 66 (ot) - Nov. 14, 2014 - Fairgrounds Coliseum
WORKING OVERTIME
    IUPUI opened the season with an overtime thriller, including Marcellus Barksdale having to make two free throws with 0.3 left on the clock to force the extra period against Indiana State on Friday night (Nov. 14). The Jaguars trailed by as many as four in the final minute, but got a key three from Mason Archie and important free throws from P.J. Boutte and Barksdale to get to OT. 

BALANCING ACT
    IUPUI continued to show incredible balance with eight players tallying between six and 12 points. Nine different players scored and eight played double-digit minutes. 

DEBUTS
    Five Jaguars made their IUPUI debuts, including DavRon Williams (6 pts, 11 reb) and Mason Archie (11 pts, 3-5 3's) in starting roles. P.J. Boutte (9 pts, 6 ast) played a game-high 40 minutes off the bench, while Leo Svete (6 pts, 2-5 3's) and D.J. McCall (2 pts, 3 reb, 1 stl) both made their collegiate debuts. 

3,100+
    The Jaguars played ISU in front of 3,159 at the newly renovated Fairgrounds Coliseum. While the number doesn't appear huge on the surface, bear in mind, IUPUI's previous on-campus facility has a capacity of 1,215. 

FOUL WOES
    The one stat that was most tilted against the Jaguars on Friday? Free throws - ISU shot 46 and IUPUI shot 23. The Sycamores ultimately outscored IUPUI 36-17 at the charity stripe. 

HEADED HOME
    No IUPUI player will be more familiar with the Purdue faithful than sophomore forward Justus Stanback. Stanback prepped at nearby West Lafayette High School and is the son of former Purdue standout Ian Stanback (1990-93). 
    Stanback was IUPUI's first signing last season and the first Division I signee in Head Coach David Wood's tenure at West Lafayette. He stood just 6-foot-1 his freshman year of high school, but blossomed as a senior, including a breakout year on the summer circuit with the Indiana Ice. 

VS. THE BIG TEN
    IUPUI's one and only win against a Big Ten foe came in 2002 when the Jaguars squeaked out a 56-53 victory at Northwestern. IUPUI nearly equaled the feat last season, losing on a last second runner at NU. 
    Versus the current configuration of the Big Ten, IUPUI is 1-9. 
    Illinois (0-1); Indiana (0-2); Maryland (0-1); Northwestern (1-1); Ohio State (0-2); Michigan (0-2).

NEW LOOK
    IUPUI made a change at the top at the conclusion of last season, bringing former Indiana Mr. Basketball Jason Gardner to replace Todd Howard as Head Coach. 
    Gardner was on staff at Memphis after previously coaching at Loyola for two seasons. 
    Gardner retained two of the three-man signing class and added six newcomers, including five Division I transfers. Gardner also retained Matt Crenshaw from last year's coaching staff and later hired Jon-Michael Nickerson and Scott Gillespie to round out his coaching staff. Both Nickerson and Gillespie were graduate managers at Memphis during Gardner's year with the Tigers. 

NEW DIGS
    This year marks year one as the Jaguars re-open the Fairgrounds Coliseum, bringing basketball back to the historic facility. The venue will seat roughly 6,800 for basketball and has been fully renovated, including distinctive branding, brand new concourses, a state-of-the art sound system and a center hung double ribbon scoreboard. 
    The Jaguars opened the building with a 79-66 overtime loss to Indiana State in front of a crowd of 3,159. 
 
BETWEEN THE LINES
    The Jaguars bring back six letterwinners from last year's team, most notably senior guard Khufu Najee and junior Marcellus Barksdale. 
    Najee earned Summit League All-Newcomer honors last season after averaging 10.8 points and shooting 47.4 percent overall in 14 league games. Meanwhile, Barksdale ranked among The Summit League leaders in rebounding (6.8 rpg), assists (117) and steals (35), while averaging a career-high 8.6 points per game. 
    The other four returners are all sophomores - Elijah Ray (5.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg), Justus Stanback (3.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg), Jalen McCallum (2.5 ppg) and Josh James (2.0 ppg, 68.0 FG%). 

PLAYING PERCENTAGES
    Below are the percentages returning of IUPUI's major statistical categories in 2014-15. 
    POINTS:     39.3% returns (836/2126)
    REBOUNDS:     48.3% returns (445/921)
    ASSISTS:     59.2% returns (197/333)
    MINUTES:     46.7% returns (3,003/6,425)
    3's MADE:     25.7% returns (36/140)
    BLOCKS:     37.8% returns (37/98)
    STEALS:     52.8% returns (85/161)

LEADING STATISTICS RETURNERS
    Below is a listing of IUPUI's top returners in selected statistical categories:
    PPG: Najee (9.9), Barksdale (8.6)
    RPG: Barksdale (6.8), Najee (2.7)
    MPG: Barksdale (33.6), Najee (33.0)
    Assists: Barksdale (117), Najee (62)
    Blocks: Barksdale (24), Najee/Stanback (6)
    Steals: Barksdale (35), Najee (29)
    3's Made: Najee (16), Barksdale/Ray (7)
    FT Made: Barksdale (103), Najee (61)

JAGS ON THE TUBE
    All but one of IUPUI's home games will be televised this season on Hometown Sports & News (HTSN / RTV6.2). Greg Rakestraw and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell will be on the call and most games will be simulcast on ESPN3. 
    
BACK ON 1260
    For the fourth straight year, IUPUI games will be broadcast on WNDE 1260 AM and on the free iHeartRadio app, available on smartphones. 
    Nearly every game will be heard over the AM airwaves in Indianapolis while every broadcast will be on iHeartRadio.
    Veteran broadcaster Will Flemming will be on the call for the second straight season. 

SCHEDULE NOTES
    IUPUI will host 13 regular season home games this season, while also hitting the road to take on teams from the Big Ten (at Purdue; Nov. 16), BIG EAST (at Xavier; Dec. 9). The home slate includes games against Indiana State (Nov. 14), Ball State (Nov. 22), Georgia State (Nov. 29), Eastern Kentucky (Dec. 13) and South Alabama (Dec. 20). 
    The home slate marks some notable opponents with in-state games against ISU and Ball State. The Nov. 29 game with Georgia State marks the return of longtime Head Coach Ron Hunter, while EKU is coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance. The South Alabama also has an Indiana tie as the Jaguars are coached by former Butler standout Matthew Graves. 
    The game against Purdue marks the first-ever meeting between the Jaguars and Boilermakers. In doing so, the Jaguars will now have played all nine Division I in-state teams.
    Other road games include return games at Milwaukee (Nov. 19), Drake (Nov. 25), Evansville (Dec. 6) and 2014 NCAA Tournament participant North Carolina Central (Dec. 29).  
GOTHAM CLASSIC
    IUPUI will play four games as part of this year's Gotham Classic, sponsored by the Gazelle Group. Three of the four games will be true road games, in addition to the home game against South Alabama on Dec. 20. 
    The Classic will begin at Howard (Dec. 15) before the home game with South Alabama (Dec. 20). From there, IUPUI will play at Richmond (Dec. 23) and Pepperdine (Dec. 27). The Jaguars will then head back east to play at North Carolina Central (Dec. 29). 
    Including the game at NC Central, the Jaguars will travel more than 6,500 air miles during that five-game stretch, including a 2,250 mile trip from Malibu, Calif., to Durham, N.C..  

DI'S ELIGIBLE
    This year's roster includes three DI transfers who practiced with the team a season ago. Detroit-transfer P.J. Boutte leads that group, having played 66 games in two years for the Titans. 
    Boutte finished as the state's career leader in assists while at Indianapolis Howe High School and was the Indianapolis Student-Athlete of the Year in 2011. 
    Senior forward DavRon Williams played in 21 games (five starts) at North Carolina Central in 2012-13 before sitting out last season and Mason Archie, II played 26 games in two years at Davidson College before joining the Jaguars. 

CLEAR FOR TAKEOFF
    The IUPUI program got a double dose of good news during the month of October, learning that both Mason Archie, II and Leo Svete would be eligible at the start of the season. 
    Archie, a Davidson-transfer, didn't enroll at IUPUI until last spring, but the NCAA deemed it would be in his best interest to be immediately eligible at the start of the season, as opposed to waiting until second semester. Academically, Archie is on pace to graduate this spring, but has two years left of eligibility. 
    Svete, a Western Michigan-transfer, missed the past two years due to separate knee injuries, but was ruled immediately eligible by the NCAA. The 6-foot-5 guard missed his senior year of high school to an injury before then missing last year at WMU to a second mishap. Svete was cleared in October and will retain all four years of his playing eligibility. He was the first player to commit to the IUPUI program after Gardner took over. 

FRESHIES
    Two true freshmen were signed by the previous coaching staff, but are expected to play key roles for this year's squad. 
    Rookie forward Aaron Brennan was a three-year starter at nearby Guerin Catholic, where he finished as the program's 
all-time leader in points and rebounds. Brennan averaged 16.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 blocks per game, earning a spot on the Indy Star's Super Team Second Team.
    A second freshman, D.J. McCall was named to the prestigious Indiana All-Star Team after averaging 18.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game at Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran High School. The 6-foot-5 guard helped Concordia Lutheran to an IHSAA Class 3A state runner-up finish in 2013, including scoring 17 points in the state championship game. 
    A third true freshman, swingman John Hubler, was later added by the current staff. Hubler averaged 15.5 points per game, earning First Team All-District 3 honors a season ago. 

FOUR DOWN
    IUPUI practices should be intense this year with four Division I transfers sitting out, including a trio of Loyola-transfers. 
    The Jaguars have backcourt depth on the way in Darell Combs (Eastern Michigan) and Jordan Pickett (Loyola). Up front, former Loyola big men Matt O'Leary and Nick Osborne will also sit out this season. O'Leary and Osborne roomed together while at Loyola.
    Of the four, three played high school basketball in the Hoosier State and Combs prepped at Thornwood High School in Chicago. 
    Combs, a 6-foot-2 guard, averaged 7.5 points and 1.4 assists per game at Eastern Michigan. Combs made six starts for the Eagles and shot 32.7 percent from three-point range while scoring in double-digits 11 times. 
    Pickett, a 6-foot guard, was limited to just five games at Loyola last season, totaling four points and five assists for the season. 
    O'Leary, a 6-foot-8 forward, played in 61 games and made five starts in two years at Loyola. Last season, the Terre Haute-native averaged 4.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 43.5 percent from the floor.   
    Osborne, a 6-foot-8 forward, played in 59 games and made 26 starts in two years at Loyola. The Muncie-native netted 5.4 points and 4.0 boards per game last season while shooting 50.4 percent from the field.

STAFF PRODUCTION
    Few coaching staffs can match the production of the IUPUI staff during their respective playing days. All total, IUPUI's four coaches combined to score 5,588 points in their four-year careers, led by Gardner's 1,984 points at Arizona. Gardner later had his No. 22 jersey retired at Arizona. 
    Scott Gillespie scored 1,871 points in his four years at Ripon College while Associate Head Coach Matt Crenshaw tallied 938 points in four seasons with the Jaguars. 
    Lastly, Jon-Michael Nickerson scored 795 points in his four-year career at Kennesaw State. Nickerson took a circuitous path to the hardwood, originally playing professional baseball after being drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 16th round of the 2003 MLB Amateur Draft. Nickerson played rookie and Single-A ball before retiring just prior to the 2006 season.   

CO-HOST AT LOS
    This season, IUPUI will serve as co-host of the 2015 Men's Final Four to be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis. IUPUI will co-host the event in conjunction with the Horizon League and Indiana Sports Corporation.
    It was announced on Friday (Nov. 14) that the Final Four will return to Indianapolis in 2021 and IUPUI will also serve as an institutional co-host.  
    Last year, IUPUI co-hosted the Midwest Regional as Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan and Tennessee played at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kentucky ultimately prevailed and finished as national runners-up.