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INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will welcome longtime head coach Ron Hunter and his Georgia State squad when the Jaguars face the Panthers at 1:00 p.m. Eastern inside Fairgrounds Coliseum on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 29). Saturday's game will be broadcast on HTSN as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) call the action from courtside. In addition, the game will be heard on iHeartRadio as Morgan Adcock (pxp) is on the call.

Tickets are still available by visiting the Coliseum box office or any Ticketmaster outlet.  

Saturday's game is the front end of a home-and-home series as the Jaguars are expected to play the Panthers in Atlanta next season. Hunter led the IUPUI program to nearly 300 wins over a 17-year stretch on the sidelines before taking over the Georgia State program four years ago. The former IUPUI head coach also gained national acclaim while in Indianapolis for spearheading the Samaritan's Feet initiative, coaching a game in his bare feet to raise awareness for the Charlotte-based non-profit. 

QUICK HITTERS
- IUPUI will welcome back longtime head coach Ron Hunter and his Georgia State squad on Saturday. Hunter won 275 games in 17 seasons at IUPUI, including leading the Jags to the 2003 NCAA Tourney.  
- Nearly half of IUPUI's points have come from the bench this season, including a 44-point effort at Purdue earlier this season. All total, IUPUI has 10 players averaging between 4-9 points per game with none scoring in double-digits.  
- IUPUI has had nine different leading scorers this year (includes ties) through just five games. No IUPUI player has led the team in scoring more than once this season. 
- P.J. Boutte leads The Summit in steals (2.4) and is second in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.  
- 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.  

FIVE COUNT - QUICK TIDBITS FROM THE LAST GAME
Drake 73, IUPUI 60 - Nov. 25, 2014 - Des Moines, Iowa
DRAKE HOT, IUPUI NOT
    The story of Tuesday's loss at Drake was simple - Drake hit shots and IUPUI did not. The host Bulldogs knocked down nearly 61 percent from the floor while holding IUPUI below 36 percent overall. The Jaguars got down early and never closed the gap tighter than seven points over the final 30+ minutes. 

NONE IN DUBS
    No IUPUI player scored in double-digits as four finished with a team-high eight points. Both Mason Archie and Aaron Brennan scored eight points from starting roles while Jalen McCallum and Elijah Ray pumped in eight off the bench. For McCallum, it was a career-high eight points and Ray's eight were a season-high. 

WHO'S THIS JALEN?
    McCallum came in with 10 career points before knocking home eight points in 12 minutes at Drake on Tuesday. The Marion-native hit 3-of-4 shots, including a pair of treys, and added an assist and a steal. 

NEW FIVE
    Head Coach Jason Gardner was forced to alter his starting lineup with senior Khufu Najee sidelined with an injury. Junior P.J. Boutte earned his first career start in Najee's absence. 

TAKING ADVANTAGE
    IUPUI turned it over a season-low 11 times, but Drake still cashed in on 20 points off turnovers. On the flip side, IUPUI converted 16 Drake turnovers into only nine points.

UNCOMMON BALANCE
    Ten different IUPUI players are averaging between four and nine points per game through five games, led by P.J. Boutte's 8.8 points per game. Through five games, IUPUI has already had nine different leading scorers (including ties). Boutte, Marcellus Barksdale, Leo Svete, D.J. McCall, DavRon Williams, Jalen McCallum, Elijah Ray, Mason Archie and Aaron Brennan have each led the squad in scoring in a game thus far. 
    IUPUI has nine players averaging at least 15 minutes per game as well. 

MR. INDISPENSABLE
    While Gardner has shown a deep and versatile bench, the one constant for the Jaguars this season is junior guard Marcellus Barksdale. The 6-foot-5 veteran is playing 36.6 minutes per game, ranking among the nation's top players. Barksdale is third on the team in scoring (8.6 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.8 rpg), assists (2.6 apg) and steals (1.6 spg).

BENCH PRODUCTION
    Through five games, IUPUI's bench has scored 160 of the team's 324 points, equivalent to 49.4 percent of the team's scoring. The IUPUI bench has outscored the opposition in each of the season's first five games. 

THIEFS
    IUPUI leads The Summit in the early going in steals, collecting 8.4 thefts per game. Boutte leads the league at 2.4 steals per game while Barksdale checks in at 1.6 steals per game. 

SNEAKING OUT A WIN
    The last time IUPUI hooked up with Georgia State, Hunter was on the Jaguars' sidelines and GSU was led by Rod Barnes. 
    Alex Young led IUPUI to a 67-56 overtime win, dropping in 22 points and eight boards in 39 minutes of work. However, the anomaly that stands out  from that game was the end of regulation as the Panthers missed five opportunities to go in front, including collecting four offensive rebounds in the final 90 seconds. IUPUI finished the game with a 14-3 run, which included making 10-of-11 free throws in overtime. 

FREE MONEY
    Whistles have piled up on the Jaguars in the season's first five games as IUPUI has been called for 131 fouls, while drawing just 97 fouls. All total, IUPUI has been outscored 107-72 at the charity stripe (7.0 points per game). IUPUI has yielded 152 free throw attempts, while receiving just 96 freebies, a difference of 11.2 attempts per game.  

FUTURE HOST
    Good news piled up for Indianapolis and the IUPUI program over the past couple weeks as Indy was awarded the 2021 Men's Final Four and 2017 First/Second Round games.
    IUPUI will co-host this year's Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium, along side partners from the Horizon League and Indiana Sports Corp. In 2017, games will be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the Men's Final Four returns to Indy and LOS in 2021.  

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 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.