Live Stats I Live Video (HTSN I ESPN3) I Live Audio I Game Notes (.pdf) I TicketsINDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will host in-state foe Fort Wayne (13-11, 6-5 Summit) on Wednesday night (Feb. 11) at 7:00 p.m. inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum as part of Homecoming Week. Wednesday's game will be televised on HTSN and ESPN3 as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call, while Will Flemming (pxp) describes the action on WNDE 1260 AM.
IUPUI (8-16, 4-6) looks to get back in the left-hand column after suffering three straight losses, the most recent of which was a 63-56 defeat to South Dakota State. Head Coach Jason Gardner's squad pulled within two on 10 different occasions in the second half, but was unable to overtake the Jackrabbits on the scoreboard. Junior Marcellus Barksdale just missed a potential game-tying leaner with under two minutes to play and senior Khufu Najee misfired on a potential game-tying three in the closing seconds. Barksdale registered his fourth career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore Justus Stanback became the 11th different player to lead the team in scoring this season, also tallying 10 points.
IUPUI is seeking a season sweep of the Mastodons after having picked off IPFW in Fort Wayne at the start of Summit League play. The Mastodons come in having won five straight. Wednesday's promotions include an alumni special where grads can purchase a $10 discounted ticket by using the discount code ALUMNI when purchasing through Ticketmaster. In addition, the first 500 students in attendance will receive a coupon for FREE popcorn, courtesy of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
At halftime, the IUPUI Athletics Department will celebrate Favorite Professor Night, recognizing selected faculty/staff members from across campus, as chosen by student-athletes. Giveaways include an IUPUI spirit item from the Jaguar Family Association and the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship trophy will be on display inside the main lobby of the Coliseum. Prior to the game, Indianapolis recording artist Eric Wickens will perform the national anthem and former IUPUI soccer standout Kyle Hyland will serve as the Jaguars' honorary captain.
Lastly, students can ride the BBQ Bus from the Tower, beginning at 5:45 p.m. to City BBQ for FREE food. The bus will then take students to the Coliseum for the game.
QUICK HITTERS- IUPUI is amidst its second-longest losing streak of the season, having lost three straight entering tonight's game. The Jags lost six straight from Nov. 25-Dec. 15 earlier this season.
- IUPUI is 6-1 this season when leading at the half, including going 4-0 in Summit League games.
- IUPUI has surpassed last year's win total (6) and the program's league win total from the last two years combined (2).
- In 10 league games, IUPUI is outshooting (+1.7%) and outrebounding (+3.5 rpg) opponents, but the Jags are -2.2 turnovers per game in Summit League play.
- Sophomore
Justus Stanback became the 11th different Jaguar to lead the team in scoring this season with his 10 points against South Dakota State on Feb. 7. IUPUI has had 10 different players score in double-figures in a game and boasts nine players scoring between 4.5 and 8.3 points per game. No IUPUI player has scored in double-digits in more than eight of the team's 24 games.
-
DavRon Williams has led IUPUI in rebounding in 13 of 24 games and leads the league in FG percentage (57.0%)
- More than 46.2% of IUPUI's points have come from the bench this year as Jags' subs average 28.1 points per game.
- This marks the 43rd season of IUPUI basketball, beginning with the 1972 campaign.
- IUPUI will play every home game at the Indiana Farmers 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.
PERSPECTIVE IUPUI has already surpassed the program's win total from each of the past two years (6) and the program's league win total from the last two seasons combined (2 - 1 each in 2013 & 2014). Bear in mind, three of IUPUI's six wins a season ago came against non-Division I competition.
FOURTH GRAD IUPUI gained national publicity earlier this season, entering the season with three players having already completed their degree requirements (
Marcellus Barksdale,
Khufu Najee and
DavRon Williams). That group grew to four at the end of December as fourth-year junior
Mason Archie, II finished his undergraduate course work as the Indianapolis-product is now pursuing his Master's degree.
THIEFS IUPUI is 39th nationally with 7.8 steals per game, ranking second in The Summit League to Omaha in that statistic. Junior Marcellus Barksdale ranks among the national leaders with 46 steals this season.
In Summit League games, IUPUI averages a league-high 7.6 steals per game.
CLASS ACT Senior
Khufu Najee learned just prior to the game against South Dakota that he's among 30 national finalists for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award. The California-native is the second player in school history to be among the 30 finalists, joining John Ashworth (2011).
UNCOMMON BALANCE Nine different IUPUI players are averaging between 4.5 and 8.3 points per game, led by Marcellus Barksdale's 8.3 scoring average. IUPUI has had 11 different leading scorers (including ties) with P.J. Boutte, Marcellus Barksdale, Leo Svete, D.J. McCall, Khufu Najee, DavRon Williams, Jalen McCallum, Elijah Ray, Mason Archie, Justus Stanback and Aaron Brennan have each led the squad at least once.
IUPUI has 10 players averaging double-digit minutes and an 11th (Stanback) sits at 9.4 points per game.
LOW LEADER Barksdale's 8.3 points per game scoring average would easily be the lowest total to lead the Jaguars in a single-season in program history. The lowest scoring output to lead the Jaguars in a season is 12.4 points per game by Charles Price in 2001-02.
HITTING 70 IUPUI is 4-0 this season when scoring at least 70 points and 4-16 when failing to reach that number.
SLIM WINS IUPUI is 6-3 in games decided by five points or less this season and have won their eight games by a combined 40 points. IUPUI's largest margin of victory this season was over South Dakota by 15 points.
GLASS EATERS After being clobbered on the glass for much of the non-conference season, IUPUI is +3.5 rebounds/game in Summit League play, ranking second in the league. It's been a collective effort as DavRon Williams leads the squad at 5.1 boards/game in Summit League play and eight Jags are grabbing at least two boards per contest.
FIRST HALVES IUPUI is allowing just 24.5 points per game in the first halves of Summit League games, and foes have shot just 36.5 percent (91-of-249) overall against the Jags in the first halves of Summit League games.
IUPUI is 4-0 in Summit League play when leading at the half and 0-6 when tied or trailing.
In second halves, IUPUI is yielding 40.6 points per game in league play.
KNOCK DOWN IUPUI is 8-4 this season when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponent and 0-12 when being outshot.
56 STRAIGHT Junior Marcellus Barksdale has now started 56 straight games, dating back to the 2012-13 season opener. Barksdale is the only Jag to start every game this season.
BENCHMARKS Marcellus Barksdale hit some career milestones at N.C. Central on Dec. 29, scoring his 500th career point and grabbing his 350th career rebound.
He hit two more against South Dakota as delivered his 200th assist and gathered his 100th career steal.
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 31.7 minutes per game (7.2 more than his closest competitor), ranking among the league's top players. Barksdale leads the team in scoring (8.3 ppg), free throws made (65) and steals (46) and is second in rebounding (4.5 rpg) and assists (2.5 apg).
BENCH PRODUCTION Through 24 games, IUPUI's bench has scored 674 of the team's 1,458 points, equivalent to 46.5 percent of the team's scoring. The IUPUI bench has outscored the opposition in 21 of the season's 24 games.
MR. REBOUND Senior DavRon Williams has earned his stripes on the glass this season, accounting for IUPUI's top six rebounding games of the year. Included among those six are three double-digit rebounding efforts, including a career-best 13 at N.C. Central.
Williams has led IUPUI in rebounding in 13 of 24 games.
BLOODLINES There's a familiar face on the IPFW roster this in Perry Meridian-grad Max Landis. Max's father, Mike, played at IUPUI from 1983-87 and was a key figure on the program's 1985 NAIA Tournament team.
A two-year starter, the elder Landis remains fifth in school history in assists (336).
The full IUPUI Game Notes can be seen by clicking here
