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INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will begin its final homestand of the 2014-15 season when the Jaguars host Western Illinois (8-17, 3-11 Summit) inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum at 7:00 p.m.. The game will be televised on HTSN and ESPN3 as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call. In addition, the game will be heard on WNDE 1260 AM as Will Flemming (pxp) calls the action.

IUPUI (9-19, 5-9) is looking to snap a two-game skid, having dropped road games at North Dakota State and South Dakota. On Saturday, turnovers derailed the Jaguars' chances at USD as IUPUI gave the ball away 17 times, leading to 24 points. IUPUI was down just three in the middle of the second half, but a seven-point possession put the Jaguars down by 10 in a matter of 13 seconds. Junior Marcellus Barksdale finished with 21 points and Mason Archie, II turned in 18 points, with both finishing one point shy of matching their career-highs. The duo hit a combined 15-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-9 from three-point range, accounting for more than half of the Jaguars' points.

The Jaguars are looking to salvage a regular season split with the Fighting Leathernecks, having dropped a 63-59 decision in Macomb on Jan. 30. IUPUI took the lead in the final minute, but WIU's Garret Covington knocked home a three on the Leathernecks' next possession and Leo Svete had a clean look fall off the iron with five seconds left in the loss. WIU has won six straight in the series while IUPUI leads the all-time series, 28-14. 

Senior Khufu Najee led the Jaguars with 12 points in the Jan. 30 loss and Svete chipped in 11 points off the bench, hitting 5-of-6 shots. J.C. Fuller led WIU with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and Jamie Batish added 11 off the bench.  

QUICK HITTERS
- Tonight is the 100th career game for junior Marcellus Barksdale. He's started 60 straight headed into tonight's game.  
- IUPUI could finish as high as the No. 6 seed at the upcoming Summit Tournament, or as low as the No. 8 seed.
- 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 14 league games, IUPUI is and outrebounding opponents by more than three boards per game, but the Jags are -2.9 turnovers per game in Summit League play. IUPUI has outrebounded its opponent in nine of 14 conference games.  
- 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 8.9 points per game. No IUPUI player has scored in double-digits in more than 10 of the team's 28 games.
- DavRon Williams has led IUPUI in rebounding in 16 of 28 games and leads the league in FG percentage (60.1%)
- 45.2% of IUPUI's points have come from the bench this year as Jags' subs average 27.1 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.

CENTURY CLUB
    Junior Marcellus Barksdale will be appearing in his 100th career game tonight and has started 60-in-a-row now. He's the only IUPUI player to have started every game this season. 

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. 

MAKING HIS CASE
    Senior DavRon Williams is making a push for Summit League Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 8.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and nearly a block per game, while having come off the bench in every contest. More impressive is his 63.4 field goal percentage in league play, as he attempts just more than six shots per contest. 
    His field goal percentage is on pace to be the highest by an IUPUI player since the 2010-11 season. 

ROAD WARRIORS
    Following the win at Denver, IUPUI now has more road wins (5) than home wins (4) this season. 

10 LINEUPS
    IUPUI has used 10 different starting lineups this season, including a different quintet in each of the past four games. The Jaguars' most frequent five has been Marcellus Barksdale, Khufu Najee, D.J. McCall, Aaron Brennan and Justus Stanback as that group started seven games (2-5 overall). 

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). 
    However, Najee is not being considered among the final 15 candidates as the list was pared on Feb. 10. 

UNCOMMON BALANCE
    Nine different IUPUI players are averaging between 4.5 and 8.9 points per game, led by Marcellus Barksdale's 8.9 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 9.2 minutes per game. 

LOW LEADER
    Barksdale's 8.9 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. 
    The 8.9 scoring average is the lowest team-leader in the country this season. 

LOW OCTANE
    IUPUI's 59.9 scoring average is on pace to be the lowest in school history. The Jaguars' lowest scoring average in the Division I era is 61.4 ppg in 1999-00. 

HITTING 70
    IUPUI is 4-0 this season when scoring at least 70 points and 5-19 when failing to reach that number. 

SLIM WINS
    IUPUI is 7-3 in games decided by five points or less this season and have won their nine games by a combined 41 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 +3.1 rebounds/game in Summit League play, ranking second in the league. It's been a collective effort as DavRon Williams leads the squad at 5.6 boards/game in Summit League play and 10 Jags are grabbing at least 1.5 boards per contest. 

KNOCK DOWN
    IUPUI is 8-5 this season when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponent and 1-14 when being outshot. 

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 32.1 minutes per game (7.8 more than his closest competitor), ranking among the league's top players. Barksdale leads the team in scoring (8.9 ppg), free throws made (75) and attempted (100) and steals (50). He is second in rebounding (4.6 rpg) and assists (2.3 apg). 

BENCH PRODUCTION
    Through 28 games, IUPUI's bench has scored 758 of the team's 1,676 points, equivalent to 45.2 percent of the team's scoring. The IUPUI bench has outscored the opposition in 24 of the season's 28 games.

MR. REBOUND
    Senior DavRon Williams has earned his stripes on the glass this season, accounting for IUPUI's top seven rebounding games of the year. Included among those seven are four double-digit rebounding efforts, including a career-best 13 at N.C. Central.
    Williams has led IUPUI in rebounding in 16 of 28 games.


The full IUPUI Game Notes can be seen by clicking here