IUPUI (0-0) at Eastern Kentucky (0-0)
Date:	Friday, Nov. 11, 2016 // 8:00 p.m. ET
Location:	Richmond, Ky. // McBrayer Arena (6,500)
TV:	none
Live Video:	OVCDigital
Live Radio:	none
Live Stats:	EKUSports.com
Game Notes:	IUPUI // Eastern Kentucky
Twitter:	@IUPUIJaguars; @IUPUIMensBball

RICHMOND, Ky. - The IUPUI basketball team will kickoff its 45th season on Friday night (Nov. 11) when the Jaguars take on Eastern Kentucky at 8:00 p.m. Eastern inside EKU's McBrayer Arena (6,500). The game will be broadcast on OVCDigital. 

Friday's game is a return game from EKU's trip to Indianapolis in 2014, which resulted in a 74-63 win for the Colonels. IUPUI returns just three players from that contest as junior Aaron Brennan (11 points, three boards) was among the starting five that day and Josh James (two points) and D.J. McCall (six points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals) came off the bench that day. 

Fast forward less than two years later and Head Coach Jason Gardner enters his third year with a deeper, more talented group primed to move up from last year's fourth-place Summit League finish. 

"I think like everyone, we're excited to get the season started," Gardner said. "I think we've got a really talented group of guys and they've been working really hard throughout the preseason. We've got a really challenging schedule ahead of us, but that's going to get us prepared for league play. 

"We're going into some tough environments, in some tough arenas and will face some tough coaches. By December, we're going to be a battle tested group, but I think these guys are up for it."

IUPUI breezed through St. Joseph's College in exhibition play, knocking off the Pumas 87-74 in Indianapolis a week ago. Darell Combs and Ron Patterson had a team-high 14 points each in the victory and six others finished with eight points each. The starting frontcourt of Matt O'Leary and Evan Hall combined on 16 points and 14 boards in limited action, while teaming to hit 7-of-8 field goal attempts.

IUPUI is 1-2 all-time against EKU with the lone win coming in Dec. 12, 1998 when the Jags won 74-61. The Jags are 0-1 in games played in Richmond. 

JAGUAR TIDBITS
EXHIBIT A
IUPUI cruised to an 87-74 win over St. Joseph's College in its lone exhibition game of the season, paced by 14 apiece from Darell Combs (2-7 FG, 8-8 FT) and Ron Patterson (5-7 FG, 3-4 3's). The Jaguars led by as many as 25 late in the game before yielding a large SJC run to close the game with the reserves on the floor. Six others finished with eight points each as the starting frontcourt of Matt O'Leary and Evan Hall combined on 16 points (7-8 FG) and 14 rebounds in just 35 combined minutes. IUPUI shot 51 percent from the floor and held St. Joseph's to just 31 percent shooting. The major bugaboo on the score sheet was the number of times IUPUI turned it over. The Jags committed 26 miscues leading to 26 St. Joe's points. Every IUPUI player that saw action except D.J. McCall (18 minutes) and Noah Thomas (5 minutes) had at least one turnover. Gardner was able to play 15 different players with Kellon Thomas (8 pts, 3 ast) playing a team-high 24 minutes as the starting point guard.

YEAR THREE
Year three looks to be a big year for Head Coach Jason Gardner and the IUPUI men's program. Gardner's team finished fourth in The Summit League a year ago and returns a core that includes the top two scorers from a year ago in Darell Combs (16.3 ppg) and Matt O'Leary (10.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Combs was voted Second Team All-Summit League a year ago and was a preseason First Team All-Summit League selection this year. Meanwhile O'Leary, who owns a 3.79 and is majoring in Management, was an Academic All-District 5 selection. In addition, Gardner's squad welcomes a pair of impact transfers in Kent State-graduate Kellon Thomas and Syracuse-transfer Ron "Buss" Patterson. Thomas started every game for the Flashes a year ago and led KSU in assists and threes made, while Patterson is a former top-150 recruit before originally committing to Indiana.

FAMILIAR FACES
All total, IUPUI boasts eight guys with at least one season under their belts. Junior Aaron Brennan has played in 60 career games and made 33 starts at IUPUI while Josh James returns to the program after a season away from basketball. The 6-foot-9 James has appeared in 52 games and made 13 starts from 2013-15 before taking last year off. Six others - Combs, O'Leary, Evan Hall, T.J. Henderson, D.J. McCall and Grant Sinn - have one year of IUPUI experience. O'Leary started all 32 games last season while Combs started 29 times. Hall made 11 starts and McCall made 15 starts as a true freshman in 2015-16 before redshirting last season.

HOMECOMINGS
IUPUI was an easy choice for a pair of transfers, expected to play major roles this season. Both Ron "Buss" Patterson and Kellon Thomas are Indianapolis-natives and wanted to return to the Circle City to complete their college careers. In addition, the duo played AAU basketball together alongside Matt O'Leary for Indiana Elite. Another reason Patterson chose IUPUI was to honor his Broad Ripple High School teammate, the late Steven Jamison, who died of cancer in July 2010 who was committed to play at IUPUI and wore No. 25 (hence why Patterson wears 25). Patterson has a large 'Steven' tattoo across his chest, honoring his deceased friend. Patterson chose IUPUI over a group that included Kent State, Ball State, Georgia State, Illinois State, Houston and Eastern Michigan. Thomas picked IUPUI over a group that included Purdue, Minnesota, Northwestern, Seton Hall, Ball State, Duquesne, Georgia State, UIC and Jacksonville.

PRESEASON PICKS
IUPUI was picked fourth or fifth by nearly every major publication this season and was voted fifth in The Summit League's preseason polls. Here's a breakdown of where IUPUI sat in the preseason publications:
Athlon Sports: 5th
Blue Ribbon: 5th
NBC Sports: 4th
USA Today: 4th
Lindy's: 5th
The Sporting News: 5th

FOR OPENERS
IUPUI is 1-1 in season openers under Gardner with each of the past two openers coming against Indiana State. The Jags lost to ISU in overtime two years ago, but avenged the loss with a convincing road win in Terre Haute last season. In IUPUI's Division I-era, the Jaguars are 10-8 in season openers.

NEW TEAM
IUPUI played Eastern Kentucky in Gardner's first season two years ago, dropping a 74-63 contest inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Amazingly, only three players on the current IUPUI roster appeared in that game. Brennan earned a start and had 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 28 minutes as a true freshman. James (2 pts) played seven minutes off the bench and McCall (6 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl) played 25 minutes off the bench.

KENTUCKY NATIVE
This marks the lone game inside the Bluegrass State for the Jaguars this season, meaning the lone homecoming for sophomore Evan Hall. Hall is from Hindman, Ky., roughly 125 miles south east of Richmond, near the Virginia border.

Click here for full  game notes