OXFORD, Ohio - The IUPUI basketball team will finally complete a stretch of six straight road games, spanning three full weeks when the Jaguars take on Miami (4-5) inside Millett Hall on Saturday (Dec. 10) afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3, 97.5 Fox Sports FM, 1260 WNDE and the iHeartRadio app. Morgan Adcock (pxp) will be on the call for the Jaguars.
IUPUI (3-6) has won just once in the first five games of the lengthy road spell, but authored a serious upset bid at Illinois on Tuesday night. The Jags fell 85-77 in Champaign, despite a career-high 25 points from
Matt O'Leary and 18 from
Darell Combs. The Jags were even with the Illini in the final minutes, but faltered late in dropping to 0-2 against Illinois all-time.
Combs leads the Jaguars in scoring at 17.0 points per game while O'Leary ranks among The Summit League leaders in eight different categories.
IUPUI defeated Miami inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum last season, but it just 1-4 all-time against the RedHawks.
JAGUAR TIDBITS
COMBS NOTES (@KidDRell1)
-Senior Darell Combs leads the Jags in scoring (17.0 ppg) and was voted preseason First Team All-Summit this season. Combs was a 2nd Team selection following last season.
-The Chicago-native has scored in double-digits 34 times in 40 career games and eight of nine this season.
-Combs not only leads the Jags in scoring, but also leads the team in assists (32), free throws made (32) and minutes (32.9 mpg). He's 4th in The Summit in scoring and fifth in assists.
-Combs handed out his 100th career assist in the loss at Illinois.
-Combs scored 20 points in last year's win over Miami, including hitting 4-of-7 from three.
-Combs capped his junior year with back-to-back 30 scoring games, becoming the first IUPUI player to do so since George Hill achieved the feat in 2008.
MATT O'LEARY NOTES (@OLeary_15)
-Senior Matt O'Leary is riding a career-best eight straight games in double-digits, having hit for 10 or more in every game this season except the season-opener at Eastern Kentucky.
-O'Leary has one of the team's two double-doubles this season (Evan Hall has the other) and has two career double-doubles in an IUPUI uniform.
-O'Leary entered this week ranking among The Summit League leaders in eight different categories including field goal percentage (4th), rebounding (7th), scoring (8th) and three-point percentage (10th).
-After scoring just 20-or-more once last season, O'Leary has already done so in three of IUPUI's last four games, including a career-high 25 at Illinois.
-O'Leary led the Jags in scoring just three times last season, but has already done so three times this year.
PATTERSON NOTES (@Buss34)
-Not known as a three-point threat upon transferring from Syracuse, junior Ron Patterson has been lethal from deep to start the season. The Indianapolis-native made just 15-of-71 (21.1 percent) attempts in his two years with the Orange, but is 19-of-50 (38 percent) in his first nine games with the Jaguars.
-Patterson has hit at least three threes in five of the Jaguars' nine games, including a career-high 5-of-9 in the win over Eastern Michigan.
-Patterson leads the Jaguars with 11 steals and four dunks this season. His stat line in a 15-point effort at Marquette earlier this season was three 3's and three dunks.
UPSET BID THWARTED
IUPUI just missed picking off Illinois on Tuesday night (Dec. 6) before falling in Champaign, 85-77. IUPUI led for nearly half the game and was tied in the final minutes before fading late. Senior Matt O'Leary led three Jags in double-digits with a career-high 25 points and Darell Combs added 18. Illinois needed a 32-point effort from All-Big Ten performer Malcolm Hill to stave off the Jaguars.
AGAINST THE MAC
IUPUI is seeking a clean sweep against the Mid-American Conference on Saturday, having already defeated Ball State and Eastern Michigan this season. EMU and Ball State were projected to be the top two finishers in the MAC West this season.
SEEKING 250
A win today would be IUPUI's 250th at the Division I level, which began in 1998. Miami graduate Ron Hunter accounted for the majority of those wins on the IUPUI sidelines.
Click here to see full IUPUI game notes
