INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will host SIUE on Wednesday night (Dec. 6) inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum at 7:00 p.m.. The Jaguars look to stay perfect at home this season, having already dispatched Morehead State and Anderson University already this season.  

Head coach Jason Gardner's squad looks to break a modest two-game skid as the Jaguars have dropped recent contests on the road at Western Illinois and Ball State. In both outings, the Jaguars got off to slow starts and never fully recovered, despite strong second half efforts. 

Senior Aaron Brennan continues to lead the Jaguars at 13.2 points per game, despite a rough shooting stretch in which he's made just 11-of-34 shots in the past three games. Behind him, Ron Patterson is the team's only other double-digit scorer at 12.2 points per game. Patterson came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points in Saturday's loss at Ball State. Junior T.J. Henderson checks in at 9.8 points per game and has a team-high 18 assists and 21 free throws made.

IUPUI is looking to avenge last season's loss at SIUE as Wednesday's game will cap a home-and-home series with the Cougars. 

GAME SPONSOR
Wednesday's game is sponsored by Kroger. 

FAN INFORMATION
-Fans attending games at Indiana Farmers Coliseum will be subject to a parking fee inside the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The most convenient parking is located on the infield, just north of the Coliseum. 
-Upon entry into the Coliseum, fans will pass through a magnetometer at the main entrance. 
-Student admission is FREE of charge with a valid Crimson Card (or JagTag). IUPUI students can also park for FREE inside the Fairgrounds with their Crimson Card (or JagTag). Shuttles will run throughout the evening from campus and will pick-up just north of the Tower (see map). 

SCOUTING SIUE
SIUE is 1-6 on the season and has dropped four straight since a Nov. 18 80-76 road win at Stetson. The Cougars are shooting just 38.1 percent from the floor for the season while allowing foes to shoot 50.2 percent. Four of the Cougars' losses have come on the road, including at Purdue (105-74) and Creighton (103-66).  
    PROBABLE STARTERS:
    G- Daniel Kinchen (6-3, Jr.) - 15.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 34.8 FG%
    G- Christian Ellis (6-2, Soph.) - 8.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 52.1 FG%
    G- David McFarland (6-4, Jr.) - 5.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.7 apg, 26.7 FG%
    F- Jalen Henry (6-8, Sr.) - 15.7 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 42.7 FG%
    F- Keenan Simmons (6-6, Sr.) - 3.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, 40.7 FG% 

INSIDE THE SERIES
IUPUI is just 4-16 all-time against SIUE including losing last year's meeting in Edwardsville, 61-58 on Nov. 26. IUPUI hasn't lost to SIUE in Indianapolis since 1977.  

UP NEXT
IUPUI will take on No. 21/21 Purdue on Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. inside Mackey Arena in a game televised on BTN.  

GAME NOTES (click here for PDF of the full games notes)
SERIES BREAKDOWN
    SIUE has dominated the all-time series with SIUE, winning 16 of the 20 meetings between the two schools. Last year's game in Edwardsville marked the first meeting between the two sides since 1995, breaking a 21-year hiatus in the series. 
    IUPUI has won the most recent two meetings in Indianapolis in Jan. 1994 and Jan. 1995 and hasn't lost in Indy since Feb. 1977. 
    
NEW FIVE
    IUPUI head coach Jason Gardner has continued to tweak the Jaguars' starting five, having used four different quintets in the season's first six games. At Ball State, Gardner swapped his backcourt, giving a first career start to Nick Rogers alongside Jaylen Minnett while T.J. Henderson and Ron Patterson came off the bench. Senior Aaron Brennan is the lone Jag to have started all six games. 

BOLSTERED BENCH
    IUPUI has posted new season-high point totals off the bench in the past two games, including 40 at Ball State on Saturday. Ron Patterson (14 points) and T.J. Henderson (11 points) led the way while Maurice Kirby (8 points) and Elyjah Goss (7 points) also contributed. The group also grabbed 17 rebounds, paced by Kirby's team-high seven caroms. 

BETTER GET THIS ONE
    Following today's game with SIUE, IUPUI will embark on arguably the toughest three-game stretch in program history. The Jags next three contests are at No. 21/21 Purdue (Dec. 10), at RV/RV Washington State (Dec. 6) and at last year's national runner-up, No. 12/13 Gonzaga (Dec. 18). As of tonight's game, the group has a combined record of 21-4 this season. 

'D' DOESN'T TRAVEL
    In the Jags' four losses this season (all on the road), IUPUI has struggled to defend the three-point line. In those three losses, opponents are shooting a combined 47.7 percent from three-point range, hitting 41-of-86 attempts. In three instances, one opposing player has hit at least five threes as well:
    at Bradley (57.1%) - Nate Kennell (5-of-9)
    at EIU (45.0%) - Terrell Lewis (7-of-9)
    at WIU (58.8%) - Kobe Webster (5-of-7)
    at Ball St. (35.7%)

MAKE SHOTS, WIN GAMES
    The most telling number of outcomes of games under head coach Jason Gardner has simply been field goal percentages. 
    IUPUI is 36-8 (.818) in games in which the Jaguars have shot a better percentage than opponents and just 3-54 (.053) when being outshot. 

FIVE KEY NUMBERS
    Below are five key numbers from the Jaguars' loss at Ball State.
    .867: IUPUI shot a season-high 86.7% from the foul line, including hitting 10-of-10 second half attempts
    10: The Jaguars had a season-high 10 steals on Saturday, including three steals each from Jaylen Minnett and Ron Patterson
    13-0: After taking a brief 7-6 lead, IUPUI yielded a 13-0 run over the next three minutes to take the lead for good
    6: Despite grabbing 10 offensive boards, IUPUI scored a season-low six second chance points in the loss at Ball State. D.J. McCall and Maurice Kirby had a team-high three offensive rebounds each
    9-of-29: Combined shooting effort from the Jaguars' starting five, equating to a 31 percent effort
    
AT THE HORN
    Winning games at the horn has been a staple of head coach Jason Gardner's squads. So when IUPUI failed to get a shot off at the buzzer in Friday's 80-79 loss at Eastern Illinois, it was almost a surprise. Since Gardner took over, IUPUI has won four games in the closing seconds, including two as time expired:
    P.J. Boutte 15' floater at the horn vs. Ball State (71-69 / Nov. 22, 2014)
    Marcellus Barksdale layup at the horn at IPFW (84-82 / Jan. 23, 2016)
    Jordan Pickett wing 3 with :02 vs. NDSU (73-72 / Jan. 31, 2016)
    Darell Combs wing J with :01.5 vs. SDSU (85-83 / Jan. 18, 2017)
    
FRESH STARTS
    In the season opener at Bradley, true freshman Jaylen Minnett became the first IUPUI true rookie to start his debut since Alex Young did so against Northeastern in 2008.
    Minnett had five points, two boards and an assist in his IUPUI debut. 

JAGS LOCK UP RAVENS
    While head coach Jason Gardner has preached defense in the preseason, the win over Anderson was especially impressive in that IUPUI held the Ravens to just 43 points. The 43 were the fewest by a foe since Gardner took over the program and just the second time an IUPUI opponent tallied less than 50 in the Gardner-era (49 vs. Denver on Jan. 10, 2015). 
    The 43 points allowed was the lowest total by an IUPUI opponent since holding Western Illinois to 42 on Feb. 6, 2010.