INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will continue its two-game homestand to open Horizon League play on Monday night (Dec. 30) when the Jaguars host Cleveland State (4-10, 0-1 HL) inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum at 7:00 p.m.. The Jags (4-10, 0-1 HL) will attempt to avoid an 0-2 start to Horizon League play for a third consecutive season. Tickets are available via TicketMaster or at the Coliseum box office during normal business hours. Nationally renowned Steve Max will provide halftime entertainment and some lucky fans will be allowed to come on the court to participate in a large game of Simon Says. 

In addition, Monday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) describe the action. 

IUPUI went toe-to-toe with Youngstown State for the bulk of the game on Friday before the Penguins rattled off a late 10-0 run to run away with an 83-73 victory in both teams' Horizon League openers. The Jaguars suffered from self inflicted wounds as IUPUI made just 12-of-28 (42.9 percent) attempts from the free throw line after earning a season-high 28 foul shots. Marcus Burk and Jaylen Minnett tallied a team-high 16 points each and Isaiah Williams added 14, just one shy of his career-high. Junior Elyjah Goss chimed in with his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 18 boards in the loss. Goss leads the Horizon League in rebounding (10.0 ppg), blocked shots (1.00 bpg), double-doubles (4) and double-digit rebound games (6). The Bolingbrook, Ill.-native has led IUPUI in rebounding in 11 of the Jaguars' 14 games this season and ranks 23rd nationally in caroms. 

Burk and Minnett continue to provide one of the league's best 1-2 punches, particularly in terms of perimeter shooting. Burk leads the league in three-point percentage and is second in the league in treys per game, while Minnett is fourth in three-point percentage and third in threes per game. The duo is tops in the league in threes per game by a tandem, averaging better than six makes per contest. As a team, IUPUI is second in the league in three-point shooting at 35.2 percent. 
 
ABOUT CLEVELAND STATE
Cleveland State sits at 4-10 on the season and 0-1 in Horizon League play under first-year head coach Dennis Gates. The Vikings boast neutral site wins over UNC Wilmington and Eastern Kentucky earlier this season as part of a three-game winning streak that also included a home win over Robert Morris. Since then, CSU has dropped six-in-a-row, following Saturday's defeat at UIC, 71-66. Algevon Eichelberger leads the Vikings in scoring (13.0 ppg), rebounding (7.5 rpg) and blocked shots (10). Tre Gomillion is averaging 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and Torrey Patton checks in at 8.9 points per game, following a 22-point effort at UIC on Saturday.  

PROBABLE STARTERS
G- Jaylen Minnett (6-1, Jr.) - 13.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.1 apg
G- Marcus Burk (6-3, Jr.) - 18.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 41.7 3FG%
G- Grant Weatherford (6-2, Jr.) - 7.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg
F- Isaiah Williams (6-8, Jr.) - 8.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg
F- Elyjah Goss (6-7, Jr.) - 8.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg

KEY RESERVES
G- Jamil Jackson Jr. (6-6, Jr.) - 4.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg
G- Mike DePersia (5-11, Fr.) - 2.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.9 apg
F- Zo Tyson (6-9, Gr.) - 2.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 58.6 FG%

SERIES NOTES: IUPUI is 4-2 all-time against Cleveland State and 2-2 since the two teams became Horizon League foes. The Jaguars are 3-0 all-time in the games played in Indy and 1-2 in the three contests in Cleveland. CSU won the most recent meeting, 89-86 on Feb. 16, 2018 in Cleveland.  

PRESEASON PICKS: IUPUI was picked to finish ninth in the Horizon League Preseason Polls, just ahead of Cleveland State. Wright State was a near unanimous pick for the league title while Northern Kentucky was picked second. Detroit Mercy sophomore guard Antoine Davis was pegged the league's Preseason Player of the Year and joined on the first team by Jalen Tate (NKU), Xavier Hill-Mais (Oakland), Tarkus Ferguson (UIC) and Loudon Love (Wright State). 

    COLD FRONTS
    IUPUI is trying to avoid a third straight 0-2 start in Horizon League play today. Last year's group dropped road games at Northern Kentucky and Wright State before winning at UIC behind 30 points from Camron Justice. 
    In year one of Horizon League play, the Jags were also swept on the opening trip at Northern Kentucky and Wright State before firing back with a win at Green Bay. 
    This year's schedule marks the first time IUPUI has opened Horizon League play at home.  

    YSU TAKEAWAYS
    In a game that featured nine ties and 11 lead changes, YSU ripped off a late 10-0 run after IUPUI had take a three-point lead with under five minutes to play... the Penguins outscored IUPUI 16-6 over the final four minutes, to escape with the 83-73 win... IUPUI left 16 critical points at the free throw line, making just 12-of-28 (42.9 percent) attempts... both Marcus Burk (5-17 FG, 2-8 3's, 4-9 FT) and Jaylen Minnett (6-13 FG, 4-9 3's) had a team-high 16 points and Isaiah Williams had 14 (4-8 FG, 2-4 3's, 4-6 FT), one shy of tying his career-high... Elyjah Goss registered his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points (5-9 FG, 3-10 FT) and 18 rebounds (11 offensive)... IUPUI had a season-high 18 assists against 15 turnovers, while forcing 19 YSU turnovers... Darius Quisenberry scored a season-high 23 points to lead YSU and was +27 in plus/minus in his 30 minutes of action. 

    MR. 1,000
    Junior Marcus Burk netted his 1,000 collegiate point in the Dec. 14 win over Purdue Fort Wayne with a three-point play at the 12:57 mark of the first half. Burk, an Indianapolis-native, tallied 776 in two seasons at Campbell and now has 258 this season, giving him 1,034 in his collegiate career. 
    Here are some more tidbits on Burk from the first half of the season:
    -Burk has undoubtedly been IUPUI's top offensive player all season, ranking No. 2 in the Horizon League in scoring (18.4 ppg) and second in the league in threes made (3.15/gm).  
    -Burk tallied a season-high 32 points (12-of-21 FG, 7-of-10 3's) against Loyola (Md.), falling one shy of his career-high 33 from his sophomore year at Campbell. Burk's 32 was the most by an IUPUI player since Darell Combs hit the same number against South Dakota on Feb. 25, 2016. 
    -While Burk is off to a hot start and averaging nearly 20 points per game to start the year, no IUPUI player has averaged 20 points per game for an entire season since Alex Young averaged 20.4 points per game in 2011-12. Only three players - Odell Bradley (23.1, 2003-04), George Hill (21.5, 2007-08) and Young (20.4, 2011-12) - have averaged better than 20 points per game during the Jaguars' Division I era. 
    -Burk is currently second in the Horizon League with seven 20-point scoring games, trailing only Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis, who has 10 20+ scoring games. 

    MR. WINDEX
    Junior Elyjah Goss currently leads the Horizon League and ranks 23rd nationally in rebounding at 10.0 per contest, more than a full rebound ahead of second place Naz Bohannon (YSU). He owns the three of the four highest single-game totals in the Horizon League this season, grabbing a school record 21 against IUSB (Dec. 10), 18 against Youngstown State (Dec. 28) and 17 at Morehead State (Dec. 4). His 21 boards against IUSB is the third-highest single-game total in NCAA Division I this season. 
    All total, Goss has led the Jaguars in rebounds in 12 of the team's 14 games. 
    Since returning to the starting lineup nine games ago, Goss is averaging 10.0 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. 
    Goss leads the Horizon League in both offensive (3.71 rpg) and defensive (6.29) rebounding and he's tied atop the league lead in blocked shots (1.00 bpg), double-doubles (4) and double-digit rebound games (6).  

    E'S RECORD BREAKING NIGHT
    Junior Elyjah Goss had a record breaking night against IU South Bend on Dec. 10, posting a school record 21 rebounds to go along with a career-high 17 points and four blocked shots in the Jaguars' 80-60 victory. Goss grabbed seven offensive boards and 14 defensive boards and hit 7-of-10 field goal attempts.
    The prior record was 20 on two different occasions, the most recent coming by Michael Boles in 1993. Goss became the first player in IUPUI history to grab at least 20 boards in the Jaguars' Division I era.  

    HEALTH CHECK
    The Dec. 7 game at Ball State was the first time all season that head coach Byron Rimm had his full roster as his disposal. Junior Jakoby Kemp missed the season's initial eight games due to injury and upon his return at Morehead State (Dec. 4), classmate Jamil Jackson was sidelined due to injury. Jackson missed two games before returning at Ball State. 

    SPLASH BROTHERS
    IUPUI's version of the Splash Brothers - Marcus Burk and Jaylen Minnett - has been impressive, both ranking among the Horizon League's top three in threes made and three-point percentage. 
    Burk is second in the league in threes per game (3.07) while Minnett is third in the league in the category (3.00). Burk leads in three-point percentage (41.7%) and Minnett is third at 35.9%. By hitting a combined 6.07 threes/game, the duo is tops in the league for a tandem as Northern Kentucky's Dantez Walton and Tyler Sharpe are next in line at 5.58 threes/game. 

    WARM WEATHERFORD
    Junior Grant Weatherford is making a claim to join Burk and Minnett as an elite three-point shooter. After starting the season 0-of-6 from deep in the season's first eight games, Weatherford is 9-of-15 (60%) from beyond the arc in the Jaguars' last six games, coinciding with his return to the starting lineup. 
    Since rejoining the starting unit, Weatherford has tallied in double-digits four times. During the six games, Weatherford is averaging 11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 53.3 percent (24-of-45) from the field and 9-of-15 (60 percent) from three-point range. 

    TOP GUNS
    Burk and Minnett are accounting for the bulk of the Jaguars' offense, having taken 50 percent of the team's field goal attempts (407 of 821) and 73 percent of the team's three-point attempts (220 of 301). In addition, the duo has accounted for 49 percent (449 of 921) of the team's total points. 
    Burk (18.4 ppg) and Minnett (13.6 ppg) easily lead the team in scoring while Isaiah Williams is third at 8.6 ppg. 

    MINNETT NOTES
    Junior Jaylen Minnett, the 2019 Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year, is unlikely to be a repeat winner of the award as he's assumed a starting job this season. The 6-foot-1 Terre Haute-native, averaged 12.0 points per game and drilled 78 3's last season, while coming off the bench in all but the season finale. 
     Some other tidbits on Minnett include: 
    -He currently owns the nation's third-longest streak of consecutive games with at least one made three at 50 games... Minnett made at least one trey in all 33 games last season and the final three games of the 2017-18 season... the last time Minnett went without a three in a game was against Oakland on Feb. 19, 2018 when he was held without a triple in 14 minutes. 
    -Minnett enters play ranked eighth on IUPUI's all-time list with 171 made 3's in his career...he has some work to do to move up on the list as both Leroy Nobles and Akeem Clark are tied for the No. 6 spot with 186 makes each.
    -His 78 3's made last season was the 7th-highest single-season total in IUPUI history. 
    -His 7.1 ppg scoring average as a freshman in 2017-18 was the highest by an IUPUI rookie since Alex Young average 10.8 points per game in 2008-09.
    -His 51 made 3's in 2017-18 were the most by an IUPUI freshman in the program's Division I era (1998-present).  

    STORY TELLER
    In IUPUI's four wins this season, the Jags have held opponents to 37 percent shooting overall and 23.4 percent from three-point range. 
    In the Jaguars' 10 losses, foes have shot 50 percent overall and 37.9 percent from beyond the arc. 
    Six of the 10 opponents to have beaten the Jags have shot 50 percent or better from the floor. 

    FREEBIES
    IUPUI enters play ranked 346th of 350 teams in free throw percentage at 58.3 percent, which is well on pace to be the lowest mark in the program's Division I era. The current low mark was a 65.4 percentage for the 2008-09 season. The lowest single-season mark on record in program history was a 62.7 percentage in the 1976-77 campaign. 
    The Jags are coming off a particularly damaging performance as IUPUI made just 12-of-28 attempts in Saturday's loss to Youngstown State. 
 
BASKETBALL CENTRAL: IUPUI will be a big part of the center of the college basketball universe this March as the 2020 Horizon League Championships will be played at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Mar. 9-10 and the department will later serve as institutional co-host of an NCAA Men's Basketball Regional at Lucas Oil Stadium on Mar. 26-28, alongside the Horizon League and Indiana Sports Corporation. Both the men's and women's Horizon League Semifinals (Mar. 9) and Championship games (Mar. 10) will be played at Indiana Farmers Coliseum as 2020 marks the first of a three-year rotation.