YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The IUPUI basketball team will look to snap a two-game slide and will have to do so against the Horizon League's hottest team as the Jaguars take on Youngstown State (10-16, 6-7 HL) on Thursday night (Feb. 14). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ beginning at 7:00 p.m. and can be heard on IUPUIJags.com as Morgan Adcock (pxp) is on the call. Pregame coverage will begin at roughly 6:50 p.m..
YSU comes in with a league-best four-game winning streak, including a recent emphatic victory over Green Bay. Meanwhile, IUPUI capped a five-game homestand with back-to-back tight losses to Wright State and UIC.
Against UIC, IUPUI (14-11, 6-6 HL) trailed by as many as 18 in the second half before battling back to take a 75-74 lead with 1:20 remaining. However, UIC got the game's final bucket on a layup with 26 seconds to play and the Jaguars misfired on three potential go-ahead attempts. Sophomore
Jaylen Minnett hit for a game-high 20 points for his third career 20-point game and senior center
Ahmed Ismail turned in 13 points and eight boards, also off the Jaguars' bench.
IUPUI comes in at just 1-11 all-time against Youngstown State and has yet to defeat the Penguins as a member of the Horizon League. YSU has won the three meetings as Horizon League foes, which includes a victory in Indianapolis earlier this season.
HL STANDINGS (as of 2/7/2019):
1. Northern Kentucky (10-3)
2. Wright State (9-4)
3. UIC (7-5)
4. Oakland (7-6)
t-5. IUPUI (6-6)
t-5. Green Bay (6-6)
t-7. Youngstown State (6-7)
t-7. Detroit Mercy (6-7)
9. Milwaukee (4-8)
10. Cleveland State (1-11)
QUOTABLE: "Honestly, I thought it was a really good basketball game. Any time you lose by one, you can look back at a million different things that could've swung it in your favor. A missed free throw, a missed block out, a missed layup - but all those things add up in a game like this. I thought we did a really good job of getting stops in the second half and getting back in the game. We fought them really hard and came back and took the lead. It's just when it came time to make plays to get the win, we didn't necessarily get it done," Gardner said after last Saturday's loss to UIC.
UP NEXT: IUPUI will cap the two-game road trip at Cleveland State on Saturday night (Feb. 16) at 7:00 p.m. in a game that will be aired on ESPN3. The game can be heard on IUPUIJags.com as Morgan Adcock (pxp) will be on the call with pregame coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m..
QUICK NOTES (click here to access the full notes for Thursday's game):
JAGS SKID HITS TWO AS JAGS DROP HEARTBREAKER TO UIC
The Jaguars recent trend of digging big holes and falling short late saw IUPUI fall to UIC last Saturday (Feb. 9), 76-75. IUPUI missed three potential go-ahead attempts in the closing seconds to drop a second straight home game.
IUPUI trailed by as many as 18 in the second half before battling all the way back to take a 75-74 lead with 1:20 to play. However, UIC scored a fast break layup with 26 seconds remaining and the Jags came up empty on their final possession, including a missed
Ahmed Ismail hook shot as time expired.
Sophomore
Jaylen Minnett came off the Jaguars' bench with a game-high 20 points (6-13 FG, 4-9 3's, 4-4 FT) and Ismail added 13 points (3-9 FG, 7-10 FT) and eight boards. Junior
Camron Justice finished with a season-low six points (2-10 FG, 0-7 3's) as the Jaguars shot just 39.7 percent from the field and 29 percent from three. Conversely, UIC shot 50 percent overall and Marcus Ottey led five Flames in double-digits with 13 points. UIC scored 50 first half points and led by as many as 16 before halftime. The lead grew to 61-43 with 13:18 to play before the Jags fired back, outscoring UIC 32-15, yet falling one point shy.
Below are other notes from Saturday's loss:
-Minnett hit for 20-or-more for the third time this season and made a three for the 28th straight game, ranking tenth nationally in that category. Included in Minnett's 20-point effort was his 500th career point, putting him well on pace to tally 1,000 for his career.
-Senior
D.J. McCall handed out his 200th career assist in the loss. He finished with six points, four boards and three assists.
-Junior
Nick Rogers matched his career-high with three steals for the second straight game.
-UIC made 8-of-13 (62%) first half treys, but just 2-of-8 (25%) in the second half.
-The IUPUI starting five accounted for just 35 points while the Jaguars' reserves tallied 40, led by Minnett (20) and Ismail (13).
-IUPUI and UIC split the season series with each team winning on the others' home court.
MILESTONES
-The UIC game marked the 150th game of head coach
Jason Gardner's IUPUI career.
-Senior
Evan Hall became the 15th player in IUPUI history to grab 500 career rebounds at UIC (Jan. 4). Fellow senior
D.J. McCall followed in line as the 16th in school history to hit the number against Wright State (Feb. 3).
-Senior
D.J. McCall delivered his 200th career assist against UIC (Feb. 9).
-Sophomore
Jaylen Minnett hit his 100th career three in the win over Detroit Mercy (Jan. 26). He tallied his 500th career point against UIC (Feb. 9).
-The game at Green Bay was
Evan Hall's 100th career game played.
-
Nick Rogers dished out the 100th assist of his IUPUI career at Wright State.
-
Elyjah Goss grabbed his 250th career rebound at Milwaukee.
-Fifth-year senior
D.J. McCall played his 2,500th career minute at NKU.
STREAKS
-Minnett has made a three in 28 straight games, dating back to last season. He comes in having scored in double-digits in five straight games, marking the best stretch of his college career (15.6 ppg, 2.6 apg during that span).
-Minnett comes in having not missed a free throw since Jan. 10 against Cleveland State and has made 18-in-a-row coming into tonight's game.
-Senior
Evan Hall comes in having scored in double-digits in a career-high five straight games (11.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 27-44 FG, 61.4 FG% during that span).
-Senior
D.J. McCall has started 52 straight games, dating back to last season.
INDICATORS
As the season wears on, two trends have become indicators as to how IUPUI will fare.
1.) IUPUI is 12-0 this season when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent. That number has been consistent under Gardner as IUPUI is 56-8 (.875) in his five seasons when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent.
2.) IUPUI is now 9-1 this season when holding opponents to 70 points or less. In IUPUI wins, IUPUI holds foes to 40 percent and an average of 67.6 points per game. In IUPUI losses, foes are shooting better than 49 percent and scoring an average of 80 points per game.
GLASS EATERS
IUPUI has been strong on the glass all year long, outrebounding foes by 4.2 rebounds per game to rank 61st in the country. However, the Jags have been particularly impressive on the glass in league play with a +5.6 margin in league games.
IUPUI has outrebounded its opponent by 10 or more boards eight times this season, including five times in Horizon League play.
DO IT INSIDE
Bucking the national trend, IUPUI relies heavily on the interior for points this season. The Jags average 35 points per game in the paint and also rank among the nation's leaders in free throws made and attempted.
In league play, IUPUI is hitting just 6.5 treys per game while seven Horizon League teams hit 8-or-more 3's per game in league play.
HEAVY HITTERS
IUPUI opened conference play with arguably the toughest opening schedule in Horizon League history, taking on the top three picks in the league's preseason polls, all on the road. The trio of Wright State, Northern Kentucky and UIC collected 39 of the 40 possible first-place votes and easily separated from the second tier of selections.
The Jaguars dropped the first two of the three-game stretch, losing at Northern Kentucky and Wright State, before rebounding to win at UIC last Friday (Jan. 4).
HE GO, WE GO - JUSTICE NOTES
In this instance, 'he' being
Camron Justice. IUPUI is 9-4 this season when Justice scores 20-or-better. Justice was the first IUPUI player to score 20-or-more in four straight games since Jan. 14-28, 2012 when Alex Young went for 27-27-26-22 in a four-game span.
-The Kentucky-native has led IUPUI in scoring in 18 of 25 games and scored in double-digits in 23 of the Jaguars' 25 games.
TURN BACK THE CLOCK
IUPUI got a skosh younger over the holiday break in terms of years of eligibility remaining.
Grant Weatherford was awarded a clock extension from the NCAA in December, allowing him a sixth year in which to complete his four playing seasons - thus making him a sophomore eligibility-wise. IUPUI Associate AD for Compliance
Laura Hue took the lead on applying for the successful waiver.
CLASS ACTS
Nine Jaguars were named to the department's Academic Advisor's List for the fall semester for earning a 3.0 GPA or better -
Daniel Alston,
Elyjah Goss,
Jack Hansen, Jamil Jackson,
Trevor Johnson,
Jakoby Kemp,
Brandon Kenyon,
D.J. McCall and
Grant Weatherford. Hansen notched a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester.
McCall and Weatherford were also named to the Horizon League's Academic Honor Roll.
BEST START SINCE...
The Jags' 8-3 start was the program's best start in head coach
Jason Gardner's five seasons and best start since the 2009-10 season. That squad finished 25-11 overall and earned a spot in the CBI that season. This marks the first time Gardner has had IUPUI above .500 beyond the fourth game of any of his five seasons.
ROLLING ON DUBS
IUPUI has points-rebounds double-doubles from three different players this season as
Elyjah Goss,
Evan Hall and
Ahmed Ismail have all pulled the trick. For perspective, IUPUI hasn't had three different players get double-doubles in a season since 2013-14 when four different players registered at least one (
Marcellus Barksdale, Donovan Gibbs, Khufu Najee & Mitch Patton).
BLOW OUT THE CANDLES
Head coach
Jason Gardner celebrated his 38th birthday in style, collecting his 50th career head coaching win at Boston College on November 14. The win was the Jaguars' first over an ACC opponent since 2001 and first over a Power 5 school since winning at Seton Hall in 2009.
Gardner is third on the program's all-time wins list at 60, but is a far cry from the top two in program history. Current Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter (275) and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (195) own the top two spots in program history.
