INDIANAPOLIS - IUPUI will cap the current five-game winning streak on Saturday (Feb. 9) when the Jaguars take on UIC (12-12, 6-5 HL) at 1:00 p.m. inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. As part of Non-Profit Day inside the Coliseum, a strong contingent of Central Indiana organizations will be setup inside the lobby to greet guests in attendance. The game will be aired on ESPN3 as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call.
IUPUI (14-10, 6-5 HL) is 3-1 on the current homestand after last weekend's disappointing 79-74 loss to Wright State. The Jags allowed the Raider to surge out to a 27-6 advantage before finally regrouping and creeping within two before halftime. The Jags led by as many as four in the second half and still had a 61-60 lead with 5:25 left before yielding a late 12-2 run in the loss. Junior
Camron Justice led four Jaguars in double-digits with a game-high 22 points and six assists and
Evan Hall chipped in 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Senior
D.J. McCall finished with a career-high 16 rebounds, marking the most by an IUPUI player since 2015. Bill Wampler led Wright State with 16 points off the bench and Cole Gentry and Mark Hughes added 13 apiece.
Both IUPUI and UIC are among a three-way tie with Green Bay four fourth-place in the jumbled Horizon League standings. The top four seeds will ultimately get to host quarterfinals round games in the Horizon League Tournament while only the top eight teams will qualify for the league's postseason. Northern Kentucky has been atop the league for the majority of the season, but came down to earth with losses to both IUPUI and UIC last weekend. The league's longest winning streak belongs to Youngstown State, which has won three-in-a-row after starting league play at 2-7.
HL STANDINGS (as of 2/7/2019):
1. Northern Kentucky (9-3)
2. Wright State (8-4)
3. Oakland (7-5)
t-4. IUPUI (6-5)
t-4. Green Bay (6-5)
t-4. UIC (6-5)
7. Detroit Mercy (6-6)
8. Youngstown State (5-7)
9. Milwaukee (4-7)
10. Cleveland State (1-11)
QUOTABLE: "We were just flat from the start. We came out with zero energy and [Wright State] took it to us. We're in the middle of the conference race and we just didn't show up early in the game. We responded and got back in the game, but you can't spot any team 20 points and win games. Now we have to regroup and get back to business because it doesn't get easier, schedule-wise," Gardner said after last Sunday's 79-74 loss to Wright State.
UP NEXT: IUPUI will hit the road for a two-game swing through Ohio, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. tilt at Youngstown State on Thursday night (Feb. 14) on ESPN+. The trip will conclude at Cleveland State on Saturday night (Feb. 16) at 7:00 p.m.. Both games can be heard on IUPUIJags.com as Morgan Adcock (pxp) is on the call.
QUICK NOTES (click here to access the full notes for Saturday's game):
JAGS HAVE THREE-GAME WINNING STREAK SNAPPED AGAINST WSU
IUPUI had its three-game winning streak snapped at home last Sunday (Feb. 3) as the Jaguars fell to Wright State, 79-74. IUPUI trailed by 21 (27-6) in the opening eight-plus minutes, but cut the lead back to two before halftime and ultimately took the lead in the second half. The Jags led 60-59 with 5:25 remaining before the Raiders reeled off a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to claim the win. Cam Justice led four Jaguars in double-digits with 22 points and six assists and
Evan Hall added 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Bill Wampler had a team-high 16 points off the WSU bench and both Mark Hughes and Cole Gentry finished with 13 apiece.
Here are more tidbits from last Sunday's contest.
-The teams finished tied in rebounded (36) and turnovers (13)
-The game was tied at 2-2 before WSU rattled off a 22-2 run to take a 24-4 lead. The lead grew to 27-6 when Wampler made his second trey in as many trips before IUPUI began chipping away at the Raiders' advantage.
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D.J. McCall grabbed a career-high 16 boards, including becoming the 16th in IUPUI history to collect 500 career boards in the process. His 16 boards were the most by an IUPUI player since DavRon Williams grabbed 16 in a Summit League Tournament loss to Oral Roberts on Mar. 8, 2015.
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Nick Rogers played a season-high 25 minutes off the Jaguars' bench, hitting for 12 points (5-8 FG, 2-3 3's) and a career-high three steals.
-Justice tied his season-highs for field goal attempts (20) and three-point attempts (13) in a 7-of-20 shooting performance. It was Justice's 13th 20-point game of the season and 23rd straight game in double-figures.
TURNAROUNDS
As of today, IUPUI is tied for the 29th largest improvement from last season (11-19) to this season (14-10). The Jaguars' 6.0 game improvement is the largest in the Horizon League, just ahead of Detroit Mercy's 5.0 game improvement from 9-24 to 8-15.
HOMEBOYS
IUPUI is 9-3 at home this season and far more comfortable shooting the basketball inside the Indiana Farmers Coliseum than on the road.
As a team, IUPUI shoots 49 percent overall and 36 percent from three at home.
On the road, IUPUI shoots just 42 percent overall and 32 percent from deep.
Justice has the most dramatic individual split as he shoots 48 percent overall and 45 percent from beyond the arc at home and 42/31 from the floor/three on the road.
MILESTONES
-Today marks 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).
-Sophomore
Jaylen Minnett hit his 100th career three in the win over Detroit Mercy (Jan. 26)
-The game at Green Bay was
Evan Hall's 100th career game played.
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Nick Rogers dished out the 100th assist of his IUPUI career at Wright State.
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Elyjah Goss grabbed his 250th career rebound at Milwaukee.
-Fifth-year senior
D.J. McCall played his 2,500th career minute at NKU.
STREAKS
Justice has scored in double-digits in 23 straight games.
Minnett has made a three in 27 straight games, dating back to last season.
McCall has started 51 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. He comes into today's game having scored 20-or-more in three straight.
-The Kentucky-native has led IUPUI in scoring in 18 of 24 games after being held to just nine points in the season opener. In that game, he had just nine points before he was ejected midway through the first half for tripping an opponent, which was called a flagrant 1 foul.
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.
SHARING THE WEALTH
IUPUI has had nine different players have hit for 10-or-more points at least once this season.
Nick Rogers became the most recent player to tally double-digits, joining a group that includes
Elyjah Goss,
Evan Hall,
Jack Hansen,
Ahmed Ismail,
Camron Justice,
D.J. McCall,
Jaylen Minnett and
Grant Weatherford.
HOT BENCH
A staple under head coach
Jason Gardner has been his teams' bench scoring as the IUPUI leader likes to play 9-10 players and use his bench frequently. Gardner's teams have matched or outscored the opposition's bench in 112 of 149 games (75.2 percent), including 20 of 24 games this season. All total, the IUPUI bench is averaging 27 points per game this season and outscoring opponents' benches by eight points per game. The Jags' bench scored a season-high 66 points in the win over IU Northwest.
