INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will kickoff a season-long three-game homestand on Friday night (Jan. 10) when the Jaguars host Horizon League leader Wright State (14-3, 4-0 HL) at 7:00 p.m. inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. As part of Teacher Appreciation Night, local educators can redeem two FREE tickets at the ticket windows on the night of the game. In addition, the game will be aired on ESPN3 as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call. 

IUPUI (5-12, 1-3 HL) is coming off a season-best performance in last Sunday's 93-78 victory at Green Bay. Junior Jaylen Minnett led the way with a career-high 31 points, including six treys, and Marcus Burk chipped in 27 in the victory. The Jags rolled up a season-high 53 first half points and led by as many as 25 after intermission in the 15-point win. The offense was clicking on all cylinders as IUPUI hit a season-high 31 field goals, 14 treys and 17 free throws, while delivering 22 assists on 31 buckets. Freshman Mike DePersia handed out a season-high eight assists while Grant Weatherford (13 pts) and Elyjah Goss (13 pts, 17 reb) also finished in double-figures in the scoring column. Goss has been dominating on the glass this season, ranking No. 11 in the country with 10.8 rebounds per game and six double-doubles. 

IUPUI boasts one of the nation's top shooting backcourts as Burk and Minnett have combined to hit 105 threes in 17 games. Burk shoots a 40 percent clip from deep while Minnett checks in at 39 percent and recently moved into a tie for sixth-place on the program's all-time list with 186 career treys. Burk has over 1,000 career points and 200 made threes in his two seasons at Campbell, combined with his season to date at IUPUI.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Jan. 12 vs. Northern Kentucky - First Responders Day
    First responders can redeem two FREE tickets at the IUPUI box office on the day of the game with a valid ID
Jan. 18 vs. UIC - Cram the Coliseum / Scout Day
    FREE adidas IUPUI branded t-shirts (while supplies last)
    Special halftime show featuring extreme pogo stick competitors
    A chance to win a FREE pair of adidas shoes during a special on-court competition
    On-site family entertainment including glitter artists and a balloon animal artist
    Scouts in attendance are invited to come down on the court after the game for a postgame layup line
 
ABOUT WRIGHT STATE
Wright State, picked as the preseason favorite to win the Horizon League, is 14-3 overall on the season and 4-0 to start league play, while sitting No. 11 in the most recent Mid-Major Top 25. The Raiders are a perfect 5-0 in true road games this season with victories at Miami (Ohio), Tennessee Tech, Toledo, Oakland and Detroit Mercy thus far. Senior Bill Wampler leads a balanced WSU attack at 14.3 points per game and junior center Loudon Love averages 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 52 percent from the floor. Senior point guard Cole Gentry averages 11.2 points per game and freshman swingman Tanner Holden checks in at 10.6 points per game while shooting almost 60 percent from the field. Jaylon Hall rounds out the WSU starting five at 9.2 points per game. As a team, WSU shoots 46 percent from the floor and holds opponents under 42 percent shooting. The Raiders lead the Horizon League in rebounding margin, outrebounding foes by more than five boards per contest. 

PROBABLE STARTERS
G- Jaylen Minnett (6-1, Jr.) - 15.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.4 apg, 57 3's
G- Marcus Burk (6-3, Jr.) - 18.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 40.0 3FG%, 48 3's
G- Grant Weatherford (6-2, Jr.) - 8.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.5 apg
F- Isaiah Williams (6-8, Jr.) - 8.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg
F- Elyjah Goss (6-7, Jr.) - 9.2 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg

KEY RESERVES
G- Jamil Jackson Jr. (6-6, Jr.) - 3.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg
G- Mike DePersia (5-11, Fr.) - 2.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.6 apg
F- Zo Tyson (6-9, Gr.) - 3.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 66.7 FG%

SERIES NOTES: IUPUI is 3-13 all-time against Wright State in a series that dates back to November 1976. IUPUI won the first-ever meeting between the two schools before WSU reeled off the next seven decisions from 1977-1984. The two teams have met six times since IUPUI joined the Horizon League prior to the 2017-18 season with WSU owning a 5-1 edge in those contests. The Raiders won all three meetings last season, which included a 71-56 win over the Jags inside the Nutter Center on Mar. 5 in the Horizon League Tournament quarterfinals round. 

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). 

    BUCKETS IN THE BAY
    IUPUI is coming off a season-best offensive performance in the Jaguars' 93-78 win at Green Bay last Sunday (Jan. 10). The Jaguars posted a number of season-high efforts, fueled by Jaylen Minnett's career-high 31 points (8-15 FG, 6-10 3's, 9-9 FT) and a 27-point (10-21 FG, 4-9 3's, 3-3 FT) from Marcus Burk. 
    Collectively, IUPUI scored a season-high 93 points, including a season-high 53 in the first half. The Jags also hit a season-high 31 field goals, 14 treys and 17 free throws and delivered a season-high 22 assists. The Jags built an 18-point first half lead and led by as many as 25 in the second half before settling for a 15-point victory. 
    Grant Weatherford (13 pts, 6 reb, 3-5 3') and Elyjah Goss (13 pts, 17 reb) also finished in double-digits as the Jaguars' starting five accounted for 86 of the team's 93 points.   

    COULDA, SHOULDA, WOULDA...
    While IUPUI is 1-3 at this juncture of Horizon League play, the Jags could just as easily be sitting at 4-0 at this point. 
    The Jags dropped their Horizon League opener to Youngstown State, 83-73, on a night in which they led with five minutes to play and went 12-of-28 (42.9 percent) from the foul line. Two days later, IUPUI lost at a tip-in at the buzzer to Cleveland State, 82-80.
    At Milwaukee last Friday, the Jags had a potential game-tying layup on their final possession go long, ultimately resulting in a 78-74 defeat. 
    IUPUI is now 0-6 this season in games decided by two possessions (six points) or less.

    BETTER THAN ALL THE REST
    IUPUI's early season win at South Florida (70-53 on Nov. 13) was widely considered the best non-conference victory by a Horizon League team this season. The Jags entered play as a 17-point underdog before defeating the AAC foe by 17 points. In addition, it was IUPUI's first-ever victory over an AAC opponent in program history. 

    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 317 this season, giving him 1,095 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 (18.8 ppg) and third in the league in threes made (2.82/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 averaging nearly 20 points per game, 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 eight 20-point scoring games, trailing only Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis. 

    MR. WINDEX
    Junior Elyjah Goss currently leads the Horizon League and ranks No. 11 nationally in rebounding at 10.8 per contest, more than a full rebound ahead of second place Naz Bohannon (YSU). He owns the two 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 14 of the team's 17 games. 
    Since returning to the starting lineup 12 games ago, Goss is averaging 11.2 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. 
    In four league games, Goss leads the league in rebounding (13.3 rpg), offensive boards (6.25 rpg), defensive rebounds (9.25 rpg) and has three double-doubles in four contests. 
    Goss now has nine career double-doubles and has led the Jags in rebounding in each of the past 10 games.   

    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. The Jags have played just six games at full strength as Isaiah Williams missed the game with Cleveland State and Jackson missed the game at Milwaukee.

    SPLASH BROTHERS
    IUPUI's version of the Splash Brothers - Marcus Burk and Jaylen Minnett - has been impressive, both ranking among the nation's top 20 in threes made. 
    Burk leads the league in percentage (40%) and is third in threes made at 2.82/game. Minnett is second in threes made (3.35/game) and three-point percentage (38.8%). By hitting a combined 6.2 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. 
    Burk is fifth among active juniors (46th among all players) in college basketball with 206 career treys and Minnett is 12th on that list (74th overall) with 186 makes. 
    Minnett's 57 threes this season are tops in the Horizon League and third in the country while Burk's 48 is third in the league and 18th nationally. 

    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 (502 of 1001) and 73 percent of the team's three-point attempts (267 of 365). In addition, the duo has accounted for 49 percent (572 of 1168) of the team's total points. 
    Burk (18.8 ppg) and Minnett (15.5 ppg) easily lead the team in scoring while Elyjah Goss is third at 9.2 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's currently amidst a career-best 10 straight games in double-figures, averaging nearly 18.4points per game during that span. 
    -He currently owns the nation's third-longest streak of consecutive games with at least one made three at 53 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 tied for sixth on IUPUI's all-time list with 186 made 3's in his career... he's tied with both Leroy Nobles and Akeem Clark with 186 makes.
    -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).  

    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 12-of-23 (52.2%) from beyond the arc in the Jaguars' last nine games, coinciding with his return to the starting lineup. 
    Since rejoining the starting unit, Weatherford has tallied in double-digits six times. During the nine games, Weatherford is averaging 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 52.2 percent (35-of-67) from the field and three. 

    STORY TELLER
    In IUPUI's five wins this season, the Jags have held opponents to 37.5 percent shooting overall and 26.1 percent from three-point range. 
    In the Jaguars' 12 losses, foes have shot 50 percent overall and 38.9 percent from beyond the arc. 
    Seven of the 12 opponents to have beaten the Jags have shot 50 percent or better from the floor. 

    FREEBIES
    IUPUI enters play ranked 303rd of 350 teams in free throw percentage at 62.5 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. 

    ...HOWEVER
    Since the Youngstown State loss in which IUPUI made just 12-of-28 (42.9 percent) at the foul line, IUPUI has been efficient in the three most recent games. Since then, IUPUI is a combined 46-of-57 (80.7 percent) in the last three games. 

    ZO DON'T MISS
    Graduate transfer Zo Tyson hasn't missed a field goal attempt since the Dec. 10 against IU South Bend, going 8-of-8 from the floor since then (including five dunks). For the season, Tyson is making 66.7 percent of his field goal attempts with nine of his 24 made field goals being dunks. 

    FULL 40
    Junior Jaylen Minnett's 40-minute effort at Green Bay on Jan. 5 was the first full 40 posted by an IUPUI player in a non-overtime game since Marcellus Barksdale played all 40 minutes at Western Illinois on Mar. 1, 2014. 

    STARTERS DOING IT ALL
    Head coach Byron Rimm has shown a reluctance to delve too deeply into his bench as IUPUI reserves accounted for just 11.7 points per game this season. IUPUI is getting just 10 percent of its points from reserves and has had seven games in which the bench has provided fewer than 10 points. The Jags' bench has scored a season-high 19 points on three different occasions. 

    GRADE CHECKS
    Six different Jaguars posted a grade point average of 3.0 or better during the fall - Mike DePersia, Elyjah Goss, Brandon Kenyon, Sawyer Stoltz, Grant Weatherford and Taveion White. Weatherford, who is pursuing his Master's degree in Organizational Leadership, had the team's top GPA for the fall at 3.67. 
    
    GRADS
    Two members of the IUPUI team have already completed their undergraduate work and are now pursuing Master's degrees. Grant Weatherford completed his undergraduate work last spring and is now pursuing a Master's degree and still has two years of eligibility ahead.
    Colorado State-transfer Zo Tyson earned his degree this past summer and is now pursuing his Master's degree in Sports Journalism on the IUPUI campus. 
 
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.