INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will open its final two-game homestand of the regular season on Thursday night (Feb. 27) when the Jaguars take on Oakland University (12-17, 7-9 HL) at 7:00 p.m. inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Thursday's game will be the department's annual Favorite Professor Night as selected faculty and staff members from across campus will be recognized on the court for their continued commitment to academic excellence. In addition, Thursday's game is International Student Night. 

The game will be aired on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call. Tickets are available at the Coliseum box office during normal business hours or via TicketMaster. 

IUPUI (6-23, 2-12 HL) is coming off yet another close defeat as the Jaguars fell at UIC, 77-72 over the weekend. Marcus Burk pumped in a game-high 28 points and Grant Weatherford and Jaylen Minnett finished with 15 apiece in the loss. Junior Elyjah Goss registered his 11th double-double of the season with 10 points and 18 rebounds and took over as IUPUI's single-season rebound leader, pushing his total to 340 on the campaign. IUPUI fell behind 21-7 in the game's opening stages, but tied the score four times late in regulation, but was never able to overtake the Flames. Burk had a potential game-tying three fall short with roughly five seconds to play before the Flames rebounded the miss and sealed the win at the foul line. The free throw line was unkind to the Jaguars as they made just 13-of-27 (48.1 percent) in the loss, including missing 12 second half attempts. 

Burk added a season-high six assists to his 28-point effort and was an efficient 4-of-9 from three-point range. IUPUI outshot and committed fewer turnovers than their counterparts, but still fell short, largely due to the free throw shooting. 

With the loss, IUPUI dropped to 1-9 in games decided by two possessions (six points) or less this season. 

ABOUT OAKLAND
Oakland enters play as one of the league's hottest teams, having won four straight after a 92-88 double overtime win over Green Bay this past weekend. All four wins have come on OU's home floor by an average of six points per game. Rashad Williams has provided a much needed scoring punch for the Golden Grizzlies since being cleared by the NCAA, averaging 20.3 points per gane and more than four treys per game in his 11 appearances. Fifth-year senior Xavier Hill-Mais is coming off a Horizon League Player of the Week honor and is averaging 16.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game while shooting 52.2 percent from the floor. The Golden Grizzlies' frontcourt also boasts fifth-year senior Brad Brechting, who checks in at 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. 

PROBABLE STARTERS (based on last game)
G- Jaylen Minnett (6-1, Jr.) - 16.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.4 apg, 100 3's
G- Marcus Burk (6-3, Jr.) - 21.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 38.1 3FG%, 85 3's
G- Grant Weatherford (6-2, Jr.) - 9.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.7 apg
F- Elyjah Goss (6-7, Jr.) - 8.8 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 1.1 bpg
F- Zo Tyson (6-9, Gr.) - 3.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 56.9 FG%

KEY RESERVES
F- Jakoby Kemp (6-8, Jr.) - 1.9 ppg, 0.9 rpg
G- Mike DePersia (5-11, Fr.) - 2.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.7 apg
F- Taveion White (6-7, Fr.) - 1.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg

SERIES NOTES: IUPUI is 19-28 all-time against Oakland and 12-8 in the 20 meetings in Indianapolis. The Jaguars won the most recent meeting, 89-85 in overtime in Rochester on Jan. 25 as Burk pumped in a career-high 39 points and Minnett tallied 30. 

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). 

    DAZZLING DUO
    It's hard to talk about IUPUI hoops without exploring the achievements of the junior duo of Marcus Burk and Jaylen Minnett this season. 
    * The duo leads the country in threes made (185 total: Minnett - 100, Burk - 85) and rank Nos. 2 and 5 in the Horizon League in scoring (Burk - 2nd - 21.2 / Minnett - 5th - 16.4 ppg).
    * The duo has seen both score 30 points in a single-game twice this season - a feat has been accomplished just three times all year, and twice by IUPUI's top scorers. 
    Jan. 23 - Austin Peay vs. Tennessee St. - Terry Taylor (37 pts) & Jordyn Adams (37 pts)
    Jan. 25 - IUPUI at Oakland - Marcus Burk (39 pts) & Jaylen Minnett (30 pts)
    Feb. 6 - IUPUI vs. Green Bay - Marcus Burk (33 pts) & Jaylen Minnett (32 pts)
    It marked the first time in the program's Division I era (1998-present) that two IUPUI players tallied 30 or better in the same game. 
    * Burk leads the league in three-point percentage (38.1%) and is third in threes made at 2.93/game and Minnett is tops in threes made (3.45/game) and second in percentage (35.6%).  
    * Burk is fourth among active juniors (29th among all players) in college basketball with 243 career treys and Minnett is seventh on that list (52nd overall) with 229 makes. Minnett enters today 10 threes away from surpassing Brandon Cole for the program's all-time record in threes made.  
    * Burk and Minnett are accounting for the bulk of the Jaguars' offense, having taken 53 percent of the team's field goal attempts (940 of 1764) and 74 percent of the team's three-point attempts (504 of 680). In addition, the duo has accounted for 54 percent (1092 of 2038) of the team's total points.

    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 616 this season, giving him 1,392 in his collegiate career. 
    Here are some more tidbits on Burk:
    -Burk has been IUPUI's top offensive player all season, ranking No. 2 in the Horizon League in scoring (21.2 ppg) and leading the league in three-point percentage (38.1%). He also ranks third in the league in threes made (2.93/game) and ninth in free throw percentage (77.3%).   
    -Burk has four 30-point games this season, including a career-high 39 at Oakland (12-24 FG, 8-15 3's, 7-10 FT) on Jan. 25. Three of the four have come in league play.  
    -While Burk is averaging 21 points per game, no IUPUI player has averaged 20 points per game or better 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. 

    NO. 0 HITS 1,000
    Junior Jaylen Minnett became the 24th player in program history to achieve 1,000 career points in an IUPUI uniform on Feb. 6 as part of a career-high 32-point effort. Minnett enters today's game with 1,084 career points, 21st on the program's all-time list. He is the 16th player to hit for 1,000 points in three seasons or less. 
    He's also moved into second on the program's all-time list in threes made:
    1.) Brandon Cole        238    2002-06
    2.) Jaylen Minnett    229    2017-pres.
    3.) Rodney Thomas    215    1996-00
    4.) Carlos Knox        208    1994-98
    5.) Alex Young        202    2008-12
     
    Some other tidbits on Minnett include: 
    -He currently owns the nation's second-longest streak of consecutive games with at least one made three at 65 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.
    Here's the list of the longest streaks of threes made in NCAA Division I history:
     1.) Cory Bradford (Illinois)    ended Feb. 10, 2001    88 straight games / B10 record
    2.) Mack Smith (Eastern Ill.)    active streak    77 straight games / OVC record
    3.) Wally Lancaster (Va. Tech)    ended 1989    73 straight games / ACC record
    4.) Marshall Henderson (Ole Miss)    ended 2014    66 straight games / SEC record
    5.) Jaylen Minnett (IUPUI)    active streak    65 straight games / HL record
    6.) Justin Jaworski (Lafayette)    ended 2020    64 straight games / Patriot record
    t-7.) Fletcher Magee (Wofford)    ended 2018    60 straight games / SoCon record
    t-7.) Pat Bradley (Arkansas)    ended 1998    60 straight games
    
    -Minnett is currently one of three players in the country to have made 100 threes this season, joining McNeese's Dru Kuxhausen (106) and Marquette's Markus Howard (100). His 100 treys are nine shy of tying the IUPUI single-season record of 109, set by Akeem Clark in 2003-04. 
    -Minnett's 78 3's made last season was the 7th-highest single-season total in IUPUI history and his 100 this season are second-most in school 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).  

    MR. WINDEX
    Junior Elyjah Goss is currently second in the nation with 340 rebounds, having surpassed the IUPUI single-season record of 337 by Dale Taylor in 1975-76. He ranks No. 5 nationally in rebounding at 11.7 per contest and owns six of the eight highest single-game totals in the Horizon League this season, including grabbing a school record 21 against IUSB (Dec. 10), 18 three times and 17 twice. His 21 boards against IUSB is tied for the eighth-highest single-game total in NCAA Division I this season. 
    All total, Goss has led the Jaguars in rebounds in 26 of the team's 29 games and 22-in-a-row. 
    Five games into this season, he was averaging 6.0 rebounds per game, but has since grabbed at least 10 boards in 19 of the Jaguars' 24 games and all but one league contest. In league play, Goss leads the league in rebounding (13.6 rpg) and has eight double-doubles in 16 games. He now has 14 career double-doubles, including 11 this season, which is second-most in a season in IUPUI's Division I era.   

    SLIM MARGINS
    Following Saturday's 77-72 loss at UIC, IUPUI is now 1-9 this season in games decided by two possessions (six points) or fewer and 1-5 in Horizon League games decided by six or less. The Jaguars' lone victory this season in that category was the 89-85 overtime win at Oakland on Jan. 25.  

    ROOKIE RECORD
    Freshman Mike DePersia has handed out an IUPUI record 79 assists this season - the most by a freshman during the Division I era. The previous record was Taj Hawkins, who delivered 71 in 1998-99. The program's all-time freshman record is 106, distributed by Chad Pate in 1991-92. 

    LOTS O' KIDS
    IUPUI packed in more than 2,000 third-graders at Thursday's 3rd annual NCAA 'Readers Are Leaders' game to celebrate a yearlong partnership and commitment to reading. IUPUI is now 2-1 in the 'Readers Are Leaders' games and have upped the attendance number in each of the three years. Below are the results from the three events.
    Feb. 6, 2020 - Green Bay 91, IUPUI 85 // attendance 2,394
    Jan. 24, 2019 - IUPUI 73, Oakland 71 // attendance 2,285
    Feb. 23, 2018 - IUPUI 66, Wright State 56 // attendance 2,263    

    DUELING DOUBLE-DUBS
    Both Marcus Burk (25 pts, 10 reb) and Elyjah Goss (15 pts, 12 reb), had double-doubles in the Jan. 23 loss at Detroit Mercy. It marked the 1st time two IUPUI players had a double-double in the same game since Jan. 2, 2014 when Donovan Gibbs (32 pts, 11 reb) and Khufu Najee (11 pts, 11 reb) both had double-doubles in a win over Judson. 

    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. 
    IUPUI has two wins this season as a double-digit underdog as IUPUI was a 10-point underdog prior to beating Green Bay, 93-78. 

    IN LEAGUE PLAY
    In Horizon League games, here are some numbers that jump out.  
    -Offensively, IUPUI is ranked fourth in the league in scoring at 74.4 points per game, but yielding a league-worst 83.6 points per game. Foes are shooting 45.9 percent against the Jags and a league-best 40.8 percent from three-point range and averaging 9.6 made threes per game.
    -Burk leads the league in scoring at 23.4 points per game while Minnett is tied for third at 18.1 points per game. Minnett leads the league in threes made (3.88/game) and is second in three-point percentage (35.8%) while Burk is third in percentage (34.4%) and third in makes (2.75/game). Minnett ranks seventh in the league in free throw shooting at 81.8% and Burk is 12th at 77.7%. 
    -Goss leads the league in rebounding at 13.63 rebounds per game and double-doubles (8). He leads the league in both offensive (4.50) and defensive (9.13) rebounding.  
    -Freshman Mike DePersia has 55 assists against just 19 turnovers in league games and is second in the league with a 2.89 assist-to-turnover ratio.  As a team, IUPUI has 240 assists against 206 turnovers for a 1.17 a/to ratio, ranking fourth best in the league. However, IUPUI opponents have a robust 1.32 a/to ratio in league games.  
    -Four IUPUI players - Burk (2nd - 37.3), Minnett (3rd - 36.5), Weatherford (4th - 36.2) and Goss (5th - 35.6) - all rank among the league's top five in minutes played in league play. 

    THE BEST ABILITY...
    ...is availability. IUPUI players have struggled to stay healthy and available this season as only five players - Burk, Minnett, DePersia, Goss and Weatherford - have played all 29 games. Redshirt freshman Marlon Taylor is the only other IUPUI player who has been available for all 29 games. 

     STORY TELLER
    In IUPUI's six wins this season, the Jags have held opponents to 37 percent shooting overall and 28 percent from three-point range while making 7.7 threes per game. 
    In the Jaguars' 23 losses, foes have shot 48.2 percent overall and 40 percent from beyond the arc while making 9.4 threes per game. Eleven of the 23 opponents to have beaten the Jags have shot 50 percent or better from the floor. 

    FREEBIES
    IUPUI enters play ranked 329th of 350 teams in free throw percentage at 64.0 percent, which is 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. 

    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 10.6 points per game this season. IUPUI is getting just more than 15 percent of its points from reserves and has had 15 games in which the bench has provided fewer than 10 points. The IUPUI bench has outscored the opposition's just twice this season as opponents' benches are averaging 23.6 points per game against the Jags. 
    The Jags' bench has scored a season-high 29 points at Wright State on Feb. 16, fueled by Minnett coming off the bench for 18 and Weatherford scoring nine.  

   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. Kenyon and Weatherford were recently named to the Horizon League's Academic Honor Roll for the fall semester. 
 
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.