INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will cap the opening weekend of Horizon League play on Saturday (Dec. 4) when the Jaguars host longtime league foe Oakland University at Indiana Farmers Coliseum at noon. Fans can earn a FREE ticket to Saturday's game by bringing a new, unwrapped toy to the Coliseum to benefit the kids of the Ruth Lilly Women and Children's Center and other communities in need. Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ as Scott Agness (pxp) and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) describe the action from courtside. 

In addition, a number of IUPUI basketball alumni will be in attendance and recognized at halftime in support of first-year head coach and IUPUI Hall of Famer Matt Crenshaw. 

On the court, the Jaguars are eager to be back in action after a disappointing 69-45 loss in the league opener to Detroit Mercy on Thursday night (Dec. 2). Graduate transfer B.J. Maxwell led the Jaguars with 10 points, all in the second half, and three others had six apiece in the loss. The visiting Titans scored the game's first 11 points and never looked back as the Jaguars were never able to get the margin back under 10. IUPUI was held to just 12 first half points on 4-of-22 shooting before finally warming up to 44 percent overall and from behind the arc in the second half. 

Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year Antoine Davis put on a show with 19 points, 10 assists and four boards in the win. 

Maxwell continues to lead IUPUI in scoring (12.2 ppg), rebounding (5.3 rpg) and minutes played (30.2) while the supporting cast includes seven different players averaging between four and six points per game. Senior Bobby Harvey leads the team with 10 made threes and averages 5.4 points per game while Nathan McClure is second on the team in rebounds (4.4 rpg) and third in scoring (4.9 ppg). Two freshmen - Boston Stanton III (4.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg) and KJ Pruitt (4.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg) - have started all seven games so far this season. 

SCOUTING OAKLAND
Oakland comes in at 6-2 overall and 1-0 in Horizon League play and boasts a non-conference win at Oklahoma State earlier this season. Two-time Horizon League Player of the Week Jamal Cain leads Oakland in scoring (22.1 ppg) and rebounding (11.0 rpg) and is shooting 55.4 percent from the floor. He also leads the squad in steals (19) and is one of three Oakland players playing more than 37 minutes per game. Trey Townsend averages 14 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while Jalen Moore averages 13 points, 7.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. Oakland shoots an efficient 43 percent from the floor and gets to the foul line frequently, outscoring their opponents by nearly three points per game at the stripe. Head coach Greg Kampe's squad 5-2 away from home this season with true road wins at Oklahoma State and UIC. 

SERIES NOTES
Today's game marks the 49th meeting all-time between IUPUI and Oakland with the Golden Grizzlies owning a 28-20 lead in the series. IUPUI has won three-in-a-row heading into today's contest. 

UP NEXT
IUPUI will return to non-conference play next Friday night (Dec. 10) when the Jaguars hit the road to face Tennessee State on ESPN+. 

Game Notes (click here for the full PDF packet)
    DEFENSIVE NUGGETS
    IUPUI has been incredibly stingy all season long, holding four of seven foes under 40 percent and ranking among the top-50 in the country in scoring defense at 59.1 points allowed per game. They easily lead the Horizon League as Cleveland State is second in the league at 62.0 points allowed per game. In addition, IUPUI is holding opponents to just 39.6 percent shooting and is one of three teams (Cleveland State and Milwaukee) under 40 percent shooting this season. 

    CLAMPS
    IUPUI held Spalding to just 10 first half points in its 61-41 win over the Golden Eagles on Nov. 23. The 10 first half points matched the fewest by any team in the country this season. Below is the list of the four lowest offensive outputs this season:
    10 – IUPUI vs. Spalding [Non D1] (Nov. 13, 2021)
    10 – Georgia State vs. Brewerton  [Non D1] (Nov. 9, 2021)
    12 – Pacific vs. Chicago State (Nov. 22, 2021)
    16 – Murray State vs. Long Beach State (Nov. 23, 2021) 

    The 41 points allowed matched the fewest by an IUPUI opponent in program history, tying the 41 scored by Indiana State on Dec. 23, 2008 in the Jaguars' 62-41 victory. 

    ON THE GLASS
    IUPUI is also tops in the Horizon League in rebounding margin, outrebounding opponents by 2.3 caroms per game. The Jags are one of just two teams in the Horizon League (Northern Kentucky) with a positive rebounding margin at this point in the season. 

    TRENDS
    IUPUI has outshot four of its seven opponents from the field this season and outrebounded four of its seven opponents on the season. After being outrebounded by a combined 19 boards in the season's first two losses at Butler and Evansville, the Jags have not been outrebounded in any of the past five games. 

    BY COMMITTEE
    It's becoming evident that IUPUI's offense is going to come by committee this season as the Jaguars lack a true go-to-scorer. Through seven games, IUPUI has had just nine double-digit scoring games as B.J. Maxwell has done it five times and four others have tallied 10-or-more once. 
    Conversely, IUPUI has eight players scoring more than four points per game. 
    Maxwell has led the team in scoring in all six of his appearances and Bakari LaStrap led the team in scoring in the win over Spalding. 

    TAP INTO THE RESERVES
    With the committee approach being the case, IUPUI is averaging 19.4 points per game off the bench this season. Harvey (5.4 ppg) and LaStrap (4.6 ppg) lead the reserves in scoring this season.  

    MAD MAX
    Graduate transfer and former Detroit Titan B.J. Maxwell has been IUPUI's top weapon thus far, leading the team in scoring (12.2 ppg) and rebounding (5.3 rpg) and easily pacing the squad in field goal attempts (72), three-point attempts (31) and free throw attempts (22), despite missing a full game due to injury.
    His 72 shot attempts are 21 percent of the team's tries as Bobby Harvey and Boston Stanton III are second on the team with 40 attempts each. 

    CRAFTY VETERAN
    Maxwell is an interesting case study in today's new world of college basketball as he's entering his seventh year of college this season. After redshirting his opening season (2015-16) at Abilene Christian, he played three full seasons at ACU before transferring out for a fifth season. He played just two games at Detroit Mercy in 2019-20 before suffering a season ending injury and receiving another season of eligibility. He spent all of last season at Saint Edward's University in Austin, Texas, where he averaged 18.6 points and 5.3 boards per game while earning NABC Second Team All-District honors. 
    After all NCAA student-athletes were granted an additional year of eligibility due to COVID-19 issues, Maxwell opted to join the IUPUI program for a seventh season of schooling. He enters this season having played 94 collegiate basketball games and having scored 758 points across both NCAA Division I and II levels.     

    QUIET KJ
    Freshman KJ Pruitt is quietly beginning to play really solid basketball and leads the team in minutes played (187) this season. Pruitt is averaging 4.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. However, in the last three games, Pruitt is averaging 5.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game with a 1.67 assist-to-turnover ratio. 

    SPYING THE FIRST
    IUPUI needed the victory the victory over Spalding to avoid the first-ever 0-6 start in program history. This season marked the third 0-5 start to the year in program history (1999-2000 & 1992-1993). 

    EXPERIENCE MATTERS
    Despite having eight players classified as upperclassmen, the IUPUI roster entered this season without a ton of actual Division I experience. Mike DePersia (1,241 career minutes) and B.J. Maxwell (1,156 minutes between ACU and Detroit Mercy) are the only two to have played at least 1,000 career minutes. A third, Zach Gunn, was closing in on the number having played 920 minutes in three seasons at Ball State, but will miss the entire season due to injury. 
    Six others in the IUPUI rotation entered this season having played fewer than 400 career minutes in Nathan McClure (388), Azariah Seay (376 between IUPUI and Alabama State), Bobby Harvey (255), Bakari LaStrap (234), Dimitar Pandev (62) and Jonah Carrasco (49). 

    FRESH STARTERS
    Rarely have freshmen cracked IUPUI's starting five in the program's Division I era. It's super rare to have multiple freshmen starting, but that's the case for the Jags as both KJ Pruitt and Boston Stanton III have started every game this season. Here's a look at other freshmen who have started more than half of the team's games in a given season in the D1 era. 
    Aaron Brennan - 2014-15 (started 24 of 31 games)
    Lyonell Gaines - 2011-12 (started 27 of 32 games)
    Alex Young - 2008-09 (started 21 of 30 games)
    George Hill - 2004-05 (started 21 of 29 games)

    Only one other time in the program's Division I era have the Jags had two freshmen as primary starters as Brennan and D.J. McCall were consistent starters in the 2014-2015 campaign.