MILWAUKEE, Wisc. - Winners of four of their past six games in February, the IUPUI basketball team will open the Horizon League Tournament on Thursday (Feb. 25) when the Jaguars take on Milwaukee at 8:00 p.m. Eastern inside MKE's Klotsche Center. IUPUI (8-9) enters the tournament as the No. 9 seed and will take on the eighth-seeded Panthers for a fifth time this season. The winner will move on to the quarterfinals round to be played at campus sites on Tuesday, Mar. 2 while the loser will see its season come to a close. 

Thursday's game is one of four first round contests and all four will be seen on ESPN+. 

IUPUI earned a two-game split at Youngstown State to close the regular season, winning on Friday by a 72-70 score before dropping the finale, 77-70. Senior Marcus Burk continued to lead the way by scoring 24 points in each contest while Elyjah Goss averaged 14.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in the two-game set. Friday's win came in improbable fashion as senior Jaylen Minnett was on the sidelines in street clothes nursing an injury and Burk fouled out with just under seven minutes to play and his team trailing by eight. However, the Jags finished strong, outscoring YSU 15-5 down the stretch to snag the two-point win. Mike DePersia finished with a career-high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Azariah Seay matched his career-high with 14 points off the bench, including a go-ahead 16-footer with just under two minutes left. The win snapped the Jaguars' eight-game losing streak to the Penguins and was the first win over YSU since February 2000.  

AWARDS
Feb. 23, 2021 - BURK VOTED SECOND TEAM ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE 
Feb. 18, 2021 - DePERSIA NAMED HORIZON LEAGUE ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Feb. 15, 2021 - BURK NAMED #HLMBB NIKE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

FEATURES ON THE IUPUI BASKETBALL TEAM
IUPUI students have written stories on different subjects on this year's men's basketball team through a series of class assignments. Read their work, as published earlier on IUPUIJags.com and other social channels. 
    RIMM INSTILLING NEW CULTURE INTO MEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM, by Bobby Taylor
    COHESION KEY AS JAGUARS SET TO OPEN UNIQUE 2020-2021 CAMPAIGN, by Andrew Thomison
    HOOPS ROOTS RUN DEEP IN DePERSIA FAMILY, by Ed Clark
    MINNETT LOOKING TO IMPROVE AS A LEADER HEADING INTO SENIOR SEASON, by Devin Voss
    GEORGIADIS'S TRAVAILS LAND HIM AT IUPUI, by Alex Burr

OPENING TIPS (notes about this week's series with MKE / click here to read the full game notes)

•  Since starting the season 1-4, IUPUI is 7-5 in its past 12 games and 4-2 in the month of February. 
• Amazingly, tonight marks the fifth meeting this season between IUPUI and Milwaukee with Milwaukee having won three of the four meetings and both games played inside the Klotsche Center. 
• IUPUI has never won a Horizon League Tournament game, coming in at 0-3 since joining the league prior to the 2017-2018 campaign.  
• Senior guard Marcus Burk was voted second team All-Horizon League by the league's coaches and ranks No. 5 nationally in scoring (22.2 ppg) and tops in the league in steals (1.88/game). He also ranks among the league leaders in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage and minutes played. It marks Burk's second straight year earning a second team nod. 
• IUPUI is 10-3 under head coach Byron Rimm when holding opponents to 69 points or fewer. 
• IUPUI is 5-0 this season and 11-2 the past two years when shooting a better percentage than the opposition.  
• IUPUI was outrebounded in each of its first nine games of the season and was losing the glass by 8.3 rebounds per game during that span. Since then, IUPUI has won the rebounding battle in six of its past eight games and is outrebounding foes by 4.5 rebounds per game during those eight games. 
• The Jaguars current senior class boasts a pair of 1,000 point scorers in Jaylen Minnett (1,380 - 10th in IUPUI history) and Marcus Burk (1,060 - 22nd in IUPUI history) and the program's all-time leader in rebounds in Elyjah Goss (863 rebounds). In addition, Minnett is IUPUI's all-time leader in threes made with 281. 
• IUPUI has had nine different players start at least one game with freshman Bakari LaStrap being the most recent individual to earn a start, taking Minnett's spot in the first game of the Youngstown State series on Feb. 19. Goss and sophomore Mike DePersia are the only players to have started all 17 games so far this season.

    DAY ONES 
    It's likely a good omen for the Jaguars to enter 'win-and-advance' format as the Jags won the opener in five of their eight two-game Horizon League series this season (including the most recent four). The second night of the back-to-back formats were more daunting as IUPUI went just 2-6 on the second days of those series with the only wins coming in their two sweeps (at Northern Kentucky and vs. UIC). 

    THE RECORD SETTERS
    IUPUI head coach Byron Rimm II refers to his senior trio of Marcus Burk, Elyjah Goss and Jaylen Minnett as the 'Record Breakers'.
    Goss is the program's all-time leader in rebounds (863) and Minnett is the program's all-time leader in threes made (282). Burk has simply exceeded 1,000 career points in just 47 career games and is a two-time All-Horizon League performer. 
    The trio has combined to account for 66 percent of the team's scoring this season (797 of 1209 points) and that has climbed to new levels recently. 

    PILING UP
    IUPUI has three high achieving seniors on the roster who all rank among all of Division I college basketball's active career leaders in specific categories. 
    Senior Marcus Burk, who played his first two seasons at Campbell, ranks No. 10 in all of college basketball with 1,836 career points (1,060 in an IUPUI uniform). Burk also ranks No. 6 among active D1 players, having made 295 three-point field goals (137 in an IUPUI uniform). 
    Senior Jaylen Minnett ranks 12th among Division I players by having made 282 three-point field goals in his IUPUI career and is No. 70 in active career scoring with 1,380 points. 
    Senior Elyjah Goss ranks No. 9 among all active Division I players by having grabbed 863 career rebounds. 

    MARCUS MY WORD
    Marcus Burk earned a second straight second team All-Horizon League nod and currently ranks No. 5 in the country in scoring at 22.2 points per game. Burk averaged 21.3 points per game last year and drained 93 3's in his first year with the program. 
    This season, he's upped his scoring output to 22.2 points per game and increased his field goal percentage (43.2% to 49.1%), three-point percentage (38.6% to 42.3%) and free throw percentage (78.2% to 80.5%). In addition, he currently leads the Horizon League in steals (1.88/game) and has upped his assist and rebounding numbers.
    He recently surpassed 1,000 points in his two-year IUPUI career, doing so in just his 47th career game. 

    NOT JUST 3'S
    Last year, Burk was far more inclined to fire from three while this year, he's mixing it up more. A season ago, 39% of his made field goals came from behind the line and 44% of his attempts were three-point attempts. 
    This season, teams have chased him off the line as 33% of his made field goals are threes and 38% of his overall attempts have come from behind the arc. 
        
    BATMAN & ROBIN, PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY
    Marcus Burk and Jaylen Minnett are among the top duos in all of college basketball, ranking among the nation's top returning pairs this year.  They were one of four pairs in the country to returns to school after averaging at least a combined 35 points per game or better last season. 
    UTSA – Jhivan Jackson (26.8) & Keaton Wallace (18.8) = 45.6
    Austin Peay – Terry Taylor (21.8) & Jordyn Adams (17.4) = 39.2
    Iowa – Luka Garza (23.7) & Joe Wieskamp (14.0) = 38.0 
    IUPUI – Marcus Burk (21.3) & Jaylen Minnett (16.6) = 37.9 
 
    This season, they've upped the ante, averaging a combined 38.2 points per contest. 

    JAYL3N
    Senior Jaylen Minnett became the 24th player in program history to achieve 1,000 career points in an IUPUI uniform against Green Bay on Feb. 6, 2020 as part of a career-high 32-point effort last season. He enters today's game with 1,380 career points, ranking No. 10 on the program's all-time list. He became the 16th player to hit for 1,000 points in three seasons or less in IUPUI history. Below is a snippet of the program's all-time leading scorers and where Minnett sits. 
    8.)    1,447    Kim King    1978-83
    9.)    1,395    Todd Schabel    1985-89
    10.)     1,380    Jaylen Minnett    2017-pr.         
    11.)     1,373     Ron Angevine     1979-83
    12.)    1,340     Don Carlisle     1997-01

    Minnett has also taken over as the program's all-time list in threes made and will continue to add to that total all season long.
    1.) Jaylen Minnett    282    2017-pres.
    2.) Brandon Cole        238    2002-06
    3.) Rodney Thomas    215    1996-00
    4.) Carlos Knox        208    1994-98
     
    Finally, Minnett owns the fifth-longest streak of consecutive games with at least one made three in NCAA history at 69 games... Minnett made at least one trey in all 32 games last season and all 33 games of his sophomore campaign. He also hit threes in the final three games of the 2017-18 season.
    Here's the list of the longest streaks of threes made in NCAA Division I history:
    1.) Mack Smith (Eastern Ill.)    ended Jan. 14, 2021    91 straight games / OVC record
           Cory Bradford (Illinois)    ended Feb. 10, 2001    88 straight games / B10 record
    3.) Jordan Howard (Central Ark.)    ended 2017    73 straight games / Southland rec.
           Wally Lancaster (Va. Tech)    ended 1989    73 straight games / ACC record
    5.) Jaylen Minnett (IUPUI)    ended Jan. 2, 2021    69 straight games / HL record

    MR. REBOUND 
    While it was seemingly a foregone conclusion entering the season, senior Elyjah Goss took over as IUPUI's all-time leader in rebounds against Milwaukee on Jan. 29.     After earning Horizon League All-Defensive Team honors last year and leading the league in rebounding at 11.5 rebounds per game, Goss has backed it up and is leading the league in boards again this year at 11.3 rebounds per contest. 
    Goss owns IUPUI's single-game (21), single season (369) and career rebounding (863 and counting) records. 
    He entered this season fifth on the program's career rebounding list and owns six career games of 17 boards or more. He owns 43 career double-digit rebound games and 24 career double-doubles. Last year, he tied IUPUI's D1 record with 12 double-doubles in a season. 
    Below is a look at IUPUI's top four in career rebounds. 
    1.    863    Elyjah Goss    2017-pr.
    2.    769    Don Carlisle    1997-01
    3.    703    Brandon Cole    2002-06
        703    Jesse Bingham    1985-89

    69 OR LESS
    Through a combination of pace and defense, IUPUI has found that 69 carries weight on the scoreboard. When holding foes to 69 points or less the past two seasons, IUPUI is 10-3 (.769) and 5-31 (.139) when the opposition hits for 70-or-more. 

    SATURDAYS ARE FOR STEAK (TACOS)
    Going through the NBA process this past summer, senior Marcus Burk was afforded three pieces of advice heading into the college campaign. Tighten up his body, become better defensively and show more playmaking ability. 
    Burk went to a largely vegetarian diet in August 2020 (he allows himself to eat meat on Saturdays - his favorite is steak tacos) and worked tirelessly on his body during the offseason, shedding 10 pounds. His work in the weight room has seen him up his strength and lower his Body Mass Index (BMI). His BMI was at 13.7 at the close of last season and now hovers between 7-8. 
    Defensively, he leads the Horizon League at 2.00 steals per game and has routinely drawn the assignment of guarding the opposition's best wing players.

    JERSEY MIKE DELIVERS
    Sophomore Mike DePersia showed last year that he's a bona fide playmaker from the point guard spot. The New Jersey-native delivered an IUPUI Division I freshman record 85 assists in his 32 appearances and was a two-time Horizon League Freshman of the Week honoree. In league play, he averaged 3.2 assists per game and had a 3.05 assist-to-turnover ratio (58 ast/19 tos). 
    This year, he's No. 4 nationally with a 3.89 assist-to-turnover ratio (70 ast/18 tos) and tied IUPUI's single-game record with 14 assists against UIC on Feb. 12 with zero turnovers. His 14 turnovers tied for the third-most in a game in NCAA Division I this season. 
    In league games this season, DePersia had a 4.15 assist-to-turnover ratio with 62 assists and just 15 miscues. 

    SMARTY CAT
    In addition to his work on the court, DePersia was honored on Feb. 18 with a spot on the Horizon League's All-Academic Team. Academically, he holds a 3.70 grade point average while majoring in finance and was voted to the six-man team by the league's faculty athletic representatives.  
    
    McCLURE EFFECT
    IUPUI is 6-4 since sophomore Nathan McClure joined the Jaguars starting five prior to the two-game series at Northern Kentucky on Jan. 15 and the Jags have since gone 7-5 in his 12 starts. During that span, McClure is averaging 6.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 1.1 apg while shooting 37.5 percent (12-of-32) from three-point range. 
    McClure was averaging 9.8 minutes per game in the season's first five games but is averaging 26.3 minutes per game since moving into the starting five. 
    McClure's most recent outing saw him deposit a season-high 16 points (3-7 FG, 2-3 3's, 8-8 FT) to go along with five boards and two steals. 

    CLASS ACTS
    IUPUI is coming off a banner semester in the classroom, achieving a 3.20 grade point average during the fall. Ten Jags (Carrasco, DePersia, Dhaliwal, Harvey, LaStrap, McClure, Pandev, Seay, Shirley and Stoltz) all posted a GPA of 3.0 or better, paced by McClure (3.93), Stoltz (3.75) and DePersia (3.66).