INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will continue its four-game homestand on Thursday night (Jan. 19) when the Jaguars host Oakland University inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum at 7:00 p.m.. Thursday's game will be the annual Favorite Professor Night as professors from across campus, as selected by IUPUI student-athletes, will be honored at halftime of the game. 

Thursday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and IUPUI Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call. Tickets are available by clicking here.

IUPUI got a breakout performance from junior John Egbuta against Cleveland State on Saturday as the New York-native pumped in a season-high 15 points in just 19 minutes off the bench on 6-of-10 shooting. Egbuta nailed a pair of threes and also grabbed three boards in limited action. Graduate transfer Chris Osten added 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting and freshman DJ Jackson matched his season-high with nine points. 

For the season, sophomore Jlynn Counter tops the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and assists (3.1 apg) while Osten is shooting a remarkable 67.2 percent from the floor and averaging 9.8 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game. Health has been a continually theme for the Jaguars as junior Daylan Hamilton became the 13th different IUPUI player to miss a game to injury or illness on Saturday. Only Osten and freshman Vincent Brady II have played all 19 games this season. 
 
QUOTABLE
"(Cleveland State) hit us in the mouth and we never fully responded. It's tough because we played Thursday night and this was their first game of the weekend, so they came out more aggressive and fresher. They came out quick, made plays and got us on the ropes. I liked our response in the first half, but that stretch at the end of the first half really hurt us," head coach Matt Crenshaw said following Saturday's loss to Cleveland State. 

SCOUTING OAKLAND
Oakland enters play at 7-12 overall and 5-3 in the Horizon League. The Golden Grizzlies had their five-game winning streak snapped as they lost to Youngstown State on Saturday (Jan. 14), 85-69. Trey Townsend leads Oakland in scoring (16.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg) and Jalen Moore averages 14.6 points and 5.8 assists per game. Keaton Hervey (12.2 ppg) and Blake Lampman (11.2 ppg) also score in double-digits and a fifth starter, Rocket Watts, averages 9.3 points per game.

UP NEXT
IUPUI will close the four-game homestand against Detroit Mercy on Saturday (Jan. 21) at noon inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. That game will be the annual Cram the Coliseum game as FREE Pizza and FREE rally towels will be provided to IUPUI students in attendance. Fans can purchase tickets by clicking here. 

Tidbits heading into Thursday's game (click here for full game notes (.pdf))    
    CHRIS DON'T MISS
    Graduate transfer Chris Osten is currently shooting 67.2 percent for the season, chasing the school record for single-season shooting percentage (Jon Avery - 67.9 percent in 2008-09). The 6-foot-9 forward is shooting an absurd 82 percent from the field (41-of-50) at home this season. 
    Coming into this season, he had scored in double-digits just one time in his Division I career
in stops at both Arizona State and Northern Illinois, and never had a double-double. However,
in 19 games this season, Osten has hit double-figures 11 times and registered four
double-doubles.

    OSTEN POWERS
    In the five games in the 2023 calendar year, graduate transfer Chris Osten has been nothing short of awesome. In those five contests, Osten is averaging 15.6 points per game while shooting a nearly ridiculous 80.1 percent (34-of-42) from the field. Osten had a career-high 21 points (8-10 FG, 5-7 FT) at Robert Morris on Monday, Jan. 9.

    BUTA EMERGES
    Having made just one appearance since Christmas coming into last Saturday's game against Cleveland State, John Egbuta made the most of his opportunity against the Vikings. The New York-native came off the bench and scored a season-high 15 points (6-10 FG, 2-2 3's, 1-2 FT) in just 18 minutes, while also grabbing three boards. 

    THREE TIMES
    IUPUI freshman Vincent Brady II has won the #HLMBB Freshman of the Week Award three times this season, tied for tops in the league. Brady, a 6-foot-4 guard, is third on the team in scoring (9.4 ppg) and rebounding (3.8 rpg) and leads the squad in minutes played (30.4 mpg) and threes made (31).
    Brady comes in having made at least one three in 14 straight games and in 17 of the team's 19 games this season.   

    FRESH DUBS
    It would appear that Brady will be hovering around double-digits in scoring all season long as he's hit for double-digits in seven of IUPUI's last 10 games after failing to do so in the season's first seven games. 
    The Dec. 5 Green Bay game was his 4th straight game of 15 points or more, becoming the first IUPUI freshman to have at least four straight games of 15 points or more since Alex Young in '08. 
    Freshmen scoring in double-digits has been a rarity for the IUPUI program as just two have done so in the program's Division I-era. Young went on to score 2,286 points in his four-year career and Hill scored 1,619 points in three-plus seasons before being drafted in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft. 
    Alex Young - 10.8 ppg (2008-09); George Hill - 10.7 ppg (2004-05)

    TOPS IN THE COUNTRY
    IUPUI is tops in the nation, having had 13 different players miss at least one game due to injury or illness, 11 of whom are scholarship student-athletes. Highest on the list are Zach Gunn (out for the season), Bryce Monroe (15 games missed) and DJ Jackson (11 games). Other scholarship student-athletes who have missed multiple games this season include Armon Jarrard (6 games), John Egbuta (5 games),  Cooper Dewitt (3 games) and Amhad Jarrard (4 games).
    Behind IUPUI, Wyoming, Vanderbilt and Iona have all had eight student-athletes miss time and both Dayton and Texas State have had seven miss time.  

    SOLID AS A ROC
    Jlynn Counter, known as Roc, had a fantastic two-game Indiana Classic just before Christmas, averaging 25.0 points in the two contests. He had a career-high 27 points (10-19 FG, 7-7 FT) and five rebounds against Southern Indiana on Dec. 19 and followed up with 23 points (9-13 FG, 1-1 3's, 4-4 FT) in the Dec. 20 win over Texas A&M Commerce. 
    The Oklahoma-native is No. 14 in the Horizon League in scoring (12.9 ppg) and sixth in field goal percentage (49.2%). 

    COMEBACK EFFORT
    At Robert Morris on Jan. 9, IUPUI trailed 44-29 at halftime, but rallied to come all the way back in the second half. The Jaguars tied the game at 61 all and again at 63-63 before being outscored 14-7 over the game's first five-plus minutes in the 77-70 loss. 
    IUPUI outrebounded RMU by nine for a season-high rebounding margin. 

    IN LEAGUE PLAY... QUICK HITTERS
    In seven Horizon League games, IUPUI is outrebounding opponents by 1.3 rebounds per game as Chris Osten (6.1 rpg) and Vincent Brady II (4.8 rpg) lead the way. 
    The flip side - IUPUI's turnover margin in league play has been astonishing as the Jaguars turn it over nearly seven times more than their opponents (-6.75 to/gm) and turn it over 17.1 times per game. Amhad Jarrard (16 ast/12 to) and DJ Jackson (6 ast/2 to) are the only two regulars to have more assists than turnovers in league play.
    The three-point line has continued to be problematic in league play as well as the Jaguars are making just 4.1 treys per game in the league and yielding 9.9 threes per game in the eight games. 
    Brady (11.0 ppg), Counter (10.3 ppg) and Osten (11.0 ppg) are all scoring in double-digits in league play. 

    MAGIC MARLON
    On New Year's Eve against Northern Kentucky, Marlon Taylor took full advantage of a rare opportunity for extended action. Coming into the game, Taylor had exactly seven points and eight rebounds in his collegiate career, which began as a walk-on at Indiana State in 2018. He had made 16 prior appearances for the Jaguars and actually took two years away from basketball from 2020-2022. Suffice it to say, he likely wasn't on the scouting report. 
    With virtually half the active roster sidelined with injuries, Taylor was awarded 26 minutes of action and responded with a career-high eight points (4-8 FG), nine rebounds and two assists. 
    He later had a career-high 10 points (4-4 FG, 2-2 3's) at Youngstown State on Jan. 7, doing so in just 11 minutes of work.  

    FRESHIES    
    IUPUI rookies have combined on four #HLMBB Freshman of the Week Awards this season as Vincent Brady II is a three-time recipient and Armon Jarrard also collected an honor. 
    IUPUI has relied on freshmen since the start of the season as four have been among the team's regular rotation since DJ Jackson's return from injury on Dec. 31.  
    Here's a look at how the four have performed so far this season.     
Vincent Brady: 30.4 mpg (leads team), 9.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 31 3's made (leads team)
Amhad Jarrard: 22.9 mpg (5th on the team), 5.7 ppg, 2.1 apg (3rd on the team), 7 steals
Armon Jarrard: 18.2 mpg (7th on the team), 4.5 ppg, 15 steals
DJ Jackson (8 games): 16.8 mpg, 4.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg

    FRESH STARTERS
    IUPUI had three freshmen in the starting lineup in the opener as Vincent Brady II, Amhad Jarrard and Armon Jarrard all got the starting nod. The trio, all of whom are Indianapolis natives, combined on four points, five boards and an assist in the opener at Iowa State. 
    A fourth freshman, DJ Jackson, made his first collegiate start on Dec. 31 against NKU. 

    TIGHTEN UP
    In the win over Texas A&M Commerce, IUPUI tightened up to an eight-man rotation by both necessity and success. Daylan Hamilton earned his second straight start and chipped in a career-high 14 points (5-10 FG, 4-7 FT) and four assists. Boston Stanton III, also making a second straight start, had four points and a career-high seven rebounds. 
    The only three that saw time off the bench were Armon Jarrard (5 pts), Jonah Carrasco (3 pts, 3 reb) and Cooper Dewitt (season-high 17 min). 

    4K
    IUPUI hosted its annual NCAA Readers Become Leaders game on Dec. 12 against Spalding University and had a program best 4,114 fans in attendance. The game attracted roughly 3,500 3rd graders from Central Indiana and stressed the importance of creating reading habits at a young age. The 4,114 fans easily surpassed the previous record for an IUPUI home game - 3,327 against Indiana State inside Conseco Fieldhouse on Dec. 23, 2008. 
    The previous record for an IUPUI game inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum was 3,159 in the inaugural game against Indiana State on Nov. 14, 2014. 

    THE MONROE EFFECT
    After missing the first three games of the season to injury, junior transfer Bryce Monroe came in and made a major impact in the Jaguars' lineup. In his four appearances, Monroe led the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and assists (3.8 apg), despite suffering an injury in his third game back. More importantly, the team as a whole has improved its output. Without Monroe in the lineup, the Jags averaged just 53.4 points per game and scored 65.0 points per game with him available.
    The San Diego-transfer had a monster game at New Orleans on Nov. 24, pumping in 29 points (13-20 FG, 3-6 3's) and seven assists - both of which are the most by an IUPUI player this season. However, Monroe was injured during the New Orleans trip and is currently sidelined indefinitely.  

    LOOK AT THE ARC
    The three-point line has been a tell as to IUPUI's success, or struggles, this season. 
    As a whole, IUPUI ranks No. 351 (of 352) nationally in three-point percentage (27.0%) and No. 352 in threes made per game (4.2). 
    In IUPUI's 16 losses, opponents are shooting 40 percent from three and connecting on 9.0 threes per game, while outscoring the Jags by 14.6 points per game from deep. 
    In IUPUI's three wins, opponents are shooting just 13.3 percent from deep and connecting on just 2.6 threes per game. IUPUI is outscoring foes by five points per game from three and shooting a respectable 34.2 percent from beyond the arc. 

    BOOK WORMS
    The Jaguars put together a 3.03 team grade point average during the fall semester with 12 members of the team earning a 3.0 or better. Junior John Egbuta was most impressive with a perfect 4.0 mark during the fall.