VALPARAISO, Ind. - The IUPUI basketball team will visit an old foe on Friday night (Nov. 10) when the Jaguars head north to face former Mid-Continent Conference and Summit League opponent Valparaiso (1-0) at 8:00 p.m. CT (9 Eastern) on ESPN+. The two teams squared off 24 times as league opponents between 1999 and 2007. The teams met in the conference tournament four straight times from 2001 to 2004, including three straight conference championship games. 

Head coach Matt Crenshaw brings specific history into the game with Valpo, having faced them 12 times as a player during his IUPUI playing career. It was his game-winning jumper in the 2003 Mid-Con Championship game in Kansas City that sent the Jaguars to their lone NCAA Tournament appearance to date. The same two teams squared off in the 2004 championship game in Kansas City with VU claiming a 75-70 victory. The two teams haven't met since 2012 when they capped a home-and-home series that began the year prior. Despite having gone just 8-16 in the all-time series, IUPUI has won five of the past seven meetings and won four times at Valpo in 10 trips. 

This year's IUPUI squad opened the year with a 70-63 win over Spalding University behind a game-high 20 points from junior Jlynn Counter. Sophomore Abdou Samb chipped in 10 points off the bench and Qwanzi Samuels added six points and a team-high seven rebounds in the win. Three other Jaguars made their IUPUI debuts as Kidtrell Blocker (8 pts, 2 ast), Yves Nkomba (6 pts) and Braden Allen (1 min) all saw their first game action. 

Counter, a known commodity after an all-league season last year, hit 8-of-13 shots and finished with four rebounds, two assists and a steal in the win. Two other known figures as members of the Horizon League All-Freshman Team last season, Vincent Brady II and DJ Jackson, each finished with eight points apiece. 

IUPUI tipped the game at 11:00 a.m. and hosted its annual NCAA Readers Become Leaders game in front of a program record 4,867 fans inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. 

    QUOTABLE
"It was very exciting, just being out (there). It was definitely exciting with all the kids. I'm just happy we got the win, really. We played together as a team. We've got things to work on, but excited we got the win today," Samuels said following his IUPUI debut on Monday. 

    QUICK HITTERS
-In the era of the transfer portal, IUPUI returns 10 letterwinners and a redshirt from last year's squad, keyed by All-Horizon League performer Jlynn Counter and two members of the Horizon League's All-Freshman Team in Vincent Brady II and DJ Jackson. Nine of the 10 returners started at least one game a season ago and eight had at least one game of double-digit scoring last year. 
-IUPUI wasn't bashful in the transfer portal, inking four newcomers to this year's squad via Division I transfer in Kidtrell Blocker (Buffalo), Yves Nkomba (Kennesaw State), Abdou Samb (Rhode Island) and Qwanzi Samuels (George Washington). Nkomba is the team's tallest player at 6-foot-11 while Samb (6-foot-8) and Samuels (6-foot-8) represent the second and third tallest members of the squad. 
-IUPUI doesn't have a single true freshman on the squad this season as redshirt freshman walk-on Braden Allen is the only member of the squad to have no Division I experience entering the season. 
-IUPUI comes in seeking its first 2-0 start to a season since 2009. 
-Tonight's game is the first meeting between the in-state foes since 2012, a 20-point Valpo win.  

    FIRST TO TIP
    IUPUI was the first team in the country to tip-off the 2023-24 season on Monday (Nov. 6), tipping off at 11:00 a.m. in front of a crowd of 4,867 on the annual NCAA 'Readers Become Leaders' Day at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. 
    The 4,867 represented a new home attendance record for the Jaguars, eclipsing the previous mark of 4,114 from last year's similar event. 

    SPALDING TAKEAWAYS
    IUPUI led wire-to-wire and led by double-digits for the majority of Monday's 70-63 win over Spalding... junior guard Jlynn Counter led the way with his tenth career 20-point game, hitting 8-of-13 FG, 1-2 3's, and 3-7 FT... graduate transfer Qwanzi Samuels tied his collegiate career-high with seven rebounds... senior Yves Nkomba made his first Division I start and responded with six points (he scored just seven points all of last season at Kennesaw State)... Nkomba played 14 minutes in the opening after having played 25 minutes all of last season.

    SEEKING 2-0
    IUPUI comes in seeking the program's first 2-0 start since the 2009-10 season when it opened with back-to-back road wins at Drake and Eastern Illinois to start the year. That season, IUPUI opened 5-1 en route to a 25-11 overall mark. 

    BIRTHDAY BRYCE
    Senior Bryce Monroe celebrated his 22nd birthday on Thursday (Nov. 9) and is the first of four players to have in-season birthdays this season. The next in line will be Vincent Brady II (Dec. 3), Braden Allen (Dec. 22) and Kidtrell Blocker (Jan. 17). 

    VERSUS THE BEACONS
    IUPUI's head coach Matt Crenshaw has a lot of familiarity with the Valparaiso program, having faced the then-Crusaders (now Beacons) 12 times as a player (3-9 overall), starting 11 of those games. In those 12 games, he averaged 8.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, including a 24-point effort in a loss his junior year and later making the game-winning jumper in the Mid-Con Tournament win over Valpo in Kansas City in 2003. 
    Crenshaw scored in double-digits in five of the 12 meetings, including all three games his senior year. 

    RETURNING CREW
    The IUPUI roster enjoyed considerable continuity from a season ago, bringing back 10 letterwinners from a season ago, including three primary starters in Jlynn Counter, Vincent Brady II and DJ Jackson. 
    Counter was a 3rd Team All-Horizon League selection while Brady and Jackson were voted to the Horizon League's All-Freshman Team. 
    Other key returners include John Egbuta, Armon Jarrard and Amhad Jarrard.  

    NO FRESHIES
    IUPUI was responsible for nine Horizon League Freshman of the Week Awards a season ago as Vincent Brady II (4x), DJ Jackson (3x) and Armon Jarrard (2x) had a stranglehold on the award. However, this season, it was be a complete stunner if an IUPUI player received the award as redshirt walk-on Braden Allen is the lone rookie on the roster. Head Coach Matt Crenshaw has no true freshmen on this year's roster. 

    NEW HEIGHTS
    IUPUI's tallest three players are all newcomers as Yves Nkomba (6-11), Qwanzi Samuels (6-9) and Abdou Samb (6-8) all joined the program as transfers. Although none boast major numbers from their previous stops, neither did 6-foot-9 Northern Illinois-transfer Chris Osten a season ago and he produced  9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting better than 69 percent from the floor in his lone season with the Jaguars. 

    HOST SITE
    IUPUI will play host to the First & Second Rounds of the NCAA Tournament on March 22 and 24 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis. IUPUI will partner with the Horizon League and Indiana Sports Corp. to bring the NCAA Tournament back to the Circle City. 

    ON THE NEWCOMERS
    "Qwanzi is a guy who brings it every day. At 6'8, he has great versatility on both ends of the court. Off the court he brings leadership and experience, having been around two other D1 programs. Most importantly, Q is a great student and has been an awesome addition to our locker room. We look forward to seeing his growth as a leader and are optimistic that he will impact winning at a high level." Assistant Coach Keith Oddo
    "Kid adds length, athleticism, and versatility to our backcourt. His ability to make plays for himself and others will help us play a fun and unselfish brand of offense. Where he can make an elite impact is on the defensive end where that length and athleticism will allow him to guard multiple positions and help us end possessions with rebounds." Assistant Coach Tommy Strine
    "Abdou has been a great addition to our program. Abdou has brought a competitive spirit and plays with tenacity that will help us when it comes to rebounding and having a presence in the paint. He has been a great student and is a high character young man that we are lucky to have in our program." Assistant Coach & Director of Operations Drew Greene
    "Yves has been a great addition to the Jaguar family. Yves is long and extremely athletic with tremendous upside. He's a strong rim protector and can really run in transition. Yves brings a great deal of humbleness and appreciation for the opportunity in front of him. He's such a joy to be around." Assistant Coach Antwain Banks

    NEW STAFF
    Head coach Matt Crenshaw welcomed two additions to his coaching staff in the offseason with the hires of Keith Oddo and Drew Greene. 
    Oddo comes to IUPUI from Bridgewater College (Va.) and played collegiately at Richmond (2015-19) and Louisville (2019-20). Greene had coaching stops at Milligan and Bethel University before joining the IUPUI staff this past summer.