TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The IUPUI basketball team will look to build on the program's best start since the 2009-10 season on Tuesday night (Nov. 14) when the Jaguars take on Indiana State (1-1) inside the Hulman Center at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+. IUPUI (2-0) has opened the year with back-to-back wins over Spalding and at Valparaiso to start the current campaign. 

At Valpo, the Jaguars outscored the host Beacons 22-11 over the final 6:10 to race to a 66-56 road victory. Bryce Monroe finished with 20 points and four rebounds and sophomore Vincent Brady II chimed in with 10 points off the bench in the victory. Senior John Egbuta provided a major lift off the bench on the interior with eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds and three blocked shots in 25 minutes. 

After shooting just 29 percent in the opening half, the IUPUI offense got rolling in the second half, shooting 47 percent after intermission, including hitting 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from three. 

Tuesday's game marks the first meeting between the two schools since a 2015 contest in Terre Haute, won by the Jaguars, 72-70. IUPUI is just 3-5 all-time against ISU and 1-3 in four meetings in Terre Haute. 

QUOTABLE
"For us, we knew our offense eventually would come. In general, we haven't played that well offensively. One message that we've been emphasizing to the team is that we can defend. It gives you a chance to win. If you defend it, rebound it and we got stops and when you do that constantly, constantly, constantly, and then we played unselfish and that gives you a chance to compete and win the game," Crenshaw said following Friday's win at Valparaiso. 

    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. 

    SEEKING 3-0
    IUPUI is 2-0 to start the year for the first time since the 2009-10 season when it opened with back-to-back road wins at Drake and Eastern Illinois. That season, IUPUI opened 5-1 en route to a 25-11 overall mark. 
    A win tonight would put the Jaguars at 3-0 for just the eighth time in program history and third time in the Division I-era (2003 and 2009 being the others). 

    ROAD KILL
    The road win at Valpo was a welcome event, marking IUPUI's first road win since winning at Robert Morris on Feb. 17, 2022. It was the first road non-conference victory since winning at South Florida on Nov. 13, 2019 at the Cayman Islands Classic. 

    3D
    In the season's first two games, IUPUI has held opponents to just 4-of-29 (13.8 percent) from three point range, ranking fourth nationally in that category. At Valpo, the Beacons made just 2-of-19 attempts, including a banked in triple in the closing minutes of the victory. 

    LIMIT MISCUES
    The other key to the Jaguars' early season success has been turnover margin as IUPUI is +5.0 turnovers per game to start the year. The Jaguars are turning it over just 12 times per game (by comparison, that number was closer to 16/game last season) and are forcing 17 miscues per contest. 

    BRYCE WAS NICE
    A day after his 22nd birthday, senior Bryce Monroe dropped 20 points (7-16 FG, 2-5 3's, 4-4 FT) to go along with four rebounds and four steals in the win at Valpo. It marked his second 20-point game of his IUPUI career and came on the heels of being held scoreless in the season opener. 

    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.