INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will host Northern Kentucky (4-3, 1-0 HL) in its Horizon League home opener on Saturday (Dec. 2) at noon inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The Jaguars (3-5, 0-1 HL) enter play on the heels of a road loss at Wright State on Wednesday night to open league play. 

The first 150 fans in attendance will receive a FREE IUPUI themed Christmas ornament and fans are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to receive a FREE ticket to Saturday's contest. Toys collected will benefit the community in need and the Ruth Lilly Women and Children's Center. 

IUPUI put four players in double-figures at Wright State on Wednesday, but came up well short against the hot shooting Raiders, 103-74. Senior Bryce Monroe led the way with 20 points and Jlynn Counter added 17 in the loss. The duo combined to hit all 17 of their free throw attempts as IUPUI continues to rank among the nation's best foul shooting teams. Kidtrell Blocker closed with 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists and Abdou Samb tallied a season-high 11 points off the bench. 

The Jaguars enter Saturday's contest a perfect 2-0 at home this season and are seeking to snap a three-game skid to NKU. 

Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) and Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call. 

    MR. DO-IT-ALL
    In his second season with the program, junior guard Jlynn Counter has become the Jaguars' Mr. Do It All, leading the team in scoring (15.8 ppg), rebounding (4.8 rpg), assists (2.3 apg) and field goal percentage (52.1%). His 52.1 percent from the floor currently ranks third in the Horizon League.  
    Counter, a preseason Second Team All-Horizon League pick, tallied his 500th career point against Elon on Nov. 17 and enters today with 577 points in his two-year career. 

    50-40-90
    The shooting line of 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from three and 90 percent from the foul line is a bit of a holy grail for basketball players, having only been achieved by 11 players in college basketball history. 
    Albeit small samples sizes, both Jlynn Counter and DJ Jackson are flirting with the numbers to start this season. 
    Counter: 52.1 FG% / 50.0 3FG% / 69.2 FT% 
    Jackson: 51.0 FG% / 25.0 3FG% / 85.7 FT%

    Counter opened the year 4-of-10 from the free throw line, but is 12-for-14 in the Jaguars' last two games, including a perfect 8-for-8 at Wright State on Wednesday. 

    FIVE AND COUNTING
    Senior guard Bryce Monroe comes in having scored in double-digits in IUPUI's last five games. During that span, Monroe is averaging 14.6 points and 2.2 assists per game. 

    FREE MONEY
    IUPUI is currently 53rd in the country in free throw percentage, hitting 76.2 percent as a team. At Wright State, both Bryce Monroe (9-9) and Jlynn Counter (8-8) enjoyed perfect nights as part of the team's 28-of-36 (77.8 percent) effort. 

    TO THE LINE, VINCE
    After not getting to the line a single time in IUPUI's first four games of the season, sophomore Vincent Brady II has gone 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) from the line in IUPUI's most recent four games. 

    BIRTHDAY BOY
    Sophomore Vincent Brady II (Dec. 3) is on the eve of his 21st birthday today. 

    UP THE OUTPUT
    NKU has won the most recent three meetings in the series between the two schools. More concerning is that IUPUI didn't reach 50 points in any of those three contests - scoring  41, 42, and 47 in those three matchups. 

    NO KIDDIN'
    Junior Kidtrell Blocker is coming off his best game of the season at Wright State on Wednesday, just missing a double-double with 12 points (5-10 FG, 1-2 3's, 1-3 FT), nine rebounds and four assists. 

    NINE MAN ROTATION
    Nine different Jaguars are playing at least 12 minutes per game, led by Kidtrell Blocker (29.0 mpg) down to Yves Nkomba (12.1 mpg). 
    Seven of the nine have scored in double-digits at least once this year as Counter and Monroe have six games in double-figures.

    SEEING RED
    It's likely that both Amhad and Armon Jarrard will redshirt this season. Amhad missed the entire summer and preseason after suffering an injury last season and Armon was limited to just three games this season while playing through an injury. He was shutdown after trying to play at Indiana State on Nov. 14. 
    The Jarrards are one of 21 sets of brothers playing for the same team this season and one of nine sets of twins in Division I basketball. 

    FIRST TO TIP
    IUPUI was the first team in the country to tip-off the 2023-24 season, starting at 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 6 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. 

    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. 

    BENCH WORK
    IUPUI is averaging 26.9 points per game from its reserves this season and has gotten at least 22 bench points in all eight games (including three games of 30+). DJ Jackson (9.0 ppg) and Vincent Brady II (7.0) have led the reserves with each having scored in double-digits at least once off the IUPUI bench.
    Despite neither having started a game this season, Jackson ranks third and Brady ranks fifth on the team in scoring.  

    FIRST MAN OFF
    Sophomore Abdou Samb (5.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg) has been IUPUI's first man off the bench in seven of eight games this season, including seven straight since the opener. 

    ARC ISSUES
    IUPUI has struggled with the three-point line this season, both offensively and defensively. 
    Offensively, IUPUI ranks 354th (of 361) in the country in three-point percentage at 24.6 percent. The Jaguars' 3.4 made/game rank 358th nationally. Only six different Jaguars have made a trey this season as Monroe (9), Counter (8), Brady (7), Blocker (4), Jackson (1) and Samuels (1) have the team's entire output. 
    Defensively, IUPUI is No. 321 nationally in allowing opponents to shoot 37.0 percent from beyond the arc. 

    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 against Spalding. 

    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.