INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team will cap its quick two-game homestand on Saturday (Feb. 4) when the Jaguars host Green Bay (2-21, 1-11 HL) at noon inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The Jaguars have piled off a collection of near misses recently, including a 72-69 home defeat to Milwaukee inside the Coliseum on Thursday. 

Those planning to attend Saturday's game at the Coliseum are asked to allow extra time for traffic and parking within the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Tickets to Saturday's game can be purchased by clicking here. The IUPUI Athletics Department will be highlighting a number of Central Indiana non-profit organizations as part of Non-Profit Day at the Coliseum. Many will be setting up at tables inside the entry pavilion on Saturday also. 

IUPUI (3-21, 0-13 HL) had two attempts to tie the score in the closing minute against Milwaukee on Thursday as sophomore Jlynn Counter had a potential game-tying layup blocked and Vincent Brady II misfired on a wing three in the final seconds of regulation. Counter had a monster game with 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals while DJ Jackson added 15 points and seven rebounds. Junior John Egbuta contributed 10 points, including a pair of threes, off the bench. 

IUPUI shot a respectable 48 percent from the field and held Milwaukee under 38 percent. However, the Panthers had 15 more field goal attempts than the Jaguars, fueled by 18 offensive boards and 16 IUPUI turnovers. 

For the year, Counter has been on a tear and now ranks among the Horizon League's top-15 in scoring (14.5 ppg), assists (3.3 apg), field goal percentage (49.8%) and free throw percentage (83.3%). Freshmen are accounting for nearly 29 points per game as Vincent Brady II is scoring 10.1 points per game and Jackson checks in at 7.1 points per contest. 

QUOTABLE
"Honestly, I thought it was a spirited, tough game. The IPS kids were loud and made it a true home court advantage for us today and both teams kind of fed off that energy. There were a lot of adjustments being made throughout the game today on both sides and a lot of players just stepped up and made plays on both sides. We had a look to tie it at the end of regulation against one of the best teams in this league and that shows you just how competitive this league is. We were right there. We need to take that next step and start winning these close games, but I'm proud of my guys and I'm proud of the overall effort," Crenshaw said following Thursday's game with Milwaukee. 

SCOUTING GREEN BAY
Green Bay enters play at 2-21 overall and 1-11 in Horizon League play with the one coming against the Jaguars on Dec. 5. The Phoenix are 0-15 away from home this season and have lost 13 straight coming into play. Cade Meyer leads the Phoenix with 11.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, while sitting tied for the team lead with 14 blocked shots. Clarence Cummings III is second on the team at 10.0 points per game as the team averages 58.4 points per game.   

UP NEXT
IUPUI will take on Wright State on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+. 

Tidbits heading into Saturday's game (click here for full game notes (PDF))   
    SIX AWARDS    
    IUPUI freshmen have collected six #HLMBB Freshman of the Week Awards this season as Vincent Brady II has collected four honors and Armon Jarrard has been honored twice, including this past week. 
    Brady is second on the team in scoring (10.1 ppg) and rebounding (4.0 rpg) and leads the team in minutes played (31.4 mpg, 15th in the HL) and threes made (40). Brady comes in having made at least one three in 19 straight games and in 22 of the team's 24 games this season. 
    Jarrard had a career-high 22 points (6-8 FG, 5-7 3's, 5-5 FT) at Cleveland State on Sunday in earning his second award of the year. 

    FRESHIES    
    All total, IUPUI freshmen are accounting for 28.7 points per game, paced by Vincent Brady II's 10.1 points per game. 
    Here's a look at how the four have performed so far this season.     
Vincent Brady II: 31.4 mpg (15th in the HL), 10.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 40 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: 19.7 mpg (7th on the team), 5.8 ppg, 19 steals (4th on the team)
DJ Jackson: 20.3 mpg, 7.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg

    FRESH DUBS
    It would appear that Brady will be hovering around double-digits in scoring all season long as he sits at 10.1 points per game entering today's game.  
    Earlier this season, he had a stretch of four straight games with 15-or-more earlier this season, becoming the first IUPUI freshman to do so since Alex Young in 2008. 
    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. The aforementioned Young went on to score 2,286 points in his four-year IUPUI career and George Hill scored 1,619 points in three-plus seasons before being drafted in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft. 
    Here's the full list of IUPUI true freshmen to score in double digits for a season in the Division I era (1998-present). 
    Alex Young - 10.8 ppg (2008-09)
    George Hill - 10.7 ppg (2004-05)

    COUNTER POINTS (INCLUDING 50-40-90 STATUS)
    It's safe to say that sophomore guard Jlynn Counter has emerged as the program's most important player this season. Here are a few nuggets about the Oklahoma City-native, including a recent five-game surge that has him among the top players in the Horizon League. l
    -he's scored 20-or-more in four of IUPUI's last five games and hit for double-digits in each of the past five games
    -during that five-game stretch, he's averaging 21.4 points and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 53.2 percent (41-77) from the floor, 41.2 percent (7-17) from three and 90 percent (18-20) from the foul line
    -he started the year 0-of-14 from three in the season's first 12 games, but has gone 9-of-25 (36 percent) since and made at least one three in each of the past five games  

    ALL 12
    Following IUPUI's game at Cleveland State on Sunday (Jan. 29), all 12 of the Jaguars' scholarship players have now started at least one game this season. Graduate student Jonah Carrasco started in place of an injured Chris Osten, becoming the 12th different IUPUI player to start a game and IUPUI's 12th different starting unit of the year. 

    TOPS IN THE COUNTRY
    IUPUI is tops in the nation, having had 14 different players miss at least one game due to injury or illness, 12 of whom are scholarship student-athletes. Highest on the list are Zach Gunn (out for the season), Bryce Monroe (20 games missed) and DJ Jackson (11 games). Other scholarship student-athletes who have missed multiple games this season include Amhad Jarrard (9 games), Armon Jarrard (7 games), Daylan Hamilton (6 games), John Egbuta (5 games) and Cooper Dewitt (3 games).
    Behind IUPUI, Wyoming, Vanderbilt and Iona have all had eight student-athletes miss time.  
    IUPUI has not had a game this season in which the entire roster was available. 

    THE ONLY ONE IS NO. 1
    True freshman Vincent Brady II is the only IUPUI player to have appeared in all 24 games this season and is tied with Chris Osten with a team-high 23 starting nods. 

    TEN HIT TEN
    Freshman DJ Jackson became the tenth different IUPUI player to have a double-digit scoring game for the Jaguars this season, doing so against Detroit Mercy on Jan. 21. Amazingly, of all 10 players who have scored in double-digits this season, none were on the IUPUI roster last season. 

    CHRIS DON'T MISS
    Graduate transfer Chris Osten is currently shooting 66.2 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 76.6 percent from the field (49-of-64) at home this year. 
    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 21 games this season, Osten has hit double-figures 12 times and registered four double-doubles.

    BUTA EMERGES
    The past six games have seen a new star emerge off the IUPUI bench as John Egbuta has provided a huge lift. The New York-native has contributed 12.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while making 27-of-44 (61.4 percent) shots, including 5-of-9 from three. 

    SEEING 20-20
    IUPUI had a pair of 20-point scorers against Oakland last Thursday as freshman Vincent Brady II had a career-high 23 points (8-16 FG, 4-9 3's, 3-3 FT) and Jlynn Counter tallied 22 (8-16 FG, 1-2 3's, 5-6 FT). It marked the first time under head coach Matt Crenshaw that two players have gone for 20-or-more in the same game. 

    CRUNCH TIME
    With so many new faces and primarily young faces, head coach Matt Crenshaw is still seeking a closer to help in crunch time. IUPUI has gone down to the wire in six of its past eight games, falling short on all six occasions. 
    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. 
    Against Oakland on Jan. 19, IUPUI again rallied from a nine-point deficit and led by as many as four in the closing minutes before a Jalen Moore trey with 3.0 seconds left sent the game to overtime. Oakland outscored the Jags 15-9 in overtime to secure an 83-77 win, keeping the Jags winless in league play. 
    Against Detroit Mercy on Jan. 21, it was a two-possession game with five minutes remaining before the Titans outscored the Jags 20-12 down the stretch. 
    At Purdue Fort Wayne, IUPUI rallied from 11 down to cut the Mastodons' lead to two in the waning minutes, but couldn't get over the hump late. 
    At Cleveland State on Jan. 29, the Jaguars rallied from down 20 in the second half to down three with 3:01 to play. However, IUPUI was never able to draw even late in that contest before ultimately falling short, 78-72. 
    Against Milwaukee on Thursday, IUPUI had two chances to tie the score in the closing minute but came up empty on both in a 72-69 home loss to one of the league's top teams. 

    FRESH STARTERS
    IUPUI had three freshmen in the starting lineup in the season opener at Iowa State 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 their collegiate debut. 
    A fourth freshman, DJ Jackson, made his first collegiate start on Dec. 31 against NKU. 

    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 expected to miss the remainder of the season.  

    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.