HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The IUPUI basketball team will close out a stretch of three straight road games on Sunday (Feb. 25) when the Jaguars take on Northern Kentucky (15-13, 10-7 HL) at 2:00 p.m. inside NKU's Truist Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The Jaguars (6-22, 2-15 HL) are trying to salvage a win on the current three-game road stretch on the heels of consecutive losses at Detroit Mercy and Oakland last week. Sophomore DJ Jackson scored 17 points in each of the past two games, shooting 63 percent from the floor in the two defeats. At Oakland on Saturday, senior Bryce Monroe chimed in with nine points and Qwanzi Samuels tallied eight off the bench. 

Junior Jlynn Counter continues to make his bid for an all-league spot as he leads the team in scoring (14.3 ppg) and assists (72) and is second on the team in rebounding (4.2 rpg) and steals (34). The Oklahoma City-native is shooting nearly 46 percent from the floor and 77 percent from the charity stripe. Monroe joins him in double-figures at 11.0 points per game while Jackson is scoring 9.1 points per game. 

NKU defeated IUPUI in Indianapolis back on Dec. 2, 71-55, thanks to 24 points from Marques Warrick. Counter led IUPUI with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists and Jackson tallied eight off the bench. Turnovers plagued the Jaguars in the loss as 22 miscues led to 19 NKU points. 

SCOUTING NORTHERN KENTUCKY
NKU is 15-13 on the season and 10-7 in Horizon League play. The Norse are 11-3 on their home floor and come in having won four of their past five contests. NKU defeated Cleveland State 75-73 on Thursday night (Feb. 22) behind 27 points from Marques Warrick and Trey Robinson's double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds). Warrick leads NKU in scoring (19.1 ppg) and threes made (54) while Robinson averages 10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest. 

INSIDE THE SERIES
NKU leads the all-time series 13-4 and has won the last four meetings in the series. IUPUI is 2-7 in nine meetings in Highland Heights with the last victory being a 65-63 win on Jan. 16, 2021.  

UP NEXT
IUPUI will host Milwaukee on Wednesday, Feb. 29 inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum at 7:00 p.m. That game will be BLACKOUT NIGHT presented by IUPUI Africana Studies and Black & Minority Owned Business Night.

Notes and Tidbits (click here to download the full IUPUI Game Notes)
    NOMINATION SEASON
    It's officially postseason award nomination season and three Jaguars are up for Horizon League postseason accolades. Junior Jlynn Counter is on the all-league ballot while sophomore guard Vincent Brady II is up for the league's All-Defensive Team. In addition, senior Yves Nkomba is the Jaguars' nominee for the league's first-ever Sportsmanship Award. 

    OAKLAND LEFTOVERS
    IUPUI fell at Oakland last Saturday, 107-59, as the Golden Grizzlies blistered the Jaguars in both halves... the Jaguars yielded opponent game highs to Oakland in field goal percentage (66.1%), three-point percentage (55.6%) and free throw percentage (94.7%)... OU's Jack Gohlke hit 10-of-15 from three-point range, tallying 31 points - the most by an IUPUI opponent this season... DJ Jackson was IUPUI's lone player in double-digits with 17 points (7-12 FG, 1-2 3's, 2-2 FT) in just 22 minutes off the bench... Bryce Monroe had nine points (3-6 FG, 1-1 3's, 2-2 FT) in the loss. 

    ACTION JACKSON
    Despite the outcomes, sophomore DJ Jackson had a productive two-game trip to Detroit, scoring 17 at both Detroit Mercy and Oakland last weekend, scoring 34 points in just 43 minutes of action. In the two games, Jackson made 12-of-19 (63.2%) from the floor and 3-of-5 from three. He was also 7-of-8 from the foul line and collected four assists and three steals in the two games. 

    JLYNN COUNTS
    Junior Jlynn Counter ranks among the Horizon League's top-15 in five statistical categories - steals (t-7th, 1.4 spg), field goal percentage (11th, 45.8%), assists (11th, 2.9 apg), scoring (14th, 14.3 ppg) and free throw percentage (13th, 76.8%). In league play, Counter is third in the league in free throw shooting (86.3%).
    Counter, a preseason Second Team All-Horizon League pick, led the team in scoring (14.5 ppg) and assists (3.3 apg) last season. 

    COUNTER COUNT
    Counter had a 23-point showing against Robert Morris, matching his season-high and most by a Jaguar this season. The Oklahoma City-native tallied his 500th career point against Elon on Nov. 17 and enters today with 809 career points. 
    ...He's scored in double-digits 40 times in 56 career games
    ...He's hit for 20-or-more points 14 times in 56 career games

    BIG. ROAD. DUB. 
    IUPUI earned its best win of the season at Purdue Fort Wayne on Jan. 17, 85-79. The Jaguars had their best offensive game of the season, shooting a season-high 59.3 percent from the floor. The Jaguars scored a season-high 58 points in the paint, including making 18-of-22 (82 percent) shot at or near the rim. 
    Here are some other notes from that win: 
    -It marked just the second home loss for Purdue Fort Wayne this season
    -It was the first time all season IUPUI had five players score in double-digits
    -IUPUI had a season-high six dunks (Samb 4, Samuels 2); Samb had four dunks all season long before finishing four in that contest
    -IUPUI's five three-point attempts were the team's fewest since also attempting four against Denver on Feb. 14, 2015

    HOT QWANZ
    Since the calendar turned to 2024, forward Qwanzi Samuels is a combined 36-of-61 from the field and is now shooting 50.4 percent from the floor this season. His field goal percentage has climbed from 41.6 percent to 50.4 percent since Jan. 1. 

    THAT'LL DOU    
    Sophomore Abdou Samb had his best offensive output of the season, scoring a season-high 13 points (6-10 FG) at Purdue Fort Wayne, including four dunks. 
    In 16 games in the IUPUI starting lineup (3-13 overall), Samb is averaging 6.8 points and 3.7 rebounds, going 46-of-72 from the field (63.9 percent). 
    Samb's field goal percentage has risen from 55.5 percent to 61.6 percent since he moved into the starting five.

    #SCTOP10
    IUPUI players were featured on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 Plays twice in three days on Dec. 29 and Dec. 31 with a pair of dunks. 
    Against Detroit Mercy on Dec. 29, Kidtrell Blocker's one-handed dunk from the right side was the No. 8 play on SportsCenter. 
    Two days later, Vincent Brady II's one-handed dunk from the left baseline was chosen as the No. 4 play in the country that evening. 

    ONLY THE LONELY    
    Only one IUPUI player (Qwanzi Samuels) has appeared in all 28 games so far this season as the other 14 players have missed at least one game due to injury or illness. Only three others have played in 27 games - Bryce Monroe, Vincent Brady II and DJ Jackson. Everyone else has missed at least two games this campaign. 

    QWANZ SEES DOUBLE
    Graduate transfer Qwanzi Samuels recorded his first collegiate double-double at Minnesota (Dec. 16), having finished with a career-high 13 points (5-8 FG, 3-3 FT), 10 rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes off the Jaguars' bench. 
    It marked his first-ever double-digit scoring game (in his 96th career game) and his second career game with 10-or-more rebounds. 

    FOR STARTERS
    With the glut of injuries and sickness, head coach Matt Crenshaw has found himself shuffling his starting lineup, using 10 different combinations this season. 
    No IUPUI player has started every game (Monroe leads the team with 26 starts) and 10 different players have started at least four games. Counter is second on the team with 22 starts.  

    NINE MAN ROTATION
    Nine different Jaguars are playing at least 11 minutes per game, led by Bryce Monroe (30.5 mpg) down to Cooper Dewitt (11.5 mpg). 

    IN THE CLASSROOM
    Seven members of the squad topped a 3.0 grade point average for the fall semester, paced by John Egbuta (3.62) and Amhad Jarrard (3.51). Others included Vincent Brady II (3.48), Yves Nkomba (3.46), Derek Petersen (3.29), Qwanzi Samuels (3.12) and Bryce Monroe (3.00).  

    SEEING RED
    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.