Friday, Jan. 3, 8:30 p.m. ET, Rolla, Mo.
16 UIndy Greyhounds (8-0, 0-0 GLVC) at Missouri S&T Miners (5-4, 0-1)
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Sunday, Jan. 5, 4:15 p.m. ET, Springfield, Mo.
16 UIndy Greyhounds (8-0, 0-0)* at 3 Drury Panthers (9-0, 1-0)*
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*through Jan. 2

ON TAP
The No. 16 Greyhounds begin conference play this week with a pair of road games versus GLVC West Division foes, including a showdown at third-ranked Drury Sunday afternoon.

ABOUT MISSOURI S&T
Owners a 5-4 mark, the Miners head into the New Year with a winning record for the first time since 2010.  They are led in scoring by senior Bryce Foster, whose 22.9 points per game are good for second in the GLVC and 15th in Division II.

Earlier this season, Foster recorded the first triple-double in school history with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists versus Webster on Dec. 8.  He is one of only five D-II players with a triple-double so far this year.

Meanwhile, fellow-senior Mudi Eruteya averages 19.9 points per contest while leading the team in rebounds (8.6 rpg), assists (5.1 apg) and steals (2.7 spg).

As a team, the Miners are one of only six Division II squad to enter the week with a higher scoring average than UIndy.  S&T has posted 98.6 points per game, second only to top-ranked West Liberty's gaudy 116.3 ppg average.

In their most-recent action, the Miners earned a 114-112 double-overtime win at D-II Lindenwood Dec. 16.  Eruteya posted a monster 39-point, 16-rebound performance while also adding six assists and five steals.

GREYHOUNDS vs. MINERS
UIndy owns a 5-2 mark all-time versus Missouri S&T.  The Hounds hold a three-game winning streak in the series, including a 93-77 triumph at Nicoson Hall last January.  That night, UIndy scored 32 points off 17 S&T turnovers while shooting 54 percent from the field and 81 percent from the foul line.  Reece Cheatham led all players with 25 points while also adding six dimes and four boards.

ABOUT DRURY
Picked as the coaches' favorite to win the GLVC West, the third-ranked and defending-national-champion Panthers enter the weekend with a spotless 9-0 mark, including a 6-0 record versus Division II opponents.

The Panthers have been deadly from the field thus far, ranking seventh in D-II in three-point accuracy (.438) and second in overall field goal shooting (.546).  Ironically, the team has not been so successful at the free throw line, ranking 275th out of 305 D-II teams in FT percentage (.616).

DU is led by the one-two punch of Cameron Adams (18.1 ppg) and Kameron Bundy (17.1 ppg).  The two have combined to average more than 35 points per game as the only two Panthers in double figures.  Also the team's leading rebounder (5.1 rpg), Adams is shooting an amazing 72 percent from the floor, good for second in the nation.  Meanwhile, Bundy paces the squad in assists (4.4 apg) and steals (2.4 spg).

GREYHOUNDS vs. PANTHERS
Though Drury has won 32 straight games dating back to last season, the Panthers' last defeat came at the hands of the Hounds -- a 72-69 loss in Nicoson Hall last January.  Leland Brown posted his first career double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Hounds, while Cheatham scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half.

Drury got its revenge in the GLVC Tournament, however, notching a 77-72 win versus UIndy in the conference quarterfinals.  Tyrae Robinson led all players with 24 points, but the top-seeded Panthers built a 13-point lead at the half and shot 53 percent from the field after the break to hold off the Hounds.

Overall, Drury owns an 8-2 record in 10 all-time meetings with the Greyhounds.  Coincidentally, UIndy has scored 72 points in each of the previous three games versus the Panthers.

LAST TIME OUT
UIndy picked up a pair of Division II wins last month in its first-ever trip to Puerto Rico.  The Hounds knocked off UPR-Rio Piedras and UPR-Bayamon on back-to-back nights to finish their non-conference slate with a perfect 8-0 mark.

UIndy first took on Rio Piedras, handing the Gallitos a 75-61 defeat.  The Greyhounds shot 71 percent from the floor in the second half to pull away.  Cheatham led the way with 20 points, followed by Robinson's 14 and Joe Lawson's 12.

The following evening, UIndy staged an 84-75 come-from-behind win versus the host Vaqueros.  UPRB led by as much as 13 late in the first half, but the Greyhounds outscored the home team by 22 points in the game's final 23 minutes to earn the "W."

The Vaqueros built a 41-28 advantage with 3:30 left in the first, but UIndy ended the half on a 13-2 run, then opened the second half with seven unanswered points to take control.

Lawson delivered a game-high 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, adding eight rebounds and three steals.

1,000-POINT CLUB
Senior Reece Cheatham is on the verge of joining an exclusive group, as the Pike High School grad enters the weekend 43 points shy of becoming the 36th student-athlete to score 1,000 points for the Crimson and Grey.

In 65 games in a Greyhound uniform, Cheatham has averaged 14.7 points per contest.  At that pace, the 5-11 guard would crack the school's top 20 in career points before season's end.

TOP-10 TALLIES
In addition to being one of only 15 Division II teams to finish the fall semester without a loss, UIndy enters the New Year ranked in the top 10 in the nation a number of statistical categories.  The Hound rank third in D-II in field goal percentage (.545), fifth in rebounding margin (+12.5 rpg), sixth in scoring margin (+22.1 ppg), seventh in scoring offense (92.8 ppg) and 10th in assist-to-turnover ration (1.64)

POLL POSITION
The Greyhounds jumped five spots to No. 16 in the latest NABC/Division II Top 25 Poll, marking the largest upward climb of any team this week.  The Hounds have received votes in five consecutive polls and have now been in the top 25 the last three.

Joining UIndy in the rankings were fellow-GLVC-members Bellarmine (No. 2), Drury (3), Southern Indiana (8) and Lewis (22).  Bellarmine and Drury remained static in their respective top-three positions, while USI climbed one spot and Lewis made its 2013-14 coaches' poll debut.

BLOCK PARTY
At 1.6 blocks per game, junior Joe Lawson ranks third in the GLVC in blocked shots.  The last time a Greyhound averaged at least one block per contest was back in 2006-07 when Braxton Mills averged 1.1 per.

Lawson also tops the league with 3.9 offensive rebounds per game.

HOT START
Winners of their first eight contests, the Greyhounds are four wins shy of matching last year's 12-0 start.  The program record for most wins to start a season is 18, held by the 1996-97 club.