19 Drury Panthers (7-2, 1-0) at 7 UIndy Greyhounds (9-0, 1-0)
Friday, Jan. 2, 7:45 pm ET, Nicoson Hall
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Missouri S&T Miners (6-2, 0-1)* at 7 UIndy Greyhounds (9-0, 1-0)*
Sunday, Jan. 4, 3:15 pm ET, Nicoson Hall
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_{* as of Jan. 1}

ON TAP
The No. 7 Greyhounds open the New Year by returning to conference play to host GLVC-West-members Drury and Missouri S&T Friday night and Sunday afternoon, respectively.  DU is the defending Midwest Region champion while S&T sports the conference's highest-scoring offense.

ABOUT DRURY
Drury (7-2) comes into Nicoson Hall with a No. 19 ranking in the latest D-II coaches poll.  The Panthers were ranked as high as No. 4 earlier this season but have dropped of late since enduring two pre-conference losses.

They recently dropped a close 64-60 decision to then-fifth-ranked Tarleton State at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas Dec. 18.  Their only other defeat came on the road in a 60-47 final versus 2014 NCAA regional finalist Northwest Missouri State Nov. 25.

DU's roster features all-conference performers Kameron Bundy and Cameron Adams.  Bundy leads the team in scoring (18.4 ppg), assists (3.6 apg) and steals (2.1 spg), while Adams (17.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg) tops the GLVC in both free throws made and free throws attempted, ranking 13th and 16th in Division II, respectively.

Drury is led by 11th-year head coach Steve Hesser.  Hesser has guided the Panthers to an impressive 66-10 record since the start of the 2012-13 season, a run that includes one GLVC crown, two trips to the Elite Eight and a national championship (2013).  Furthermore, Drury has won or shared the GLVC West Division title in six of the last nine years, all under Hesser's tutelage.

GREYHOUNDS vs. PANTHERS
UIndy trails the Panthers, 7-2, in the all-time series.  On Jan. 5 of last year, Drury earned a 83-69 victory on its home court.  Up just two at the break, DU managed a 12-3 run early in the second half and never led by less than five the rest of the way.  Joe Lawson paced the Hounds with 16 points, while Adams topped all scorers with 21.

ABOUT MISSOURI S&T
The Miners carry a 6-2 mark into Friday night's game at Saint Joseph's.  Both losses came against quality opponents: a 93-70 defeat at defending-national-champ Central Missouri Nov. 18, and a 79-63 home loss to then-No.-14 Drury Dec. 6.

A year after leading the conference in scoring, the Miners again feature the GLVC's most prolific offense, scoring 89.1 points per game.  They also lead the league in steals (13.0 spg) and offensive rebounding (16.2 orpg), good for fifth and eighth in Division II, respectively.
 
Three Miners average double figures in scoring, led by junior Zach Ellis (15.9 ppg) and Desmond Buerge (14.4 ppg).  Junior Marcus Walden (5.4 rpg) is the team's leading rebounder while freshman Juwan Miller (4.3 apg) is the top play maker.

GREYHOUNDS vs. MINERS
UIndy has won six of the eight games versus S&T since the Miners joined the GLVC in 2005-06.  The mark includes a perfect 4-0 record at Nicoson Hall.

Last season, the Hounds opened conference play with a 86-82 win in Rolla Jan. 3.  UIndy seniors Reece Cheatham and Tyrae Robinson combined for 44 points.  As a team, UIndy finished the game with a stellar 25-for-29 (.862) performance at the line, including a perfect 18-for-18 combined effort from Cheatham and Robinson.

LAST TIME OUT
Prior to this week's match-ups, the Greyhounds will have played just two games in the last 27 days.  The two games where big ones, however, as UIndy earned a pair of Division II wins at the Cruizin' Classic in Miami Shores, Fla., prior to the holiday break.

The Hounds started the annual event by taking down then-eighth-ranked and host Barry University Dec. 16, erasing a 12-point second-half deficit to earn a 78-73 win.  UIndy capped its stay in South Florida with a decisive 78-51 win over Daemen College two days later.

GLVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Jordan Loyd was named the GLVC Player of the Week for his performance at the Cruizin' Classic.  The Atlanta, Ga., native averaged 24 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two games while shooting 70 percent from the floor.  Loyd poured in 17 of his team-team 21 points in the second half to fuel the comeback win at Barry.  He followed that with a career-high 27 points in the win against Daemen.

FROM LOYD TO GLOYD
Like his aforementioned teammate, junior Salim Gloyd has excelled as of late.  A transfer from Santa Fe College in Florida, Gloyd has come off the Greyhound bench to average 14 points and 6.3 boards over the previous three games.  The 6-6 wing has been particularly deadly from 3-pont range, hitting 11 of 21 (.524) attempts on the season, including a 4-for-7 effort at Barry.

POLL POSITION
UIndy climbed two spots to No. 7 in the latest NABC/Division II top 25 poll, released Tuesday.  The Greyhounds have now been ranked in the top 10 in eight of the last 14 coaches polls dating back to last season and are one of only nine undefeated teams remaining in Division II.

PLAYING THE FIELD
Sporting an even .700 career field goal percentage, fifth-year senior Brennan McElroy not only owns the UIndy record in the category, but also leads all active NCAA players (all divisions) in the stat.  Furthermore, three of the top five and five of the top 15 Division II shooters hail from the GLVC, including Drury's Cameron Adams, who ranks fifth in D-II and 10th overall.

NCAA LEADERS (ALL DIVISIONS), CAREER FG PCT

RK	PLAYER	YR	POS	PCT*
1.	Brennan McElroy, UIndy	Sr.	F	.7000
2.	Davene Carter, Tarleton St.	Sr.	F	.6997
3.	Jake Thelen, Bellarmine	Sr.	F	.689
4.	John Swords, Bowdoin	Sr.	C	.667
5.	Egidijus Mockevicius, Evansville	Jr.	C	.640
6.	Jarvis Williams, Murray St.	Sr.	F	.634
7.	Emilio Parks, Johnson C. Smith	Sr.	F	.634
8.	Sim Bhullar, New Mexico St.	Jr.	C	.633
9.	Michael Lofton, Bridgewater St.	Sr.	F	.632
10.	Cameron Adams, Drury	Sr.	F	.632

* min. 240 FG made     D-II players in bold      GLVC players in bold italics

ASSISTED LIVING
Junior Lucas Barker continues to lead all Division II players in assists.  The Australian point guard and Kentucky Wesleyan transfer averages 8.4 dimes per game, helping the Greyhounds rank fourth in D-II as a team at 21.1 assists per.

Barker, who also averages 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest, has totaled 10 or more assists in three of UIndy's nine games to date, including back-to-back 11-assist performances versus Grace and Purdue North Central.

START YOUR ENGINES
UIndy has started 9-0 for the third year in a row.  The best start for a Stan Gouard-led team is 12-0 back in 2012-13, while the program record for wins to start a season is 18 by the 1996-97 Greyhounds.