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Ryan Thorpe

Men's Basketball Ryan Thorpe, Assistant A.D. for Media Relations

Division rivals visit Nicoson Hall in season's final homestand

Thursday, Feb. 20, 7:45 p.m., Indianapolis, Ind.
20 USI Screaming Eagles (19-4, 11-4) at 4 UIndy Greyhounds (21-2, 13-2)
audio  |  video  |  live stats  |  game notes


Saturday, Feb. 22, 7:45 p.m., Indianapolis, Ind.
Bellarmine Knights (18-5, 10-5)* at 4 UIndy Greyhounds (21-2, 13-2)*
audio  |  video  |  live stats  |  game notes

ON TAP

The No. 4 Greyhounds put their nine-game winning streak and perfect home record on the line when a pair of GLVC East powers visit Nicoson Hall this week, starting with Southern Indiana Thursday night.

HOUNDS ON TV
Produced by WebStream Productions, Thursday game versus USI will be broadcast live on  WRTV 6.2 HTSN.  Click here to find where to tune into HTSN in your area.  The game will also be streamed live at theindychannel.com/live-video and on the RTV app.

ABOUT SOUTHERN INDIANA
Riding a three-game winning streak, USI comes into play this week with a No. 20 ranking in the latest Division II coaches' poll.  The Screaming Eagles are led by fifth-year head coach Rodney Watson, who is 114-28 (.803) in his time as USI's mentor.  The Eagles are one win shy of their fifth straight 20-win season under Watson and sixth straight overall.

GLVC Player of the Year candidate Aaron Nelson leads all of Division II in rebounding (13.0 rpg) and double-doubles (18).  The 6-8 senior forward averages 19.8 points per contest, good for fourth in the GLVC.

Senior Lawrence Thomas (10.7 ppg, 3.9 apg) paces the conference in 3-point percentage (.500) and is sixth in assist-to-turnover margin (2.7).

As a team, the Eagles rank second in the nation in rebounding margin at +14.6 boards per game.  UIndy is a distant second among GLVC teams at +5.6.

MARGIN FOR ERROR
Though they've had success in the rebounding department, USI's turnover numbers may raise an eyebrow.  The Eagles rank 15th in the 16-team GLVC in turnover margin, committing an average of three more turnovers than they force.  Meanwhile, UIndy ranks first in the league and ninth in D-II in the statistic, forcing five more miscues than its opponents.

GREYHOUNDS vs. SCREAMING EAGLES
USI is the last team to defeat the Greyhounds this season.  The 73-64 final came on Jan. 18 in Evansville when the Eagles, ranked 10th at the time, overcame 22 turnovers by sinking 37 of a staggering 44 free throw attempts.  USI's 44 trips to the line were the most by a UIndy opponent since Kentucky Wesleyan shot 45 FTs on Nov. 28, 2004.  UIndy's Tyrae Robinson and USI's Lawrence Thomas each scored a game-high 16 points.

Overall, the Eagles own a commanding 53-18 (.746) advantage in head-to-head meetings with the Greyhounds.  The gap is much closer in Indianapolis, as USI is 19-14 (.576) on the  Nicoson Hall hardwood.

USI has won the last four contests between the in-state rivals, with UIndy's last win coming in a 65-59 home victory Feb. 4, 2012.  The Eagles were ranked No. 8 at the time.  Leland Brown, Reece Cheatham and Joe Daniels are the only current Greyhounds to have played in that game.

ABOUT BELLARMINE
The Knights hit a rough patch in January that saw them drop four games in a five-game stretch and fall out of the national ranking.  It marked the end of a run of 54 consecutive weeks in the Division II coaches poll - the second-longest active streak at the time (West Liberty).

BU has won five of its last six decisions, however, building an 18-5 record heading into Thursday's game at Saint Joseph's.  Four of the Knights' five losses have come by exactly two points, with their only loss of more than a bucket coming in a 76-68 final at Lewis Jan. 25.

Statistically, Bellarmine tops Division II in team field goal percentage (.525) while also leading the GLVC in assists (18.6 apg) and blocked shots (5.4 bpg).  Its +13.0 scoring margin is second only to UIndy's +15.0 among the GLVC leaders.

The Knights are led in scoring by senior Keisten Jones (15.9 ppg) and junior Jake Thelen (15.8 ppg).  Jones ranks third in the GLVC in 3-point percentage (.459) while Thelen paces all NCAA student-athletes (all divisions) in field goal percentage (.741).

Defensively, the Hounds will need to keep track of 6-10 sophomore George Suggs, who leads the conference and ranks 27th in D-II in blocks (2.3 bpg).

The Knights, who hold to distinction of being the only team to defeat Drury so far this season, have qualified for the NCAA Tournament each of the previous five years under head coach Scott Davenport.  BU advanced to the regional final (third round) last season, the Final Four in 2012 and won the national title in 2011.

GREYHOUNDS vs. KNIGHTS
Bellarmine holds a 48-42 (.533) edge in 90 all-time meetings with the Hounds.  Separated by just 115 miles, the two teams first met during the 1955-56 season, with UIndy (then called Indiana Central College) defeating the Knights, 95-86.

After the Knights eliminated UIndy from the NCAA Regional last season, the Hounds enacted some revenge with an 81-79 win over then-second-ranked Bellarmine in Louisville Jan. 16.  In a game that featured 10 ties and a whopping 19 lead changes, the Hounds hung 49 points on the board in the second stanza to overcome a three-point halftime deficit.  Senior Tyrae Robinson scored 17 of his game-high 19 points after the break, while senior Reece Cheatham added 12 second-half points to total 17.

The Greyhounds also earned a win at Knights Hall last season, snapping BU's impressive 29-game home winning streak - the longest in Division II at the time.

SENIOR NIGHT
UIndy will honor its five seniors before Saturday's game.  Leland Brown, Reece Cheatham, Joe Daniels, Jared Grady and Tyrae Robinson have combined to play a total of 365 games for the Crimson and Grey, helping UIndy to a 80-29 (.734) record the previous four seasons.  That mark is one win shy of breaking the program record for most victories in a four-year period (80 wins, 1960-64).

In addition, this year's seniors are also on the verge of leading UIndy to four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths for the first time in program history.

LAST TIME OUT
UIndy won its ninth straight with an 84-74 home victory against visiting Quincy Saturday afternoon.  The Greyhounds trailed by four at the half but shot 50 percent from the field after the break on the way to 47 second-half points.  Four Hounds scored in double figures, led by Robinson's 20 points.

HOMELAND SECURITY
Winner of its last 14 home contests, UIndy is 25-3 (.893) at Nicoson Hall over the past two seasons, including a perfect 11-0 mark at home this year.  The last team to beat the Hounds on their home court was former-GLVC-member Kentucky Wesleyan in a tight 74-73 final Feb. 16, 2013.

TOURNEY TIME
The GLVC Tournament picture is beginning to take shape.  With just three league games left on the schedule, seven of the 12 tourney spots are spoken for, while Drury has already clinched the West Division title.

With Parkside enduring road losses to Drury and Missouri S&T last week, UIndy has sole possession of the East Division lead.  The Hounds are hoping to clinch one of the top-four seeds to earn a first-round bye.

The 2014 GLVC Championship Tournament starts with four first-round games on campus sites Sunday, Mar. 2.  The winners of those games will join the top seeds in Evansville, Ind., for the tourney quarterfinals Friday, Mar. 7.

20/20 VISION
The victory against Truman State last week was the Greyhounds' 20th of the season, ensuring the program's first-ever stretch of three consecutive 20-win campaigns.

Furthermore, they are just the third UIndy men's basketball team to hit the 20-win plateau in game No. 22 of less, as the 1963-64 and the 1996-97 UIndy teams both turned the trick.  The latter aquad had only one loss when it won No. 20, while the former had just two.  Those teams went on to finish with records of 26-3 and 23-5, respectively.

CENTURY CLUB
Head coach Stan Gouard joined an elite club last week by becoming just the fifth coach in program history to win 100 games.  In his sixth year at UIndy, Gouard sports a 101-63 (.616) record heading into play Thursday.  He joins Harry Good (1928-43), Angus Nicoson (1947-74), Todd Sturgeon (1997-07) and Royce Waltman (1992-97, 2007-08) as the only Greyhound men's basketball coaches with 100 wins at the school.

POLL POSITION
The Hounds inched up one spot to No. 4 in the latest NABC/Division II Top 25 Poll, marking their highest ranking since earning the No. 3 spot in the final poll of 1996-97.

UIndy's highest-ever ranking came Jan. 28, 1997, when the Hounds spend their only week as the No. 1 team in the country.  After that season, UIndy did not reach the top five again until Jan. 15 of last year.

The Greyhounds have been ranked in the top 25 for 10 consecutive polls and have now been in the top 10 for the last four.  Joining them in the rankings are fellow-GLVC-members Drury (No. 2), Southern Indiana (20), Lewis (23) and Wisconsin-Parkside (25).  The GLVC's five ranked teams are the most for any Division II conference.

STAYING POWER
UIndy's current stretch of 10 straight weeks in the top 25 ties the longest  such streak in school history.  It matches the previous record shared by the 1996-97 and 2012-13 teams.

1K CLUB
In a 85-59 rout of visiting Rockhurst Jan. 9, senior Reece Cheatham became the 36th player to score 1,000 career points in a Greyhound uniform.  He enters Thursday's game with 1,164 career points, good for 25th in the school annals.  He needs just seven points to pass former-teammate and All-American Darius Adams for 24th.

UIndy's All-time Leading Scorers
1. David Logan (2001-05) 2352
...
23. Bob Smock (1965-69) 1203
24. Darius Adams (2009-11) 1170
25. Reece Cheatham (2011-14) 1164
26. Jim Farmer (1973-77) 1109

THIS ONE GOES TO 11
The Greyhounds rank in the top 11 in Division II in a seven statistical categories tracked by the NCAA.  Here is a bulleted list:

Win percentage 7th .913
FG percentage 8th .514
Scoring offense 8th 88.1
Scoring margin 9th 15
Turnover margin 9th +5.0
Steals per game 11th 9.3
Assist-to-turnover ratio 11th 1.55

GREAT LAKES, GREAT SHOOTING
Five of the Division II's top-10 best-shooting teams hail from the GLVC, including all three teams in action at Nicoson Hall this week.

Division II Leaders in FG percentage
RK SCHOOL PCT
1 Bellarmine .5254
2 Wis.-Parkside .5251
3 Colorado Mines .523
4 Bemidiji State .520
5 Texas A&M Int'l .519
6 Seattle Pacific .516
7 Lincoln Memorial .515
8 UIndy .514
9 Drury .513
10 Southern Indiana .506

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