OPENING TIP
UIndy has the opportunity to open the 2016-17 regular season at home, hosting Ashland and Lake Erie as part of the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge in Nicoson Hall.
 
GLVC/GLIAC CHALLENGE
The Greyhounds began 2015-16 facing the same two opponents on the road, when Ashland hosted its own version of the conference crossover. Southern Indiana will be the other GLVC team in the mix this weekend, as the Screaming Eagles face Lake Erie Saturday (5 p.m.) and Ashland Sunday (2:30 p.m.).
 
ABOUT THE EAGLES
Now in his 11th season, Head Coach John Ellenwood and his Ashland Eagles will have high expectations within the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and Midwest Region. The Eagles were picked to finish second in the GLIAC South Division, and also received votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Preseason Top 25.
 
Perhaps the most notable news from AU's preseason camp was the season-ending injury suffered by senior forward Wendell Davis, leaving the Eagles without their two-time All-Region forward, who is 13th on Ashland's all-time scoring list.
 
Ashland is now led by senior guard Boo Osborne, who was selected to the GLIAC South Division preseason all-conference team. The veteran-laden Eagles also start senior Adrian Cook and juniors Marsalis Hamilton and Teddy Letzen, and have added Malone transfer and 2014-15 GLIAC Freshman of the Year Ben Haraway into the mix.
 
In their lone tune-up prior to the start of the regular season, the Eagles defeated Division III College of Wooster, 85-81, in overtime back on Nov. 4. Osborne led Ashland with 20 points.
 
GREYHOUNDS VS. EAGLES
UIndy and Ashland met twice last season, once in early November and again in the NCAA Tournament. The unranked Eagles defeated then-No. 8 UIndy ... during the regular season contest, but the Hounds - now the unranked squad - responded with a 77-60 victory in the NCAA Midwest Regional to end the 12th-ranked Eagles' season.
 
The two sides have met a total of 35 times, with the Hounds holding a slight 19-16 series edge against the Eagles.
 
ABOUT THE STORM
Lake Erie enters 2016-17 with a new head coach after Cliff Hunt announced his retirement following 11 seasons with the Storm. Kyle Conley was elevated to Head Coach after spending seven seasons on the Storm sideline as an assistant.
 
He will be tasked with continuing to build Lake Erie up to a competitive Division II program after transitioning from D-III back in 2010. Conley inherits a team that was 10-18 (7-15 GLIAC) and will be competing in its last year in the GLIAC before moving to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) in 2017.
 
The Storm graduated six seniors from last season's squad, but brings in two freshmen (Lamont Rhodes and Gabe Kynard) ranked in the Top 100 in Ohio by John Stovall of Prep Spotlight. Indianapolis (Lawrence North) product Sean Howard is the team's leading returning scorer at 10.5 points per game in 2015-16.
 
GREYHOUNDS VS. STORM
UIndy and Lake Erie have met just three times, twice in 2009 and again in the 2015-16 season opener. The teams split the first two contests, which were played only 13 days apart, but the Greyhounds took last year's game in thrilling fashion, winning 72-69 on a Lucas Barker buzzer-beater.
 
LATE TIME OUT
UIndy finished its preseason competition with an exhibition at Division I Ball State Nov. 4, falling 74-64 in a hard-fought contest. The Hounds led by as many as 13 at one point, and held a lead for more than 15 minutes of game time.
 
Sophomore Jesse Kempson's 16-point, 11-rebound double-double paced the Greyhounds, and teammates Eric Davidson and Jimmy King added 13 and 11 points, respectively. A full recap and box score can be found on page 18.
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Greyhounds have complied an impressive 87-26 record in Nicoson Hall under Stan Gouard, including a 25-1 mark over the last two seasons. The lone loss over that stretch was a 92-87 decision in last season's home opener against Hillsdale. That game was also Gouard's only home-opening defeat while at UIndy, as the ninth-year head man looks to improve on a solid 7-1 record in Nicoson Hall debuts against Ashland.
 
THE MIDWEST MATTERS
Although it's still the early stages of the campaign, the first stretch of games in November for the Greyhounds could have an impact on their NCAA Tournament hopes in March. Facing four GLIAC opponents out of the gate, UIndy will look to add to its NCAA resume right away.
 
The Hounds started 2015-16 against the same four squads - albeit with home and road designation swapped. UIndy defeated Lake Erie (72-69) and Lake Superior State (93-75), but lost to Ashland (75-67) and Hillsdale (92-87).
 
GOUARD VS. THE GLIAC
Since taking over as Head Coach in 2008-09, Stan Gouard is 18-8 against members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, including both regular season and NCAA Tournament games.
 
WELCOME TO THE CIRCLE CITY
Greyhound basketball fans will get their first look at several UIndy newcomers this weekend.
 
Junior D.J. Davis joins the Hounds after a couple of seasons at Division I South Dakota, where he started 31 games in 2015-16. He led the Coyotes and ranked tenth in the Summit League in steals, while ranking ninth in assists per game. Davis finished the season third on the squad averaging 9.2 points, scoring a career-high 17 against Milwaukee. He finished with nine points, three assists, three boards and a steal in UIndy's exhibition last week.
 
Roderick Davis is a transfer from Wright State, where he saw mixed action over two seasons. As a back-up center during his true freshman campaign, Davis set career marks with 17 points and seven boards at Oakland. He made the start and played 19 minutes last week at Ball State, recording five points and three rebounds.
 
Big man Milos Cabarkapa spent three seasons at Central Michigan (one as a redshirt), playing in 30 games for the Chippewas. The Academic All-MAC selection set career highs with nine points and seven rebounds as a freshman versus Alma. He saw nine minutes of action in the Hounds' exhibition, totaling six rebounds and four points.
 
Redshirt-sophomore guard Jalen Manumaleuga will join UIndy after two seasons at Jackson State, a D-I program competing in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. He played three minutes as a reserve guard in UIndy's exhibition.
 
Rookies Tate Hall (18 minutes) and Micah Rosser (14) also played significant minutes at Ball State, and should factor into the UIndy rotation as true freshmen.
 
PRESEASON POLLS
UIndy was selected to finish tied for third in the GLVC East Division in the coaches Preseason Poll. The Hounds received one first-place vote, and totaled 88 points to tie Lewis' point total. Bellarmine was selected to finish tops in the division with 114 points and nine first-place votes, followed by Wisconsin-Parkside (90 points, two votes). The complete poll is located on the righthand side of this page.
 
On the national level, UIndy is ranked No. 17 in the Division II Bulletin Preseason Top 25, and sits just three spots out of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) pre-season rankings.