OPENING TIP
UIndy heads south to meet a pair Sunshine State Conference members, facing Nova Southeastern Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET, and Barry Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE SHARKS
Nova Southeastern is located in Davie, Fla., a town sitting just west of Fort Lauderdale. The Sharks are just 2-6 this season, but have already met three nationally ranked opponents. NSU won one of those competitions - 81-78 against then-No. 20 Southern Connecticut State - but most recently fell to No. 5 West Liberty, 84-67. Led by 13th-year head man Gary Tuell, the Sharks are looking for their first winning season since 2012-13 while competing in one of the nation's toughest conferences.
 
NSU is led in scoring by senior forward Harrison Goodrick, who's averaging 18 points per game while shooting almost 55 percent. Junior forward Gerard Tarin is also averaging nearly a double-double with 11.7 points and 9.1 boards per game.
 
GREYHOUNDS VS. SHARKS
UIndy has faced Nova Southeastern only once, winning a 76-62 decision back on Dec. 19, 2002 on a neutral court.
 
ABOUT THE BUCCANEERS
The Barry Buccaneers, located in Miami Shores, enter next Monday's match against the Greyhounds ranked 14th in the latest NABC Top 25, sporting a 7-1 overall record, including a perfect 5-0 mark at home. Butch Estes, now in his fourth season with Barry, has led the Bucs to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. The Bucs reached the NCAA Elite Eight last year after winning the South Region.
 
Barry has excelled offensively this season, ranking in the top ten in D-II averaging 94.5 points per game while shooting nearly 53 percent. The Bucs lead the country in average teams assists (23.9), helping account for almost 12 3-pointers per game (seventh in D-II).
 
Junior guard Elvar Fridriksson is currently third in the nation averaging 8.3 assists per game, and led D-II with 267 assists (8.1 per) a season ago. Five Bucs are scoring in double figures this year, paced by senior forward Adrian Gonzalez's 20.9.
 
GREYHOUNDS VS. BUCCANEERS
UIndy and Barry have squared off four times, with the Hounds holding a 3-1 series edge against the Bucs. The two sides last met in 2014, when the No. 9 Greyhounds defeated No. 8 Barry in a 78-73 thriller on the Bucs' home court. UIndy overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to steal the win, which was part of the Hounds' historic 17-0 start to the season as they rose to No. 1 in the nation.
 
LATE TIME OUT
The Hounds snapped a two-game skid with a convincing 85-62 victory against NAIA-member Olivet Nazarene last Saturday. UIndy had five individuals in double figures, including Tate Hall (18 points), Eric Davidson (17), Alex Etherington (12), Jesse Kempson (12) and Jimmy King (11).
 
Defensively, UIndy forced ONU to turn the ball over 21 times, leading to 32 points. The Hounds totaled a season-high 11 steals while keeping the Tigers to a season-low 62 points.
 
Click here for the full recap. .
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The Greyhounds are on a road swing that has them playing nine of 10 games away from Nicoson Hall. This span included the first GLVC contests of the season, at Wisconsin-Parkside (Dec. 1) and Lewis (Dec. 3), and also encompasses the first two games of 2017 at Missouri-St. Louis (Jan. 7) and Maryville (Jan. 9).
 
This road stretch will see the Hounds travel as far north as Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and as far south as Miami Shores, Fla., cities located roughly 1,700 miles apart.
 
DEVELOPING ON D
Defense has been an area of concern for the Hounds this season, but the Crimson and Grey have shown a sizeable improvement in their defensive efforts over the last three games. Through the first five games of the season, UIndy was allowing a 49.5% opponent shooting percentage and giving up 86.2 points per game. Across the previous three contests, the Hounds brought both of those numbers down to 44.5% and 66.2, respectively. UIndy will need to continue its recent trend to slow down a Barry team scoring nearly 95 points per game.
 
BUMPY START
With last weekend's loss at Lewis, the Hounds will have at least five losses prior to the New Year since Gouard's first season (2008-09), when UIndy started 1-5 out of the gate. It's also UIndy's first 0-2 start in GLVC play since that same season, in which the Hounds fell to former member Northern Kentucky and Bellarmine in early December.
 
GRAND THEFT GREYHOUNDS
UIndy is third in the GLVC averaging nearly eight steals per game as a team, led by Ajay Lawton (1.9 per game) and Hall (1.6), who each rank in the top ten individually.
 
MAKING THE FREE ONES COUNT
After a stellar year at the free throw line a season ago, the Greyhounds are excelling at the stripe thus far in 2016-17. UIndy ranks third in the GLVC and 17th in D-II with a 77 percent shooting clip from the line, led by Davidson (92.9%) and King (80.8%), who rank third and 13th in the conference, respectively, based on NCAA minimums*.
 
Not only do the Hounds make their freebies at a high rate, but their percentage increases during crunch time**, where they are shooting over 88 percent (23 of 26). Hall leads UIndy with a 6-for-6 mark in crunch time free throws. The complete breakdown for this statistic can be found on page 15 of the game notes.
 
* Min. 2.5 made per game, must play in 75% of team's games
** Crunch time free throws are all attempts in the final five minutes of regulation and any overtime period, with a margin of 10 points or less when the players goes to the free throw line.
 
STAN THE MILESTONE MAN
Stan Gouard, now in his ninth season at the helm of the UIndy men's basketball program, recently moved to third on the all-time wins list ahead of Todd Sturgeon (1997-2007). With 153 total victories, Gouard trails only Harry Good (195 wins) and legendary coach Angus Nicoson (483) among the career rankings. His .642 career win percentage is also second all-time, behind Good's .789 mark.
 
SUNSHINE STATE NATIVE
Junior big man Roderick Davis will be playing in his home state when the Hounds travel to meet Nova Southeastern and Barry, competing just a few hours from his hometown of Brandon, Fla. It will be the first collegiate games played in Florida for Davis, a transfer from Wright State.
 
GREYHOUNDS IN THE RANKINGS
Several Greyhounds are ranked near the top of the GLVC and NCAA for a handful of individual statistics. Below is a look at some of the higher-ranked Hounds, based on the NCAA minimums for each respective stat:

Name	Stat	Value	GLVC Rk.	NCAA Rk.
Jesse Kempson	Blks/gm	1.5	6	87
	Def. Rb/gm	5.5	6	130
	FG%	50.50%	12	170
	Pts/gm	16	14	220
Jimmy King	A/T ratio	2.1	9	117
	Ast/gm	3.6	13	193
	FT%	80.80%	13	180
Ajay Lawton	Stls/gm	1.9	5	112
Eric Davidson	FT%	92.90%	3	21
Tate Hall	Stls/gm	1.6	9	179

BANKERS LIFE ON THE HORIZON
UIndy is about one month away from competing against Saint Joseph's College in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Jan. 16, 2017. The Greyhounds and Pumas will meet in the 18,165-seat arena, home to both the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. The women's and men's games will follow the Pacers versus New Orleans Pelicans contest, which is scheduled for a 4 p.m. Eastern start, with the women's sides tipping off first. Click here for more information.