UIndy Greyhounds vs. Grand Valley State Lakers
Sunday, Nov. 17, 1 p.m. ET, Nicoson Hall, Indianapolis

ON TAP
The UIndy men's basketball team concludes its short two-game home stand on Sunday, hosting Grand Valley State for a key in-region battle from Nicoson Hall. 

It will be the ninth all-time meeting between the programs, as the rivalry reignited last season when the Greyhounds downed the Lakers in Allendale, 88-80.

ABOUT GRAND VALLEY
The Lakers are off to a 3-0 start after picking three in-region wins to begin the season. Junior Jake Van Tubbergen is averaging 24.3 points per game after a breakout 32-point performance on Thursday against Truman. 

Van Tubbergen has made his mark in Allendale, earning All-GLIAC Second-Team honors each of his first two seasons, including the league's freshman of the year award in 2017-18. The Holland, Mich. native also cleans up on the glass, recording 10.3 rebounds per contest to average a double-double early this season. 

Jeremiah Ferguson (13.3) and Christian Negron (12.0) also average double figures for Grand Valley State, with Negron grabbing 7.7 rebounds per game. Ferguson handles point guard duties for the Lakers, averaging 5.0 assists per game. 

Head coach Ric Wesley is now in his 16th season, and has had a plethora of success during his time in Allendale. Wesley has led the Lakers to six NCAA tournaments, including a pair of Elite Eight appearances. The Lakers advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional last season for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

LAST TIME OUT
The UIndy men's basketball team squeaked out a 79-78 win on Tuesday evening, inching by the Bluejays to win its third straight to open the season. Jimmy King drilled a fade-away jumper off the glass to give the Greyhounds the lead for good, before Marcus Latham sank a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
 
Jordache Mavunga led the team with 18 points, while Jacob Polakovich tallied eight in the second half.

The Bluejays drilled their first five 3-pointers to quickly build a 17-5 lead early at Nicoson Hall. Latham provided a spark off the bench, hitting a jump to beat the buzzer to get the Greyhounds within three at halftime.

The second half was a battle, going back and forth until Cory Miller Jr. scored a layup on a fast break to knot the game at 60 apiece. Elmhurst answered, however, carrying a 73-70 advantage with just over two minutes remaining.
 
It was moments later Latham netted a 3-pointer for his first field goal in 13 minutes to setup the King game-winner.

ROOKIE MOVEMENT
Four true freshmen saw action on Tuesday against Elmhurst, totaling 26 minutes between them. Greenwood native Ben Nicoson led the group with 10 minutes of court time, while Kendrick Tchoua led in the box score with four points and three rebounds. 

At one point in the first half, all four freshmen were on the court with junior transfer Cory Miller Jr.

LIVING LEGACY
UIndy freshman guard Ben Nicoson is a fourth-generation Greyhound, following in the footsteps of Angus (great grandfather), Dan (grandfather) and Brent (father). Nicoson Hall, home of UIndy basketball, is named after Angus, who is the program's all-time wins leader as a coach with 483 victories.

Brent is the head coach for both golf teams at UIndy, and has won two national titles (2015 and 2018) with the women's squad.

SOPHOMORE SURGE
Sophomore Jacob Polakovich did not draw a start during UIndy's exhibition schedule, but earned the nod in the team's first three regular season games. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native is averaging 10 points and 5.7 rebounds in each of the first three contests.

TAKING CHARITY
After struggling from the charity stripe in the season-opening win over Saginaw Valley with a nine-for-18 clip, the Greyhounds have sunk 40 of the last 48 from the free-throw line against Northwood and Elmhurst. Marcus Latham was a perfect 10 for 10 from the stripe in that stretch, while Jordache Mavunga has sent through eight of his last nine attempts.

NEWCOMER LANE
UIndy boasts a high number of newcomers in 2019-20, with eight of the team's 16 players tabbed as newcomers this season. Of the eight, five are freshmen and three are transfers, with Dee Montgomery (Purdue Fort Wayne) and Trevor Banks (Arkansas Pine Bluff) coming in from NCAA DI programs. Cory Miller Jr. was named an All-America First-Team selection his final season at John Wood CC. 

Jesse Bingham was named an Indiana All-Star after his senior season at Warren Central, the lone NCAA DII commit to earn the distinction. Joining Bingham as rookies for UIndy are fellow all-state players Josh Bryan, Frankie Davidson and Kendrick Tchoua, along with Ben Nicoson. 

HOMEGROWN HOUNDS
UIndy has five players from the Indianapolis area, including Jesse Bingham (Warren Central) and Jimmy King (Roncalli). Overall, head coach Stan Gouard has 10 players from the state of Indiana.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
Six GLVC members remain unblemished to begin the season including newcomer Lindenwood. Bellarmine added a win against rival Kentucky Wesleyan earlier this week, while Drury, Illinois Springfield and Lindenwood all earned wins against non-DII programs. Junior Prairie Star Keymonta Johnson earned the league's first Player of the Week distinction on Monday.

Southern Indiana downed Hillsdale and Malone over the weekend to kick off the 2019-20 campagin 2-0.

GLVC POINT RATING SYSTEM
For the third straight season, the GLVC will determine its conference standings by using a designated point rating system. Points shall be awarded for each conference contest.

The eight teams with the highest ratings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the postseason tournament. There are no automatic qualifying bids to divisional champions, nor is there a number of tournament bids allocated for each of the three five-team divisions. Team ratings, which will be determined by total points divided by league games played, may not be comparable with other teams in the league given each team's bye this season. A given team's win or loss early in the conference season will have an assigned point value based on their opponent's winning percentage, although that point value is likely to fluctuate should that opponent improve or weaken throughout the remainder of the conference season.

7 points – win over a .750 or better team on the road
6.5 points – win over a .750 or better team at home
6 points – win over a .500 or better team on the road
5 points – win over a .500 or better team at home
4.5 points – win over a .250 or better team on the road
4 points – win over a .250 team or better at home
3.5 points – win over an under .250 team on the road
3 points – win over an under .250 team at home
2.5 points – loss at home or on the road to a .750 or better team
2 points – loss to a .500 or better team at home or on the road
1 point – loss to a .250 or better team at home or on the road
.5 points – loss to an under .250 team on the road
0 points – loss to an under .250 team at home