Game Notes; Complete Top 25 Poll
EVANSVILLE, Ind. –The 2nd-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team concludes a grueling January schedule with a pair of road games at the GLVC North Division's University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Lewis University. USI has played four straight road games before this weekend and finishes the month by playing six of eight away from the Physical Activities Center.
Game coverage of the Screaming Eagles' games, including live stats, video, and audio, can be found at www.gousieagles.com. Tip off Thursday at UW-Parkside is 7:30 p.m., while the start time Saturday at Lewis is 3 p.m.
USI moved up in the NABC/Division II Top 25 poll for the seventh straight week, rising to the second spot after defeating the University of Indianapolis, 78-70, last week. The number two ranking is the highest for USI since December 5, 2006.
The Eagles (17-0, 8-0 GLVC) were led to their fourth straight road win by junior center Mohamed Ntumba (Kinshasa, Congo), who had a season-high 20 points and 14 rebounds at UIndy. Ntumba was a red-hot eight-of-nine from the field and four-of-five from the charity stripe in his fourth start of the year.
For the season, senior guard Jamar Smith (Peoria, Illinois) leads USI and the GLVC in scoring with 22.9 points per game. He also ranks first in the GLVC and second nationally in three-point field goals made per game and sixth in Division II in scoring.
USI is one of three undefeated teams across the three NCAA divisions and has the second-longest winning streak in Division II (17 games). The University of Kentucky holds the longest winning streak in all three NCAA divisions (19 games), while Arkansas Tech University has Division II's longest streak (18 games).
The Rangers of UW-Parkside (8-12, 3-8 GLVC) host the Eagles after splitting a pair of road games last weekend. UW-Parkside defeated the University of Maryville, 76-75, in St. Louis, Missouri, but finished the weekend with a 90-64 loss to Missouri University of Science & Technology. Leading the Rangers is freshman forward Jeremy Saffold with 15.9 points per game.
USI leads the all-time series with UW-Parkside, 22-7, and has won 13-of-16 against the Rangers since 2000. Last year, the Eagles defeated the Rangers, 83-58, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The Flyers of Lewis (12-7, 4-6 GLVC) have been on a roll the last two weeks, winning four of the last five. Lewis split last weekend, defeating Missouri S&T, 74-69, and falling to Drury University, 70-60. Flyers' junior guard Dennis Thomas is recording a team-best 14.2 points per contest.
The Eagles hold the all-time series advantage over Lewis, 36-21, and are 13-6 against the Flyers since 2000. USI took two from Lewis last year, defeating the Flyers in Romeoville, Illinois, 73-67, and at the PAC in the GLVC Tournament, 67-61.
