#7 Eagles return home Monday for #2 KWC
Game Notes
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The second-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team goes to the far west side of the Great Lakes Valley Conference when it travels to William Jewell College Thursday and Rockhurst University Saturday for a pair of conference contests. Game time Thursday at WJC is 7:30 p.m., while tip-off Saturday at Rockhurst is 3:15 p.m.
The Screaming Eagles (11-1, 3-1 GLVC) are coming off a 3-1 homestand and a split last weekend. USI lost its first game of the year to Missouri University of Science & Technology, 62-55, before rebounding with a win over Drury University, 76-64.
Thursday's loss dropped the Eagles to seventh in the NABC/Division II Top 25 poll. The Eagles had spent the last three weeks ranked second and have not been below 12th all season.
USI senior guard
Brandon Hogg (Edwardsville, Illinois) continues to lead the Eagles and ranks sixth in the GLVC in scoring with 17.8 points per contest. He was held scoreless in the loss to Missouri S&T, but responded with 17 points in the win over Drury. Eleven of his 17 points against Drury came in the first five minutes of the second half when he led the Eagles on a 31-8 run.
On Thursday, the Eagles will be making their first trip to Liberty, Missouri, to play the Cardinals of WJC (4-6, 1-3 GLVC). The Cardinals have hit a rough patch over the last few weeks, losing four of their last five. WJC was swept last weekend in the GLVC, losing at Northern Kentucky University in overtime and at Bellarmine University.
The two-game road swing comes to a conclusion Saturday when USI visits Kansas City, Missouri, and the Hawks of Rockhurst (5-7, 2-2 GLVC). The Hawks, who host second-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan College Thursday before welcoming USI, also have lost four of their last five games and suffered through a winless weekend against NKU and Bellarmine.
The Eagles lead the all-time series with the Hawks, 11-1, after posting an 81-61 victory last February in Kansas City.
USI returns home January 16 to host cross-river rival KWC (12-0, 4-0 GLVC), which is on the same WJC-Rockhurst road swing this weekend. The Panthers have been on a roll this season, posting a 26-point average margin of victory in their 12 wins. KWC, which also has won by less than 18 points only three times this year, ranks second nationally in scoring and third in scoring margin.
Game coverage for both contests, including live stats and audio broadcasts, is available at gousieagles.com. The games also can be heard on ESPN 106.7FM and WPSR 90.7FM.
NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (Jan. 10, 2012)
1. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. (6 first place votes)
2. Kentucky Wesleyan (2 first place votes)
(GLVC)
3. Bellarmine, Ky.
(GLVC)
4. West Liberty, W.Va.
5. Metropolitan State, Colo.
6. Tarleton State, Texas
7. Southern Indiana
(GLVC)
8. Northern Kentucky
(GLVC)
9. Colorado School of Mines
10. Cal Poly Pomona
11. Midwestern State, Texas
12. Bowie State, Md.
13. Winona State, Minn.
14. Indiana, Pa.
15. Christian Brothers, Tenn.
16. Minnesota State-Moorhead
17. Alabama-Huntsville
18. Hillsdale, Mich.
19. Fort Hays State, Kan.
20. Montevallo, Ala.
21. St. Cloud State, Minn.
22. District of Columbia
23. Missouri Southern
24. Northwest Missouri State
25. West Georgia
Others receiving votes: Findlay (Ohio), Western Oregon, Alaska-Anchorage, Arkansas-Monticello, South Carolina Aiken, Western Washington, Bentley (Mass.), Charleston (W.Va.), Seattle Pacific (Wash.), King (Tenn.), West Texas A&M, Missouri-St. Louis
(GLVC).
