Eagles battling for first-round bye

Game Notes (pdf) 
 
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The ninth-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team crosses the Ohio River to continue its rivalry with 19^th-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan College Thursday at 7:30 p.m. for the regular-season finale.
 
The Screaming Eagles (20-5, 12-5 GLVC), who rose two spots this week in the NABC/Division II Top 25 poll, are coming off a 1-1 week that saw them defeat top-ranked Bellarmine University at the Physical Activities Center and fall to 15^th-ranked Northern Kentucky University in their final visit to Highland Heights, Kentucky. The USI trip to KWC marks the end of a streak of three straight games against top 25 opponents.
 
USI enters the regular season finale in search of a first-round bye in the upcoming GLVC Tournament. If the Eagles win on Thursday, they automatically advance to the GLVC Tournament quarterfinals March 2 at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, Illinois, as the third or fourth seed. USI, currently, is the fourth seed, but can clinch the third spot with a win and a NKU loss at Bellarmine Thursday night.
 
If USI falls at KWC, then USI will have to wait and see where it will be seeded. Depending upon 24 different combinations and results, the Eagles could be seeded anywhere from fourth to sixth in the tournament.
 
The Panthers (19-6, 11-6 GLVC) also are in a battle to improve their seeding in the league  tournament. KWC, which could finish as the sixth, seventh, or eighth seed, has struggled in the last two weeks and lost three of the last four games.
 
USI won the first head-to-head match-up with KWC, 72-57, at the PAC in January. Eagles' senior guard Brandon Hogg (Edwardsville, Illinois) and sophomore guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois) led the USI charge with 16 points each, while Panthers' senior guard Cardell McFarland led KWC with a game-high 21 points.
 
McFarland will miss this edition of the USI-KWC  “Battle for the Bridge” due to a foot injury. He has missed the last eight games for the Panthers, who are 4-4 in his absence.
 
KWC leads the all-time series with USI, 47-36, but the teams are tied 14-14 since 2000. The Eagles also hold a 5-4 advantage at the Sportscenter since 2000.
 
Since 1992-93, KWC also leads the series, 16-10, when both teams are ranked in the top 25. Of the last 37 games between the two institutions, both teams have been in the top-10 17 times and in the top-five nine times at game time.
 
Game coverage for the contest, 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 Men's Basketball Poll
(Tuesday, February 21, 2012 -- Poll #12)
  1. West Liberty (W.Va.)
  2. Bellarmine (Ky.)
  3. Colorado School of Mines
  4. Alabama-Huntsville
  5. Midwestern State
  6. Shaw (N.C.)
  7. Tarleton State (Texas)
  8. Northern Kentucky
  9. Southern Indiana
10. Missouri Southern
11. Christian Brothers (Tenn.)
12. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.)
13. Indiana (Pa.)
14. Western Washington
15. Metropolitan State (Colo.)
16. Northwest Missouri State
17. Arkansas Tech
18. District of Columbia
19. Kentucky Wesleyan
20. Alaska-Anchorage
21. Anderson (S.C.)
22. Winona State (Minn.)
23. Indianapolis (Ind.)
24. Seattle Pacific (Wash.)
25. Charleston (W.Va.)

Others receiving votes: Franklin Pierce (N.H.), Hillsdale (Mich.), Dixie State (Utah), King (Tenn.), Adelphi (N.Y.), Bowie State (Md.), Florida Tech, South Carolina Aiken, West Georgia, LIU-C.W. Post.