Evansville Purple Aces (4-12, 0-5 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (9-9, 2-3 MVC)
Normal, Illinois; Friday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Evansville enters the matchup with Illinois State after losing five straight games.
The Redbirds are 8-2 in home games. Illinois State ranks third in the MVC shooting 37.9% from deep, led by Josiah Strong shooting 46.7% from 3-point range.
The Purple Aces are 0-5 in MVC play. Evansville ranks sixth in the MVC giving up 68.0 points while holding opponents to 48.0% shooting.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mark Freeman is averaging 9.5 points and 3.4 assists for the Redbirds. Antonio Reeves is averaging 13.7 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 46.8% over the past 10 games for Illinois State.
Shamar Givance is averaging 14.6 points, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals for the Purple Aces. Jawaun Newton is averaging 11.2 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 43.8% over the last 10 games for Evansville.
LAST 10 GAMES: Redbirds: 5-5, averaging 75.3 points, 31.5 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 6.5 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.3 points per game.
Purple Aces: 2-8, averaging 62.3 points, 26.6 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 5.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 39.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.9 points.
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