Evansville Purple Aces (6-23, 2-16 MVC) vs. Valparaiso Beacons (13-17, 6-12 MVC)
St. Louis; Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Valparaiso Beacons and Evansville Purple Aces square off in the MVC Tournament.
The Beacons are 8-8 on their home court. Valparaiso is fourth in the MVC with 12.6 assists per game led by Darius DeAveiro averaging 1.7.
The Purple Aces have gone 2-16 against MVC opponents. Evansville is 3-12 in games decided by at least 10 points.
The teams square off for the third time this season. Valparaiso won the last meeting 74-69 on Feb. 22. Kevion Taylor scored 23 to help lead Valparaiso to the win, and Blake Sisley scored 18 points for Evansville.
TOP PERFORMERS: DeAveiro is averaging 1.8 points for the Beacons. Taylor is averaging 9.4 points over the last 10 games for Valparaiso.
Shamar Givance is scoring 13.8 points per game with 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists for the Purple Aces. Blaise Beauchamp is averaging 7.2 points over the past 10 games for Evansville.
LAST 10 GAMES: Beacons: 3-7, averaging 65.4 points, 28.1 rebounds, 9.6 assists, 3.0 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.3 points per game.
Purple Aces: 1-9, averaging 59.3 points, 20.0 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 5.9 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 39.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.4 points.
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