Evansville Purple Aces
Current record: 2-0
2009-10 record: 9-21
2009-10 RPI: 250
2009-10 Sagarin: 219
2009-10 Pomeroy: 213
Pomeroy scouting report
Series: IU leads, 6-0
TV: 1 p.m. today, Big Ten Network
Blog: n/a
The Hoosiers face their first intrastate competition when they host Evansville this afternoon. The Aces are in rebuilding mode in their fourth season under the leadership of Marty Simmons, who played at IU for two seasons in the mid 1980s before transferring to Evansville. The Aces appeared to be turning the corner in 2008-09, when they finished 17-14 with an invite to the College Basketball Invitational. Last season, however, after a 6-4 start, Evansville lost its first 13 games in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Evansville's leadsing scorer through the first two games is Kenny Harris, averaging 15.5 per game, a junior college transfer. Colt Ryan, Jordan Jahr, and Denver Holmes are the only other double figure scorers for Evansville to date. Ryan and Holmes were Evansville's leading scorers last season.
Evansville plays in a tougher conference than any of IU's prior opponents, and these early afternoon games can be a challenge. Still, the Hoosiers have an excellent chance to move to 4-0 for the first time in the Crean era.