UPDATE: IU East to face shorthanded rival
It's a matchup Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball fans will follow with great interest, but not for the reasons initially thought.
The Indiana University East men's basketball team is scheduled to host KIAC leader Indiana University Southeast on Feb. 20 in the regular season finale for both teams.
Tipoff is at 2 p.m. in the Richmond High School Tiernan Center.
IU Southeast (22-3, 11-0) enters the contest ranked No. 3 in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches. The Grenadiers are No. 1 in the Massey Ratings, a computer rating of all NAIA Division II teams. (IU East is 92nd in the country in the same rating).
But IU Southeast will be shorthanded because of an incident that occurred during the Grenadiers' game Feb. 18 at Berea College.
The game was halted by what the Richmond (Ky.) Register described as "a bench-clearing brawl." According to the newspaper report, the incident "resulted in the ejection of every player from both teams and the cancellation of the game."
The KIAC office announced late Feb. 19 that six players from Indiana University Southeast and five from Berea College were ejected from the game for fighting and will be suspended for one game based upon National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) regulations. An IU Southeast news release indicated the players will serve their suspensions during the IU East-IU Southeast game.
IU Southeast has won all six NAIA meetings against IU East, including a 101-71 win at IU Southeast earlier this season.
The Grenadiers use 3-point shooting and full-court pressure defense to fuel big scoring runs.
They do all of those things well. IU Southeast is third in the NAIA Division II in 3-pointers made per game and average turnover margin.
Jazzmarr Ferguson leads the Grenadiers' balanced scoring list with 15.1 points per game.
IU East gets 19.3 points per game from junior guard Tyler Rigby (Bryant, Ind./Jay County High School).
Rigby ranks in the NAIA Division II top 50 in four different offensive categories.
Junior guard David Sanders contributes 9.7 points per game and is 35th in the NAIA Division II in assists per game with 4.3.
With a win, IU East (13-13, 5-7) will finish fourth in the KIAC standings and earn the right to host a KIAC Tournament quarterfinal on Feb. 23. If the Red Wolves lose, they will travel to Asbury College for a KIAC quarterfinal on Feb. 23.
SENIOR DAY
IU East men's basketball seniors Noah Douglas, Jacobe Edmondson, Justin Hawkins and Bijon Jones will be recognized prior to tipoff of the Feb. 20 game.
JUNIOR RED WOLVES AUTOGRAPH DAY
The IU East-IU Southeast game is Junior Red Wolves Autograph Day. An autograph session for Junior Red Wolves members will be held after the game.
Junior Red Wolves membership is free, and youngsters can join at any time. Download a membership form at www.iueredwolves.com, or register at the Feb. 20 game.
FOLLOW LIVE
The IU East-IU Southeast game will be broadcast live on NewsTalk 930 WHON-AM and www.930whon.com.
Live stats will be available at www.iueredwolves.com.
The game also will be rebroadcast on Whitewater Community Television, WCTV, Comcast Channel 20.
Broadcast dates are Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. as well as Feb. 23 at midnight, 4 a.m., 8 a.m., noon and 4 p.m.
IU East fans now can get score updates sent to their cell phone during the game. Just text FOLLOW IUESCORES to 40404. Updates will be sent midway through each half, at halftime and after the game.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTHEAST ...
Ranks Number 3 in Division II in 3-Pt Fg Made per Game (9.520)
Ranks Number 3 in Division II in Turnover Margin (5.560)
Ranks Number 6 in Division II in Scoring Offense per Game (88.600)
Ranks Number 6 in Division II in Steals per Game (11.080)
Ranks Number 8 in Division II in Scoring Margin (15.160)
Ranks Number 9 in Division II in Blocks per Game (4.120)
Ranks Number 12 in Division II in Field Goal Pct Defense (0.402)
Ranks Number 15 in Division II in Field Goal Pct (0.481)
Ranks Number 15 in Division II in Assists per Game (16.480)
Ranks Number 22 in Division II in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.022)
Ranks Number 26 in Division II in 3-Pt Fg Pct (0.367)
Ranks Number 37 in Division II in 3-Pt Fg Pct Defense (0.315)
Ranks Number 47 in Division II in Offensive Rebounds per Game (12.240)
INDIANA UNIVERSITY EAST
Ranks Number 17 in Division II in Scoring Offense per Game (83.880)
Ranks Number 21 in Division II in Defensive Rebounds per Game (27.320)
Ranks Number 24 in Division II in Free Throw Pct (0.718)
Ranks Number 25 in Division II in Steals per Game (9.080)
Ranks Number 27 in Division II in Total Rebounds per Game (39.760)
Ranks Number 28 in Division II in Assists per Game (15.320)
Ranks Number 29 in Division II in Assist/Turnover Ratio (0.987)
Ranks Number 30 in Division II in 3-Pt Fg Pct (0.361)
Ranks Number 31 in Division II in Turnover Margin (1.960)
Ranks Number 42 in Division II in Offensive Rebounds per Game (12.440)
Ranks Number 43 in Division II in Scoring Margin (5.520)
Ranks Number 47 in Division II in Blocks per Game (2.920)
Ranks Number 47 in Division II in 3-Pt Fg Made per Game (6.960)
Ranks Number 47 in Division II in Field Goal Pct Defense (0.428)