Evansville Purple Aces (1-3) vs. UCF Knights (4-1)
The non-conference schedule of the 2022-23 college basketball season continues Wednesday, November 23, 2022, when the Evansville Purple Aces square off against the UCF Knights at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida.
The Knights open as heavy 18.5-point home favorites with a total of 122.5 points. Last season, UCF and Evansville locked horns for the first time ever, and the Knights beat the Purple Aces 75-59 as 8-point road favorites with a total of 125.5 points.
The Evansville Purple Aces (1-3; 3-1 ATS) started the 2022-23 season with a 78-74 road victory over Miami (OH). Since then, the Purple Aces have lost three games in a row to Saint Louis 83-65, Southeast Missouri State 67-61, and SMU 55-47. Last Saturday, Evansville couldn’t hit a 50-point mark against the Mustangs, shooting an awful 28.8% from the field and 18.2% from beyond the arc (4-for-22).
The Purple Aces did manage to cover a 12.5-point spread at SMU. Junior guard Blaise Beauchamp led the way for Evansville with 16 points and three rebounds off the bench, while junior forward Yacine Toumi posted a double-double of 11 points and ten rebounds. Senior guard Kenny Strawbridge (15.3 PPG this season) went just 3-for-13 from the field and finished with eight points, six rebounds, and a couple of assists.
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Blaise for 3? – Aces back within a possession entering the homestretch
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— UE Men's Basketball (@UEAthletics_MBB) November 19, 2022
The Purple Aces are making only 35.0% of their field goals (361st in the nation) and 22.7% of their 3-pointers (358th) in 2022-23. They are No. 322 in the latest KenPom rankings, scoring 90.7 points per 100 possessions (353rd) and surrendering 103.6 in a return (215th). Evansville’s defense ranks 11th in the nation in assists allowed (11.8 per game) and 25th in steals (4.5).