FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Thursday, March 3, the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons will host the UIC Flames in the Quarterfinals of the 2022 Keeps Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship.
Match day information
WHO: No. 2 Purdue Fort Wayne (20-10) vs. No. 8 UIC (14-15)
When: Thursday March 3 | 7 p.m. ET
Or: Fort Wayne, Indiana | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
Listen: 1380 Fan
Live statistics: Link
Look: ESPN+
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne (PDF) | UIC
TICKET INFORMATION:
// Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased at the box office or through Ticketmaster.
KNOW YOUR ENEMY:
// Top scorer: Damaria Franklin (18.0)
// Coach: Luke Yaklich
// The Flames won 80-69 at Milwaukee in the first round of the 2022 Keeps Men’s Basketball Championship.
// The Flames have won four straight games.
A VICTORY WOULD BE…
// …send the ‘Dons to the semifinals on Monday, March 7 in Indianapolis.
// … be the Mastodons’ 10th straight victory, extending the program’s streak from the Division I era.
// …gives the ‘Dons a win in the conference tournament for a fourth straight season.
ON THE NINE-WIN STRING:
// The Mastodons’ nine-game winning streak is the longest in Division I program history. The program’s record for game winning streak is the 1988-89 team which opened the season 11-0.
// All nine wins came in February, marking the most wins in a single month in program history. According to sports-reference.com, only nine times since 2010-11 has a Division I team won nine or more games in the month of February.
// The ‘Dons are allowing just 65.1 points per game in regulation in the streak, which excludes 15 minutes of overtime against Cleveland State.
// The ‘Dons shoot 42.8% (95 of 222) from three.
// Four ‘Dons have a two-digit average: Pipkins Milestone (15.7), Jarred Godfrey (13.7), Deonte Billups (11.4) and Damian Chong Qui (11.2).
// The ‘Dons force 15.9 turnovers per game and record 9.2 steals per game.
// The ‘Dons are opponents that rebound 32.9 to 31.3.
// The Mastodons have overcome double-digit deficits in three games: Milwaukee at home (10), UIC (11) and Cleveland State (14).
// Deonte Billups made two or more 3-pointers in each game.
// Five different players led the team in scoring.
‘DONATIONS AND PURPOSES:
// The ‘Dons are ranked No. 25 in the latest Mid Major Top 25 poll.
// Jon Coffman holds a career record of 138-112. He’s already the Mastodons’ all-time leader in Division I coaching wins. However, he’s closing in on the program record for career wins. That total is held by Andy Piazza who went 142-108 with the ‘Dons from 1987 to 1996.
// Horizon League rewards saw Jon Coffman named 2022 Coach of the Year. This is his second career league Coach of the Year honor after winning the same award in the Summit League in 2015-16.
// The ‘Dons finished the regular season 13-2 at home this season. The last time the ‘Dons won 13 home games in a season was in 2017-18, when they went 13-3 at Summit City. A year prior in 2016-17, the ‘Dons were 14-3 at home.
// Cameron Benford set a new program record for games played when he entered the game on February 10 against IUPUI. Benford has now played 138 games. The previous record holder was John Konchar, current member of the Memphis Grizzlies, at 133.
// When Cameron Benford started on Senior Night on Monday, he broke a streak of the same starting five for 25 consecutive games. The ‘Dons entered the contest as one of seven teams in the nation to make it this far in the season with the same starting five.
// Johnathan DeJurnett, who scored 12 total points last season in his first season, has 74 this season. He played a season-high 19 minutes on Feb. 18 at Green Bay.
// The ‘Dons have held a lead of at least five minutes in every game this season, except for losses at SIUE and Wright State.
// Seven different players have led the team in scoring for one game this season. That equals a single-season high for a Mastodon team under head coach Jon Coffman. The 2019-20 team also had seven leading scorers.
// When Pipkins Milestone shooting better than 50 percent from the floor, the ‘Dons are 9-0 this season.
// First-year student Jo Jo Peterson scored a career-high 11 points at Milwaukee (February 20). In the last six games, he’s 9 of 15 from three. // According to KenPom, the ‘Dons are the 20th most experienced team in the nation.
// The Mastodons rank 13th in the nation in 3 points per game (9.9).
// The ‘Dons are the only team in the league with three players in the top 10 in 3-pointers made: Deonte Billups (3rd, 67), Jarred Godfrey (4th, 66) and Bobby Planutis (7th, 58).
// According to KenPom, the Mastodons recorded the highest effective goal percentage in program history (77%) in the home win over Robert Morris (January 21).
~Feel the rumble~
