Gametracker
Horizon League Network
The UDM men's basketball team heads to Indiana for a pair of road games this week , starting with a contest at Valparaiso on Thursday, Jan. 8. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. (CST).
Matt Dery will have the call live from the Athletics-Recreation Center (ARC) on WDTW-AM 1310. Fans can also watch the game on the Horizon League Network, or view a live stats feed from CSTV's gametracker.
Detroit (4-9, 0-4 HL) is led by junior Thomas Kennedy's 10.8 points per game. The Detroit native is averaging 16.0 ppg., over his last five contests.
ABOUT VALPARAISO
The Crusaders enter the contest at 4-11 and 1-3 in the Horizon League. Valparaiso has lost two straight and seven of its last eight with its lone victory coming against Division III North Park University. Valpo's only league win was at Youngstown State, 68-57.
Like Detroit, Valparaiso has struggled scoring averaging just 60.5 points per game, eighth in the conference, while giving up 66.1 ppg., also eighth in the league.
Senior forward Urule Igbavboa leads the team in scoring (11.4 ppg.) and rebounding (5. rpg.) and is second on the squad with 1.6 assists per night.
Senior Brandon McPherson and sophomore Michael Rogers are second and third on the team in scoring with 9.2 and 9.0 a night, respectively, while freshman Eric Buggs runs the offense with 2.8 assists per game.
Homer Drew is in his sixth year at the helm of the Crusader program, his second stint as head coach at the University. Overall, Drew has guided Valpo for 20 years posting a 328-265 mark. Before arriving at Valpo, Drew also had head coaching stops at Bethel and IU-South Bend and owns an overall record of 597-387
DETROIT VS. VALPARAISO
Despite being just four hours apart from each other, UDM and Valparaiso have met just eight times, with each program walking away with four victories. The Crusaders, in their second year as a Horizon League member, swept the series last year with an 81-68 win in Detroit and a 59-56 victory at home. The Titans last win in Valparaiso came in 1990, a 79-68 triumph.
AN OFFENSIVE PAYNE
With his 10 points against Cleveland State his last time out, junior Woody Payne has now scored in double digits in six of the last nine games, including 17+ points on three occasions. In the last five games, the 5-11 guard is averaging 12.0 ppg., on an even 50-percent from the field (24-of-48), while grabbing 3.3 rebounds and handing out 3.5 assister per game.
JOKIC CATCHING FIRE
Junior Nemanja Jokic has topped double digit scoring with a season's best 10 points in his last two games. It is the first time in his career that Jokic has reached doubles figures in back-to-back games. During the span, the Sombor Serbia native is7-of-13 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Titans nearly erased a 16-point deficit against Cleveland State on Jan. 3, holding the Vikings to just 19 points in the second half. The defensive performance included just eight CSU markers in a 17-minute span in the second period, as UDM rallied to get within two, 42-40.
The 19 points in the half was the lowest amount of points Detroit has allowed in any half of basketball this season and the lowest since giving up just 19 first half points against Kent State in last year's season opener.
TITANS END ONE ROAD LOSING STREAK
Detroit ended its 19-game road losing streak with a 67-55 at CMU on Dec. 23. The streak was the sixth longest in the country.
The Titans will now look to end a 16-game conference road slide, which includes two conference tournament games and all 10 road match-ups last year. The last time UDM won a Horizon League road contest was on Jan. 20, 2007, when the Titans defeated UIC 66-54 in Chicago.
A win in Indiana would also break the Titans 22-game out-of-state losing streak. The last time Detroit won a game outside of Michigan was on Feb. 17, 2007, when Detroit defeated Buffalo, 92-84, in overtime.
UDM is 79-135 as the road team since 1993. During that same period, Detroit is 154-49 (.790) at home.
HAYES REACHES 100
Senior Chris Hayes has played in 88-straight games for UDM. Hayes also reached triple digits playing in his 100th career game as a Titan his last time out.
ESPNU DEBUT
The Titans will make their first ever appearance on ESPNU when Detroit host Wright State in a 9:00 p.m. tip-off on Friday, Jan. 16.
