DETROIT (12/2/2020) -- For the third time in school history, the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will begin a season with in-state rival Michigan State as the Titans visit the Spartans on Friday.

Game time is set for 5:00 p.m. and will be televised by the Big Ten Network. Fans can also listen to the action on the radio on the new home of the Titans WLQV 92.7 FM & 1500 AM FaithTalk Detroit wIth the Voice of Detroit Mercy basketball Dan Hasty. 

The Titans were supposed to open the season at Kentucky last week in the Bluegrass Classic, but their three games were canceled. The red, white and blue will now open the season against the green and white for the third time falling on 80-70 in 2001 and 65-3 63 in 1987 in overtime, both on the road. 

Detroit Mercy has had a great history of starting the year with a win as the Titans are 81-32 all-time on opening day, with two years in the early 1900's unknown due to record-keeping, although it has dropped three in a row. The Titans are looking for their first season-opening win away from Calihan Hall since the 2006-07 season when they beat Maine, 57-50, at Marquette in the CBE Classic as well as their first road-opening win since the 2000-01 campaign when it was victorious at Chicago State. 

ALL-TIME SERIES

• This is just the 62nd meeting between the two schools, located just 81 miles apart, although it is the first match-up since 2001.
• Michigan State leads the all-time series, 45-16, but the Titans have won three of the last four, including a triple-overtime win at Cobo Hall in 1996 when E.J. Haralson - who was 1-of-7 from the floor in the game - hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer.
• Six games have gone into overtime with four in a row in the 1980's. 
• Detroit Mercy is 6-26 all-time on the road

LOOKING BACK TO 1996

• Here are a few things that were going on in 1996 when the Titans tallied that triple overtime win:
• 1. EBay started its shopping website
• 2. Popular movies released included Jerry Maguire, The English Patient and Independence Day
• 3. Minimum wage was $4.75 per hour
• 4. Red Bull drink entered the US Market
• 5. A gallon of regular gas was $1.23
• 6. The popular toy was Tickle Me Elmo

ALL-TIME AGAINST RANKED TEAMS

• Detroit Mercy is 16-26 all-time against ranked foes and 3-73 on the road.
• The Titans have dropped 27 in a row to ranked opponents with their last win a 63-54 victory over #24 Butler at home in 2002.
• The last win over a top-10 team was in 1985, a 71-66 home tally of #4 Memphis, while the last top-10 win on the road was a 64-63 triumph at #9 Marquette in 1979

DAVIS HAS MEMORIES OF UPSET WIN

• Head coach Mike Davis is 6-7 all-time against Michigan State with most of that coming from his time at Indiana.
• In 2001 at IU, his Hoosiers beat #1 Michigan State, 59-58, at home. 
• He also had a huge win at MSU back in 2014 as his Texas Southern squad defeated the 25th-ranked Spartans, 71-64. 

AGAINST THE BIG TEN

• The Titans have struggled against the conference, dropping 15-straight against the league, and are 30-121 all-time against current members, with their last win coming during the 1997-98 campaign when the Titans edged the Spartans, 68-65.
• The last game against a Big Ten team was a 90-58 setback to Michigan at LCA in 2017.

FINALLY ABLE TO START

• Detroit Mercy's first action was supposed to be in the Bluegrass Classic, but had to cancel the games due to a positive COVID-19 test in the program. 
• The positive test came about from a member of the support staff and no other players or coaches tested positive or have since, although a few members of the team are in isolation due to contact tracing.
• The team was not put on pause and was able to continue to practice outside of those players and staff member. 

BASKETBALL BLOODLINES

• There are a few other family connections between Titans and college coaches, NBA players and former NBA stars:
• * Graduate student Brad Calipari is the son of Kentucky head coach John Calipari
• * Senior Dwayne Rose Jr. is the nephew of current Pistons' guard and 2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose
• * Junior Chris Brandon is the nephew of former NBA player and head coach John Lucas and cousin to former NBA player John Lucas and former Texas standout and current Kentucky assistant coach Jai Lucas
• * Sophomore Jamail Pink's uncle is NBA Hall-Of-Famer Clyde Drexler

ALL IN THE FAMILY

• Nothing new for the Titans to have a family connection in the program and this season, Detroit Mercy will once again feature three Davis' in head coach Mike Davis, assistant coach Mike Davis Jr. and sophomore guard Antoine Davis.
• From 2010-13, the Titans had head coach Ray McCallum and star guard Ray McCallum, winning the Horizon League Championship in 2012 and earning a trip to the NIT in 2013.
• Also, the legendary Bob Calihan coached his son, Bob Calihan Jr., for one season as he transferred to U-D from Loyola in his senior season in 1968-69.

A MSU TIE-IN

• Freshman walk-on Caileb Brown is no stranger to Michigan State.
• A native of East Lansing who went to DeWitt High School, his dad, Luke Brown, was a team manager for Michigan State and then was the video coordinator on the 2000 national championship team. He then went to Cleveland State when MSU assistant coach Mike Garland went there to be the head coach and later became a local high school coach. 

DAVIS 2ND LEADING RETURNING SCORER IN D1

• After finishing third in the nation in scoring as a freshman (26.1), Antoine Davis was right back on top of the nation's leaders as a sophomore finishing fourth in the country at 24.3 points per game, trailing only Marquette's Markus Howard (27.8), UTSA's Jhivvan Jackson (26.8) and Hampton's Jermaine Marrow (24.8).
• He entered the season as the second leading returning scoring in the country behind Jackson as Howard and Marrow both graduated. 
• Davis' career 25.2 points per game is tops among all active players and his 1,513 career points is 11th most among active players and the highest by any junior in DI. 

ENDING 2019-20 IN STYLE

• Junior Antoine Davis did not want the 2019-20 season to end as he was on fire when the Titans played their last game.
• In his final four games of the year, he averaged 31.2 ppg., 4.3 rpg., 3.6 apg., and 2.0 spg., shooting 47.4% (42-of-88), 38.3% from three (14-of-36) and 87.0% from the line (27-of-31). 
• Davis' final game of the year saw him go for 43 points at IUPUI - highest in the league and tied for the ninth highest in the nation - and that followed games of 29 against Green Bay, 27 versus Milwaukee and 26 at UIC. 
• The Titans were not eligible for the Horizon League Tournament due to APR, but a hot Davis could have carried the Titans deep in the event as the HL was one conference to complete its tournament before the pandemic stopped all athletics.  

ONE LETHAL SHOT

• Sophomore Antoine Davis hit a season-high seven 3-pointers against SIUE last season en route to 14 games with four or more triples. 
• He now has 31 games with four or more triples, 11 with six or more and has twice connected on 10 in his young career.
• Davis currently has 233 career 3-pointers and is already tied for third in school history, while his career 3.88 triples per game is the second-highest among all active players in DI trailing only Dru Kuxhausen of McNeese State. 
• The 3.88 mark is also currently fifth all-time in NCAA history. 

RACKING UP THE POINTS

• Junior Antoine Davis has 44 career 20-point games, 15 career 30-point outings and three 40-point contests in just 60 collegiate games and has also scored in double figures in all 60 games - reaching at least 17 points in 49 of them.
• In two seasons, Davis has scored 1,513 career points, 13th in school history and his 233, 3-pointers is tied for third in the school record book

AD THE QUICKEST TO 1,000, NOW LOOKING AT SCHOOL RECORD 

• Antoine Davis scored 27 points at Notre Dame last season, but it was his free throw for 26 that made history giving him 1,000 career points in just 39 games, passing the great Dave DeBusschere - a NBA Hall-Of-Famer - as the fastest Titan to reach 1,000.
• DeBusschere accomplished the feat in his 43rd collegiate on his way to 1,985. 
• Davis became the 43rd player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points and just the third second-year player joining DeBusschere (who did it as a junior as freshmen could not play) and sophomore Ray McCallum in 2010-11.
• He now has 1,513 career points, 13th in school history, and is 487 points shy of 2000 - something only two Titans have done (John Long and Rashad Phillips)
• In fact, it was not out of the realm of possibility that in a normal year of 30+ games, he could have broken the all-time record this season as he sits just 806 behind Phillips' 2,319. 

JERRY WEST AWARD WATCH LIST

• Antoine Davis is no stranger to national recognition and he added to his collection of awards by being named to the Jerry West Award watch list by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 
• A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list, named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West. 
• Davis was named a top-10 finalist for the award last season. 
• Previous winners of the Award include Myles Powell, Seton Hall (2020), RJ Barrett, Duke (2019), Carsen Edwards, Purdue (2018), Malik Monk, Kentucky (2017), Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016) and D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State (2015). 

BRADLEY BUCKETS

• Graduate Brad Calipari was in double figures six times last season as he saw action in 27 games, earning six starts, and posted 6.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game along with nine steals. 
• He led the team shooting 38.0 percent from three. Calipari was also second on the team with 46 triples as 46 of his 51 total field goals were from behind the line and his 1.7, 3-pointers per game was second on the team and 11th in the Horizon League.
• He also shot 70.8 percent at the free-throw line (17-of-24).  
• Calipari hit at least two 3-pointers in 14 games - including seven times in HL play - and connected on four or more in four contests. 
• He had a career-high 20 points, hitting a career-best five 3-pointers against Toledo. That was after draining four triples and ending with 12 points at Notre Dame.
• He had 13 points hitting 4-of-6 from long range at Wyoming and came back with a then career-high 16 points with four more triples in the win over UC Irvine. 
• Calipari transferred to Detroit Mercy and has the rare two years of eligibility as a graduate student as he graduated from Kentucky in just three years with a degree in Business and is enrolled in the Liberal Studies masters program. 
• He spent three seasons at Kentucky and played in 27 games with the Wildcats, under the direction of his dad head coach John Calipari, and was part of 88 wins as the Wildcats advanced to the Elite 8 in 2017 and 2019 and the Sweet 16 in 2018. 

CLEANING THE GLASS

• Junior Chris Brandon elevated his game to another level last year and was a beast on the glass all season long. 
• He saw action in all 31 games with 18 starts and had career highs posting a team-high 8.1 rebounds and 44 blocks to go with 6.3 points and 20 steals, while shooting a career-best 63.4 percent from the field, a team-high and second in school history. 
• Brandon was fourth in the HL with 3.13 offensive rebounds per game (44th in DI) and fifth in total rebounding at 8.1 (110th in DI) as he recorded a team-high four double-doubles on the year and pulled down at least 10 rebounds in 12 contests, including 10 times in conference action. 
• He posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds along with four blocks at #1 Gonzaga. He scored a career-high 18 points (9-10 FG) and blocked a career-best six shots with 12 rebounds against IUPUI and pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds - the most boards by a Titan since 1992 - with six points, three blocks and two assists at Oakland. 

ROSE RAISING HIS GAME

• Senior Dwayne Rose Jr. played in 28 games with eight starts last year and averaged 7.3 points and 2.4 rebounds, shooting 39.5% overall, 44.8% from behind the arc and 71.1% at the line. 
• He really started to find his stride in the second half of last season, netting double figures in scoring in seven of the last 13 games, including back-to-back games of 20 or more and a career-high 22 against UIC.
• He had a then career-high of 20 points and eight rebounds at Wright State and followed that up with 21 points, five rebounds and three assists at NKU. 
• In his first 15 games, he scored in double figures just once and averaged 4.2 points and 1.5 rebounds, shooting 35.0 % (21-of-60) from the field and 3-of-10 from three. 
• In his last 13 games, he averaged 10.7 points and 3.4 rebounds, shooting 42.1% (43-of-102), including 10-of-19 from three. 

BIG WILLY STYLE

• Junior Willy Isiani is back and looking to improve on his skill as a big man who can hit from the outside. 
• A native of Tbilisi, Georgia, he is believed to be the first Titan from the country of Georgia.
• He connected on the three ball on 37 of his 51 field goals last season and 57 of 74 in his career have been from distance.
• He also started to do some work in the post, grabbing a career-best 11 rebounds against Milwaukee. 
• Some of his other standout performances saw his post 13 points with seven rebounds in the win over UC Irvine and nailing five treys en route to 15 points at Ohio. 

A LONG JOURNEY FOR KUOL

• Detroit Mercy's graduate senior transfer Bul Kuol is looking to make an impact.
• A native of the Sudan, he moved to Canberra, Australia, as a kid and starred at Lake Ginninderra College as a prep.
• He then went to Cap Baptist and played in 91 games with 39 starts in his four years, averaging 5.2 points and 3.0 rebounds. Last season, he played in 16 games and posted 5.6 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game, connecting on 19-of-40 from long range, as well as being one of the team's top defenders.

A BIT CLOSER TO HOME

• Detroit Mercy's graduate senior transfer Marquell Fraser will play his final season a bit closer to home as he hails from Hamilton, Ontario, a three-hour drive from the Motor City.
• As a prep, he was the No. 2 overall prospect out of Canada as a senior and a three-star recruit and played his freshman year at VCU before transferring to Idaho. 
• A proven-ball handler, as a Vandel, he played in just eight games as a junior due to injury and appeared in 26 games with 13 starts last year, averaging 7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. 

TAUREAN LOOKING TO SHINE

• Detroit Mercy's graduate senior transfer Taurean Thompson is looking to recapture what he had at the start of his collegiate career at Syracuse.
• He played the last two seasons at Seton Hall, but in just one game last year. As a junior, saw action in 27 games and averaged 4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds with a big game scoring 13 points and posting six rebounds in Seton Hall's win over No. 9 Kentucky at Madison Square Garden. 
• As a rookie at Syracuse, he averaged 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds with 33 blocks. He had a career-high 22 points against Boston and led the team with 18 points and three blocks at Virginia Tech. 
• He attended St. Anthony High School in Jersey City and played for legendary head coach Bob Hurley. 

SOMETHING TO PROVE

• A transfer from St. Bonaventure with one year of eligibility, Matt Johnson played in 22 games with one start last year with the Bonnies, averaging 1.7 points and 1.1 rebounds. 
• Prior to that, he played at two JUCO's spending his freshman year at Pensacola State and sophomore at Howard College
• With Pensacola State, he averaged 7.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game and shot nearly 40 percent from the floor
• At Howard College, he was named All-Conference after averaging 14.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, scoring in double figures in 20 of 26 games, including five 20-point efforts
• As a prep, he played on two Maryland state championship squads at New Town High.

STANDOUT FRESHMAN

• The University of Detroit Mercy signed a pair of talented freshmen in local products Kyle LeGreair (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) and Joey Liedel (Erie, Mich./Mason).
• LeGreair was named to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Division 1 All-State Team. He was also an Honorable Mention Dream Team pick by MLive and a Detroit Free Press All-Area Third Team selection. 
• On the season, he helped Cass Tech to a 20-2 record and a third-straight PSL title. 
• Meanwhile, Liedel was tabbed the Monroe County Region Boys Basketball Player of the Year for the second-straight season as well as First Team All-State at Division 3. 
• He finished the year averaging 30.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists, leading his team to a 19-3 record and a Lenawee County Athletic Association championship. He concluded his high school career with 2,202 points, 16th in state history, and 334 career 3-pointers, six shy of the all-time state record.

HE KEEPS GROWING

• A transfer from Niagara, Noah Waterman played in seven games with five starts until an injury ended his season last year. 
• He averaged 7.0 points and 3.3 rebounds, shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three. 
• As a prep, he was selected MVP of the Empire State Christian Athletic League in 2017 and 2018. He posted 33.9 points, 12.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.9 blocks in his senior season.
• In high school, he was 6-2 but hit a growth spurt as a junior and is now almost seven feet tall. 

DETROIT MERCY SHINES IN THE CLASSROOM

• All 17 University of Detroit Mercy athletic programs were above a 3.0 GPA during the 2020 spring semester as the Titans combined for a 3.51 GPA. It was the highest semester GPA for the athletic department in school history.
• The men's basketball team posted a 3.069 GPA. 

FROM ALL OVER

• The Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will feature student-athletes from seven states (Alabama, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Texas) and three countries (Australia, Georgia, Canada).