DETROIT (12/4/2021) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will look for a sweep on the opening weekend of conference play as the Titans battle the UIC Flames on Sunday at Credit Union 1 Arena on Sunday.

Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+, while fans can also listen to all the action on WLQV 92.7 FM & 1500 AM FaithTalk Detroit with the Voice of Detroit Mercy basketball Dan Hasty.

The Titans started Horizon League play with a dominating 69-45 victory at IUPUI. The defense was the catalyst forcing 21 turnovers and holding the Jaguars to just 16-of-49 from the field, including 4-of-22 in the first half. They also held IUPUI to just 12 first-half points, a new school record for the fewest points allowed in conference play, besting the 14 they allowed in the first half of a 98-47 victory over UIC in 2013.

Senior Antoine Davis - fourth in the nation in scoring at 23.0 points per game and with 347 career triples, just two 3-pointers away from the school and Horizon League all-time record (348) - tallied his first career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 10 assists. 

Meanwhile, junior Madut Akec is fifth in the league in rebounding (8.0), sixth in field goal percentage (50.6%), seventh in steals (1.73) and eighth in scoring (15.0). He also has also scored in double figures in all seven games and is tied for second in the HL with three double-doubles. 

UIC has lost four in a row and is 2-5 on the season and 0-1 in the conference after falling to Oakland, 81-77. 

After the game, the Titans will play the final contest of their season-opening nine-game road swing as they step out of conference with a trip to Kent State on Thursday. 

ALL-TIME SERIES

• UIC had won seven of the last eight and leads the overall series, 32-22.
• The one win in that span was at home in 2020 as Detroit Mercy won on a buzzer-beater by Alonde LeGrand for a 70-69 victory.
• The Titans have dropped four in a row on the road in the series and are 13-13 all-time at UIC. The last win on the road was 83-72 in 2016. 

LOOKING FOR A 2-0 START

• The Titans won their Horizon League opener at IUPUI to move to 16-25 all-time in conference openers and 13-29 in Horizon League road openers.
• The last time Detroit Mercy started 2-0 in league play with two road wins was in 2018-19 as the Titans downed Youngstown State and Cleveland State.

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 senior guard Antoine Davis.
• From 2010-13, the Titans had head coach Ray McCallum and star guard Ray McCallum, winning the HL title 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 for his senior season in 1968-69. 

TOUGH SCHEDULE

• A nine-game road trip will start the season for the Titans. 
• The opponents totaled a 116-101 record last year and has teams from the SEC, ACC and Mountain West, conferences that produce multi NCAA Tournament teams. 
• The six non-conference foes they have faced so far are 32-12 on the year with Wyoming at 7-0, Toledo and Mississippi State at 6-1, Louisville at 5-2 and Hofstra and Northeastern at 4-4. 
• The nine-straight games away from Calihan Hall is the second-longest streak away from the Motor City since the end of the 2000-01 campaign when the Titans played 10-straight with two road games to end the season, three neutral site games in the conference tournament, and then five games in the NIT as they made a run to the semifinals.

STAT RANKINGS

• The Titans currently rank 53rd in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (9.4), 88th in 3-point field-goal percentage (36.3%) and 65th in free throw percentage (74.7%).
• The team is also 89th in fewest fouls called. 
• Individually, senior Antoine Davis is first in 3-point field goals per game (4.4), fourth in scoring (23.0), fifth in minutes played (38:25), 11th in free throw percentage (95.7%), 69th in assists (4.6) and 99th in three-point field goal percentage (39.2%), while his 39 points at Hofstra is tied for the fourth-most in the country this year and the eight triples he made in the contest is tied for the seventh most. 
• Junior Madut Akec is 81st in rebounding (8.0) and 53rd in minutes played (35:13).

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

• Senior Antoine Davis is the only active player at the Division I level to have at least 1,500 points and 350 assists as he currently has 2,201 points and 378 assists. 

HEATING UP

• Senior Antoine Davis is averaging 27.0 points, shooting 42.1% overall (24-of-57), 43.9% from three (18-of-41) and a perfect 15-of-15 at the line to go with 5.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and a 3-to-1 assist to turnover ratio (21-to-7) in the last three games. 
• He scored a season-high 39 points at Hofstra as he nearly had a triple-double with eight assists and seven boards and is coming off his first collegiate double-double with 19 points and career-best 10 assists at IUPUI. 

CASHING IN ON THE FREE ONES

• Senior Antoine Davis, who claimed fourth in DI in free-throw percentage with a league-best and school-record 91.7% (88-of-96) last season, currently owns the school record at 89.2% (390-of-437).
• He is currently 11th in the nation in free throws (95.7%) as he is 22-of-23. 
• Going back to last season after he was just 3-of-6 in the second game against Wright State, he has made 83 of his last 86 attempts, spanning 23 games. He saw his school record and active NCAA-best 57-straight free throw streak come to an end at Louisville. As a sophomore, he had a streak of 37 in a row at one point. 
• His 89.2% is the second-highest among active returning players in the nation and 19th all-time in NCAA history. 

RACKING UP THE POINTS

• Senior Antoine Davis now has 63 career 20-point games, 21 career 30-point outings and four 40-point contests in just 89 collegiate games and has also scored in double figures in all 89 games - reaching at least 17 points in 71 of them.
• He entered the season with a chance at the NCAA record for most consecutive games in double figures, held by La Salle's Lionel Simmons (1986-90) and Campbell's Chris Clemons at 115 (2015-19). 
• Last year, he recorded a HL-best 15, 20-point games, five 30-point outings and a conference high-tying 46 points, just two off his career-high and a HL Tournament record with his 46 coming against Robert Morris in the first round of the playoffs. 
• The 46 points was tied for the league and nation high with Cleveland State's D'Moi Hodge (vs. Purdue Fort Wayne). 
• Last season he reached at least 23 points in 13-straight, the best 20-point streak by a Titan since Spencer Haywood's 16-straight in 1968-69 - but to Haywood's resume, most of those were 30-point games.

PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Antoine Davis was named the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year.
• It was the second time he has earned that honor as he was also tabbed with the accolade as a sophomore.
• Last season, the Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American led the HL in scoring and was third in the nation at 24.0 points per game, a number that has him ranked as the second leading returning scorer in the county this year.
• He also led the HL and was second in the nation in 3-point field goals (3.77).

AD THE QUICKEST TO 1,000 & 2,000, ON A QUEST FOR SCHOOL RECORD

• Antoine Davis scored 27 points at Notre Dame in the 2019-20 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 game.
• 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.
• Last year, he passed DeBusschere again (1,978) for third in Titan history as he crossed the 2,000-point plateau in his 81st game, quicker than the other two 2,000-point scorers in John Long (2,167 total - 2,000 in game 102) and Rashad Phillips (2,319 total - 2,000 in game 116). 
• He now has 2,201 career points and is now 118 in back of Phillips for the all-time school mark. 

ABOUT 2,000 POINTS

• Senior Antoine Davis has 2,202 career points, the second-leading active scorer in the country in total points, although all of his have come against DI competition. 
• At the moment, 608 NCAA players have amassed over 2,000 career points at the DI level and if he is able to get to 2,500, only 73 players have achieved that mark.
• Only 12 players have reached 2,000 career points in the Horizon League as he is sixth in conference history in that category, 713 shy of the all-time mark.

ONE LETHAL SHOT

• Antoine Davis comes into the year fifth all-time in NCAA history with 3.90, three-point field goals per game.
• He has connected on a 3-pointer in 85 of his 89 collegiate games and also has 49 career games with four or more triples, 17 with six or more, nine games with seven or more, and has thrice connected on 10 in his career, tying a school record as well as breaking a conference tournament record. 
• He was the league leader and second in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (3.77) last season, and that marked the third-straight year that he has been top 10 nationally in 3-point field goals per game. 
• His 347 career 3-pointers is also second in school and Horizon League history, trailing former Titan Rashad Phillips' 348, while also third among active players.
• The NCAA record book registers the top 30 for all-time 3-pointers and No. 30 stands at 379 by a familiar name to head coach Mike Davis in Robert Vaden, who was recruited and played for coach Davis at Indiana and at UAB. 

AMONG THE BESTS

• Senior Antoine Davis ended last year leading the Horizon League and ranking third in the country in scoring at 24.0 points per game, marking the third-straight season he finished in the top four nationally in scoring (26.1 for third in 2019 and 24.3 for fourth in 2020).
• He also became just the second player in HL history to lead the conference three times joining Loyola's Alfredrick Hughes (1983-85) as he could put just himself on that pedestal if he were to lead the league again this year as he currently sits on top and second in the country at 23.0 ppg. 

DAVIS DISHING IT OUT

• Senior Antoine Davis can not only score, but he can get his teammates involved as he stands 10th in school history with 378 career assists. 
• He has 38 career games with five or more assists and just set his career-best with 10 at IUPUI. 
• It was the most assists by a Titan since Jermaine Jackson Jr. had 13 against Siena Heights in 2017-18.

MADUT DOING IT ALL

• Junior Madet Akec is averaging 15.0 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds, 12 steals and four blocks. He is shooting a team-best 50.6% overall and has hit at least two 3-pointers in four games. 
• He currently stands fifth in rebounding, sixth in field goal percentage, seventh in steals and eighth in scoring. 
• He has also scored in double figures in all seven games and is tied for second in the HL with three double-doubles. 
• Akec just scored a career-high 20 points with seven rebounds at IUPUI.  
• He posted his second straight double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds at Hofstra. 
• Akec made an immediate impact with the Titans at Wyoming, posting his first career double-double with career-high 14 points and a career-best 13 rebounds.
• He came back upping his then career-high to 15 points - all in the second half - with seven boards, two assists, two blocks and a steal at Toledo and exceeded his career-high with 19 points and five steals to go with a team-high 10 boards for his second double-double at Louisville. 
• A teammate of current Titan Prince Oduro at South Florida, he competed in 33 games at USF the past two seasons, redshirting as a freshman, and tallied 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds, while shooting nearly 50.0% (14-of-31).  
• A native of Tonj, South Sudan, he grew up in Melbourne, Australia, before prepping at Victory Rock in Bradenton, Florida.
• His brother, Deng Adel, played basketball at Louisville and played in the NBA with Toronto, Cleveland and Brooklyn and is currently playing overseas in Wales.

A MCADOO IS BACK

• Kevin McAdoo had the distinction of making the first basket of the season, hitting a triple at Wyoming and then had a career game, tying his career-high with 23 points and hitting five 3-pointers at Toledo. 
• At Mississippi State, he scored 13 points and handed out four assists. 
• The name McAdoo is special in Titans' history as his father, Kevin McAdoo Sr., is the school's all-time assist leader with 615 earning four letters between 1982-86.
• He played last year at Bradley after playing his first two at Eastern Michigan. 
• Last season, he saw action in 17 games with eight starts and averaged 6.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, while posting a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. 
• He tallied a season-best 13 points at Missouri State and notched 10 points and a career-best five assists at Valparaiso.
• In his first two years at EMU, he played in 59 games with 21 starts and recorded 6.7 points and 1.0 assists, shooting 42.4% overall and 34.4% from behind the arc. 
• As a sophomore, he netted 8.6 points and 1.5 assists along with 30 steals and knocking down 40 triples, second on the squad. He scored a personal-best 23 points in the 2017-18 season finale against Sam Houston State and 20 points at Central Michigan in 2018-19.
• As a prep at West Bloomfield High School, he averaged 25.0 points, 5.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds, leading his team to the final four and earning Third-Team All-State honors in his senior campaign. 

HIGH WATERMARK

• Junior Noah Waterman - who returned to the Titans after missing four-straight games with an undisclosed injury - was a great addition to the Titan team a year ago. 
• He scored eight points with five rebounds at IUPUI in his first real action of the year. 
• He became eligible mid-season last season and played in 15 games with 12 starts and was third on the team in scoring (11.9), fourth in rebounding (4.5) and tied for the team lead with 10 blocks. 
• He shot 55.5% from the field and 52.8% from the outside (38-of-72), scoring in double figures in eight games.
• In the second meeting with Oakland on the road, he posted 12.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game recording 18 points and a career-high eight rebounds and two blocks in the win, hitting 7-of-11 shots and 4-of-8 from three.
• He netted 17 points with five rebounds and two blocks in the win at Horizon League champions Cleveland State, going a career-best 5-of-7 from three with three of those in the final three minutes to seal the win and ended the regular season against Robert Morris netting 19 points in game one and a career-high 22 in game two, where he was a career-best 8-of-11 from the field with a career-tying five triples. 
• He then had 19 points and pulled down five rebounds in the Horizon League Championship quarterfinals at NKU. 
• A transfer from Niagara, Waterman played in seven games with five starts until an injury ended his freshman year.
• In high school, he was 6-2 but hit a growth spurt and is now almost seven feet allowing him to play as a guard with his shooting skills. 

THE MOTOR CITY HAS A PRINCE

• Senior Prince Oduro transferred to the Titans as a four-year Division I transfer, playing in 69 career games at Siena, Mississippi State and South Florida.
• Oduro grabbed a season-high eight rebounds at Northeastern to go with five points. 
• He scored eight points with five rebounds at Toledo and was then perfect from the field hitting all seven shots and finishing with 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds at Mississippi State. 
• At Louisville, he had four points, seven boards and two blocks.
• A member of the USF Bulls last year, he saw action in 17 games, averaging 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, shooting 45.9 % from the floor. 
• At Mississippi State in 2019-20, he played in 21 games and averaged 1.2 points and 0.9 rebounds, connecting on 7-of-13 shots.
• As a freshman at Siena in 2017-18, he was an impact player starting 27 of the 31 games he appeared in, tallying 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds, shooting 48.4 % from the field with 21 blocks.
• He notched a season-high 19 points against Niagara and pulled down a season-best 12 rebounds against Manhattan.
• In high school, he played for First Love Christian Academy in Washington, Pennsylvania, and was the first player in his prep school's history to sign with a Division I program. In his native Canada, he won a gold medal as Team Canada posted a 6-1 record at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup in Egypt.

BIG WILLY STYLE

• Senior Willy Isiani is back and as one of the most experienced Titans in his fourth year - all under coach Davis. 
• He just scored a season-high eight points hitting a pair of three's at IUPUI and that was after six points on a pair of 3-pointers at Hofstra.
• He has also grabbed at least three boards in four games, including seven points and five rebounds at Northeastern. 
• Known as a shooter, he started to learn the post position grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds with eight points at Western Michigan last season, posting a career-high five assists with six rebounds and two steals at Michigan State and 10 boards with two blocks at Notre Dame last year. He also notched 15 points with seven boards and three assists against Kent State.  
• A native of Tbilisi, Georgia, who is believed to be the first Titan from the country of Georgia, has connected on the three ball on 72 of his 105 career field goals.

SHAW MAKING AN IMPACT

• Junior Jeramy Shaw has started to shine after a standout junior college career.
• He just scored a season-high five points and grabbed six rebounds at IUPUI. 
• He scored his first DI point on a free throw at Toledo and netted his first basket at Hofstra, where he was fouled on the play and converted the and one at the line.  
• Shaw was a NJCAA Second Team All-American last season at North Central Missouri College after averaging 16.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists, shooting 55.9-percent from the field, 34.6-percent from three and 72.4-percent from the line. 
• He scored in double figures in 21 of his 25 games, including a career-high 31 points at Southeast Community College, 29 points versus Metropolitan Community College, 28 points against State Fair Community College and 27 points against Kansas City Kansas Community College.
• As a freshman, he tallied 9.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, shooting 52.7-percent from the floor.