KIAC Men's Basketball Game of the Week: IU East at #20 Rio Grande

1/15/2016 12:00:00 AM

Pictured: D.D. Joiner (Rio Grande) & Vasha Davis (IU East)

RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- A matchup of two of the top teams in the KIAC Colonial Division is highlighted with the KIAC Men's Basketball Game of the Week featuring Indiana University East at No. 20 University of Rio Grande on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 4 p.m. at Newt Oliver Arena.

IU East is 11-8 overall and leading the KIAC Colonial with a 5-0 KIAC record. In the first of two meetings between the teams this year, IU East puts its perfect conference record on the line at Rio Grande, which is ranked No. 20 in this week's NAIA Division II Top 25 Poll and 1.0 game back in the divisional standings at 14-5 overall and 4-1 KIAC.

Both teams have spent time in the Top 25 this year and are two of the several KIAC teams battling in the conference standings. The matchup of the Red Wolves and Red Storm is a key game in possibly determining the divisional race and perhaps the overall conference title between the two divisions.

Rio Grande is coming off a loss at home to WVU Tech, 88-85, on Thursday night. That stopped a nine-game win streak for the Red Storm, which is still one of the hottest teams in the NAIA the last month.

IU East has won two in a row, including a 78-74 home win over Point Park in its last game Jan. 11. That bumped the Red Wolves' record up to 11-8. It is a battle-tested IU East team that will be playing its ninth NAIA Top 25 opponent at Rio Grande.

Live coverage from Rio Grande includes video streaming presented by Stretch Internet and Live Stats via Dakstats. Follow the KIAC Men's Basketball Game of the Week on Twitter @KIACSports and @KIACScores with hashtags #KIAC #KIACgotw

The following is a game preview courtesy of IU East sports information:

IU EAST STORYLINES

* IU East is the only KIAC team without a league loss.

* This is the first of three consecutive KIAC Colonial Division road games for the Red Wolves.

* IU East has won two in a row.

* The Red Wolves are 4-3 in true road games this season.

* This is IU East's ninth game this season against a Top 25 opponent.

* The Red Wolves are 8-0 when they shoot .480 or better from the field and 6-0 if they score 80 points or more.

* Sophomore guard Lucas Huffman (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central High School) leads IU East with 17.1 points per game. Huffman has scored in double digits in 17 consecutive games.

* This is IU East's fourth appearance in the KIAC Game of the Week this season. The Red Wolves are 2-1 in KIAC spotlight games.

RED WOLVES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

IU East is 16th in the nation with 4.2 blocks per game and 23rd in the nation with a .729 free throw percentage.

Senior guard Vasha Davis (Hammond, Ind./Morton High School) is 29th in the nation with an .835 free throw percentage.

Sophomore guard Jacoby Claypool (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop High School) is 42nd in the nation with 1.8 steals per game.

RIO GRANDE STORYLINES

Rio Grande had won nine in a row, the program's longest winning streak in more than 15 years, before an 88-85 home setback against WVU Tech on Jan. 14.

The well-rounded RedStorm is third in the nation with 20.0 assists per game, seventh in the nation with a +8.58 rebounding margin and 10th in the nation with a .491 field goal percentage.

D.D. Joiner, a 6-4 senior guard, leads Rio Grande with 19.1 points per game.

Dwayne Bazemore, a 6-10 senior center, adds 14.8 points per game and leads the RedStorm with 9.0 rebounds per game.

Will Hill, a 6-0 sophomore guard, is ninth in the nation with a .486 3-point field goal percentage.