No. 2 IU East clashes with No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan in NAIA DII showdown

10/30/2018 12:00:00 AM

By IU East Sports Information

The No. 2-ranked Indiana University East men's basketball team starts its 2018-19 schedule Oct. 30 with a visit to reigning national champion, No. 1-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University in a matchup of the top two teams in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.

Tipoff is at 8 p.m. at Indiana Wesleyan's Luckey Arena.No. 2 IU East was 34-3 last season. No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan is off to a 3-0 start this season.

LAST TIME OUT

Indiana Wesleyan edged IU East 75-72 in the Round of 4 at the 2018 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship this past March. The Red Wolves had held off the Wildcats 80-79 in Richmond early in the regular season.

Indiana Wesleyan has won eight of 10 meetings against IU East since the Red Wolves joined the NAIA.

IU EAST STORYLINES

* This is the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in IU East's program history.

* IU East's No. 2 national preseason ranking is the loftiest preseason ranking in program history.

* IU East is 7-4 in season openers since joining the NAIA.

* Bishop Smith (11.1 points per game), Aaron Thomas (8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game) and Jaylen McKay (3.4 assists per game) are IU East's leading returnees in the standard statistical categories.

* IU East has played three games against a team ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches Poll and gone 1-2 in those games. The first two occasions were against Indiana Wesleyan. The Red Wolves beat the then-No. 1 Wildcats in 2011 and lost at IWU in 2014.

* IU East made 19 of 35 3-pointers (.542 percentage) in two games against Indiana Wesleyan last season, but the Red Wolves were outrebounded by double digits in both games.

* Bishop Smith and Jaylen McKay both scored in double digits in both of IU East's games against Indiana Wesleyan last season.

SCOUTING INDIANA WESLEYAN

Indiana Wesleyan's most recent win was an 85-62 decision against No. 7 Cornerstone University on Oct. 27.

Kyle Mangas, a 6-3 sophomore guard and a first-team All-American last season, leads the Wildcats with 21.7 points per game. Mangas averaged 19.5 points in the two IU East-Indiana Wesleyan games last season.

Evan Maxwell, a 6-10 senior forward and an honorable mention All-American last season, adds 16.0 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game.

FOLLOW THE GAME

The Wildcats' Luckey Arena is located on the Indiana Wesleyan University campus at 4201 South Washington Street in Marion.

Live video, live audio and live stats produced by Indiana Wesleyan are scheduled to be available.

Monitor iueredwolves.com for the game recap and box score.