THIS WEEK'S GAMES: After stringing together three consecutive conference wins, the Blue Devils (9-1, 3-1 WIAC) will play a pair of non-conference games in Wisconsin Dells at the Just A Game Holiday Classic. Stout will play Loras College (4-5), Saturday, Dec. 29 at 5:30 p.m., and face off with Concordia University (Wis.) (5-3) the following afternoon at 3:30 p.m. In the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, Stout was ranked 23rd, their first time in the polls since the 2005-06 season.
EDDIE ANDRIST INTERVIEWS: Throughout the season, Jimmie Kaska of Sports Radio 1400 AM will speak with men's basketball head coach
Eddie Andrist. Listed are each of the interviews throughout the season. |
Listen to Interviews
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THIS WEEK BY THE NUMBERS |
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9 |
Assists recorded by Erik Olson against River Falls, his highest total ever in a game without a turnover. |
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23rd |
Stout's national ranking in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, their first time in the polls since 2005-06. |
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3-1 |
Stout's all-time record against Loras and Concordia (Wis.) combined. |
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12-1 |
Record in last 13 games, dating back to last year; best record in 13 straight games since 1986-87. |
THE BLUE DEVILS (9-1, 3-1 WIAC): After a loss to UW-Whitewater in their conference opener, Stout has won their last three games, all WIAC contests. They are off to their best start to a season since 2005-06 and, with two wins in the Dells, they would match that start of 11-1. Their stifling defense and dominance on the boards have been two keys to their early season success. Stout is holding their opponents to an average of just 51.8 points per game, and have a rebounding margin of +7.9, which both rank them second in the conference. Their defense is also holding their opponents to a combined .353 shooting clip from the field, which is the lowest rate in the conference. Much credit is due to 6-8 center
Josh Kosloske, who has made his post presence known all season. Kosloske kickstarted his season with a 16-point, 12-rebound performance in the opener, and has been mopping up down low ever since. He is averaging a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game, which ranks him second in the WIAC in that category. Additionally, he is shooting 71 percent from the field and leads the team with 13 blocks.
Alex Oman is back atop the scoring leaders on Stout's roster, averaging 14.3 points per game, tied for fourth best in the conference. He is tied for first on the team in steals, and second in blocks, rebounds, and assists. After just eight points total in the previous three games,
Chris Hortman took a step in the right direction against River Falls, scoring 12 points. His 3-for-12 shooting clip wasn't exactly eye-popping, but he did connect on 4-of-4 free throw attempts, all coming in the game's final minute to help seal the victory.
Jarvis Ragland is now second on Stout's roster in scoring, offering 11.2 points per game and led the team against River Falls with 14.
Aaron Jenny is averaging 8.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and is shooting a healthy .493 from the field.
Erik Olson is having a very productive season directing the offense from the point guard position. He had nine assists against River Falls compared to zero turnovers, his most assists ever in a game without a turnover. His 6.2 assists per game and assist to turnover ratio of 4.43 are both first in the conference by a long shot. |
2012-13 Statistics
A PLACE IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Erik Olson has been climbing the Stout leaderboard in assists all year, and the inevitable happened against Superior on Dec. 5, as Olson passed Jeremy Leibfried's record total of 358, making him the all-time career assists leader in the Stout record books. Olson broke the record with his third assist of the game, and currently has 369.
STOUT'S LAST TIME OUT: UW-Stout had an off-night in the rebounding category, but used an efficient offense and solid defense to survive River Falls, Wednesday, Dec. 12, earning a 62-52 victory at Johnson Fieldhouse. Entering the game with a league-best +10 rebounding differential, the Blue Devils allowed 15 offensive boards to River Falls, and were out-rebounded, 41-30 overall. But a balanced scoring attack led by a very efficient
Erik Olson gave UW-Stout the edge they needed to prevent the upset. Five players of Stout's nine-man lineup scored at least eight points with
Jarvis Ragland leading the way with 14. Ragland was 6-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Olson distributed the ball well, as he dished out nine assists compared to zero turnovers, and came away with two steals. Stout shot 40 percent compared to River Falls' 35 percent, and won the turnover battle, 15-5, to offset their rebounding margin of -11. |
Story and Stats
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OPPONENTS TO WATCH |
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Loras |
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#34 - Nathaniel Smith, G, 6-4, 195 |
12.1 ppg, leads team in assists and steals |
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#42 - Jake Rutan, C, 6-8, 220 |
6 points per game, 5.1 rpg |
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Concordia (Wis.) |
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#34 - Mark Pace, SF, 6-4, 190 |
14.2 points per game, 4.7 rpg |
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#50 - Steve Zielinski, C, 6-9, 230 |
13.2 points per game, 6.3 rpg |
SCOUTING LORAS COLLEGE (4-5): Loras College has played in just a few close games so far, with most of them either being huge wins or huge losses. They will not enter conference play until January, so they are getting a taste of everything in their nine non-conference matchups leading into 2013. After winning by two in their season opener, the Duhawks dropped four of their next five, three of which they lost by double digits. They have righted the ship a little bit lately, having won two of their past three by at least 20 points. Most recently, however, they absorbed a 30-point loss to Augustana. Although he's only led the team in scoring once,
Nathaniel Smith boasts the best scoring average on the roster (12.1 ppg). He also leads the team in assists and steals and pulls down a respectable 4 rebounds per game.
Jake Rutan leads the team with 5.1 boards per game but
Alex Cline is close behind, averaging five per contest. Both of them average at least six points per game on a squad that features nine players who average at least 5.8 per game. As a team, Loras shoots over 47 percent from the field, so it will be interesting to see how Stout's stifling defense handles this offense that scores 73 points per game |
2012-13 Statistics
THE SERIES: UW-Stout and Loras have each won a game in the teams' brief history. Loras won their inaugural meeting, 78-63, during the 1974-75 season. Stout then returned the favor a year later with a 51-50 victory.
SCOUTING CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY (WIS.) (5-3): The Falcons sit at 5-3 after starting 1-2, and since going 4-1. Most recently, they picked up two wins in the Daytona Beach Shootout, a 80-64 blowout followed by a 60-58 nailbiter over Bates College.
Mark Pace and
Steve Zielinski have delivered a good chunk of the scoring thus far, averaging 14.2 and 13.2 points per game, respectively. Zielinski, the big man down low, also offers 6.3 rebounds per game as does
Malcom Bowers. Both of them trail teammate
Brian Jackson, however, who pulls down 6.7 per game. |
2012-13 Statistics
THE SERIES: Stout has won both of the previous matchups with Concordia. They have averaged 100 points against the Falcons in the two victories, winning by scores of 103-81 and 97-88.
THE COACHES: UW-Stout: Eddie Andrist (160-157 at Stout, 408-348 overall) is in his 13th year as the coach of the Blue Devils, and his 23rd overall in the collegiate ranks. Andrist led the Blue Devils to their first NCAA Division III appearance five seasons ago when Stout advanced to the second round. Andrist coached at Mount Senario for 11 seasons and won three national championships. Andrist spent two stints coaching international basketball, working with the country of Qatar.
CONFERENCES: Stout is a member of the nine-team Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) along with UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Superior, and UW-Whitewater.
Loras is a member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC), while
Concordia is a member of the Northern Athletic Conference (NAC).
UP NEXT: Stout will kick off the new year with a home game against UW-Eau Claire, Wednesday, Jan. 3, at 6 p.m.
