MBB Preview: Bethel to be Blue Devil men's first home opponent tonight

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (1-1, 0-0 WIAC) host their first home game of the season Tuesday, Nov. 19, when they will host Bethel University (0-0, 0-0 MIAC) at approximately 7 p.m., following the women's game.

WEBCASTS: All UW-Stout home games will be available in a live video stream by Blue Devil Video, with Adam "Big Country" Lehnertz  on the call. WMEQ 880 Radio, with Jason Kenyon, Rob Silvers, Dan Schultz, Jimmie Kaska or Jake Bostrom, will broadcast and provide a live audio stream of away conference games and all Saturday WIAC doubleheaders. Stout will provide Live Stats for all home games. Check the Blue Devil Webcast page or under details of the schedule page to see broadcasts and Live Stats available when Stout is on the road.

THIS WEEK BY THE NUMBERS
9	Number of seniors on the Blue Devil roster
5	Number of first year players on the Blue Devil roster
4-of-5	Number of leading scorers returning
64	Percentage of returning points and rebounds

THE BLUE DEVILS (1-1): UW-Stout coach Eddie Andrist is almost beside himself when he talks about the number of the seniors on his roster. The Blue Devils list nine seniors, of which seven were on the roster last season. The Blue Devils return four starters from last year, Alex Oman, Jarvis Ragland, Aaron Jenny and Josh Kosloske. Oman, one of three first team all-WIAC picks from last year, was the team's second leading scorer last season with 14.4 points. Oman wasn't too bad with the rebounding, averaging 4.8 boards. Ragland averaged 9.7 points, Jenny 6.3 points and Kosloske 6.1 points. Kosloske also pulled down a team-best 5.6 rebounds. The Blue Devils will be looking for someone to take over at point guard for the graduated Erik Olson. Olson left the program as the team's all-time assist leader. Newcomer Phil Freeman, a junior transfer, has been slated to fill that spot. Freeman is averaging 9.0 ppg and is tied for second on the team with four assists after two games this season. Jimmy Whitehead, a senior transfer, will also add some spark to the Blue Devils scoring game. The off guard scored 16 points in the exhibition opener against Winona State and had 13 points against UM-Duluth. Over the first two games of the regular season, he is averaging a team-leading 19.0 ppg to go along with 4.5 rebounds per contest.  Jay Higgins and Adam Wadzinski also saw considerable time last season and should continue to provide depth at the forward positions. Tim Butina played in 21 games a year ago. Defensively, the Blue Devils were tough last year, allowing 56.2 points. Last year the Blue Devils ranked fourth in Division III in scoring defense at 56.2 points per game. They were ninth in field goal percentage at 37.9.  | 2012-13 Statistics | 2013-14 Statistics

STOUT'S LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils finished 1-1 at the Buzz Levick Tournament hosted by Wartburg College, Nov. 15-16. Stout dropped an 84-83 overtime decision to Mount Mercy, rallying from a 16-points down with under six minutes left in the game. A Jimmy Whitehead 3-pointer to finish off the rally tied the game and sent it to overtime, where the Blue Devils would fall. Whitehead led all scorers with 24 points. Alex Oman had 20 for Stout and Phil Freeman chipped in 12.  | Mount Mercy Story and Stats | The overtime loss to Mount Mercy put the Blue Devils in the tournament consolation game, taking on a pesky Crown College squad. Traling 28-31 at the half, Stout was able to turn it on in the second half, outscoring Crown 36-27 the rest of the way. Whitehead provided a big boost, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the second half. Aaron Jenny was the Blue Devils leading scorer, with 16 points. Oman added 13 off the bench and was named to the all-tournament team, averaging 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals over Stout's two contests. | Crown Story and Stats

SCOUTING BETHEL UNIVERSITY (0-0, 0-0 MIAC): This is the season opener for the Royals, who finished last season at 15-11 overall, 11-9 in the MIAC. The Royals will be without MIAC player of the year and second team All-American, Taylor Hall, who graduated No. 11 on the school's all-time scoring list with 1365 points. Key returning players for the Royals include senior forward Kyle Zimmerman and senior guard Quinn Gorski, as both started all 26 games last season. Zimmerman was the team's second leading scorer, with 13.2 ppg to go along with 8.1 rpg. Gorski was tops on the team in steals, with 38 to go with 6.5 ppg. Casey Aden is the only other returning starter for the Royals, as he started 22-26 games a year ago.   | 2012-13 Statistics | 2013-14 Statistics

THE SERIES: The Blue Devils played at the Bethel Tip Off Tournament last year, but did not play Bethel. The last time the two teams met was Nov. 16, 2010, with Stout taking a 95-69 season-opening win in Menomonie. | Game Story and Statistics

THE COACHES:  UW-Stout:  Eddie Andrist (167-159 at Stout, 421-354 overall) is in his 14th year as the coach of the Blue Devils, and his 24th 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. | Bethel University: Doug Novak is in his first season as head coach of the Royals. Before coming to Bethel, Novak spent the last six years as an assistant head coach at The Citadel and Tulane University. His previous head coaching experience included a stint at NCAA Division II Anderson (S.C.) University, where he led the team to it's first winning season and first conference championship in school history. Novak was also the athletic director and head basketball coach at Iowa Western Community College before coaching at Anderson.  

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-Whitewater, and UW-Superior. Bethel is one of 11 teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).

UP NEXT: The Blue Devils will be at Luther College, Monday, Nov. 25, then will host the Super 8 Thanksgiving Turkey  Shootout, Nov. 30-Dec. 1. Stout will host Ashford University, Nov. 30 and Wartburg College, Dec. 1.