GAME COVERAGE: WMEQ Radio |
Live Stats
THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (17-4, 9-3 WIAC) will travel to UW-La Crosse (14-7, 7-5 WIAC), Wednesday, Feb. 6, for a 7 p.m. rematch with the Eagles, who they defeated, 63-55, earlier this season.
WIAC STANDINGS: UW-Stout is currently in a two-way tie with UW-Whitewater for second place in the WIAC (9-3). As of now, the tiebreaker would go to UW-Whitewater due to their head-to-head record of 2-0 against Stout, giving them the second seed behind UW-Stevens Point (11-2). With four wins to close out the season, Stout can assure themselves of at least a share of the conference title, which could potentially be a three-way tie.
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.
This week's Interview |
Listen to Interviews
NEWSLETTER: During the season, the Blue Devil coaching staff produces a newsletter offering additional insight into the programs.
You can download the latest newsletter here.
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THIS WEEK BY THE NUMBERS |
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23 |
Average number of three-pointers attempted by UW-La Crosse per game (most in the WIAC). |
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3.73 |
Erik Olson's current assist-to-turnover ratio, the best of such in all of DIII. |
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2 |
Consecutive games in which Stout's opponent was/is coming off a win over UW-Stevens Point, accounting for Point's only two conference losses. |
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43 |
Percent of Stout's total points scored by either Alex Oman or Chris Hortman (510 total points). |
THE BLUE DEVILS (17-4, 9-3 WIAC): In what was anticipated to be a competitve, low-scoring affair, UW-Stout completed a second-half comeback to defeat UW-Platteville, 53-50, on Saturday. In doing so, they completed their first regular season sweep of the Pioneers since their 2005-06 campaign. Platteville won the rebound battle, 31-30, and shot 42 percent compared to Stout, who shot 35 percent. But the difference in the game was perhaps the turnover battle, which Stout won, 17-9. The Blue Devils scored 18 points off Platteville turnovers, while the Pioneers converted nine Stout turnovers into eight points. Furthermore, it was Stout's clutch play inside the game's final minute that helped them seal the victory. Within those final 60 seconds, Stout was 1-of-1 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line. Meanwhile, Platteville missed their only field goal attempt and committed a turnover with 38 seconds to play to relinquish the 48-47 lead entering the final minute. Stout is now 3-1 in games decided by four points or less, with their only such loss coming at UW-Whitewater...Stout's success this season has been due to their dominance defensively and on the boards. The Blue Devils rank inside the top five in the nation in both scoring defense (54.8 ppg) and field goal percentage allowed (.368). Stout also boasts a conference-best rebounding margin of +8.2.
Erik Olson and
Chris Hortman each had a great month of January, and both had solid games to start off February. Against Platteville, Olson had four assists and no turnovers while Hortman scored a team-high 17 points. Olson's assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.73 is the best rate in all of DIII. He has dished out at least seven assists in six of the past seven games and now boasts a conference-best average of 6.6 per game, which ranks him inside the top five in all of DIII...Hortman has led the team in scoring in eight of the last nine games and led them in rebounding in seven of those contests. Since January 1, Hortman is averaging 18.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, the highest on the team in either category over that stretch. His scoring average is up to 13.7 points per game, which is the second-highest on the team, and he is tied with
Josh Kosloske for the team lead in rebounding (5.9 rpg)...
Alex Oman, who has perhaps been overshadowed by Hortman's hot streak, still leads the team in scoring, averaging 15 points per game. Oman ranks third in the conference in scoring while Hortman ranks sixth. Together, Oman and Hortman combine to take 44 percent of Stout's field goal attempts, and collectively provide 43 percent of Stout's points...In addition to being the team's second leading rebounder, Kosloske is shooting a team-best .627 from the field...
Jarvis Ragland ranks third in scoring with an average of 10 points per game, while
Aaron Jenny is averaging 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. |
2012-13 Statistics
STOUT'S LAST TIME OUT: Trailing UW-Platteville by as much as eight points midway through the second half Saturday at Johnson Fieldhouse, the Blue Devils scratched and clawed their way back in position to win the game, and win it they did, 53-50, keeping the crowd of 1100 on the edge of their seats down the stretch. Trailing 45-37 with 9:09 remaining, Stout went on a 7-0 run, fueled by four free throws by
Alex Oman and a three-pointer by
Chris Hortman, to pull to within 45-44 with 6:41 left on the clock, then tied the game at 46 apiece on a layup by
Josh Kosloske at 5:37. The Pioneers' Chas Cross nailed two free throws at 4:08 to give Platteville a 48-46 lead. Stout's
Aaron Jenny made it a one-point game, 48-47, with the front end of two free throws at 2:23. The teams traded possessions over the next two minutes until Platteville turned the ball over with 38 seconds remaining. Following a Stout timeout, the Blue Devils wasted little time when Hortman drove for the go-ahead layup with 23 seconds left for a 49-48 lead. Platteville's Marcus Jackson missed the layup 18 seconds later. Oman came down with the rebound and was promptly fouled. Oman drilled both free throws and Stout called timeout with a 51-48 lead. Hortman later hit two free throws with just a second remaining and Platteville's last gasp attempt fell short. |
Story and Stats
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PLAYERS TO WATCH |
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UW-Stout |
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#4 - Erik Olson, PG, 5-10, 160 |
Leads nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.73) |
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#3 - Chris Hortman, F, 6-3, 190 |
Led team in scoring in 8 of last 9 games |
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UW-La Crosse |
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#23 - Jeff Heiden, G, 6-0, 165 |
13 ppg, 2.48 apg, 52-of-121 (.430) 3-pt FG |
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#32 - Lucas Morrissey, F, 6-4, 220 |
10.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 26 blocks, .511 FG% |
SCOUTING UW-LA CROSSE (14-7, 7-5 WIAC): For the second straight game, Stout's opponent will be riding high after knocking off WIAC leader UW-Stevens Point. On Saturday, UW-Platteville entered Johnson Fieldhouse following a 54-46 win over the Pointers. This week, Stout will travel to La Crosse, where the Eagles held their own against Stevens Point, grabbing a 67-62 overtime win. The win perhaps came as a surprise to many since La Crosse entered the game losers of four of their past five, including a home loss to UW-Eau Claire. Instead of falling to .500 in conference, however, the Eagles dealt Stevens Point their second straight loss and inched closer to Platteville in the WIAC standings as they eye a first-round home playoff game. La Crosse has attempted (487) and made (190) more three-pointers this season than any other team in the conference. That shooting clip of .390 ranks them just barely behind UW-Stevens Point (.391) for the best percentage in the WIAC. La Crosse is one of the league's weaker rebounding teams, and have a season rebounding margin of -2.5. Stout out-rebounded the Eagles, 37-21, in their first meeting of the season, which was won by Stout. La Crosse takes care of the ball well and is the only team in the conference to average under 10 turnovers per game. They won the turnover battle, 18-10 against Stout earlier this year. UW-La Crosse features three players who average at least 10 points, with Jeff Heiden leading the way with 13 per game. Lucas Morrissey and Luke Tweed each offer 10.3 points per game and Morrissey leads the team with 6.6 rebounds per contest, the second best average in the WIAC. The Eagles' three-point attack is led by Heiden, who has attempted 121 threes, connecting at a .430 clip. The only Eagle who shoots a better percentage from three is Braden Tice, who is 34-of-68 (.500) on the season. | 2012-13 Statistics
UW-LA CROSSE'S LAST TIME OUT: On Saturday, the Eagles dealt UW-Stevens Point their second straight loss after they began their conference schedule with 11 straight wins. After a back-and-forth first 15 minutes of the game, La Crosse ended the first half on a 12-3 to take an eight-point lead into the locker rooms. They built their lead to as much as 10 points in the second half and led by seven with 3:30 remaining. The Pointers, however closed on a 7-0 run, scoring with seven seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime. The Eagles opened the bonus period on a 9-1 run which gave them a comfortable coast to the finish. |
Story and Stats
THE SERIES: UW-La Crosse leads the series, 109-70, overall. They swept last season's series, and have won 12 of the last 14 games against Stout. The Blue Devils won the teams' first matchup this season.
EARLIER THIS SEASON (Jan. 16): Chris Hortman recorded his second double-double in three games as Stout defeated UW-La Crosse, 63-55, at Johnson Fieldhouse. Hortman, who recorded his first double-double of the season a week prior, went off for 21 points and 13 rebounds to help Stout jump ahead of UW-La Crosse in the conference standings. Hortman was 7-for-15 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three. In a game that was very physical and competitive throughout, La Crosse took an early 11-4 lead. Stout battled back, however, and back-to-back buckets from
Jay Higgins gave the Blue Devils a one-point lead, their first since the early seconds of the game. Neither team led by more than three points the rest of the half and a jumper at the buzzer by Lucas Collom tied the score at 30 at the break. The first half featured five lead changes and five ties. La Crosse went on the first substantial scoring run of the half, an 8-0 spurt that gave them a 44-37 lead. Stout answered right back with a 10-0 run to grab a three-point lead with nine minutes to play. It was with three minutes remaining when Stout went on their game-winning run.
Alex Oman started the run with three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, and Ragland finished a three-point play seconds later to give Stout an eight-point, 61-53, lead with two minutes to play. |
Story and Stats
THE COACHES: UW-Stout: Eddie Andrist (165-159 at Stout, 413-350 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. |
UW-La Crosse: Ken Koelbl is in his 10th season as the head coach of the Eagles. Koelbl has accumulated an overall record of 126-109 (.536) and 64-78 (.451) in the WIAC after nine seasons. Koelbl's breakout year came in 2005-06, when he led the Eagles to a 20-8 record, the most wins since the 1982-83 team went 20-7. That year, La Crosse advanced to the NCAA Division III Championships, the program's first ever appearance. Koelbl spent eight years as an assistant at UW-Stevens Point before coming to La Crosse, where he graduated from Viterbo in 1990.
CONFERENCES: Stout and
La Crosse are both members of the nine-team Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) along with UW-Eau Claire, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Superior and UW-Whitewater.
UP NEXT: Stout will travel to UW-Eau Claire on Saturday, before they finish their regular season with home games against UW-Stevens Point, Wednesday, Feb. 13, and UW-Oshkosh, Saturday, Feb. 16. Stout has clinched a WIAC Tournament berth, but their first game's date, opponent, and location remain to be determined.
