MBB Preview: Blue Devils turn attention to non-conference foe one last time

Ashford University: Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video | UW-Eau Claire: Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: UW-Stout (8-6, 3-3 WIAC) (9-7, 4-4 WIAC) will turn their attention to a non-conference opponent one last time when they travel to Ashford University (15-7), Wednesday, Jan. 22, then will return to conference play when they travel to UW-Eau Claire (8-8, 1-6 WIAC), Saturday, Jan. 25, to begin the second round of WIAC play.

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

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.

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.

CAREER STATS:  Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this page to check out the UW-Stout career high for points, rebounds, and assists of each Blue Devil player.

BLUE DEVILS BY THE NUMBERS
13	different starting lineups for the Blue Devils this     season
9	Blue Devil games decided by eight or fewer points
5-4	Blue Devil's W-L record in those games
24	Alex Oman's spot on the Blue Devils all-time scoring     list after scoring his 1001st point against Oshkosh

 THE BLUE DEVILS (9-7, 4-4 WIAC): After getting off to a 7-1 start this year, the Blue Devils have fallen into a bit of a slump, dropping six of their last eight games. Injuries have played a role, as the Blue Devils have been forced to use six different starting lineups over that period.  Stout hopes to right the ship this coming week, as they will play Ashford University in their final non-conference tilt of the season on Wednesday before returning to conference play on the road at UW-Eau Claire on Saturday. Alex Oman is coming off a five game stretch that saw him lead the team in scoring four straight games and score his 1000th career point. He is currently second on the team in scoring, at 13.2 ppg which is also good for 11th in the WIAC. Oman also has 16 steals, tied for tops on the team and 27 assists, which ranks second. His 4.4 rebounds per contest are fourth on the team, just behind Josh Kosloske's 4.6 per game. Kosloske is also shooting 50.9%, one of two Blue Devils shooting better than 50%. Jimmy Whitehead is the other, shooting a blistering 55.3% from the field. Whitehead has been Stout's go-to scorer much of the season, but has been limited by injury over the last six games. He didnt play in three games and hasnt started since Dec. 28. Despite this, Whitehead leads Stout with an 16.9 points per game average. He has also been one of the Blue Devil's most consistent rebounders, grabbing an average of 5.5 per game, second to only guard Aaron Jenny, who pulls down 6.0 boards per game, which is also fifth in the WIAC. Jenny has also been limited by injury over the last couple games, missing the La Crosse game and playing limited minutes against Oshkosh and Plateville.  Jenny is averaging 10.8 points points per contest,leads the team in assists with 35 and is tied for first on the team with 16 steals. Adam Wadzinski has come off the bench the last two games after starting ten straight. Against La Crosse, his three pointer as time expired gave the Blue Devils a thrilling 59-57 victory. He has also been one of Stout's most valuable weapons from beyond the arc, hitting 41.5% (17-41) of his three-pointers. Wadzinksi was the teams leading scorer against Oshkosh with 11, only the second time this season a Blue Devil other than Whitehead, Oman, or Jenny led the team in scoring. He is tied with Jenny and Whitehead for first on the team with 16 steals. Freshman Brett Ahsenmacher leads the Blue Devils in three-point attempts and makes, hitting 21-48 (43.8%) from downtown this year.  He has hit multiple three-pointers in seven games this year.  Debonair Townsend leads the team with 17 blocks (1.06 per game), good for fourth in the conference. Jay Higgins has started each of the last two games for the Blue Devils. After scoring a career-high 11 points and grabbing 6 boards against La Crosse, Higgins scored 6 points and had 3 rebounds against Oshkosh, going 2-2 from the field.  Tim Butina is fifth on the team in rebounding, pulling in 3.1 per game. Guard Hank Kujak leads the team in assist-to-turnover ratio, with 18 assists compared to 11 turnovers.

The Blue Devils have 10 players who have started at least two games this season, and eight who have started at least five. As a team, Stout is outscoring their opponents 63.6-62.6. The 62.6 points per game that Stout allows is good for fourth best in the conference. The Blue Devils also hold their opponents to a WIAC low 40.9% shooting. In rebounding, Stout is second in the conference in rebounds per game with 37.5 while allowing opponents to grab only 27.7, fewest in the conference. Despite their high rebounding totals, the Blue Devils have had only two player grab double digit rebounds in a game. Jenny had 10 and 12 in the first two games of the season against Mount Mercy and Crown College while Kosloske grabbed 11 against Crown. Stout also is third in the conference in blocked shots (2.88 per game) and second in offensive rebounding (12.63 per game). |  2013-14 Statistics

STOUT'S LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils took a last second 59-57 win over UW-La Crosse, Jan. 15 when Adam Wadzinski hit a three-pointer from the corner as time expired. Stout then fell at UW-Oshkosh, 63-59, Jan. 18 when multiple comeback attempts fell short. |  La Crosse Story and Stats | Oshkosh Story and Stats

1000 and Counting: Blue Devil forward Alex Oman came into the season with 816 career points, 42nd on Stout's all-time scoring list. Going into last weeks contest against Oshkosh, Oman's career total sat at 994. With 2:47 remaining and Stout trailing by two, Oman came up with a lay up to tie the game and push him over the 1000 point mark, giving him 1001 for his career. Oman has scored 185 points this season and is currently 24th on the UW-Stout all-time scoring list, ahead of Ron Hunters' (1983-87) 971 points and behind Ken Obermueller's (1971-75) 1019 points. Oman scored 169 points as a freshman, 258 as a sophomore and 389 as a junior.

SCOUTING ASHFORD UNIVERSITY (15-7): Ashford, a NAIA program, will be the Blue Devil's final nonconference opponent this season. At 15-7, the Saints are coming off a loss to Jamestown University that ended a three-game winning streak. On the season, Ashford is averaging 72.8 points per game and giving up only 61.4 while shooting 48.9% from the field and 36.3% from downtown.The Saints are also outrebounding their opponents, 33.9-30.3. Leading the way for the Saints are Anthony Woods and Damon Overton, averaging 15.3 and 15.4 points per game respectively. Overton is also first on the team in assists with 58 while pulling down 4.7 rebounds per contest, third on the team. DeAndre Lowery is the only other Saint averaging double figures with an 11.3 ppg clip. Josh Little and Tevin Harris make their biggest impact on the glass, both pulling down a team-leading 5.2 rebounds per game. Harris also averages 8 points, primarily off the bench for the Saints. Thaddeus Perry is another player who operates as a key reserve, averaging 8.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest while starting only three of the Saints 22 games. | 2013-14 Statistics

ASHFORD'S LAST TIME OUT: After a three game winning streak in which Ashford won all three games by double digits and outscored their opponents by an average of 21 points per contest (81.7-60.7), the Saints were defeated by the University of Jamestown last Sundat, 68-57. The Saints had four players score in double figures, led by Thaddeus Perry's 16 off the bench. DeAndre Lowery and Damon Overton had 13 apiece and Anthony Woods added 10. Ashford won the rebounding battle, 31-30 as Tim Huber grabbed a game-high 7 boards for the Saints. |  Story and Statistics 

WHEN THEY MET LAST: While UW-Stout held a double-digit lead through the later part of the second half, the Blue Devils were not able to to put Ashford University away until the final three minutes when Stout finished the game on a 9-2 run to take a 56-41 win at the UW-Stout Thanksgiving Turkey Shootout. The Blue Devils held Ashford to 37 points under their season average and snapped the Saints' six game winning streak. Stout came back from a deficit in the first half to take a 23-18, hafltime lead. The Saints stayed within an arms reach on the strength of Damon Overton's 10 second half points. The Blue Devils reached an 11 point lead at 11:28 in the half on a Jimmy Whitehead lay up. Whitehead would be key in Stout's second half run, scoring 13 of his game-high 15 points after the break. Alex Oman, who left the game in the first half with an injury, returned in the second half and scored 10 of his 14 points after intermission. Oman would begin the final run for the Blue Devils, draining a 3-pointer at 2:30. Whitehead added a layup with two minutes remaining, and added two more in the run. Aaron Jenny contributed 13 points, nine in the first half.  Josh Kosloske pulled down a game-high seven rebounds as the Blue Devils controlled the boards, 35-21. The Saints shot only 30.9 percent (17-55) from the floor, with much of that coming from 1-of-14 shooing from beyond the arc. Stout shot 40 percent (20-50) from the floor and connected on 8-of-17 3-point shots. | Story and Statistics

SCOUTING UW-EAU CLAIRE (8-8, 1-6 WIAC): The Blugolds lean heavily on their starting five, using the same starters in every game so far this season. Each starter averages at least 23 minutes per game and three are averaging 29+ minutes per contest. Adam Hjelter leads Eau Claire with 16.1 ppg, fifth in the WIAC. He also leads the conference in three-point makes, going 48-111 (43.2%). Hjelter actually shoots better from downtown than from the field (42.2 FG%). Lewis Mau leads the team in assists (43) and steals (23), while ranking second in scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg). Kurtis Moody grabs 5.9 rebounds per game, tops on the team. Coming off the bench, Cavan Stackpool and Jared Miller receive the majority of the minutes and have appeared in every game this season. Miller leads the team in blocks with 18, good for third in the WIAC at 1.13 per game. He also grabs 3.9 boards and shoots a team best 56.1% from the field. As a team, the Blugolds are being outscored 64.9-68.4, but hold a 35.7-32.7 edge on the boards. | 2013-14 Statistics

EAU CLAIRE'S LAST TIME OUT: The Blugolds led only once in a 75-68 loss to UW-Superior. It took the Blugolds nearly five minutes to get their first basket of the night as Superior built an 11-0 lead. The Yellowjackets pushed the lead to 12 three times in the first half. Eau Claire managed to get within five with a minute to go in the half, but a 4-0 Superior run to end the period gave the Yellowjackets a 38-29 halftime lead. In the second, Eau Claire managed to put together a 14-5 run and a 13-5 run to take a 59-58 lead with four minutes remaining. The Yellowjackets were able to hang on though, outscoring the Blugolds 17-9 the rest of the way. Three Blugolds scored in double figures, with Jacob Kohner leading the way with 14 points. Lewis Mau led Eau Claire with 9 rebounds. Overall, the Yellowjackets held an advantage on the boards, 41-31. | Story and Statistics

WHEN THEY MET LAST: The Blue Devils never trailed enroute to a 56-45 victory on January 4, at Johnson Fieldhouse. On a slow night offensively, Stout's defense came up big, recording eight steals and seven blocks while outrebounding the Blugolds 39-31. The only time Stout did not hold the lead was at 17:46 in the first half, when Eau Claire tied the game at 2-2. From that point on, it was all Stout as the Blue Devils harassed Eau Claire into a 17-55 (30.9%) shooting night. Free throws also played a huge role in the victory, as Stout shot 17-27 from the line, compared to just 3-5 for Eau Claire. After a slow start for both teams, the Blue Devils got things rolling with a 20-8 run over the last 8 minutes of the first half to give them a 31-17 lead at the break. Stout seized control with a 10-0 run, highlighted by 5 points and a block by Tim Butina and capped off with a deep three by Brett Ahsenmacher to take a 44-21 lead with 13:28 remaining. Refusing to go quietly, Eau Claire immediately reeled off a 17-5 run of their own, hitting 4-5 three-pointers over that stretch to close the gap to 49-39 with 5:30 to go. The Blue Devils would push the lead back to 17, taking a 56-39 lead before Eau Claire scored the final six points of the game. Alex Oman, Ahsenmacher, and Aaron Jenny each had 11 points for Stout. Oman and Adam Wadzinksi had 3 steals each while Debonair Townsend anchored the paint defense with 4 blocked shots. Wadzinksi also chipped in 7 points and 6 rebounds. Four Blue Devils had at least five rebounds, led by Jenny's game-high 8. For Eau Claire, Adam Hjelter and Mau Lewis each scored 12 points apiece. | Story and Statistics

A LONG HISTORY: The Blue Devils and the Blugolds have played yearly, with the exception of four seasons from 1920-24, since the 1916-17 season. Stout has held the upper hand over the past five years, posting a 7-3 record in that span. Stout  has won six of the last seven meetings. While the rivalry has always been fierce, the battles between the two teams during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s were particularly torrid. Most games during that span were sellouts, with barely standing room only. With exception of the 1975 and 1978, the Blugolds won or shared the conference title yearly through the 1970s. And the Blue Devils battled toe-to-toe with the nationally ranked Blugolds. Stout shared the 1975 crown with UW-Platteville and won conference titles in 1966 and 1969. Names like Stout's Mel Coleman, Cal Glover and Bill Heidemann and Eau Claire's Mike Ratliff and Frank Schade highlighted the era.

AWARDS AND HONORS: Alex Oman was selected as the WIAC player of the week, Dec. 10...Jimmy Whitehead was the WIAC and the UW-Stout Northwestern Mutual player of the week, Dec. 3.

TEAM CAPTAINS:  Blue Devil team captains for the 2013-14 season are Aaron Jenny and Jimmy Whitehead.

THE COACHES:  UW-Stout:  Eddie Andrist (170-163 at Stout, 424-358 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. | Ashford University: Oliver Drake (63-33) is in his fourth year as the head coach of the Saints, guiding the team to 20 wins in each of his four seasons. Before coming to Ashford, Drake coached at Wartburg College for six years, helping lead the team to two Iowa Conference Championships.  | UW-Eau Claire: Matt Siverling is in his second season at the helm of the Bluegolds (18-23) and his fourth overall (47-47). A graduate of Eau Claire, Siverling was a Blugold assistant for three seasons before coaching two years at UW-Superior.  |


CONFERENCES: Stout is a member of the nine team Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) along with UW-La Crosse, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Superior, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, UW-Whitewater and UW-River Falls. Ashford University operates as an independent institution in Division II of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

UP NEXT: Stout will host UW-River Falls, Wednesday, Jan. 29, then will be at UW-Whitewater, Saturday, Feb. 1.