MBB Preview: Blue Devils begin tough three game road trip at Platteville

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (12-10, 7-6 WIAC) begin one of the toughest sections of their schedule when they begin a three-game, regular season ending road trip by traveling to UW-Platteville (12-10, 7-6 WIAC), Saturday, Feb. 15.  Stout is currently tied for fourth in the WIAC with Platteville, but at the moment, the Pioneers hold the seeding tie-breaker. Stout will then be at third place UW-La Crosse, Wednesday, Feb. 19 and at top-ranked UW-Stevens Point, Saturday, Feb. 22. While Stout's loss to UW-Superior Wednesday by no means knocks the Blue Devils out of the WIAC tournament picture, it does put a crimp in them. Stout will be assured of a tournament spot with a win among the next three games or any Superior loss.

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.

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/. 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. 

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
4	games this season the Blue Devils have had two     players score 20+ points
15	combined 20+ point games for Jimmy Whitehead(8),     Alex Oman(5) and Aaron Jenny(2)
9-2	Blue Devils record this season when leading at the     half
3-8	Blue Devils record this season when tied or behind     at the half

 THE BLUE DEVILS (12-10, 7-6 WIAC): Jimmy Whitehead and Alex Oman lead the Blue Devils in scoring, Whitehead with 15.6 points per contest, Oman with 13.7 points. Oman passed the 1000th point mark several weeks ago and currently is ranked 16th on the Stout scoring list with 1090 points, ahead of Zak Alwin's (1991-95) 1078 points. Oman left Wednesday's game with an injury and is questionable for Saturda.  Whitehead is seventh in the WIAC  in scoring, while Oman is 10th. The versatile Aaron Jenny, who  returned Wednesday after missing Saturday's game, leads the team in rebounds (5.8 rpg) and assists (2.3) and is averaging 10.6 points per contest. Whitehead is pulling down 5.1 rebounds, Oman 4.3 and Josh Kosloske 4.3. Kosloske missed Wednesday's game due to injury. Stout is outscoring their opponents, 64.5-62.7. Stout is third in the league in scoring defense.

Coming into the latter portion of the season, Stout is currently tied for fourth place with UW-Platteville in the WIAC. With three games remaining -- including match-ups against three of the top four teams in the conference in Platteville (7-6 WIAC), La Crosse (8-6 WIAC), and Stevens Point (12-1 WIAC) -- the Blue Devils hope to finish the regular season strong going into the conference tournament. The Blue Devils will take to the road for the last three games of the season and are jockeying for position in the WIAC Championship tournament, which gets underway, Wednesday, Feb. 26, with the sixth seeded team at the third seeded team. The fifth seeded team will be at the fourth seeded team. Top seeds one and two get the first round bye, then will host semi-final games, Friday, Feb. 28. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, March 2. A win Wednesday over UW-Superior will clinch a tournament spot for the Blue Devils.

The Blue Devils have 10 players who have started at least four games this season, and have not players who have started every game. Only Brent Ahsenmacher, Adam Wadzinski and Debonair Townsend have played in all games.. As a team, Stout is outscoring their opponents 64.5-62.7. The 62.7 points per game allowed by Stout is good for third best in the WIAC, behind Whitewater (60.6) and Stevens Point (60.7). The Blue Devils also hold their opponents to a WIAC low 41.5 percent shooting. Stout is second in the conference in rebounds per game with 36.5 while allowing opponents to grab only 27.3 rpg, fewest in the conference. Despite their high rebounding totals, the Blue Devils have had only three player grab double digit rebounds in a game this year. Jenny had 10 and 12 in the first two games of the season against Mount Mercy and Crown College, then grabbed 10 against UW-Superior, Feb. 12, while Kosloske grabbed 11 against Crown. Higgins snagged 10 boards against Ashford. Stout also is third in the conference in blocked shots (3.05 per game) and tops in offensive rebounding (12.23 per game).

SENIOR CLASS: This big senior class (eight members) has been a key part to the 2013-14 Blue Devils. The senior class has scored 1174 of the team's 1418 points, or 82.8 percent of the points. They are averaging a combined 53.4 of the team's 64.5  points per game. Off the glass, the seniors are pulling down 76.9 percent of the rebounds - 617 of 802 boards. This is one of the biggest senior classes in coach Eddie Andrist's career. Two years ago, the Blue Devil had no seniors.

STOUT'S LAST TIME OUT: Superior gave their playoff chances a shot in the arm at UW-Stout's expense by handing the Blue Devil's a 70-59 defeat Wednesday at Johnson Fieldhouse. The Blue Devil's had difficulty from three point land, shooting 1-14 until Brett Ahsenmacher hit a three pointer with 22 seconds left in the game.  The Blue Devils shot just 25 percent from the field in the second half compared to Superiors 50 percent, allowing the Yellowjackets to build an insurmountable lead.  Superior led for the final 17:55 of the game.  Superior shot only 15.4 percent from three point land in their own right for the game, but the Blue Devils were unable to offer much resistance defensively from the field in allowing the Yellowjackets to shoot 50 percent for the game. Aaron Jenny nearly earned a double double, scoring eight points and adding ten rebounds.  Jimmy Whitehead scored ten points to lead the Blue Devils.  Jay Higgins continued his steady play by chipping in seven points and seven rebounds.

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 the Jan. 18 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 currently has 1090 points, sitting 16th head of Zak Alwin (1991-95, 1078). Oman scored 169 points as a freshman, 258 as a sophomore and 389 as a junior.

LAST TIME OUT: One might have thought the UW-Whitewater Warhawks were due for a letdown after their huge win over No.1 ranked and previously unbeaten UW-Stevens Point Wednesday night. Nothing could have been further from the truth however.  And unfortunately for the UW-Superior men's basketball team, it all added up to a long day for the home team at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. The Warhawks hit nine of their first 11 three-point shots, jumped out to a big early lead and were never threatened in a 77-44 win.

SCOUTING UW-PLATTEVILLE (12-10, 7-6 WIAC): . The Pioneers and the Blue Devils come into Saturday's game with the exact same record, both overall and in the conference and are tied for fourth place in the WIAC. The Pioneers hold the head-to-head tie-breaker because of their 61-42 win in Menomonie in January. The Pioneers have four players averaging double-digit points - Chas Cross (15.5), Jim Stocki (13.2), Eric Gerber (11.5), and Boston Johnson (11.4). Cross leads the WIAC in shooting percentage (.613). Gerber is second in the WIAC in assists (3.95). 

WHEN THEY MET LAST: Stout fell behind early and trailed almost the whole game, as UW-Platteville ran away with a 61-42 victory at Johnson Fieldhouse Jan. 11. At the break, the Blue Devils were shooting just 26% (6-23) from the field. The second half was better, as Stout hit 36% (9-25) of their shots, but the hot shooting of Platteville kept the game just out of reach. Stout came out firing in the second half, going back-and-forth with the Pioneers for the first five minutes. The Blue Devils would narrow the deficit to seven, after a lay-up and a free throw by Alex Oman made the score 27-34. Oman would finish with 14 points, tied for game-high scoring honors, including going 7-7 from the free throw line. Platteville put the game out of reach after that though, going on a 17-6 run over the next six minutes to push their lead to 18, 51-33 with 9:08 to go. Stout would never get closer than 14 points the rest of the way. The Pioneers had four players score in double figures, led by Chas Cross with 14. Boston Johnson and Eric Gerber added 11 apiece and Jake Manning chipped in 10. Hank Kujak led Stout in rebounding with six while Aaron Jenny added four assists and five rebounds for the Blue Devils. For the game, the Pioneers hit 51% (23-45) of their field goal attempts, including 9-20 from downtown. Stout hit just 31% (15-48) of their shots and only 3-14 from beyond the arc. The Pioneers also outrebounded Stout 29-28, but the Blue Devils held the edge on the offensive glass, 11-6.

LAST TIME OUT: Platteville  fell to No. 1 UW-Stevens Point, 74-59, Wednesday night in Stevens Point. Junior Jim Stocki led the Pioneers with 15 points, followed by senior Chas Cross and junior Wes Nemitz with 11 points apiece.  Trevor Hass scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Pointers. Tyler Tillema netted 17 points, while Clayton Heuer added 11. The top ranked Pointers never allowed the Pioneers to take a lead and jumped out to a 15-6 advantage. UW-Platteville couldn't make enough stops in the opening period and trailed 37-29 at halftime.  The Pioneers got as close as five points, 43-38, with 14:40 left to play. UWSP then went on to score five unanswered, before using a 2:15 13-0 run to put the game out of reach, 66-45, with 5:16 to go. 

AWARDS AND HONORS: Alex Oman was selected as the UW-Stout Northwestern Mutual athlete of the week, Jan. 28...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 (171-165 at Stout, 425-350 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. | UW-Superior:  Paul Eberhardt (15-32) is in his second season as the head coach of the Yellowjacket men's basketball team. In his inaugural campaign, Eberhardt guided the Yellowajckets to the WIAC playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Eberhardt came to UW-Superior from Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa.  At ECC Eberhardt served as athletics director and dean of students.  In those roles, everything from department budgets to game management to scheduling fell under Eberhardt's supervision.  UW-Platteville: Jeff Gard is in his fifth year as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He was named the 13th head coach in Pioneer history on June 9, 2009, after serving as an assistant with the Pioneers for the previous six seasons including his final two as the associate head coach.

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.

UP NEXT: Stout will close out the regular season, Wednesday, Feb. 18 at UW-La Crosse and Saturday, Feb. 21 at UW-Stevens Point. The WIAC Championship Tournament gets underway Wednesday, Feb. 26. The top six teams advance to the tournament. The first and second seeded teams have a first round bye.


UW-Stout 2013-14 Individual Season Highs (Updated Feb. 13, 2014)

Points: 29, Jimmy Whitehead vs. UW-River Falls, Dec. 11, 2013
3-Pointers Made: 4, Alex Oman vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 25, 2014; Brett Ahsenmacher vs. UW-Stevens Point, Jan. 8, 2014;
Rebounds: 12, Aaron Jenny vs. Crown College, Nov. 16, 2013
Assists: 5, Aaron Jenny vs. UW-River Falls, Dec. 11, 2013; Jay Higgins vs. Mount Mercy, Nov. 15, 2013
Steals: 5, Aaron Jenny vs. UW-Superior, Dec. 5, 2013

UW-Stout 2013-14 Team Season Highs (Updated Feb. 13, 2014)

Points: 89, vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 25, 2014
Field Goals Made: 33 vs. Mount Mercy, Nov. 15, 2013
Field Goal Percentage: .640 (32-50) vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 25, 2014
3-Pointers Made: 9 vs. UW-Stevens Point, Jan. 8, 2014
Free Throws Made: 27 vs. Luther College, Nov. 25, 2013
Free Throw Percentage: .870 (20-23) vs. Ashford University, Jan. 22, 2014
Rebounds: 64 vs. Crown College, Nov. 16, 2013
Assists: 19 vs. Mount Mercy, Nov. 15, 2013
Steals: 9 (3x) vs. UW-Oshkosh, Jan. 18, 2014; vs. UW-Superior, Dec. 4, 2014; vs. Crown College, Nov. 16, 2013


UW-Stout Career Bests (updated Feb. 13, 2014)

Phil Freeman - #3
Points: 12 vs. Mount Mercy, Nov. 15, 2013
Rebounds: 4 vs. Crown College, Nov. 16, 2013
Assists: 1 (2x) vs. UW-Superior, Dec. 5, 2013; vs. Crown College, Nov. 16, 2013

Aaron Jenny - #5
Points: 24 vs. UW-Superior, Dec. 5, 2013
Rebounds: 12 vs. Crown College, Nov. 16, 2013
Assists: 5 vs. UW-River Falls, Dec. 11, 2013; 4 (5x) vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 25, 2014; UW-Platteville, Jan. 11, 2014; vs. UW-Superior, Dec. 5, 2013;  vs. UW-Oshkosh, Jan. 14, 2012; vs. UW-Platteville, Dec. 10, 2011

AJ Dubek - #10
Points: 4 vs. Bethel, Nov. 19, 2013
Rebounds: 2 vs. Bethel, Nov. 19, 2013
Assists: 1 (2x) vs. UW-River Falls, Jan. 29, 2014; vs. Concordia Wisconsin, Dec. 30, 2012

Jarvis Ragland - #11
Points: 21 vs. Macalester, Nov. 18, 2011
Rebounds: 9 (2x) vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor, Dec. 29, 2011; vs. Whitewater, Jan. 19, 2013
Assists: 3 (2x) vs. UW-Superior, Dec. 7, 2011; vs. UW-Oshkosh, Jan. 12, 2013

Hank Kujak - #12
Points: 12 vs. Wartburg College, Dec. 1, 2013
Rebounds: 5 (3x) vs. Plattsburgh State, Dec. 30, 2013; vs. Stevens Point, Feb. 15, 2012; vs Wartburg College, Dec. 1, 2013
Assists: 3 (3x) vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 25, 2014;  vs. UW-Stevens Point, Jan. 8, 2014;  vs. Eau Claire, Feb. 11, 2012

Brett Ahsenmacher - #13
Points: 14 vs. Luther College, Nov. 25, 2013
Rebounds: 4 vs. Plattsburgh State, Dec. 30,, 2013
Assists: 1 (3x) vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 25, 2014;  vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 4, 2014;  vs. Mount Mercy, Nov. 15, 2013

Alex Oman - #14
Points: 28 (2x) vs. UW-Oshkosh, Feb. 18, 2012; vs. UW-Superior, Feb. 1, 2012
Rebounds: 10 vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor, Dec. 29, 2011
Assists: 6 vs. Northland, Nov. 24, 2012

Josh Watton - #15
Points: x
Rebounds: 1 vs. Bethel, Nov. 19, 2013
Assists: x

Michael Tesch - #21
Points: 2 vs. Bethel, Nov. 19, 2013
Rebounds: 1 (2x) vs. UW-River Falls, Jan. 29, 2014; vs. Bethel, Nov. 19, 2013
Assists: 1 (2x) vs. Plattsburgh State, Dec. 30, 2013; vs. Bethel, Nov. 19, 2013

Jimmy Whitehead - #24
Points: 29 vs. UW-River Falls, Dec. 11, 2013
Rebounds: 9 vs. UW-Oshkosh, Jan, 18, 2014
Assists: 4 vs. Mount Mercy, Nov. 15, 2013

Reggie Kujak - #31
Points: 4 (2x) vs. UW-River Falls, Jan. 29, 2014; vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 25, 2014
Rebounds: 2 (2x) vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 25, 2014;  vs. UW-Stevens Point, Jan. 9, 2013
Assists:

Jacob Nordstrom - #32
Points: 2 vs. Bethel, Nov. 19, 2013
Rebounds: 1 (2x) vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 25, 2014; vs. Bethel, Nov. 19, 2013
Assists: x

Jay Higgins - #33
Points: 15 vs. UW-River Falls, Jan. 29, 2014
Rebounds: 13 vs. Concordia-Texas, Dec. 30, 2011
Assists: 5 vs. Mount Mercy, Nov. 15, 2013

Josh Kosloske - #34
Points: 16 vs. St. Scholastica, Nov. 16, 2012
Rebounds: 15 vs. UW-La Crosse, Jan. 18, 2012
Assists: 2 (5x) vs. UW-Oshkosh, Jan. 18, 2014; vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 4, 2014; vs UW-Oshkosh, Jan. 14, 2012; vs. UW-Superior, Dec. 7, 2011; vs. Bethel, Nov. 19, 2013

Adam Wadzinski - #35
Points: 11 vs. UW-Oshkosh, Jan. 18, 2014
Rebounds: 6 (2x) vs. UW-River Falls, Jan. 29, 2014; vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 4, 2014
Assists: 4 vs. Ashford, Nov. 30, 2013

Braxtyn Meyer - #42
Points: 2 vs. UW-Platteville, Jan. 11, 2014
Rebounds: 2 vs. Bethel University, Nov. 18, 2013
Assists: x

Debonair Townsend - #44
Points: 9 vs. Wartburg, Dec. 1, 2013
Rebounds: 9 vs. La Crosse, Dec. 8, 2010
Assists: 2 vs. UW-Oshkosh, Feb. 8, 2014

Tim Butina - #45
Points: 13 vs. UW-Whitewater, Jan. 21, 2012
Rebounds: 13 vs. Northland, Nov. 24, 2012
Assists: 2 (4x) vs. Robert Morris, Nov. 27, 2011; vs. Northland College, Nov. 26, 2011; vs. Winona State, Nov. 16, 2009; vs. Waldorf, Nov. 20, 2009

The Last Time...(updated Feb. 13, 2014)

A Stout Individual...
Scored 30+ points:  34, Jerrod Buchholtz vs. UW-River Falls (1/5/2011)
Scored 25-29 points:  26, Alex Oman vs. UW-Eau Claire (1/25/2014)
Recorded 15+ rebounds:  15, Josh Kosloske vs UW-La Crosse (1/18/12)
Recorded 10+ assists:  11, Erik Olson vs. UW-Stevens Point (2/13/13)
Recorded 6+ steals:  8, by Jerrel Enerson-Matthews vs. Bethany Lutheran (11/21/08)

A Stout Team...
Had five players score in double digits:  vs. Luther College, Nov. 25, 2013 - Jimmy Whitehead (24), Aaron Jenny (19), Brett Ahsenmacher (14), Alex Oman (11), Josh Kosloske (11).
Had four players score in double digits:  vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 25, 2014 - Alex Oman (26), Jimmy Whitehead (21), Josh Kosloske (12), Jay Higgins (10).
Scored 105+ points:  109, vs. Crown College (2/15/11)
Scored 100-104 points:  102 vs. Silver Lake College (2/17/2010)
Recorded 60+ rebounds:  64, vs. Concordia-Texas (12/11/2011)
Recorded 55-59 rebounds:  56 vs. Northland College (11/24/12)
Recorded 25+ assists:  25, vs. Silver Lake College (2/17/2010)
Won 10 or more games in a row:  10, 2005-06 season
Lost 5 or more games in a row:  7, 2011-12 season
Was held to 40 or fewer points in game: 40, vs. Plattsburgh State (12/30/13)