ASU enters the game with a 3-4 record and is coming off a 78-68 loss in their last outing at Western Illinois.  Evansville, on the other hand, enters the game 8-2 and has won five of its last six games, including an 81-69 overtime win over Ohio University Thursday night.
 
"We are going up against a very good team," Head Coach Lewis Jackson said.  "We are going to face a very tall and athletic team.  They have four or five players 6'-7" or taller and that includes a 6-10" player."
 
"They really try to get to the basket and their guard (D.J.) Balentine makes it all go for them.  Not only does he average over 20 points per game, but he does a good job of running their offense and getting the ball into the hands of other players for easy baskets.  It is going to be a tremendous challenge for us."
 
Balentine is not the only UE player in double digits, Egidjus Mockevisius is the Purple Aces post player who enters the game averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds per game.  He is shooting 67 percent from the field.
 
The Purple Aces don't shoot a lot of threes, but when they do they have Adam Wing who is shooting over 58 percent from the three point line.  He is their top shooter from the perimeter as Evansville only averages 4.8 three point field goals per game.
 
It will be a game between the top two offenses in the respective conferences as Evansville's 78.4 points per game is the top scoring average in the Missouri Valley Conference and ASU leads the SWAC averaging 79.0 points per game.
 
ASU will enter the game with four players averaging double figures led by Jamel Waters at 12.9 points per game.  Other double digit scorers are DeMarcus Robinson (12.6), Bobby Brown (10.4) and Maurice Strong (10.0).  The Hornets may be without the services of Robinson who has been battling the flu the past several days.
 
The Hornets are coming off their worse shooting game of the season at Western Illinois.  They only shot 43 percent from the field and that is after shooting a strong 52 percent in the second half.  The Hornets only hit three of its 19 three point attempts and seven of their 15 free throw attempts.  Even with the bad shooting, ASU was in the game until the final minutes.
 
"We have to get better on the defensive end of the court," Jackson said.  "We have always been known at ASU for our defense and right now we are not playing very consistent.  There are going to be games where your shot is not falling and it is tough to score, but you can always play hard on the defensive side and we are working hard to get better."
 
Check Sunday's Game Day Central for all the live action of the game at bamastatesports.com.