Game Preview: Golden Eagles Prepare For Redemption

The Oral Roberts men's basketball team will seek redemption Wednesday night against the IUPUI Jaguars after the team's six-point loss to North Dakota State this past Friday. The upcoming game is set to tip off in the Mabee Center at 7:00 p.m.

ORU is currently 6-8 overall and 0-1 in league play, while IUPUI is 5-10 overall and 1-0 in league play. If the Golden Eagles win Wednesday night, it will increase the team's home winning streak to nine. A loss Wednesday night will put ORU at 0-2 in league play for the first time since the 2000-2001 season.

The Golden Eagles have faced the Jaguars a total of 34 times. Six of the 34 meetings between the two teams have gone into overtime. The last time ORU met with IUPUI was in February of 2012; ORU won 76-74 in overtime. An Oral Roberts victory will give the team a 23-12 advantage in the all-time series between the units.

IUPUI won its last game against Fort Wayne (63-58) this past Sunday night. Wednesday night will be the Jaguars fifth straight road game, and the team will be seeking its first 2-0 league start since the 2009-2010 season.

The Jaguars have had nine different leading scorers this season, but the ones to look out for are: Mason Archie, Marcellus Barksdale, Leo Svete, and DavRon Williams. Those four are the only players who have led IUPUI in scoring more than once. 

The Jaguars are mostly composed of newcomers this season. Seven of the players from the team's 13-man roster are new faces; four are DI transfers, and three are true freshman. This gives ORU a slight advantage when it comes to team chemistry, because all of its starters were on the team's 2013 roster.

If Obi Emegano and Denell Henderson play how they played for ORU last week, along with help from the rest of their team, the Golden Eagles should be projected to win. Emegano hit 25 points, while Henderson stepped up and knocked down a career-high 17. On that game ORU's head coach Scott Sutton stated, “We came out really flat to start the game, but I was pleased with how we got back in the game. Denell and Obi played really well late in the first half, and then the second half was just a great basketball game.”

In order to control the floor Wednesday night ORU must take advantage of its offensive possessions, minimize turnovers, and quickly get down court on transition.

The 7:00 p.m. matchup will be broadcast on ESPN3 and Watch ESPN.