IPFW Plays At Pac-12 Member Utah Saturday Afternoon

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- IPFW will play on the road at the University of Utah of the Pac-12 Conference in men's basketball on Saturday afternoon, December 5, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah beginning at 2 p.m. ET., to be televised on the Pac-12 Network. The Mastodons (7-2) of second-year head coach Jon Coffman will be playing their second game in less than 48 hours following a last-second win at Cal Poly (75-73) Thursday night in San Luis Obispo, California. The backcourt trio of junior Mo Evans (14.2), redshirt-senior Max Landis (13.6) and redshirt-freshman John Konchar (11.0) have led IPFW in scoring through the first nine games. Utah is coached by Larry Krystkowiak, who is in his fifth season, and the Runnin' Utes (6-1) have been led by sophomore Jakob Poeltl (21.3) and senior Jordan Loveridge (15.4). Poeltl (7-0, 248) adds 10.4 rebounds to average a double-double.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, December 5, 2015 / 2 p.m. ET
Location: Huntsman Center / Salt Lake City, Utah
Series History: Utah leads, 1-0
TV: Pac-12 Network
Radio: ESPN 1380 AM / Play-by-Play: Brett Rump
Video: none
Stats: utahutes.com
Audio: thefanindiana.com (ESPN 1380 Fort Wayne)

IPFW Quicks
• IPFW is playing Utah for just the second time, and the Runnin' Utes won the only previous game, 76-59, back on January 11, 2003 in Salt Lake City. It was the second year that the Mastodons played a DI schedule, and Utah was a member of the Mountain West Conference.
• IPFW is enjoying its finest start to a season since first playing a Division I schedule in 2001-02. The Mastodons' recent six-game winning streak was the second-best in the program's DI history (7).
• IPFW earned its first last-second win of the season at Cal Poly Thursday night, 75-73, as Mo Evans made a 16-foot jumper with 2.3-seconds left.
• IPFW has received a balanced scoring effort through nine games with three players averaging in double figures, including Mo Evans (14.2), Max Landis (13.6) and John Konchar (11.0). Konchar leads the team in rebounding (8.0) and steals (1.6), while Evans leads in three-point field goals (23) and assists (4.1).
• IPFW has had three different players score at least 20 points in a game this season: John Konchar (28), Mo Evans (20) and Joe Reed (20).
• Mo Evans and Max Landis were each named to the Spartan Showcase All-Tournament Team (11/29) for their respective four-game efforts in the exempt event. Evans and Landis each averaged 13.5 points, while Evans added 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists, and Landis added 2.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

Scouting The Runnin' Utes
Utah is 6-1 following a home win past Brigham Young (83-75) on Wednesday. Members of the Pac-12 Conference, Utah is coached by Larry Krystkowiak, who is in his fifth season. The Runnin' Utes have two scoring in double-figures: sophomore Jakob Poeltl (21.3) and senior Jordan Loveridge (15.4). Poeltl (7-0, 248) adds 10.4 rebounds to average a double-double. Utah has averaged 80.1 points, while allowing 73.6 points.

Scouting The Mastodons
IPFW is 7-2 following a last-second road win at Cal Poly (75-73) on Thursday. Members of the Summit League, IPFW is coached by Jon Coffman, who is in his second season as head coach, fifth year at the school and 19th overall. The Mastodons have three scoring in double-figures: junior Mo Evans (14.2), redshirt-senior Max Landis (13.6) and redshirt-freshman John Konchar (11.0). IPFW has averaged 70.7 points, while allowing 66.3 points.

Last Time Out
Mo Evans made a game-winning 16-foot jumper from the left elbow with 2.3-seconds remaining to lead IPFW to a thrilling 75-73 road victory at Cal Poly of the Big West Conference Thursday night in San Luis Obispo, California. IPFW took its largest lead early in the second half at 55-46 with 16:35 remaining after back-to-back three-pointers by Max Landis and DeAngelo Stewart. Cal Poly ran off seven unanswered points to get within 55-53 at 13:49, and the Mustangs led 61-57 at 9:09 as they extended their run to 15-2. The game was tied at 63-63 with 6:39 left following consecutive three-pointers by Landis and Stewart, again. Cal Poly scored the next six points to lead 71-65 at 3:54, its largest lead, before IPFW refused to lose and fought back behind Stewart (71-68, 3:25) and Landis (71-71, 1:28) three-pointers, yet again, and a jumper by Stewart tied it at 73-73 with 40-seconds to play. The Mastodons got the stop on the defensive end of the floor to gain possession for the late heroics of Evans, who made the high-arching shot from near the left elbow with 2.3-seconds on the clock. Following a timeout, the Mustangs missed on their desperation three-point attempt from near midcourt.

Landis led IPFW with his game-high 16 points, including 4-9 three-pointers, adding six assists. Stewart added a career-high 15 points, making 6-7 shots from the field, including 3-4 three pointers. Evans and Joe Reed each contributed 11 points, while Michael Calder finished with eight points. IPFW shot 48% (28-59) from the field, including 47% (14-30) on three-pointers and 63% (5-8) at the free throw line.

NCAA RPI Ratings
IPFW has an NCAA RPI of 119 as of Dec. 4, ranking sixth among Summit League members behind South Dakota State (78), Oral Roberts (90), North Dakota State (91), Western Illinois (95) and South Dakota (111). Utah has an NCAA RPI of 24 as of Dec. 4, ranking second among Pac-12 members behind Oregon (5).

NCAA Statistics
IPFW ranks 13th in Division I three-point field goal attempts (205), as of Dec. 3 (NCAA Stats missing Cal Poly game), as well as 22nd in three-point field goals (71), 51st in free throw attempts (185), 58th in three-point field goals per game (8.9), 60th in free throws (126), 70th in winning percentage (.750), 74th in scoring defense (65.5), 79th in assists (109), 82nd in blocks (31), 93rd in three-point field goal percentage defense (.309) and 94th in rebounds (282). Max Landis ranks 23rd nationally in minutes (277) and 75th in three-point attempts (48). Mo Evans ranks 58th in three-point attempts (50), 63rd in three-pointers (20) and 89th in assists (33). John Konchar ranks 40th in rebounds (66), 43rd in minutes (265), 68th in defensive rebounds (6.25), as well as 79th in steals (13) and double-doubles (2). Brent Calhoun ranks 79th in blocks (12).

Up Next
IPFW will play its third consecutive road game at Indiana on Dec. 9 in Bloomington beginning at 7 p.m. The Mastodons return to Fort Wayne to host Austin Peay on Dec. 12 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum at 2:30 p.m. IPFW defeated APU (80-77) on Nov. 18 in Clarksville, Tennessee.

IPFW Plays At Pac-12 Member Utah Saturday Afternoon

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Players Mentioned

Michael Calder

Brent Calhoun

Mo Evans

John Konchar

Max Landis

Joe Reed

DeAngelo Stewart

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics