Purdue Fort Wayne
Milwaukee
Mastodons Head to Milwaukee Looking For Seventh Straight Win
2/19/2022 11:06:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Information
Who: Purdue Fort Wayne (17-10, 12-6 Horizon) at Milwaukee (9-19, 7-12 Horizon)
When: Sunday, February 20 | 2 p.m. ET
Where: Milwaukee, Wis. | UWM Panther Arena
Listen: 1380 The Fan
Live Stats: Link
Watch: ESPN+
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne (PDF) | Milwaukee
KNOW YOUR FOE
// Leading scorer: DeAndre Gholston (14.3 ppg)
// Head coach: Pat Baldwin
// The Panthers defeated Wright State and Green Bay before falling to Cleveland State 78-61 on Friday night. Highly touted freshman Pat Baldwin Jr. did not play in the game for the Panthers. He last played against Northern Kentucky on Feb. 9.
// The Panthers are scoring 64.6 points per game while giving up 70.6
// The 'Dons lead the all-time series with the Panthers 4-0. Sunday will be the first time the 'Dons play at UWM Panther Arena. The venue once known as Milwaukee Arena was the original home of the NBA's Milwaukee Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks. The Beatles and Elvis also played at the venue.
ON THE SIX-GAME WIN STREAK:
// The last time the 'Dons won six straight league games was in January and February of 2015 when they won seven in a row.
// The 'Dons are giving up only 61.2 points per game in regulation in the six wins.
// The 'Dons are shooting 40.1 percent (57-of-142) from three.
// Four 'Dons are averaging in double-digits: Jalon Pipkins (16.3), Jarred Godfrey (13.2), Damian Chong Qui (12.8) and Deonte Billups (10.7).
// The 'Dons are forcing 17.7 turnovers per game and recording 11.0 steals a game.
// The 'Dons are out-rebounding opponents 34.0 to 30.8.
'DONS AND ENDS:
// The 'Dons finished the regular season 13-2 at home this season. The last time the 'Dons won 13 games at home in a season was 2017-18 when they went 13-3 in the Summit City. A year prior in 2016-17, the 'Dons were 14-3 at home.
// Cameron Benford set a new program record for games played when he entered the game on Feb. 10 against IUPUI. Benford has now played in 137 games. The previous record holder was current Memphis Grizzlies member John Konchar at 133.
// When Cameron Benford started on Senior Night on Monday, it broke a streak of the same starting five for 25 straight games. The 'Dons entered the contest as one of seven teams in the nation to make it that far in the season with the same starting five.
// Johnathan DeJurnett, who scored 12 total points last season in his freshman season, has 64 this season. He has a field goal in 13 straight games. He played a season-high 19 minutes on Feb. 18 at Green Bay.
// The 'Dons have held a lead for at least five minutes in every game this season except for losses at SIUE and at Wright State.
// Seven different players have led the team in scoring for a game this season. That ties a single-season high for a Mastodon team under head coach Jon Coffman. The 2019-20 team also had seven scoring leaders.
// When Jalon Pipkins shoots better than 50 percent from the floor, the 'Dons are 8-0 this season.
// Per KenPom, the 'Dons are the 20th most experienced team in the nation.
// The Mastodons rank 21st in the nation in 3-pointers per game (9.6).
// The 'Dons are the only team in the league with three players in the top 10 in made 3-pointers: Jarred Godfrey (2nd, 60), Deonte Billups (57, 3rd) and Bobby Planutis (9th, 49).
// Per KenPom, the Mastodons recorded the highest Effective field goal percentage in program history (77 percent) in the home win over Robert Morris (Jan. 21).
A FEW NOTES ON THE CLEVELAND STATE WIN ON MONDAY:
// KenPom's excitement ranking is "a measure of how much the win probability changed over the course of a game." The Cleveland State victory had a value of 4.01, the third highest of every game played in the nation this season.
// Jalon Pipkins played a career-high 51 minutes in the game, making him the 12th player in NCAA Division I this year to play 51 or more minutes in a game.
// The 'Dons forced a season-high 24 turnovers against a Division I opponent.
// The 'Dons recorded 15 steals. The last time the 'Dons recorded 15 steals against a Division I program was Jan. 10, 2019 at home against Oral Roberts.
DO GET DEFENSIVE:
// In league play only, the 'Dons own a 97.1 defensive efficiency according to KenPom, the best in the Horizon League.
// The 'Dons have 13 games of double-digit steals this season, including nine in the last 11 games.
// The 'Dons have given up 70 points in only three of the last 11 games.
// The Mastodons allowed 74.0 points per game through the first 11 contests of the season. Over the last 16 the 'Dons are giving up 65.6 per game.
// The 'Dons are giving up 69.0 points per game on the season. Only nine times in program history have the 'Dons finished a season giving up less than 70.0 points per game. They've done it only five times as a Division I program.
// The 55 points the Mastodons allowed to Green Bay on Feb. 6 and Feb. 18 stand as their best defensive performance of the season against a Division I team.
// The 'Dons are 17th in the nation in steals per game (9.1) and 7th in total steals (247).
FROM THE LINE:
// The 'Dons are 23rd in the nation and 3rd in the Horizon League in free throw shooting (77.0 percent). The program record for single-season free throw percentage came in 2010-11 at 77.2 percent.
// Free throw shooting in league play: Jarred Godfrey (41-of-48), Jalon Pipkins (48-of-54), Bobby Planutis (20-of-20), Damian Chong Qui (38-of-43) and Deonte Billups (17-of-24).
// The Mastodons shot 16-of-16 from the free throw line on Dec. 2 against Wright State. It stands as the most free throws the Mastodons have made in a Division I contest while connecting on 100 percent of their attempts.
TURN, TURN, TURN:
// The 'Dons have five single-digit turnover games this season.
// The Mastodons are forcing 16.21 turnovers per game, 24th best in the nation and first in the league.
// The Mastodons' 2.3 turnover margin ranks 63rd in the nation
JALON PIPKINS... :
// ... is 38th in the nation in free throw percentage (86.7 percent).
// ... recorded a career-high 27 points with 10 field goals against Cleveland State (Feb. 14). He tied the game with a layup in regulation with six seconds left.
// ... has seven games of 18 or more points this season.
// ... owns 864 career points with NCAA Division I stops at CSUN and Loyola-Chicago prior to his two seasons in Fort Wayne.
// ... recorded a career-high five steals on Jan. 28 at NKU.
BOBBY PLANUTIS... :
// ... is 26-of-26 from the free throw line this season. Only twice since 1992-93 (per sports-reference.com) has a player finished a season shooting 100 percent from the free throw line while making at-least 26. Matt Frierson made 44-of-44 for The Citadel in 2018-19. Conner Frankamp from Wichita State made 35-of-35 in 2017-18.
// ... has been at his best in league play, averaging 9.9 points in Horizon League play compared to his 7.0 in non-league games.
// ... has 15 games of two or more 3-pointers this season.
// ... recorded a career-high 18 points on Jan. 28 at Northern Kentucky. He tied a season high with four 3-pointers.
// ... has scored 824 career points in NCAA Division I when his time at Purdue Fort Wayne, St. Bonaventure and Mount St. Mary's are combined.
JARRED GODFREY... :
// ... has started every game since the start of his sophomore year for 86 starts in a Mastodon uniform.
// ... is second in the league in made 3-pointers (60).
// ... owns 1,520 career points, 5th place in program history. In 4th place is Mo Evans with 1,522 points from 2013-17.
// ... is 5th in program history in made field goals (541). In 4th place is Sean Gibson with 588 field goals from 1989-93.
// ... is 7th in program history in assists (339). In 6th place is Zach Plackemeier (362) from 2007-11.
// ... is 5th in program history in steals (153). In 4th place is Bruce Roland with 210 steals from 1986-89.
// ... scored 35 points against Western Michigan (Nov. 27) on 13-of-18 shooting. His 13 field goals tied a career high.
// ... made seven 3-pointers at home against Oakland, tied for the second most 3-pointers made by a Horizon League student-athlete this season.
RA KPEDI... :
// ... is having the best season of his career, averaging 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
// ... is 55th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (2.89).
// ... has 10 games of seven or more rebounds.
// ... has six games of five or more offensive rebounds.
// ... picked up his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds at Florida Gulf Coast.
// ... leads the Horizon League in two-point field goal percentage at 64.9 percent.
DEONTE BILLUPS... :
// ... is looking like the leader for Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year, he leads the league in scoring among players without a start this season thanks to his 8.9 points per game.
// ... has 17 games of two or more 3-pointers in a game this season and has made four or more six times this season.
// ... is third in the Horizon League with 57.
// ... owns a defensive rating of 95.9 from sports-reference.com, third best in the Horizon League.
DAMIAN CHONG QUI... :
// ... raced down the court with just seconds left to make a 3-pointer at the buzzer of regulation to force overtime with Cleveland State on Feb. 14. The 'Dons would win in triple overtime 102-98.
// ... has nine double-digit points games in the last 11 games. Prior to this span he had six in the entire season.
// ... joined the Mastodons this season. He helped Mount St. Mary's to an NCAA Tournament berth last season. He averaged 15.1 points per game for The Mount last year on his way to All-NEC First Team honors.
// .... is the second Mastodon to join the 'Dons after playing at Mt. Saint Mary's. Bobby Planutis spent his freshman season of 2017-18 at The Mount.
// ... has a pair of 20-point games.
// ... scored 14 points against Florida Gulf Coast (Nov. 28) and went over 1,000 career points. He scored 950 points at Mount St. Mary's before transferring to Purdue Fort Wayne this season.
DUNKS FROM MASTODONS THIS SEASON:
// Ra Kpedi 24, Jalon Pipkins 16, Johnathan DeJurnett 13, Bobby Planutis 6, Deonte Billups 4, RJ Ogom 3, Jarred Godfrey 3, JoJo Peterson 3
~ Feel the Rumble ~
