Purdue Fort Wayne
Northern Kentucky
'Dons Play Northern Kentucky in #HLMBB Semifinals on ESPN2
3/5/2022 1:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Information
Who: No. 2 Purdue Fort Wayne (21-10) vs. No. 3 Northern Kentucky (19-11)
When: Monday, March 7 | 9:30 p.m. ET
Where: Indianapolis, Ind. | Indiana Farmers Coliseum
Listen: 1380 The Fan
Live Stats: Link
Television: ESPN2
Watch: Link
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne (PDF) | Northern Kentucky
TICKET INFO:
// Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster. Purdue Fort Wayne students can pick up free tickets with an ID at the pass list table at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
KNOW YOUR FOE:
// Leading scorer: Marques Warrick (16.3 per game)
// Head coach: Darrin Horn
// The Norse defeated Detroit Mercy 77-59 in the quarterfinals.
// The Norse have won 13 of their last 15 games.
// Northern Kentucky leads the all-time series 27-13. The 'Dons and Norse split the two meetings this season.
// The 'Dons and Norse were long time rivals in NCAA Division II as a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Monday's game will be just the second all-time meeting between the two teams in the postseason. The 'Dons fell 96-65 in the GLVC Tournament on March 1, 2000.
A WIN WOULD...
// ... send the 'Dons to a league championship game for the first time since 2013-14 when the 'Dons fell 60-57 to North Dakota State in the Summit League title game.
// ... be the Mastodons' 11th straight victory, tying the all-time program record.
// ... be lots of fun.
ON THE UIC QUARTERFINAL WIN:
// The 'Dons committed only seven turnovers.
// Jalon Pipkins made 10 field goals for the fourth time this season.
// Jarred Godfrey tied a season high with eight made free throws.
// The 'Dons made six 3-pointers, tied for the third lowest in a game this season for the 'Dons.
// The 'Dons attempted only 13 3-pointers, second fewest on the season, only to the 12 taken at Green Bay.
ON THE 10-GAME WIN STREAK:
// The Mastodons' 10-game win streak is the longest in Division I program history. The program record for consecutive wins is the 1988-89 team that opened the season 11-0.
// The first nine wins came in February, marking the most wins in a single month in program history. Per sports-reference.com, only nine times since 2010-11 has a Division I team won nine or more games in the month of February.
// The 'Dons are giving up only 65.8 points per game in regulation in the streak, this excludes the 15 minutes of overtime against Cleveland State.
// The 'Dons are shooting 43.0 percent (112-of-161) from three.
// Four 'Dons are averaging in double-digits: Jalon Pipkins (16.2), Jarred Godfrey (14.5), Damian Chong Qui (11.5) and Deonte Billups (11.0).
// The 'Dons are forcing 12.6 turnovers per game and recording 9.3 steals a game.
// The 'Dons are out-rebounding opponents 32.4 to 31.3.
// The Mastodons overcame double-digit deficits in three games: Milwaukee (Feb. 4) 10 points, UIC (Feb. 12) 11 points and Cleveland State (Feb. 14) 14 points.
// Deonte Billups has made two or more 3-pointers in nine of the 10 games.
// Five different players have led the team in scoring.
'DONS AND ENDS:
// The 'Dons are ranked No. 25 in the latest Mid Major Top 25 Poll.
// Jon Coffman owns a 139-112 career record. He is already the Mastodons' all-time leader in Division I coaching victories. However he is nearing the program record for career wins. That total is held by Andy Piazza who went 142-108 with the 'Dons from 1987 to 1996.
// Horizon League awards saw Jon Coffman named the 2022 Coach of the Year. It is his second career league coach of the year honor after winning the same award in the Summit League in 2015-2016
// The 'Dons finished the regular season 14-2 at home this season. The last time they won 14 home games in a season was 2016-17.
// 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 139 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 74 this season. 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 9-0 this season.
// Freshman JoJo Peterson scored a career-high 11 points at Milwaukee (Feb. 20). Over the last seven games he is 9-of-15 from three.
// Per KenPom, the 'Dons are the 20th most experienced team in the nation.
// The Mastodons rank 13th in the nation in 3-pointers per game (9.8).
// The 'Dons are the only team in the league with three players in the top 10 in made 3-pointers: Deonte Billups (3rd, 68), Jarred Godfrey (3rd, 68) and Bobby Planutis (7th, 60).
// 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).
ON THE HOME CLEVELAND STATE WIN:
// 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.
// The game was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter as Scott Van Pelt's "Best Thing I Saw Today"
DO GET DEFENSIVE:
// In league play only, the 'Dons owned a 98.6 defensive efficiency according to KenPom, the best in the Horizon League.
// The 'Dons have 14 games of double-digit steals this season, including 10 in league play.
// The 'Dons have given up 70 points in only seven of the last 15 games.
// The Mastodons allowed 74.0 points per game through the first 11 contests of the season. Over the last 20 the 'Dons are giving up 67.0 per game.
// The 'Dons are giving up 69.5 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 21st in the nation in steals per game (8.8) and 10th in total steals (274).
FROM THE LINE:
// The 'Dons are 50th in the nation in free throw shooting (75.4 percent).
// Free throw shooting in league play: Jarred Godfrey (47-of-57), Jalon Pipkins (52-of-60), Bobby Planutis (23-of-24), Damian Chong Qui (39-of-49) and Deonte Billups (22-of-32).
// 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 eight single-digit turnover games this season.
// The Mastodons are forcing 15.84 turnovers per game, 22nd best in the nation and first in the league.
// The Mastodons' 2.2 turnover margin ranks 49th in the nation
DUNKS FROM MASTODONS THIS SEASON:
// Ra Kpedi 28, Jalon Pipkins 17, Johnathan DeJurnett 15, Bobby Planutis 6, Deonte Billups 4, RJ Ogom 3, Jarred Godfrey 3, JoJo Peterson 3
JALON PIPKINS... :
// ... was named to the 2022 All-Horizon League Third Team and All-Defensive Team.
// ... 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 nine games of 18 or more points this season.
// ... owns 928 career points with NCAA Division I stops at CSUN and Loyola-Chicago prior to Fort Wayne.
// ... recorded a career-high five steals on Jan. 28 at NKU.
BOBBY PLANUTIS... :
// ... is 29-of-30 from the free throw line this season. His only miss came Feb. 20 to start the second half after a technical was called on Milwaukee's coach at the end of the first half.
// ... was at his best in league play, averaging 10.0 points in Horizon League play compared to his 7.0 in non-league games.
// ... has 18 games of two or more 3-pointers this season.
// ... tied a career high with 18 points on Feb. 24 at Oakland He also made a career-high six 3-pointers.
// ... has scored 962 career points in NCAA Division I when his time at Purdue Fort Wayne, St. Bonaventure and Mount St. Mary's are combined.
JARRED GODFREY... :
// ... was named to the 2022 All-Horizon League First Team.
// ... has started every game since the start of his sophomore year for 90 starts in a Mastodon uniform.
// ... is third in the league in made 3-pointers (68).
// ... owns 1,586 career points, 4th place in program history. In 3rd place is Sean Gibson with 1,765 points from 1989-93.
// ... is 5th in program history in made field goals (563). In 4th place is Sean Gibson with 588 field goals from 1989-93.
// ... is 7th in program history in assists (358). In 6th place is Zach Plackemeier (362) from 2007-11.
// ... is 5th in program history in steals (162). 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 54th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (2.84).
// ... has 12 games of seven or more rebounds.
// ... has seven 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 64.4 percent.
DEONTE BILLUPS... :
// ... was named the 2022 Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year.
// ... has 20 games of two or more 3-pointers in a game this season and has made four or more six times.
// ... is third in the Horizon League with 68 3-pointers.
// ... owns a defensive rating of 96.9 from sports-reference.com, fourth 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 11 double-digit scoring games in the last 15 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.
SINCE 2016-17 THE 'DONS HAVE...:
// ... 16 games of 100 or more points, tied for fourth most in the nation during this time. Only The Citadel, Gonzaga and Central Michigan have more.
// ... four games of 20 or more 3-pointers, second in the nation behind Savannah State who has five.
// ... made 1,832 3-pointers, 8th most in the nation.
// ... shot 54.7 percent on two-point shots, 9th best in the nation.
// ... shot 47.0 percent overall, 14th best in the nation.
// ... shot 37.2 percent from three, 12th best in the nation.
LAST SEASON THE 'DONS...:
// ... ranked second in the nation in Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%) at 58.2.// ... finished fourth in the nation in field goal shooting (50.1 percent) only behind Gonzaga, Stephen F. Austin and Weber State.
// ... finished fourth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (40.0 percent) only behind Baylor, South Dakota State and Colgate.
// ... were the only team to rank in the top five in the nation in field goal and 3-point field goal percentage.
// ... saw their 50.1 field goal percentage rank as the best in Division I program history and the best since 1992-93 for a Mastodon team.
// ... recorded three of the Mastodons' top 10 all-time single-game 3-point percentage performances.
~ Feel The Rumble ~
