Coming off a 100-91 victory over Morningside College in an exhibition contest on Saturday, the Buena Vista men's basketball tips-off its 2017-18 campaign Wednesday night on the road at Bethany Lutheran in a 7:00 p.m. contest.

The 2017-18 campaign tips-off tonight for the Buena Vista women's basketball team against 16th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus inside of Siebens Fieldhouse at 7:00 p.m.

Game Info:
Who: Buena Vista (0-0) vs. Bethany Lutheran (0-0)
When: Wednesday, November 15 * 7:00pm
Where: Siebens Fieldhouse * Storm Lake, Iowa

Broadcast Info:
Live Webstream: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/bvu/
Live Stats:

Game Preview

Inside the Series: Tonight is the fourth meeting all-time between the two programs and the third time in the last four years.  The teams first met in 2004-05 when the Beavers picked up a 95-72 triumph in Mankato.  BVU has won each of the first three contests.  The teams last met in 2015-16 also in Mankato with the Beavers coming out on top, 83-68.

About Bethany Lutheran: The Vikings are slated to be a conference title contender in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) this season after a 12-4 league record a year ago, while finishing 17-9 overall.  The team advanced into the conference tournament semifinal contest before falling to St. Scholastica, which is picked to win the title in 2017-18.  

Four of five starters return for BLC this season, along with eight of its top-10 rotation players from last season.  Among that group are a pair of seniors which attained Honorable Mention All-UMAC accolades in 2016-17.  Guard Neil Eichten averaged 13.3ppg and dished out 3.3apg as a junior while shooting nearly 42 percent from the field overall.  Fellow guard Brady Rose averaged better than 11.0ppg and 5.0apg and was also part of the All-Defensive Team.  Junior guard Austin Bauer started all 26 games he played a season ago and averaged over 9.0ppg and was over 90 percent from the free-throw line.

It's a much improved team under second-year head coach Matt Fletcher.  He has turned the program around quickly after it had gone just 5-20 in 2014-15.  Last season was the program's first winning campaign since going 16-11 (13-1 UMAC) back in 2011-12.

2017-18 Schedule & Results | 2016-17 Season Statistics

About BVU: The team returns a pair of starters this season, along with eight letterwinners, after finishing last season 14-12 overall (10-6 IIAC) and third in the league standings.  Head coach Brian Van Haaften will open the year needing just three wins to reach 400 in his career.

Two of the team's top three scorers from 2016-17 are back this season, led by Thomas Wisecup, who was second a year ago at 13.9ppg.  He was the team's best three-point shooter at 44.5 percent (61-of-137) and also dished out a team-leading 95 assists.  David Jeffries was just behind Wisecup last season at 13.1ppg and was also named the IIAC Defensive Performer of the Year.  He averaged right at 2.0 steals per game and also averaged nearly 5.0rpg.  Connor Winkelman came off the bench and averaged 6.3ppg and was just under 2.0 assists per contest.  As a team, BVU shot 48.7 percent and hauled in 39 rebounds per game.  It also scored nearly 80ppg and is consistently among the IIAC leaders in scoring.

Timothy Jeffries is among the returning letterwinners looking to provide a great deal of depth this season.  He averaged nearly 14 minutes per game off the bench as a freshman last season and scored nearly 5.0ppg.  Adam Juhl and Canyon Hopkins each played 10 minutes per game in 2016-17. Billy Sparks, who missed all of last season to injury, should provide a great deal of depth at point guard.  He made five three-point buckets and turned in a game-high 21 points in Saturday's exhibition victory.

2017-18 Schedule & Results | 2016-17 Season Statistics

A Look Ahead: The Beavers will play their regular season home opener this Saturday, November 18, by hosting UW-Stevens Point in a 4:00pm contest.  The Pointers were the 2015 NCAA DIII national champions.