STORM LAKE, Iowa (November 30, 2022) - The Buena Vista men's basketball team will tip-off American Rivers Conference play this week with a pair of road games against University of Dubuque and Loras College, respectively.
THE MATCHUPS
Wednesday, November 30 | Buena Vista (4-2, 0-0) at Dubuque (5-1, 1-0) | 7:30 p.m.
WATCH | https://udspartans.com/watch/?Live=365&type=Live
LIVE STATS | https://bvuathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Saturday, December 3 | Buena Vista (4-2, 0-0) at Loras (2-3, 1-0) | 4:00 p.m.
WATCH | https://duhawks.com/watch/?Live=2892&type=Live
LIVE STATS | https://bvuathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
LISTEN | 97.5FM KBVU
ABOUT BUENA VISTA
Buena Vista enters conference play at 4-2 overall after winning a pair of games at the NWU Snyder Classic last Friday and Saturday. The team is one of four teams in the A-R-C currently averaging over 84.0ppg and sits third in field goal shooting at 46.4 percent. Junior Zane Neubaum leads both the team and the A-R-C in scoring (23.7ppg) and sits 10th in the league in rebounding at 54.3 percent. He's coming off a career-high 44-point effort during the win over Greenville on Nov. 25 and also has a 37-point performance in the season-opener against Westminster (Mo.). Those are the top-two marks by any player in the A-R-C this season while teammates Ryan Mendoza and Gunner Reed are tied for third following their 31-point efforts against the Panthers last Friday. BVU finished second during the regular season last season with an 11-5 mark and lost to the Spartans for the second straight year in the A-R-C Tournament Championship game.
STAT LEADERS
Zane Neubaum 23.7 PPG
Gunner Reed 6.0 RPG
Michael Santich 4.0 APG
BVU looks to find its touch from long distance as it has been held to five or fewer makes from behind the arc in four of its first six games while ranking seventh in the league at 28.2 percent. The team has found its way to the free-throw line more than any other team in the A-R-C with 145 attempts and is shooting 73.8 percent as a team from the stripe which ranks fourth in the league. The team continues to take care of the ball, ranking second in turnover margin at +3.0 and in assist/turnover ratio at 1.23.
ABOUT DUBUQUE
Dubuque is among teams receiving votes in the latest d3hoops.com poll heading into this week's conference schedule. The two-time defending conference champions are off to another strong start with five straight road wins following a narrow 9-point loss to North Central (Ill.) in the season opener. The team opened A-R-C play last Tuesday night at Wartburg and came away with a 68-60 triumph. For the year, the Spartans are scoring 74.8ppg and continue to be tough on the defensive end, allowing under 69.0ppg. The team currently sits at the bottom of the league in field goal percentage at 43.9 percent while holding opponents to virtually the same mark. It has also struggled from long range, shooting only 25.4 percent which is also at the bottom of the league. The team has gotten the job done at the defensive end, ranking second in the A-R-C in rebounding (40.3rpg) and is taking care of the ball by averaging just over 11.0 turnovers per contest. Brock Simon leads the team in scoring and sits 11th overall in the league at 16.0ppg. He's been the top rebounder on both the team and the A-R-C at 9.5rpg.
STAT LEADERS
Brock Simon 16.0 PPG
Brock Simon 9.5 RPG
Sam Kilburg 4.5 APG
MATCHUP HISTORY
Dubuque has won four of the last five meetings, inclduing a 71-52 triumph during last year's A-R-C Tournament Championship game. BVU picked up a road win over the Spartans three weeks prior to that championship game, 65-60. The Spartans lead the all-time series 81-71.
UP NEXT: Buena Vista travels to Loras College on Saturday, December 3, to face the Duhawks (2-3, 1-0) at 4 p.m. Loras plays host to Coe College on Wednesday night.
