BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (December 21, 2023) – The University of North Alabama men's basketball team will play its final game before the holidays on Thursday at Indiana, as the Lions face the Hoosiers for the third time in five seasons.
 
Tipoff inside historic Assembly Hall is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and 7:30 p.m. for fans watching in the Shoals. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network and live stats will be available via StatBroadcast.
 
This game marks the third leg of a four-game road stretch for North Alabama, which ends on New Year's Day at Texas Tech.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama at Indiana
Date: Thursday, December 21
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Venue: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
Capacity: 17,222
TV: Big Ten Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Game Notes: Click here
Tickets: Click here
Social Media: @UNA_Basketball
 
NOTES
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA has an even 6-6 record heading into this week, starting a four-game road swing with a 76-64 win over Charleston Southern and a close 70-67 loss to Tennessee Tech. The Lions are averaging 78.8 PPG and rank second in the ASUN with a 36.2 three-point shooting percentage. Backcourt duo KJ Johnson and Jacari Lane lead the Lions with 13.9 and 13.4 PPG, respectively.
 
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS: Indiana has an 8-3 overall record and are off to a 2-0 start in the Big Ten with wins over Maryland and Michigan. Last night, the Hoosiers held off one of UNA's recent opponents, Morehead State by a 69-68 final in Bloomington. The Hoosiers are scoring 73.5 PPG with just 72.8 PPG allowed. Kel'el Ware, Malik Reneau and Trey Galloway have started every game and all average double-digit scoring totals led by Ware at 15.5 PPG.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Tomorrow will mark the third all-time meeting between UNA and Indiana. The Hoosiers won both meetings in 2019 and 2020 at Assembly Hall. Veteran guards Will Soucie and Detalian Brown both played in the 2020 meeting, combining for 24 points.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Lions led for over 30 minutes in their last game against Tennessee Tech, but an 11-0 run in the final four minutes propelled the Golden Eagles to a 70-67 come-from-behind victory in Cookeville. This split the season series, as the Lions defeated TTU just 16 days prior in Florence, 86-71.
 
HOWELL AT THE MOON: Junior forward Dallas Howell had a career day for UNA at Tennessee Tech, finishing with team-highs of 17 points and nine rebounds. The 17 points mark a new career-high for Howell, as he shot 7-14 from the floor.
 
REBOUND RANKER: Senior forward Damian Forrest is averaging a near double-double this season with 9.6 PPG and 8.5 rebounds per game. He is tied for third in the ASUN in rebound average and is the only player in the league to have over 100 rebounds after 12 games played.
 
LIFE IN 4K: UNA has four players with over 1,000 career points on its roster, including Johnson, Tim Smith Jr., Marco Foster and Forrest. The latter three each achieved the feat this season, with Forrest doing it the most recently against Morehead State.
 
BUILDING ON SUCCESS: North Alabama finished with an 18-15 record last season, representing the most single-season wins since the Lions made the jump to NCAA Division I in 2018-19.
 
HUNTING ANOTHER POSTSEASON RUN: Last season, UNA played in the 2023 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) to mark the first postseason tournament in the program's NCAA Division I history. Prior to that, UNA's last postseason appearance was an NCAA Regional in 2013-14. UNA has participated in 14 NCAA Tournaments (all Division II), including five Final Four appearances and two National Championship wins.
 
PUJOL CONTINUES PROGRAM GROWTH: UNA head coach Tony Pujol enters his sixth season at the helm, serving as the first and only coach of UNA's Division I era. Pujol enters tomorrow's bout with 69 wins over six seasons and led UNA to an 18-15 overall record in its first season out of the four-year Division I transition period.
 
STRENGTH IN STAFF: The UNA men's basketball coaching staff experienced some restructuring this offseason, including the promotion of Ahmad Smith to Associate Head Coach and Sean Foley to Special Assistant to the Head Coach. Additions to the staff include Austin Burnette as an assistant coach, Landon Travis to handle basketball operations and Eric Wagenlander to direct efforts in player development. Assistant Coach Carter Heston and Director of Sport Performance Leo Stern also return from last year's staff.
 
UP NEXT: UNA comes out of the holiday break with a New Year's special at Texas Tech on Jan. 1. Conference play begins Jan. 6 at home against Central Arkansas.
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.