SETTING THE SCENE
The UMSL men's basketball team will play its first pair of true road games this weekend when they travel to Illinois Springfield on Thursday and McKendree on Saturday. The Tritons have played all 14 of their games in St. Louis, including the last 12 at home.
 
UMSL, only four games into its league slate, will be playing UIS and McKendree for the second time this season, having opened the GLVC schedule at home in late November/early December against those two foes. 
 
SIZING UP THE TRITONS

• UMSL is 11-3 overall, including 2-2 in the GLVC.
• The Tritons are coming off a split last weekend, falling to No. 1 ranked Bellarmine, 66-53, despite holding the Knights to season lows in points and field goal shooting (38.2 percent). UMSL was able to bounce back to hand Southern Indiana a 73-61 loss, snapping a 15-game losing streak to the Screaming Eagles.
• In four GLVC games, UMSL is second in scoring defense, allowing just 66.2 points per game and is first in field goal percentage defense (39.7 percent). Offensively, they are shooting 50.5 percent, which ranks third in league-only games.
• Overall, UMSL is connecting at a 49.8 percent clip from the field, which is 23^rd in NCAA DII.
• Other team stats that stand out include assists per game (16.9 – 30^th in NCAA DII) and steals per game (8.4 – 45^th in NCAA DII).
• Three players average double figures, including senior Johnathan Matthews (14.7 ppg), junior Ronnie Carson (12.1 ppg) and senior Eric Dust (11.1 ppg).
• Matthews also has a team-high 36 three-pointers and is shooting 94.5 percent (52-of-55) at the free-throw line, which is seventh in NCAA DII.
• Sophomore Shane Wissink is second in the GLVC and 33^rd in NCAA DII in steals per game (2.29) and adds 4.4 assists per game.

 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Illinois Springfield is 9-4 overall, including 2-1 in the GLVC and 5-2 at home. They are coming off a 77-75 loss to McKendree last Saturday that snapped a seven-game win streak. Three players average double figures, while another two average nearly 10 points per game. The Prairie Stars are 11^th in the league in shooting percentage (45.5), but are second in shooting percentage defense (42.0) and are second with 3.23 blocks per game.
 
McKendree enters a Thursday home game against Maryville with a 6-6 record, which includes a 2-1 GLVC mark and have won all four home games this season. Three players average double figures. 
 
SERIES HISTORIES
The Tritons are 10-4 against Illinois Springfield. UMSL has won eight of the last nine meetings although UIS won the first meeting, an 83-74 decision in St. Louis on December 1.  The Tritons were plagued by a season-high 19 turnovers. Senior Johnathan Matthews finished with 18 points.
 
UMSL is 17-7 all-time against McKendree, including 6-2 since the Bearcats joined the GLVC. The Tritons defeated McKendree 87-55 in the GLVC opener on November 29 behind a season-high 62.3 shooting percentage. Five players scored in double figures, led by junior Ronnie Carson's 19 points, while redshirt junior Jason Towery recorded a career-high 17 points.
 
UP NEXT
UMSL wraps up its four-game road swing next week, traveling to Truman State next Thursday and Quincy next Saturday.