WASHINGTON – American University men's basketball is set to play at Bender Arena for the second straight game when Army comes to town on Saturday for Salute to Military & Veterans Day.
 
QUICK INFO 

• Date/Time: Wednesday, February 19, 2:00 p.m. 
• Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena) 
• Ticket Info: AUEagles.com/Tickets
• Series History: AU leads, 31-16 
• TV: ESPN+
• Talent: Dan Laing (pxp) and Jimmy Patsos (color)

INSIDE THE SERIES

• American swept the season series in both 2019 and 2020, but the Black Knights have won back-to-back games against the Eagles, including a 76-66 win in West Point last month.
• The Eagles led by as many as nine points in the first half but faltered in the second half as Stacy Beckton Jr. battled foul trouble.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN

• American (7-19, 3-11 PL) enters the final week of Patriot League play needing some help to earn a first-round home game in the Patriot League Tournament. The Eagles currently sit in ninth in the standings with a 3-10 PL record, with Lafayette and Holy Cross sitting in seventh and eighth with matching 6-8 marks.
• In AU's last game, the Eagles held Navy to 32.7 percent from the field but struggled to find an offensive rhythm themselves. Despite a late barrage of 3-pointer from AU, Navy won, 55-46.
• Stacy Beckton Jr. is creeping up the all-time scoring list, now sitting at No. 27. Based on his scoring average, he has a chance to move as high as No. 26 by the end of the season. Additionally, he currently has 96 career blocks, which ranks seventh in program history. He is two swats away from moving into sixth place on AU's all-time career blocks list and four away from being the sixth Eagle with 100 career blocks.
• Jaxon Knotek has been a valuable bench contributor the last few weeks. The senior sharpshooter has hit a triple in six straight games dating back to Feb. 2, 2022. Prior to this streak, Knotek's last trey came on Dec. 1, 2021 at Stony Brook.
• A trend to watch for the Eagles is their ability to get to the free-throw line. In their win over Holy Cross on Monday night, AU had 26 free-throw attempts, matching a season high. In all three of American's Patriot League wins, they had more free-throw attempts than their opponent.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT ARMY

• Army (13-14, 7-8 PL) has struggled as of late, dropping five straight games. The Black Knights started the conference slate with a dazzling 7-3 record, but now sit at 7-8 and are in danger of missing out on a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
• Last time out, Army lost at home to conference-leading Colgate in a high-scoring affair, 100-90. Jalen Rucker matched his career-high with 29 points to lead all scorers. 
• Five Cadets – all starters – scored in double figures for the first time this season. The 190 total points are the most in a game this season and Army's 90 points are its third-most points. Army's 12 3-pointers tied for the second-most and went 50 percent from 3-point range which ties a season-best.
• Rucker leads the Black Knights, and ranks fourth in the PL, with 16.6 points per game. As a team, Army leads the conference with 37.3 rebounds per game.

UPDATED COVID PROTOCOLS FOR BENDER ARENA

• In response to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in our region, American University Athletics is announcing increased safety measures for events at Bender Arena
• Eagles Club Hospitality Suite: Due to health and safety protocols related to COVID-19, there will be a temporary pause on all Eagles Club Hospitality operations for men's and women's basketball games.
• All patrons are required to wear masks at all times while inside Bender Arena, and proof of vaccination is required prior to entering the gym.

BENDER ARENA GREGORIO'S CONCESSIONS STAND RE-OPENS FOR REMAINDER OF 2022 HOME GAMES

• Starting on Wednesday, Feburary 9, AU Athletics is proud to announce that concessions operations will re-open to Bender Arena patrons.
• The Eagles have partnered with Gregorio's Trattoria to provide an enhanced concessions menu for all remaining home basketball games this season.
• Fans can enjoy Gregorio's favorites including menu selections of pizza, Italian sausage and peppers, hot and cold sub sandwiches and wraps, chicken fingers, hot dogs, chips and more, as well as a full selection of refreshing Pepsi products.

TICKET INFO

• Tickets, starting at just $7 each, are available for purchase for fully vaccinated fans by clicking here.   A limited amount of premium location sideline seats also still remain.  Admission is free for AU undergraduate, graduate and WCL students with current AU ID.
• AU Athletics asks that you consider pre-purchasing digital tickets prior to arriving on campus. The ticket office is transitioning to contactless tickets so that we may offer the safest and most effective way to minimize contact upon entry.
• Digital tickets also give fans more control in the management of tickets including the ability to forward/share ticket(s) with friends and family. You may either present digital tickets on a smart phone device or download and pre-print ticket(s) at home with a valid QR code.
• Thank you for your help and cooperation in advancing contactless ticketing for the health and safety of our entire AU community.

AU HOOP TALK WITH COACH BRENNAN, PRESENTED BY 1757 GOLF CLUB

• Check out and watch the newest episode of AU Hoop Talk with Coach Brennan presented by 1757 Golf Club by clicking here.
• In this week's episode, Coach Brennan Coach Brennan discusses how the team is handling these three-game weeks down the stretch and how Josh Alexander has embraced his role off the bench.
• All prior show episodes from this season can also be seen archived here.

HOW TO WATCH ESPN+ 

• A subscription to ESPN+ is available for purchase via ESPN.com, ESPNPlus.com, or the ESPN App. Fans can access ESPN+ content only after they have subscribed. To subscribe, click here. It costs $6.99/month or $69.99/year. 

KEEP UP WITH US

• For the latest on American University Men's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_MBasketball), Facebook (/AU.MBasketball) and Instagram (@au_mbasketball).