WASHINGTON – With its undefeated home record on the line, American University men's basketball will host Saint Francis (Pa.) at 2 p.m. in Bender Arena on Saturday, Dec. 2. It's the last home game until the next calendar year for the Eagles, who will play four straight on the road to close out the month of December.
Quick Info
- Date/Time: Saturday, December 2; 2 pm
- Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
- Series History: American leads, 15-9
- Team Records: AU (4-4), Saint Francis (3-5)
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Dan Laing and Gordon Austin
Tickets
- A limited amount of premium location sideline tickets remain for Saturday's game, and can be purchased by clicking HERE.
- Additionally, money-saving full-season tickets valid for admission to all 14 home games this 2023-24 campaign, as well as 10-voucher flex plans are still available by calling the Athletics Ticket Office at (202) 885-TIXX (8499).
Inside the Series
- American leads the all-time series, 15-9. The Eagles lead 10-1 at home and Saint Francis leads 8-5 on the road.
- The Eagles have won each of the last two contests, winning 66-55 on the road last year and 83-73 at home in 2021.
- The only win for the Red Flash in D.C. was on Nov. 26, 2016 when they came away with a 69-62 victory in Bender Arena.
What to Know About American
- All four of American's wins have come in Bender Arena, where the Eagles are undefeated so far this season. It has been the opposite on the road, with AU still looking for its first win. After Saturday's game, American will play four straight on the road.
- Coming up against a tough Harvard team in its most recent game, AU fell behind by 14 late in the first half before nearly coming all the way back late in the second. Senior forward Matt Rogers scored 20 points to lead four Eagles who finished in double figures.
- Last time AU was at home on Nov. 26, they scored the most points in a single game in 28 years, beating Hood College 103-74. AU made a program-record 19 three-pointers, with sophomore Geoff Sprouse hitting seven of those. Sprouse leads the PL with 2.9 3-pt FG per game.
- First-year head coach Duane Simpkins has four career victories and has brought a new energy to the program. The Eagles run a faster offense and so far are averaging 11 more points per game than in 2022-23, and making four more 3-point field goals per game.
- Junior guard Elijah Stephens leads the Patriot League with 6.1 assists per game and an assist/turnover ratio of 3.1. Stephens, who ranks third on the team with 9.6 points per game, has hit 17 of 18 free throws to lead the team and the PL with a percentage of .944.
- Rogers is leading the team with 14.9 points per game, followed by Sprouse at 12.3 ppg and Stephens with 9.6 ppg.
What to Know About Saint Francis
- St. Francis (Pa.) comes to Bender Arena with a 3-5 record on the season. The Red Flash edged Lehigh on the road in their last outing, 62-61, for their first road victory of the season. They closed the game on an 8-0 run to earn the win over the Mountain Hawks.
- Sophomore guard Cam Gregory is the only member of the Red Flash putting up double figure scoring so far this year. He is averaging 11.5 points per game, adding a team-best 13 assists. Gregory scored a season-high 22 points in the loss to Niagara on November 25.
- Despite being only a sophomore, Gregory is the Red Flash's most experienced returning player with 19 starts and 28 games played as a freshman last year, both top marks among the team's returners. St. Francis is the second-youngest team in NCAA Division I men's basketball, with all its scholarship players in their freshman or sophomore season. The Red Flash's average age of 19.6 is second only to another upcoming AU opponent, VMI, which has an average age of 19.0.
- Rob Krimmel, a 2000 graduate of St. Francis, is in his 12th season as the head coach at his alma mater. The win over Lehigh was the 150th of his career. Krimmel has led the Red Flash to postseason appearances four times, including an NIT bid in 2019 when he was named the NEC Coach of the Year.
- St. Francis was picked to finish eighth in this year's Preseason NEC Coaches Poll.
Three-Point Theater
- Sophomore Geoff Sprouse leads the Patriot League with 2.9 three-pointers per game, and the Eagles lead the PL and rank 16th in NCAA Division I with 10.5 3-point field goals made per game.
- That total is four more treys per game than the Eagles made in 2022-23, when they ranked last in the PL at 6.4.
- Fans who love three-pointers did not go home disappointed from American's 103-74 win over Hood College on Nov. 26.
- The Eagles drained a program-record 19 three-point shots, breaking the previous record (set in 2005) by four. Sprouse hit 7-of-13 to tie for seventh all-time in program history in a single game.
- There were plenty of treys on the other end of the floor as well, with Hood College going 15-for-36 from deep.
Sharing is Caring for Elijah Stephens
- With 49 assists in eight games this season, junior point guard Elijah Stephens ranks sixth among all players in NCAA Division I.
- His 6.1 assists per game lead the Patriot League and rank 16th in the nation.
- Stephens dished a career-high nine assists in the Eagles' OT loss at Georgetown on Nov. 19, and totaled eight assists in wins over NJIT (Nov. 16) and Hood College (Nov. 26).
- Currently, Stephens' assist to turnover ratio is 3.1 (49 assists, 16 turnovers) to lead the Patriot League in that stat as well.
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