WASHINGTON - The defending Patriot League champions tip off a new season on Monday night, as the American University men's basketball team opens its 2025-26 campaign on the road at Wake Forest. The matchup marks the Eagles' first test of the season against ACC competition, with game time set for 8 p.m. at LJVM Coliseum.
Quick Info
- Date/Time: Monday, November 3; 8 pm
- Site: Winston-Salem, N.C. (LVJM Coliseum)
- Series History: Wake Forest leads, 4-0
- TV: ACCNX / ESPN+
- Talent: Evan Lepler, Stan Lewter
Inside the Series
- American and Wake Forest are meeting for the first time since 1987, and for the fifth time in program history.
- The Demon Deacons have won all four previous meetings, taking the first three in Winston-Salem in 1969, 1979, and 1981, before winning the most recent contest 79-66 in the Palm Beach Classic on Dec. 29, 1987.
- The Eagles will face two ACC teams this non-conference season, also heading to Virginia on Dec. 22 where they only narrowly lost last season, 63-58. All-time, American is 7-39 against the ACC.
What to Know About American
- American is coming off a 22-13 season and the fourth Patriot League Championship in program history. The Eagles' run ended in the NCAA First Four with an 83-72 loss to Mount St. Mary's.
- Four consistent starters were lost to graduation including All-PL First Team selection and PL Tournament MVP Matt Rogers, who finished his career as the sixth-leading scorer in school history.
- Head coach Duane Simpkins returns for his third year at the helm of the program along with associate head coaches Nate Bollinger and Jackie Manuel, and assistant coach Isaiah Tate.
- AU returns four of its top eight leading scorers, however, including junior Greg Jones who was named PL Preseason Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 10.3 points per game last season and earning PL All-Defensive Team honors as a sophomore.
- The Eagles played an exhibition contest at Howard on Oct. 28, falling 77-63. AU had 11 players cleared to play, including six freshmen, and all 11 saw action in the game.
- Jones scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting at Howard, and sophomore Julen Iturbe hit 8-of-8 free throws on his way to a 17-point performance.
- Last year, AU had its first 22-win season since a 22-9 record in 2010-11, and it's first 20-win season since 2013-14.
- The Eagles finished with 13 PL wins, also the most since 2013-14, with both 2024-25 and 2013-14 tying 2008-09 for most PL wins in program history (13).
- On this year's roster of 19, nine are true freshmen including six scholarship players. With the freshman class making up nearly half the team, some of these talented newcomers are expected to make an immediate impact.
What to Know About Wake Forest
- Wake Forest is coming off a 21-11 season in 2024-25, including a 13-7 mark in ACC action and a 13-3 overall record at home at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
- The Demon Deacons finished fourth in the ACC, but lost in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament to fifth-seeded North Carolina. Wake Forest declined an invitation to the NIT.
- The Deacons are led by sixth-year head coach Steve Forbes. Under his watch, Wake Forest has the fourth-most regular season wins in the ACC over the last four years, and its 61 home wins over that span is tied for fourth nationally.
- Graduate student forward Tre'Von Spillers, now in his second year in Winston-Salem, put up 9.9 points per game, tops among returners to the Demon Deacons lineup. He also grabbed 7.6 rebounds a game in 2024-25, tops on the team.
- Senior guard Nate Calmese is now on his fourth school, having played at Washington State, Washington, and Lamar. He was an All-WCC Honorable Mention performer last year.
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