2022-23 Monmouth Basketball Game Three Preview

Monmouth Hawks (0-2, 0-0 CAA) at #23/23 Illinois Fighting Illini (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Monday, November 14, 2022 - 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT
State Farm Arena, Champaign, IL

TV
Big Ten Network
Play-by-Play: Kevin Kugler
Analyst: Stephen Bardo

RADIO
Monmouth Digital Network
Play-by-Play: Matt Harmon

QUICK BULLETS

-Monmouth is in the final game of a three-game season-opening road trip
-Myles Foster has scored in double figures in both of the first two games
-Jack Collins became the fourth Hawk to start the season opener as a true freshman under King Rice
-Tahron Allen netted his first career double-digit scoring game at Seton Hall
-Seven Hawks on this year's roster have played collegiate minutes prior to this yr.
-Monmouth graduated four fifth-year seniors and three true seniors from last season's roster
-MU comes off its sixth winning season in the last eight years
-Monmouth is entering its first season in the Colonial Athletic Association
-MU is playing its first three games on the road against high-major opponents

A MONMOUTH WIN WOULD...
-mark Monmouth's second ever win over a Big Ten opponent
-be the Hawks first win of the season
-mark Monmouth's first road victory of the season
-be MU's first ever win over Illinois
-mark Monmouth's second win ever over a ranked opponent (Notre Dame, 2015)
-be Rice's ninth win over a high-major program in the last eight seasons
-register as the 183rd win of Rice's career
-be the first collegiate win for four MU freshmen
-be MU's second straight win against a Big Ten opponent (Rutgers, 2015)

NOTES FROM THE LAST TIME OUT...
-Myles Foster scored in double figures for the second straight game to open the season, his first ever back-to-back double-digit efforts.
-Andrew Ball and Jack Holmstrom made a three for the second game in a row.
-Jayden Doyle and Jakari Spence scored their first career points.
-Every Hawk to play in the game scored.
-MU started the same lineup for the second game in a row to open the season.
-This marked the first nationally ranked opponent Monmouth played since November 15, 2019 at #5 Kansas.
-Monmouth shot 39% from the floor.
-MU scored 24 points in the paint.

MORE INFO ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES
-Monmouth and Illinois have never met in men's basketball competition
-MU Head Coach King Rice played against Illinois at Assembly Hall on December 19, 1987 as a freshman at North Carolina, totaling two assists in eight minutes
-This will mark Monmouth's fifth ever game as a Division I program in the state of Illinois (at DePaul, 2/16/87 and 12/6/99)
-Monmouth is 1-17 against current Big Ten membership all time
-MU's lone Big Ten win came over Rutgers on 12/20/15
-King Rice is 1-2 vs. the Big Ten, falling to Maryland and Rutgers with a win over RU

HAWKS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
-This is the first time in program history MU will play ranked opponents in back-to- back games
-This is the fifth time in school history, all under Rice, that Monmouth will play multiple ranked teams in the same season
-Monmouth's lone win in program history came on Thanksgiving Day 2015 over 17th- ranked Notre Dame in the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, FL
-Monmouth is 1-18 all-time against ranked opponents
-King Rice has played a ranked opponent in nine of his 12 seasons, with one coming in the 2020-21 COVID shortened season when the Hawks played just one non-league game (Hofstra)

HUGE START FOR FOSTER
Myles Foster led all players in the game Wednesday at Seton Hall with 18 points and 15 rebounds, both career highs for the forward. Foster posted his first career double-double, and the first opening night double-double for a Hawk since the 2017 opener against Bucknell when Micah Seaborn had 21 points and 10 rebounds. He followed that by notching his first back-to-back double-figure games with 10 points at #18 Virginia, making his first five field goals. 

COLLINS STARTS AS TRUE FRESHMAN
True freshman Jack Collins became the fourth true freshman to start a season opener under King Rice on Wednesday at Seton Hall. He joins teammate Myles Ruth (12/15/20 vs. Hofstra) and Justin Robinson and Zac Tillman (11/8/13 at Hofstra) in starting their first collegiate game as a true freshman. 

SANDHU THE FIRST INDIAN-BORN PLAYER TO APPEAR
This summer, freshman center Amaan Sandhu became the first Indian-born player to ever earn a Division I men's basketball scholarship and at Seton Hall, became the first Indian-born scholarship player to appear in a Division I game. 

WHAT WAS LOST
Monmouth graduated seven seniors from last season, four fifth-years and three true seniors, a group that accounted for 574 career games at MU. That group featured three All-MAAC performers in George Papas, Walker Miller and Shavar Reynolds, with Papas finishing as the top single-season three-point shooter in progam history. Also in that group was the program's all-time games played leader in Marcus McClary, last season's top rebounder in Nikkei Rutty, and veteran point guard Samuel Chaput. 

SCORING PERCENTAGES LOST
Monmouth graduated 84% of its scoring from a season ago, totaling 57.6 points per game amongst the seven graduates. MU returns 16% of last year's points, a total of 11 points per game. That number is third lowest in the NCAA (IUPUI and West Virginia return 9.1 points per game). 

WHAT ENTERS
The Hawks bring in four true freshmen as well as three players that redshirted a season ago to total seven players that are new on the floor this season. True freshmen Andrew Ball, Jack Collins, Amaan Sandhu and Jaret Valencia are joined by redshirts Tadhg Crowley, Jayden Doyle and Sam Fagan. 

ALLEN GOING TO THE RIM
The only member of last year's recruiting class to see action last season, Tahron Allen, posted his first career double-digit scoring game on Wednesday at Seton Hall, finishing with 11 points, all of them at the rim or from the foul line. 

STAFF CHANGES
King Rice enters his 12th season with Rick Callahan by his side, and the staff welcomes two new faces for 2022-23. A familiar coach is back on the MU bench as Brian Reese, a four-year member of Rice's original staff in 2011, is back as an assistant coach. Also joining the coaching staff is Clive Bentick as an assistant coach after a long run as an assistant at St. Francis Brooklyn.

CAA BOUND
The Hawks are entering their first season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, and will be the first team in the league to open CAA play on December 28. This is the second conference change for King Rice, who transitioned the Blue and White from the NEC to the MAAC in 2013. 

CAA PRESEASON POLL
Monmouth, in its first season in the league, was chosen 10th in the conference's preseason coaches poll, with MU selected ahead of North Carolina A&T, Hampton and Elon. The Hawks have matched or outperformed their preseason ranking in nine of Rice's 11 seasons to this point, including winning three MAAC regular season titles despite being picked first just once. 

WINNING 20
Monmouth won 20 games last season for the third time under King Rice and seventh time as a Division I member. Rice's two prior 20-win years came in 2015-16 and 2016-17, when the Blue and White won 28 and 27 games. Overall, it was the 16th time in the program's 66-year history that the Hawks have topped the 20-win plateau.

RICE SETS WINS RECORD
With the win on 2/22/22 against Siena, King Rice set the program's Division I wins record with his 179th victory in his career, all of them coming at Monmouth. That number is second all-time in the history of the program behind Bill Boylan (364).

UP NEXT
Monmouth hosts Norfolk State Thursday night in the home opener at 7:00 p.m.