January 20, 2018 - Chicago, IL,US - Chicago State vs CSU Bakersfield at Jones Convocation Center in Chicago IL.
Chicago State men's basketball host CSU Bakersfield in WAC conference matchup.
(Credit: Dean Reid)

Dean Reid

Men's Basketball 11/5/2018 10:44:00 PM Corey Miggins, Sports Information Director

Men's Basketball Opens Lance Irvin Era Tomorrow at Indiana

Senior Anthony Harris and the Cougars open their season tomorrow at Indiana live on the Big Ten Network

Chicago State (0-0) at Indiana (0-0)
Date	Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018
Time	5:30 p.m.
Location	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall - Bloomington, Ind.
Video	Big Ten Network
Radio	CSU Radio Network
Live Stats	IU Live Stats
Social Media	@ChiStateCougars (Twitter)

Indiana Game Notes

CHICAGO -

OPENING TIP - The Chicago State men's basketball team kicks off its 2018-19 season on the road Tuesday evening in the state of Indiana. CSU takes on the host Indiana Hoosiers in a live broadcast on the Big Ten Network from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall beginning at 5:30 p.m.

IRVIN ERA BEGINS AT CHICAGO STATE - Chicago State men's basketball enters its first season with Chicago native and longtime coaching veteran Lance Irvin as head coach. Irvin, who came to CSU after spending six seasons as an assistant coach at Morgan Park High School on the city's far south side, has over 18 years of Division I collegiate coaching experience as an assistant at Southern Illinois, Iowa State, Missouri, SMU, Loyola Chicago and Texas A&M.

BALANCE AND OPTIONS FOR COUGARS - Irvin's first Cougar squad has achieved a rare balance with seven returning players and seven newcomers with six apiece. The top returners for the Green and White are senior guard Anthony Harris (Gary, Ind./Griffith (Ind.)) and sophomore forward Cameron Bowles (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood), while junior forward Christian Jacob (Gary, Ind./Westside) and sophomore center Noah Bigirumwami (Santa Clarita, Calif./Village Christian) serve as the top newcomers.

SCOUTING IU - Indiana comes into Tuesday's season opener fresh off capturing a 96-62 exhibition win over NCAA Division II Southern Indiana last Wednesday at Assembly Hall. Six players scored in double figures for the Hoosiers in the game with freshman forward Damezi Anderson scoring a game-high 14 points in 15 minutes off the bench. IU, who was picked to finish third in the Big Ten Conference preseason rankings, welcomes back its leading returning scorer in senior forward Juwan Morgan as he averaged 16.5 points per game and connected on 58 percent of his field goal attempts a year ago.

IU SERIES HISTORY - Tuesday's game marks the third lifetime meeting on the hardwood between Chicago State and Indiana with the Hoosiers holding a 2-0 lead. In the teams' last meeting in Bloomington on Nov. 8, 2013, IU recorded a 100-72 victory thanks to six players scoring in double figures. Clarke Rosenberg paced the Cougars with a game-high 27 points while shooting 8-of-14 from the field and connected on 7-of-8 from the free throw line.

STARTING THE SEASON ON THE ROAD - The Cougars open the season with an eight-game road swing in the month of November which includes playing at a pair of Power Five schools in Indiana (Big Ten) and Notre Dame (ACC). CSU also takes on two Mid-American Conference teams (Central Michigan and Akron) and two Missouri Valley Conference teams (Illinois State and Bradley) during this stretch.

TAKING ON POSTSEASON COMPETITION - CSU will possibly face off against eight teams that competed in postseason play last March in Notre Dame (NIT), Central Michigan (CIT), Sam Houston State (CIT), California Baptist (NCAA D-II), Grand Canyon (CBI), Seattle U (CBI), Utah Valley (CBI), UT Rio Grande Valley (CBI) and New Mexico State (NCAA).

ACHIEVING IN THE CLASSROOM - Junior forward/center Patrick Szpir (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) has been one of the top players academically on the team as he is a two-time Academic All-WAC honoree and has claimed CSU Scholar-Athlete accolades twice.

CSU'S PUBLIC CONNECTION - The Cougars have four players on this year's roster that played high school ball in the tough Chicago Public League. Representing the Public League this season are Bowles (Kenwood), sophomore guard Travon Bell (Chicago, Ill./Mather) (Mather), redshirt sophomore guard Michael Johnson (Chicago, Ill./Harlan) (Harlan) and junior forward Eugene Witherspoon (Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park) (Kenwood). In addition, Coach Irvin was an all-city and all-state honoree as a point guard at Julian High School on the city's far southwest side.

UP NEXT - The Green and White return to Indiana on Thursday night against Notre Dame at the Joyce Center live on ESPN+ with the opening tip set for 6 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Travon Bell: G; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#21 Cameron Bowles: F; 6' 7"; Sophomore

#10 Anthony Harris: G; 6' 5"; Senior

#23 Patrick Szpir: F/C; 6' 9"; Junior

#22 Michael Johnson: G; 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore

#13 Christian Jacob: F; 6' 8"; Junior

#15 Noah Bigirumwami: C; 6' 10"; Sophomore

#32 Eugene Witherspoon: F; 6' 6"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#3 Travon Bell
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: G

#21 Cameron Bowles
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: F

#10 Anthony Harris
: 6' 5"; Senior
: G

#23 Patrick Szpir
: 6' 9"; Junior
: F/C

#22 Michael Johnson
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#13 Christian Jacob
: 6' 8"; Junior
: F

#15 Noah Bigirumwami
: 6' 10"; Sophomore
: C

#32 Eugene Witherspoon
: 6' 6"; Junior
: F

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned