Complete PDF Notes

Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Off to its best start in program history, Lourdes looks to extend its winning streak to five on Tuesday evening as the Gray Wolves travel to Livonia, Mich. to face #17 Madonna.  This will be the second straight top-20 opponent that Lourdes has played on the road after downing #10 Davenport on Saturday afternoon.

Head Coach Andre Smith: In his third season both on the Lourdes bench and overall as a men's collegiate head coach, Andre Smith has a 57-45 (.559) record.  He is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.  Smith was the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2012-2013.

Series Notes: Lourdes is 5-3 all-time against Madonna dating back to the 2010-201 season.  The Gray Wolves went 1-2 against the Crusaders last season, with each team winning on the other's home floor during the regular season.  Madonna won the rubber match 56-50 in the semifinals of the WHAC tournament on Feb. 23 in Livonia, Mich.  Lourdes holds a 3-1 series edge in games played at Madonna though.

Wrapping Up Last Week: The Gray Wolves jumped out to a 22-3 lead over Michigan-Dearborn on Wednesday evening and cruised to a 67-46 victory at home at Tam-o-Shanter.  Eric Worthey scored 16 points while Zach Steinmetz grabbed nine rebounds to go along with 11 points.  A Jerome Talton three-point play in the final minute put Lourdes on top for good Saturday afternoon as the Gray Wolves upset #10 Davenport 59-55 in Grand Rapids, Mich.  Elvin Butler scored a game-high 16 points while Worthey added 14 more for the Gray Wolves.  

Scouting Madonna: The Crusaders have won three straight games following an 85-61 victory against Concordia (Mich.) on Saturday in their home opener.  Travis Schuba leads Madonna scoring 15.0 points per game. He ranks ninth in NAIA Division II making 3.58 three-pointers per game and is shooting 45.5% from long range.  Bobby Naubert adds 14.4 points per night while Fred Williams is averaging 14.0 points and a team-leading 5.0 rebounds per game.  As a team Madonna ranks 19th nationally giving up an average of 66.3 points per game.

Best Start in Program History: Lourdes 6-1 start is the best seven-game start in program history.  Last year the Gray Wolves started the year out 5-1 before losing at home to Madonna in the seventh game of the season.  In fact, the Gray Wolves six wins are guaranteed to be the best eight-game start as well as the 2012-2013 team lost back-to-back games and began the year 5-3.  

Jumping Out of the Gate: Lourdes is outscoring people 246-168 over the opening 20 minutes thus far this season, building an average halftime lead of just over 11 points per game.  The only game this year in which the Gray Wolves were trailing at the break was against #9 Goshen (32-31).

Facing Ranked Opponents: Lourdes victory over #10 Davenport on Saturday was the highest-ranked foe that the Gray Wolves have ever defeated.  Lourdes is 6-14 all-time against NAIA Division II top-25 foes, including a 1-1 record this season.  Entering Tuesday's game at #17 Madonna, Lourdes has won three of its last seven games against ranked foes.

Defense Picks Up Where it Left Off: Lourdes played the stingiest defense of any NAIA Division II team during the 2012-2013 season, allowing just 51.3 points per contest while also leading the nation allowing the opposition to shoot just 36.8% from the floor.  Already this season the Gray Wolves rank third in the country in scoring defense, giving up just 54.7 points per night while holding the opponents to just 39.4% shooting from the floor, the 18th best mark nationally.

Free Throws Going In of Late: Lourdes opened the season shooting just 62.7% (79-of-126) over its first five games from the free throw line.  The Gray Wolves have improved over the last week though, shooting about 80% in each of the last two games.  Lourdes went 38-of-44 (86.4%) from the charity stripe combined against Michigan-Dearborn and Davenport.

Talton Clutch at the Line: Jerome Talton is shooting a team-best 89.5% (17-of-19) from the free throw line this year.  The senior went 10-of-11 last week in the two games, making all three in the final 32 seconds in the upset victory at Davenport on Saturday.

Who's In Today's Starting Five: Already this year eight different Gray Wolves have started at least one game, with seven of them making at least three start on the season.  Eric Worthey and Zach Steinmetz have been the only constants, starting all seven contests this year.

Lourdes Tabbed Fourth in Preseason Poll: The Gray Wolves were selected to finish in fourth place in the WHAC this season in the preseason poll conducted of the league's head coaches.  Lourdes was picked just ahead of Northwestern Ohio, and just behind Cornerstone.  Davenport was tabbed as the conference's preseason favorite for 2013-2014 after winning the conference title two straight seasons.

Captains Named: Lourdes has two captains on the roster this season.  Serving in the leadership role for 2013-2014 are Elvin Butler and Jake DuPree, both first time captains.

This and That: Eric Worthey (14.7 points per game) leads three players averaging in double figures (Elvin Butler, 13.3 ppg; Zach Steinmetz 12.4 ppg) ... Steinmetz has the Gray Wolves only two double-doubles this year ... Lourdes is outrebounding teams by seven boards per game this year, 26th best in the country ... Jake DuPree (17 assists, six turnovers) and Jerah'me Williams (16 assists, five turnovers) have led the ball handlers ... Worthey is shooting 67.3% from the floor this year.