Games 10 & 11:
 
vs. Nebraska Kearney 4-4 (2-2 MIAA)
Friday, December 15, 2023 | 7:30 PM | Wichita, KS (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio: Jets Audio Network | Video: MIAA Network | Stats
 
vs Fort Hays State 7-2 (3-1 MIAA)
Sunday, December 17, 2023 | 3:30 PM | Wichita, KS (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio: Jets Audio Network | Video: MIAA Network | Stats
 
Happy Holidays to You
Newman Men's Basketball takes on the Lopers and Tigers before heading into the Christmas break. The Jets will be looking for some victories to put them into the middle of the Conference standings.

Last Time Out
Despite a promising open to the first half for the Jets, Missouri Southern took a commanding lead into half, which was too much for the Jets to overcome.

Stevie Smith and Stevie Strong were the two main offensive powers for the Jets, as they combined for 36 of Newman's points. Smith has consistently been getting into double figures for about the past month, and while Strong has not had a performance like his 37 point opening night, he still has had a major role in getting Jet victories this season.

Freshman Devin Walker made his season debut in the game, where he finished with 9 points and 2 rebounds.
Box Score | Recap
 
Scouting the Squadron
The Jets sit with a 4-5 record and 1-3 record in conference play. They currently sit just outside of the top 10 in the MIAA.

There were both positives and negatives taken from this weekends games. For the positives, Newman made the most three pointers in game this season against Missouri Southern with 12. Unfortunately, both games saw season highs in the turnover margin, with Newman turning it over 14 times in both games.
 
Behind Enemy Lines
Nebraska Kearney is 4-4 coming into Wichita, with a 2-2 record in the MIAA. The Lopers are generally a high scoring team, but only managed to put up 53 against Northwest Missouri State last weekend. It was a season low for UNK, as they are averaging almost 80 points a game.

Coach Antoine Young is the interim head coach for the team, having been named to the position just last month. Before accepting the position, he was an assistant coach for the team for five seasons.

Fort Hays is 7-2 on the season, with a 3-1 mark in conference play. The Tigers were receiving votes in the national poll for several weeks. Their most impressive performances of the season came last week where they knocked off #17 Northwest Missouri State and #22 Missouri Western in back-to-back games on their home court.

In the Central Region, the Tigers are the fifth ranked team, just behind the MIAA's Central Oklahoma and Emporia State.
 
The Series
Men's Basketball is 3-5 all time against UNK. However, the Jets won both meetings with the Lopers last season. Four of the eight meetings have been decided by five points or less.

The Tigers lead the series 18-2 against Newman. The teams have played each other every year since 2008. Newman has never won on the road at Hays, but has defeated the Tigers twice on their home court, with the most recent coming in November of 2018.

Upcoming Attractions
Men's Basketball will be off until January 3^rd, where they head to Emporia State, followed by a trip to Washburn on January 6^th.