WAVERLY, Iowa – Wartburg men's basketball continues non-conference play on Thursday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. with a matchup against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at Levick Arena. The Knights are also in action on Saturday, Dec. 11 for an American Rivers Conference matchup with Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa.
Thursday, Dec. 9 – 7 p.m.
– Waverly, Iowa – Levick Arena
Wartburg Knights (7-1, 2-0 A-R-C) vs Wisconsin-Eau Claire (7-3, 1-1)
Watch Live | Live Stats
Saturday, Dec. 11 – 4 p.m. – Indianola, Iowa
Wartburg Knights (7-1, 2-0 A-R-C) at Simpson Storm
(4-3, 1-1)
Watch Live
Last Time Out
Wartburg men's basketball defeated Bethany Lutheran on the road 101-88 behind a balanced offensive attack as well as a career shooting game from
Jack Molstead on Saturday, Dec. 4.
The Orange & Black started the game with a
Drew Olson three-ball that turned into an early 7-2 run. The Knights stretched the first half led to 15 points at its largest point, but Wartburg went into the half up 57-44.
After a cold start shooting for both sides, the Vikings were able to chip away at Wartburg's lead in the second half. A
Marshun Williams layup would push the lead to 16 points, but the Vikings hit timely threes and brought the game to within seven points with eight minutes to play. The late run was not enough for Bethany Lutheran to sustain a comeback and the Knights continued to score to secure a 101-88 victory.
Molstead had a good offensive showing with 21 points and a team-high nine assists. The junior guard was on fire beyond the arc, shooting a career-best six for six from three. The feat tied him for Wartburg's best three-point percentage in a game and is the most three-point attempts made in a game without missing in Wartburg history.
Team Leaders
Olson is leading the Knights in points, rebounds, and steals per game through the first eight games of the season. The senior guard is averaging 17.1 points per game while shooting 56.3% from the field and 42.1% from three. Olson has added 5.4 assists per game, which is the second highest mark on the team. On the defensive side of the ball, the Osage, Iowa native has averaged 6.1 rebounds and an American Rivers Conference leading 3.4 steals per game.
Molstead has been a vital piece of Wartburg's balanced offensive attack by leading the Orange & Black in assists with 6.3 per game as well as scoring 16.6 points per game. The junior guard is shooting a team-high (min. five attempts) 55.3% from beyond the arc this season and is shooting 52.3% from the field. On defense, Molstead has added 5.3 rebounds and one steal per game.
As a team, Wartburg is averaging 82.9 points per game while only allowing 71.9 points. The Knights are shooting 53.9% from the field and 37.6% from three-point range, which are currently second and first in the A-R-C. The Orange & Black are holding opponents to an A-R-C leading 39.3% shooting from the field and 31% from beyond the arc.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire
The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball has started the 2021-22 season with a 7-3 record and are winners of three of its last four contests. In its last contest, the Blugold's defeated the University of Wisconsin-Superior on the road 75-66.
The Blugold's are led by junior Brock Voigt, who is leading the team in scoring and rebounding with an average of 14.4 points per game and eight rebounds per game. The forward is shooting 65.1% from the field and 57.1% from three through ten games. Voigt also leads the team in blocks with 1.3 rejections per game.
As a team, the Blugold's have averaged 72.3 points per game from 47.3% shooting from the field and 39.2% shooting from three. On defense, the Blugold's are allowing 65.7 points per game from 40.1% field goal shooting and a three-point percentage of 28.4%. UW-Eau Claire averages just 11 assists per game as a team and the Blugold's have seven players within .9 and 1.9 assists so far this season.
Simpson
The Storm enter Saturday's contest with a 4-3 overall record and a 1-1 record in A-R-C play. Simpson men's basketball defeated Coe College 74-64 on Saturday, December 4 in its last time in action.
Simpson is led on offense by junior guard Andrew Curran, who is averaging 17.4 points per game which is a team high as well as the fourth best mark in the conference. Curran is shooting 40.8% from the field and 34.1% from three-point range. The junior guard also leads the team in assists with 3.6 per game.
Deontei Johnson and Chris Honz lead the team in rebounding with 6.5 and 6.4 per game respectively.
Simpson averages 72 points per game so far this season while shooting 48.2% from the field and 33.5% from three. The Storm are averaging 18 free throw attempts per game and is shooting 59.8% as a team from the stripe. Simpson is allowing 69.9 points per game from 44.9% from the field and 35.9% from beyond the arc.
Series History
There have been 10 meetings between UW-Eau Claire and Wartburg with the first dating back to 1949. The series is tied at five wins each and UW-Eau Claire won the last matchup, at home, 79-70 during the 2019-20 season.
There have been 134 matchups between Simpson and Wartburg dating back to February of 1950. The Knights lead the all-time series 93-41 and have won the last two meetings. The last contest came in March 2021 where the Orange & Black defeated Simpson 83-77 on the road.
For more information on Wartburg Athletics, follow the Knights on Twitter, Instagram, like us on Facebook, or sign up for text updates/score alerts from the rainedout.net text-messaging system.
