UD Men's Basketball Receives Votes in D3hoops Top 25
Nov 26, 2013 | J.Crane
DUBUQUE, IOWA - The University of Dubuque Men's Basketball team is off to a 5-0 start to the 2013-14 Season and it is not going unnoticed. The Spartans, winners of 12 of their last 13 games dating back to last season, received votes (8 points) in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll for Week 1. UD is averaging 87.2 points per game, the 43rd highest points per game total in Division-III. Dubuque currently has five players averaging double figure points per game.
The Spartans have taken full advantage of the new defensive rules by getting to the free throw line at an astonishing pace. UD is currently third in Division-III with 118 free throws made and 171 free throw attempts. Dubuque is also shooting with the best teams in D-III from the field as they are 44th in field goal percentage (50.4%), and 45th in three-point field goal percentage (42.0%).
The leading scorer for UD through five games is Andre Norris (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) at 19.2 ppg. Norris is currently 28th in D-III with 96 points and second in the Iowa Conference in points per game (19.2). The sophomore power forward has been efficient from the field shooting 72.9% (35-48), the 18th best field goal percentage in D-III. He also leads the IIAC with nine blocks.
Sharp shooting Chris Frazier (Heidelberg, Germany/Heidelberg) has been on mark all season from outside with 19 three-pointers, the sixth highest total in Division III. He is averaging 16.8 points per game with 84 points on the year. The senior guard is 19-43 (44.2) from three point range and 15-18 (83.3) from the free throw line. Frazier is closing in on 1,000 career points with 915 points after his 28 point outburst in the Carthage Classic Championship Game. Fellow senior Mitch Michaelis (LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) recently hit the 1,000 point mark becoming the 20th Spartan in UD Men's Basketball history to reach the milestone. Michaelis is averaging 13.0 ppg.
UD has also gotten a scoring boost from the second unit with Brandon Ferguson (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) and Gage Heffernan (Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead) averaging double figures off the bench. Ferguson is scoring 12.2 points/game. Heffernan has been nearly perfect from the free throw line shooting 86.4% (19-22) while averaging 10.6 ppg.
UP NEXT: The Spartans will resume play after the Thanksgiving break on Saturday, November 30th at Clarke University (6-1). Game time at the Kehl Center on the Clarke campus is 3:00 pm.
LIVE Video/Stats: UD-Clarke Men's Basketball Video/Stats
LIVE Audio with Tim Lary available at: UD-LIVE
Follow all UD Athletics action on Twitter at: @UDubuqueSports
