2014–15 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball
CIT champions
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record24–12 (9–9 The Valley)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jimmy Elgas
  • Carson Harris
  • Geoff Alexander
Home arenaFord Center
2014–15 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 14 Wichita State171 .944305  .857
No. 11 Northern Iowa162 .889314  .886
Indiana State117 .6111516  .484
Illinois State117 .6112213  .629
Evansville99 .5002412  .667
Loyola Chicago810 .4442413  .649
Drake612 .333922  .290
Missouri State513 .2781120  .355
Southern Illinois414 .2221221  .364
Bradley315 .167924  .273
2015 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2014–15 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by eighth year head coach Marty Simmons, played their home games at the Ford Center and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 24–12, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley tournament to Illinois State. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated IPFW, Eastern Illinois, Louisiana–Lafayette, UT Martin, and Northern Arizona to become CIT champions.

Previous season

The Purple Aces finished the season 14–19, 6–12 in MVC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley tournament where they lost to Wichita State.

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Ryan Sawvell0F/C6'8"200JuniorMundelein, ILTransferred to Wofford
Tyler Ptacek22G6'3"175FreshmanParma, OHTransferred
Mike Leazer23G6'3"170SophomoreMount Prospect, ILTransferred to Wisconsin–Parkside
Rokas Cesnulevicius25F/C6'8"215JuniorAlytus, LithuaniaInjured

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Taylor Stafford1G6'0"170JuniorDuluth, MNJunior college transfer from Eastern Arizona College.
Sergej Vucetic14C7'1"236JuniorVrbas, SerbiaTransferred from Nebraska. Under NCAA transfer rules, Vucetic will have to redshirt for the 2014–15 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Willie Wiley22F6'7"210JuniorSpringfield, ILJunior college transfer from Vincennes.

Class of 2015 recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dainius Chatkevicius
PF
Orlando, FL West Oaks Academy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) N/A 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 23, 2014.

Roster

2014–15 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 1 Taylor Stafford 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrEastern Arizona College Duluth, MN
G 2 Christian Benzon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) SoThe Rock School Gainesville, FL
G 3 Jaylon Brown 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoFishers Fishers, IN
G 4 Duane Gibson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) SoVilla Angela-St. Joseph Cleveland, OH
G 5 Mislav Brzoja 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS SoVillanova Zagreb, Croatia
F/C 10 Jaylon Moore 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)230 lb (104 kg) SrOlive Branch Olive Branch, MS
G 12 Adam Wing 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrRowan County Morehead, KY
C 14 Sergej Vucetic Current redshirt 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)238 lb (108 kg) JrNebraska Vrbas, Serbia
F 22 Willie Wiley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) JrVincennes Springfield, IL
G 31 D. J. Balentine 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrKokomo Kokomo, IN
F/C 44 David Howard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) RS SoMontgomery Bell Nashville, TN
G/F 50 Blake Simmons 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoCastle Newburgh, IN
C 55 Egidijus Mockevičius 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)225 lb (102 kg) JrLithuanian Edu. Sciences Kuršėnai, Lithuania
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule

[1]

Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/01/2014*
1:05 pm
McKendree W 88–60 
Ford Center (2,722)
Evansville, IN
11/08/2014*
3:05 pm
Wabash W 95–50 
Ford Center (3,936)
Evansville, IN
Regular season
11/15/2014*
2:05 pm
Earlham W 116–45  1–0
Ford Center (4,238)
Evansville, IN
11/19/2014*
6:00 pm
at Miami (OH) W 69–50  2–0
Millett Hall (826)
Oxford, OH
11/24/2014*
1:30 pm
vs. Fresno State
Gulf Coast Classic quarterfinals
W 58–52  3–0
Germain Arena (2,118)
Estero, FL
11/25/2014*
5:00 pm
vs. Green Bay
Gulf Coast Classic semifinals
L 62–64  3–1
Germain Arena (3,027)
Estero, FL
11/26/2014*
5:00 pm
vs. San Francisco
Gulf Coast Classic 3rd place game
W 79–72  4–1
Germain Arena (3,867)
Estero, FL
12/02/2014*
7:05 pm
Wright State W 86–72  5–1
Ford Center (3,291)
Evansville, IN
12/06/2014*
7:05 pm
IUPUI W 89–62  6–1
Ford Center (3,889)
Evansville, IN
12/09/2014*
7:00 pm
at Belmont W 65–62  7–1
Curb Event Center (1,160)
Nashville, TN
12/13/2014*
1:05 pm
Murray State L 79–81  7–2
Ford Center (5,083)
Evansville, IN
12/18/2014*
8:05 pm
Ohio W 81–69  8–2
Ford Center (3,610)
Evansville, IN
12/21/2014*
1:05 pm
Alabama State W 81–63  9–2
Ford Center (3,861)
Evansville, IN
12/28/2014*
1:05 pm
Coppin State W 85–80  10–2
Ford Center (4,329)
Evansville, IN
Missouri Valley Conference regular season
01/01/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
No. 23 Northern Iowa W 52–49  11–2 (1–0)
Ford Center (5,151)
Evansville, IN
01/04/2015
12:30 pm, ESPN3
at Indiana State L 75–79  11–3 (1–1)
Hulman Center (3,948)
Terre Haute, IN
01/07/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Loyola–Chicago L 70–71  11–4 (1–2)
Ford Center (4,321)
Evansville, IN
01/10/2015
1:00 pm
at Bradley W 66–56  12–4 (2–2)
Carver Arena (5,614)
Peoria, IL
01/14/2015
1:00 pm
at Missouri State W 56–54  13–4 (3–2)
JQH Arena (5,097)
Springfield, MO
01/17/2015
1:00 pm
No. 13 Wichita State L 41–61  13–5 (3–3)
Ford Center (7,015)
Evansville, IN
01/21/2015
7:00 pm
at Loyola–Chicago W 65–56  14–5 (4–3)
Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,278)
Chicago, IL
01/24/2015
3:00 pm, ESPN3
Southern Illinois W 75–66  15–5 (5–3)
Ford Center (5,521)
Evansville, IN
01/27/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Indiana State W 89–78  16–5 (6–3)
Ford Center (4,054)
Evansville, IN
01/31/2015
2:00 pm
at Drake L 65–70  16–6 (6–4)
Knapp Center (4,120)
Des Moines, IA
02/03/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Illinois State L 51–77  16–7 (6–5)
Redbird Arena (4,352)
Normal, IL
02/07/2015
1:00 pm
Bradley L 53–56  16–8 (6–6)
Ford Center (4,106)
Evansville, IN
02/10/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Missouri State W 73–66  17–8 (7–6)
Ford Center (3,502)
Evansville, IN
02/14/2015
3:00 pm
at Southern Illinois W 72–64  18–8 (8–6)
SIU Arena (5,265)
Carbondale, IL
02/17/2015
7:00 pm
Drake W 61–52  19–8 (9–6)
Ford Center (3,418)
Evansville, IN
02/22/2015
3:00 pm, ESPNU
at No. 13 Wichita State L 43–62  19–9 (9–7)
Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
Wichita, KS
02/25/2015
8:00 pm
at Northern Iowa L 57–68  19–10 (9–8)
McLeod Center (6,935)
Cedar Falls, IA
02/28/2015
1:00 pm
Illinois State L 67–69 OT 19–11 (9–9)
Ford Center (5,491)
Evansville, IN
Missouri Valley tournament
03/06/2015
2:35 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3
vs. Illinois State
Quarterfinals
L 67–71  19–12
Scottrade Center (9,015)
St. Louis, MO
CIT
03/18/2015*
7:00 pm
IPFW
First round
W 82–77  20–12
Ford Center (1,826)
Evansville, IN
03/23/2015*
7:00 pm
at Eastern Illinois
Second round
W 83–68  21–12
Lantz Arena (2,404)
Charleston, IL
03/26/2015*
7:30 pm
at Louisiana–Lafayette
Quarterfinals
W 89–82  22–12
Blackham Coliseum (3,541)
Lafayette, LA
03/31/2015*
6:00 pm, CBSSN
Tennessee–Martin
Semifinals
W 79–66  23–12
Ford Center (3,008)
Evansville, IN
04/02/2015*
6:00 pm, CBSSN
Northern Arizona
Championship game
W 71–65  24–12
Ford Center (4,549)
Evansville, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

References

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