MBB Preview: Storm vs. Central, 1/18/17
The Simpson men's basketball team is out to snap a four-game losing streak when it hosts the Central Dutch on Wednesday night at Cowles Fieldhouse. Todd Guessford will have the call for the live video stream on SimpsonAthletics.com. Tipoff is set for approximately 8 p.m.
THE GAME
Matchup: Central (9-6, 3-3 IIAC) at Simpson (9-6, 2-4 IIAC)
Location: Indianola, Iowa • Cowles Fieldhouse
Time: Wednesday, Jan. 18 • 8 p.m.
Last Time Out: Simpson lost to Coe, 80-70
Live Video: www.SimpsonAthletics.com
Live Stats: www.SimpsonAthletics.com
Series: Simpson leads 99-96
THE OPPONENT
Last year's Iowa Conference representative in the NCAA Tournament, Craig Douma's squad was able to snap a two-game losing streak with a 94-90 win at Wartburg on Saturday. The Dutch are led by preseason All-American forward Colby Taylor, who leads the IIAC with 23.3 ppg. The senior recently became the school's all-time scoring leader and was named to the 2017 Bevo Francis Award watch list for small college player of the year. He scored 24 points in the win over Wartburg.
THE SERIES
Simpson and Central meet for the 196th time in a series that began during the 1906-07 season. The Storm are looking for their 100th win in the series, entering Wednesday's game with a 99-96 lead in the series. Simpson is 23-16 against the Dutch at home and is coming off a regular season sweep of in 2015-16. Simpson won 86-78 on Jan. 27 in Pella and 79-73 on Feb. 3 in Indianola.
FIVE STORM STORYLINES
1 -- Simpson is looking to snap a four-game losing streak. After racing out to 9-2 mark to start the season and taking an early lead in the IIAC standings, the Storm are left in search of their first win since the calendar changed to 2017. Simpson has given up 80 or more points in three of the last four games after allowing opponents to reach 80 just once in the first 11 games.
2 -- Junior forward Sam Amsbaugh -- one of the top scorers and rebounders in the IIAC -- is on pace to become the 20th member of Simpson's 1,000-point club and first since 2014-15. He has 836 points entering Monday's game and is averaging a career-high 21.4 this season. Amsbaugh is third in the league in scoring and seventh in rebounding (7.9 rpg).
3 -- Amsbaugh is on an impressive streak of 17 straight games with 10-or-more points dating back to last season. He scored a career-high 40 against Saint Mary's on Nov. 28 and his lowest output this season was 13 against Waldorf on Nov. 21 The Storm are 5-2 this season when Amsbaugh scores 20-or-more points.
4 -- Despite standing just 6-foot-2, DJ Dafney has developed into Simpson's top rebounder, averaging 8.1 per game (3rd in the IIAC). Dafney has five games with 10-plus rebounds this season, including a career-high 15 against Nebraska Wesleyan on Jan. 4.
5 -- Senior point guard Austin Turner has moved up another spot on Simpson's career assists list, moving into seventh after handing out four on Saturday against Coe. He now has 225 for his career. Turner has reached three assists in all but two games this season and is sixth in the IIAC with 54 total helpers.
