The Case Western Reserve University men's basketball will begin its 14-game University Athletic Association schedule when the team hosts Carnegie Mellon on Saturday, January 11 at Horsburgh Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

LIVE COVERAGE
Live Stats: https://athletics.case.edu/sports/mbkb/2019-20/boxscores/20200111_wz1g.xml
Video:  https://case.edu/livestream/athletics/

CWRU SPARTANS
The Spartans are coming off a tough 74-69 loss at Albion College to end non-conference play. The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the team, its longest since the 2017-18 campaign. Overall, Case Western Reserve is 7-4 and 4-0 at Horsburgh Gymnasium. The Spartans average 74.5 points per game and shoot 41.9% from the field, including 36.5% from three-point range. The team allows 70.9 points per game on 42.5% shooting and 36.1% from three-point range. Junior guard Antonio Ionadi leads the team with 11.2 points per game and first-year forward Cole Frilling is not far behind with 11.1 points per game off the bench. Leading the team in rebounds (9.4 per game), assists (3.6 per game) and steals (1.8 per game) is senior forward Michael Hollis.

Coaching the Spartans is fourth-year Head Coach Todd McGuinness, who has compiled a 36-50 record at CWRU. Previously, McGuinness coached for seven years at Hartwick College and owns a 150-120 career record as a head coach. He is assisted by Mike Fitzpatrick, Greg Van Pelt, and T.J. Duckett.

CARNEGIE MELLON TARTANS
The Tartans finished non-conference play with a 7-4 overall record and a 1-3 road record. CMU was on a seven-game winning streak until the team fell to Division II Walsh on December 31. On Monday night, the Tartans fell to Drew University 86-85 on a buzzer-beater. Carnegie Mellon averages 79.0 points per game and allows 77.7 points per game. The team shoots 49.3% from the field and 38.9% from three-point range while allowing opponents to shoot 43.4% from the field and 31.4% from three-point range. Leading the Tartans is senior forward Trent Suddeth with 13.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Running the offense is senior guard Colin McNeil, who averages 8.5 points per game. Junior forward Ethan Miller, senior guard Zach Howarth, and junior forward Daniel Weiss all average more than 10 points per game. 

Carnegie Mellon is under the leadership of Head Coach Tony Wingen, who is in his 30th season coaching the Tartans. He has guided his teams to six postseason appearances, and he is the winningest coach in school history. With CMU, Wingen has a 330-407 record. His assistants are David Sloan, Jesse Reed, Jermaine Turner, and Will Fleming.

SERIES HISTORY
The Tartans and Spartans have faced off 78 times since the 1971-72 season, with CWRU holding a 40-38 all-time advantage. Last season, CMU swept the season series, defeating the Spartans 85-71 in Pittsburgh and 97-91 in overtime in Cleveland to end the regular season. In last season's finale, senior guard Monty Khela, who finished the game with a team-high 22 points, hit a game-tying three-pointer to end regulation and send the game to overtime. The Tartans have won five straight games in the series.

Saturday's game will be the first of two meetings this season between the Spartans and the Tartans. The two squads will meet up again in Pittsburgh for their regular season finale on Saturday, February 29.

SPARTAN NOTES

• The Spartans ended non-conference play with a 7-4 record, matching their non-league record from last season.
• The Spartans used just three different lineups in their first 11 games.
• Michael Hollis has led the team in rebounds in six games this season, including the last three games, and collected a season-high 16 boards against both Thiel and UMass Dartmouth. He is the current UAA leader with 9.4 rebounds per game this season, the 57^th-best mark among Division III players this season. He also leads the conference and is 55^th among Division III players with 3.33 offensive rebounds per game. Hollis is also ninth in program history with 547 rebounds over his career, and is six shy of matching Austin Fowler (2010-13) for eighth in program history.
• Cole Frilling leads the team in minutes off the bench, averaging 23.3 minutes per game.
• The game against Carnegie Mellon will be the first of three consecutive home UAA contests, with the Spartans hosting WashU on Friday, January 17 and Chicago on Sunday, January 19.
• Antonio Ionadi is currently fourth among qualifying UAA players and 61^st in Division III with a 43.1% mark on three-point attempts this season.
• Ignas Masiulionis is 19 points away from 600 for his career… Hollis reached 500 career points against Albion last Saturday… Hollis is also two assists away from 200 for his career.
• Senior guard Sam Hansen is ninth in program history with 124 made three point shots, while Ionadi is tied for 12^th with 121 made threes, and Masiulionis is 14^th with 114.