Tipoff Notes
Youngstown State seeks its first 20-win campaign since 1997-98 when it visits Purdue Fort Wayne, Friday, Feb. 10, in Fort Wayne, Ind.. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum and the game will be broadcast on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.

Up Next
Youngstown State visits Cleveland State, Sunday, Feb. 12. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and will be broadcast on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.

Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne
Purdue Fort Wayne enters the game with an 15-10 overall record and a 7-7 mark in Horizon League play.  Jarred Godfrey leads the Mastodons with 16.6 points per game while Bobby Planutis is averaging 10.8 points per contest. The Mastodons are averaging 74.4 points per game overall and 71.5 points per game during league play.

The Purdue Fort Wayne Series
This is the 10th meeting between Youngstown State and Purdue Fort Wayne in a series that dates back to 2002. The Mastodons own a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series and have won the last three contests. Purdue Fort Wayne defeated the Penguins 76-71 on Dec. 31, 2022, at Beeghly Center. The last Penguins victory was a 72-70 win on Feb. 13, 2021, at Beeghly Center. Youngstown State has never won at Memorial Coliseum.

Last Time vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
The Youngstown State men's basketball team made a charge in the second half, but Purdue Fort Wayne rallied down the stretch to beat the Penguins 76-71 on Dec. 31 at Beeghly Center. Brandon Rush scored a game-high 26 points for the Penguins, Dwayne Cohill scored 19, and Malek Green contributed 12.  Adrian Nelson added game highs of 15 rebounds and three steals. Damian Chong Qui scored 24 points for Purdue Fort Wayne, which hit eight 3-pointers in the first half and three big triples in a stretch of 1:11 in the second half as the Mastodons rallied.

A Win Would...

• Improve YSU's record to 20-6 and mark the first time in YSU's Division I era the Penguins won 20 games in the regular season.
• Set the YSU Division I regular-season wins record.
• Mark the first time YSU has won 20 games since 1997-98 and be the second time since 1981-82 the Penguins won 20 games.
• Give the Penguins a 12-3 record in Horizon League play for the first time in program history and tie the school record for most conference wins.
• Be YSU's fifth win over Purdue Fort Wayne and the first at Memorial Coliseum.
• Mark YSU's first win over Purdue Fort Wayne since 2021.
• Improve the Penguins' record to 8-4 on the road.
• Be the 216th in Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun's career and his 92nd at Youngstown State.
• Make Jerrod Calhoun the third coach in school history to record at least 92 wins.
• Be Jerrod Calhoun's third win over Purdue Fort Wayne.

Guins Love February
Since the 2019, Youngstown State has enjoyed a lot of success in the month of February. The Penguins own a 25-9 for a winning percentage of .735 since Feb. 1, 2019. 

Nearing Wins Mark
Youngstown State needs one more victory to set school Division I regular-season wins record at 20 and two more to set the overall Division I mark at 21. The last time Youngstown State won 20 games in season was in 1997-98.

AD Nearing 1,000-1,000 Club
Graduate student Adrian Nelson is approaching a very special club. Nelson is approaching 1,000-point and 1,000-rebound plateaus for his college career. He has 969 career rebounds and 955 career points and needs just 31 more boards and 45 more points to reach each feat.

200 3's
Youngstown State has made 212 3-pointers this season to reach 200 3s made for the 12th consecutive full season. The Penguins also made 186 in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. The streak started in 2010-11 when the Penguins made 235 3-pointers. 

High Efficiency
As of Feb. 8, Youngstown State ranks fifth in the nation in team offensive efficiency rating, per teamrankings.com. The Penguins ranked fifth with 1.134 points per possession. Over the last three games, the Penguins offensive efficiency was 1.064 points per possession. The Penguins also own a 1.157 points per possession at Beeghly Center.

Guins Lately
Youngstown State has won nine of its last 10 games. Over the last nine contests, the Penguins are averaging 82.8 points per game while shooting 49.3 percent from the field, 40.3 percent from 3-point range, and 77.7 percent from the free-throw line. Dwayne Cohill is averaging 16.7 points and 6.3 assists per game. Brandon Rush is averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the floor, 43.8 percent from 3-point range, and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line. Malek Green is averaging 14.0 points per game and shooting 51.9 percent from the floor, and Adrian Nelson is averaging 14.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

Best Horizon League Start
Youngstown State is off to its best start in Horizon League play with its 11-3 league mark. The last time the Penguins were at least 11-3 in conference play was in 1997-98 when YSU started 11-3 in the Mid-Continent Conference.