CHICAGO -- The University of the Incarnate Word, Division I college basketball's hottest-shooting free throw team, embarks upon a Chicagoland road trip this week—playing the University of Illinois at Chicago on Monday at 7 p.m. (CT) and DePaul on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. For at least three Cardinals -- head coach Dr. Carson Cunningham, sophomore forward Christian Peevy, and freshman guard Morgan Taylor -- the UIC match at Credit Union 1 Arena and the DePaul contest at Wintrust Arena will be homecoming games.

• Cunningham grew up in the Chicago suburbs of Lake County, Indiana and coached at his high school alma mater, Andrean High of Merrillville. While coaching the high school team, Cunningham simultaneously earned an MBA at DePaul and taught coursework in the university's departments of history and digital media. Big Ten fans will remember him as a three-year starting point guard at Purdue, and a two-time academic All-American who helped lead the Boilermakers to two berths in the Sweet 16 and one Elite Eight appearance.
• Peevy, the team's leading scorer and one of the best free throw shooters in college basketball, led Mount Carmel High School to a Chicago Catholic League South Division title and a 24-8 record as a senior two years ago. He was a Sun-Times all-city player, a highlight on the list of accolades he earned as a high school player and student.
• Taylor, the Cardinals' starting point guard, is the team's second-leading scorer. With only two weeks of college basketball experience, he was named Southland Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 19th for his scoring and ball-handling heroics during UIW's run in the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase tournament. Last year at this time, as a senior at Chicago's Marist High School, Taylor was earning all-state honors bestowed by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Associating. He averaged 21.8 points per game and led his team on a deep run in the class 4A state tournament.    

SERIES
These will be UIW's first games against UIC and DePaul. UIW has never played a Horizon League opponent. In its only foray into Big East competition, UIW defeated St. John's, 73-51, on Dec. 18, 2015. This is UIW's 38th year of men's basketball competition and its sixth in Division I.
 
UIW is currently 5-6 on the year. The UIC and DePaul games will wrap up the Cardinals' non-conference schedule. UIW begins its Southland Conference schedule on Jan. 2 with a home game against McNeese.
 
UIC and DePaul played each other Friday night. The Blue Demons defeated the Flames, 90-70 , on DePaul's home court. UIC is now 4-7 on the year; DePaul is 7-2.
 
THE HOTTEST DIVISION I FREE THROW SHOOTING TEAM
For several weeks, UIW has been leading a field of 351 Division I teams in free throw shooting percentage. NCAA statistics released Friday morning again place the Cardinals atop the competition, shooting 81.4 percent from the line. Among individuals, Christian Peevy ranks 24th, hitting 90.8 percent (59-65) of his shots. Against SIUE on Nov. 25, Peevy made 14 of 15 free throw attempts. Against Trinity on Dec. 4, he hit all seven shots.  Against LSU on Dec. 9, Peevy sank nine of ten.
 
Four  additional Cardinals are hitting above the 80 percent mark from behind the charity stripe: Antoine Smith Jr., 93.3; Augustine Ene, 87.5; Jordan Caruso, 84.6 and Charles Brown III, 84.0. They do not have enough made free throws to enable NCAA individual ranking, but collectively they contribute to the team's lead. (To be listed as an individual, a player must average 2.5 made free throws per game and must have played in 75 percent of his team's games.)
 
CHRISTIAN PEEVY HAS BEEN ON A TEAR
Sophomore forward Christian Peevy has scored in double figures in his last four games and scored 23 points or more in three of his last four: 26 against Northern Colorado, 32 against SIUE and 23 against Trinity. After the first two games, Southland Conference sports information directors awarded him honorable mention as player of the week. The next week, he again received honorable mention.
 
Christian is shooting 56.6 percent from the field, in addition to his scorching 90.8 free throw percentage. He has scored in double figures seven times this season. In the Dec. 4 game against Trinity, he hauled down 11 rebounds to achieve a double-double. He is tied with freshman Antoine Smith Jr. for the team lead in rebounds with 44 (four per game).
 
WATCH FOR ANOTHER CHICAGOAN, MORGAN TAYLOR
Peevy's Windy City cohort, freshman guard Morgan "Mo Buckets" Taylor, has also impressed SLC voters this season. Taylor won Player of the Week honors on Monday, Nov. 19. That marked a span of 993 days since the last UIW basketball player, Kyle Hittle, won that award on Feb. 29, 2016. Prior to Hittle, Jontrell Walker, UIW's first player of the week, won it on Dec. 21, 2014.
 
Taylor was the hero of the Nov. 17 overtime win over North Dakota State, in which the Cardinals prevailed, 80-78.  He made the winning layup with 26 seconds remaining in overtime and hauled in the subsequent defensive rebound that assured victory. In addition to scoring the game winner, Taylor hit a three-pointer with six seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, after having made two key free throws at the 1:24 mark to keep UIW in contention.
 
Those were not Mo's only Bahamas heroics.
 
One day later against Florida Atlantic, Taylor hit three consecutive free throws in the waning seconds of the first half. He then stole the ball and beat the buzzer to turn a four-point deficit into a one-point halftime lead. Taylor has started all 11 games for UIW this year. He stands second on the team with a 12.4 points-per-game scoring average and has dished out 33 assists.
 
He had a career high of 24 points in the NDSU game, breaking his personal best of 23 against Texas Lutheran on Nov. 12. Taylor shot 50 percent from the floor against North Dakota State.
 
CUNNINGHAM AND CREW NURTURE SHOOTERS
Given the background of Dr. Carson Cunningham and his assistant coaches, it's no wonder that their UIW players are prospering when it comes to free throw shooting percentages. During his tenure as head coach at Carroll College in Helena, Montana, Cunningham produced a team that led all NAIA D-1 teams in both field goal and free throw percentage for three straight years.
 
In addition, assistant coach Darnell Archey has a shooting resume of his own. He holds the NCAA record for consecutive free throws made, set while he was a four-year starter at Butler University. At the 2003 Final Four in New Orleans, Archey won the men's division of the three-point shooting competition.
 
BAHAMAS TOURNAMENT
UIW played competitively in the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase in Nassau Nov. 16-18. The Cardinals had a four-point lead with six minutes left in the first half against Montana, and then cut an eight-point Grizzly halftime lead to four early in the second half. Taylor's heroics helped win the NDSU game. Against Florida Atlantic, UIW had the ball with a one-point deficit within the last minute, and again with ten seconds left while down by three.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
UIW's roster is made up of one senior, two juniors, four sophomores and eight freshmen. So far, coach Cunningham has experimented with various starting lineups. During the three-game homestand, four freshmen and one sophomore started. In the Bahamas, senior Charles Brown III and junior Jorden Kite took the floor at the opening tip. Augustine Ene, Dwight Murray Jr. and Christian Peevy have started recently. Taylor has been the constant. He has started all 11 games.
 
Against Texas Lutheran, freshmen scored 51 of 70 points.