EIU Game Notes  |  UTM Game Notes  |  Listen Live  |  Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |

EASTERN ILLINOIS (8-6, 1-1) vs. UT Martin (3-15, 0-5)

Jan. 12, 2012  •  7 p.m. (CST)
Lantz Arena  •  Charleston, Ill.
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM  •  TV: WEIU
Mike Bradd & Jack Ashmore

GAME 15
Eastern Illinois looks to improve to 2-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference race when they host UT Martin on Thursday evening.  EIU has played the fewest games in the league to date with its 1-1 record ranking tied for sixth in the OVC race.  The Panthers are on a two-game win streak with both victories coming on the road.  EIU won at SIU Edwardsville 73-59 and at Houston Baptist 74-62.  UT Martin is off to an 0-5 start in the OVC race and has lost six straight games.  The Skyhawks last win was an 86-83 win over Bethel back on Dec. 13. 

EIU-UT MARTIN SERIES
This will be the 33rd meeting between Eastern Illinois and UT Martin.  The Skyhawks swept the season series last year winning on a last second 3-pointer in Martin, Tenn., and then pulling away for a 19 point victory at EIU in February.  UTM leads the all-time series 17-15.  EIU did sweep the season series in 2010.  Under head coach Mike Miller, EIU is 4-8 against the Skyhawks.

SCOUTING UT MARTIN
UT Martin ended the 2011 season with some momentum making it to the second round of the OVC Tournament last season.  A pair of freshman, Mike Liabo and Troy King, led the Skyhawks at the end of last season.  Liabo has continued to be UT Martin's leading scorer at 15.1 points per game.  King has fallen off to 7.1 points per game.  As a team UT Martin is shooting 29.9 percent from 3-point range.  Their field goal percentage defense is among the highest in the NCAA allowing opponents to shot 51.5 percent per game.

MILLER NAMED OVC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Joey Miller was named the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Week after helping lead the Panthers to a pair of road wins at SIU Edwardsville and Houston Baptist.  Miller scored a career-high 24 points in the conference win at SIUE knocking down 7-of-14 shots and 8-of-9 free throws.  Miller was one of five players to score in double figures at Houston Baptist finishing with 12 points.  Miller added seven assists, three steals and seven rebounds for the week.

EIU GETS FIRST OVC WIN OF THE SEASON
Five Eastern Illinois players scored in double figures as the Panthers rallied to pick up a 74-62 win at Houston Baptist.  Zavier Sanders led EIU with 14 points scoring ten in the last minute of the first half and opening minutes of the second half.  Sanders just missed a double-double with nine rebounds and a team high five steals.  L.C. Doss made all three of his 3-point attempts to add 11.  The Panthers closed out the game at the free throw line hitting 21-of-26 in the second half.

GRANGER CRACKS ANOTHER TOP TEN LIST
Jeremy Granger moved into his second career top ten list on Saturday as his three assists moved him into a tie for 8th on the Panthers career list.  Granger now has 282 career assists matching Derrick Landrus and Jack Owens.  Earlier this year he broke into the career free throws made top ten and currently ranks 8th with 273 made free throws.  Granger is 34th on the career scoring list with 1,054 points and is one of only five players in EIU history with 1,000 points and 275 assists.

SANDERS JUST MISSES DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Zavier Sanders just missed his first career double-double on Saturday at Houston Baptist as he ended the game with 14 points and 9 rebounds.  Sanders scored ten of his points in the final minute of the first half and opening four minutes of the second half to help EIU pick up the road win.  He has been a force on the glass over the last three games averaging 9.6 rebounds per game as he has led the squad in rebounding in all three games.  Sanders had a career high 13 rebounds at SIU Edwardsville on Jan. 4.

EIU ONE LINERS
• L.C. Doss knocked down all three of his 3-point attempts at Houston Baptist as the senior has now hit six of his last seven to climb to 5th in the OVC in 3-pointer shooting at 43.1 percent.  Doss has scored in double figures in both games of EIU's two-game win streak.

• Josh Piper hit double figures for the fourth time this season with 10 points at Houston Baptist.  Piper was 3-of-6 from the floor as he is shooting 55.4 percent from the floor.  Piper has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 10 of 14 games this year.

• Eastern Illinois knocked down 22-of-28 free throws at Houston Baptist as the Panthers climbed to 5th in the NCAA in free throw percentage making 77 percent as a team.  Davidson is the national leader at 81.1 percent.  Jeremy Granger moved up to 1st in the OVC in free throw shooting at 86.4 percent.  Joey Miller is third at 82.5.

• UT Martin is ranked last in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense at 51.5 percent.  EIU has played two other teams this season ranked in the bottom seven in Central Arkansas (second from last) and Houston Baptist (seventh from last).  EIU shot 46.1 percent against UCA and only 40 percent against HBU.

• EIU had balanced scoring in the win at Houston Baptist as five players finished the game in double figures.  It was the second time this season that EIU had five players score in double figures, the other time was in the double overtime loss at Central Arkansas.

• Thanks to a 40 rebound night at Houston Baptist, EIU enters the week tied for first in rebounds per game in the OVC.  The Panthers average 34.9 rebounds per game with Alfonzo McKinnie the team's top rebounder with 7.4 rebounds per game.  McKinnie is third in the OVC in rebounds per game while teammate Zavier Sanders is 15th in the league following three straight big rebounding games.

• EIU scored 30 points in the paint at Houston Baptist marking the 8th time this season that EIU has scored 30 or more points in the paint.  The Panthers season high is 40 points in the paint at Central Arkansas. 

• EIU looks to regain the services of junior post player James Hollowell this week after he has missed eight straight games with back pain.  Hollowell was averaging 6.7 points per game including 22 rebounds in his final three active games. 

• Taylor Jones provided a spark off the bench in the first half at Houston Baptist scoring all seven of his points to help EIU stay in the contest.  It was his third highest point total of the season behind 10 points at Central Arkansas and 8 points at Northern Illinois.

EASTERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH MIKE MILLER
Mike Miller enters his seventh season as the head coach of the Eastern Illinois with what may be his most athletic team in his tenure at EIU.  Last year EIU battled through several injuries as EIU played 12 different starting line-up combinations, a figure ranking among the top ten in the nation.  The previous season Miller led the Panthers to their first winning season in 10-years as they finished 19-12 with an 11-7 mark in the OVC.  EIU advanced to the OVC Tournament semifinals after winning a school Division I record eight straight games in February.  The 19 wins were the third highest win total for EIU as a NCAA Division I member as Miller has posted a 71-119 record at EIU.  The seven game OVC win streak was the best in school history as Miller has a 40-74 OVC mark.  A 1987 graduate of East Texas State, Miller was hired with a history of helping to build programs after success as a head coach at Texas State and associate head coach at Kansas State.  While at Texas State, Miller coached the team to two Southland Conference championships and a 1997 NCAA Tournament appearance.  He owns a 158-198 career record. 

PANTHERS PICKED 9TH IN OVC RACE
Eastern Illinois was picked to finish ninth the preseason Ohio Valley Conference preseason predictions.  The Panthers finished in ninth place last year ending a two-year run of making the OVC post-season tournament.  The Panthers were picked ahead of Jacksonville State and SIU Edwardsville in the 11 team race.  Austin Peay was the preseason favorite just ahead of Tennessee Tech and Murray State.  The top eight teams will advance to this year's tournament at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville on Feb. 29 - March 3.  SIU Edwardsville will play a league schedule and games will be counted in the standings but the Cougars are not eligible for the conference tournament.

GRANGER A PRESEASON ALL-OVC SELECTION
Senior Jeremy Granger was named to the preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team after earning second team NABC All-Region honors last year.  Granger led EIU in scoring at 14.5 points per game while passing out a team high 98 assists.  The senior was 8th in the NCAA in free throw shooting connecting on 90.4 percent from the stripe.  He enters the 2012 season as the Panthers career leader in free throw percentage at 87.4 percent.  Granger is on pace to finish the season over the 1,000 point mark for his career and in the top ten for career assists. 

PANTHERS SIGN THREE IN EARLY PERIOD
EIU head coach Mike Miller signed three players to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period.  Joining the Panthers next season will be Cameron Harvey, R.J. McGhee and Alex Phillips.  Harvey is a 6-3, 190 guard playing his senior season at Wheaton Academy in West Chicago.  McGhee is a 6-6, 190 guard who is currently a sophomore at Dodge City CC in Kansas.  Phillips is a 6-2, 185 guard who is currently a sophomore at New Mexico JC.

OVC GOES TO NEW SCHEDULE FORMAT
The Ohio Valley Conference will have a new format this season as all league schools will play a 16-game schedule.  Conference schools will play a home-and-home series against six opponents while playing the remaining four schools on their schedule only one time.  This season EIU will travel to Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech without a return visit from those two schools.  The Panthers will play host to Austin Peay and Tennessee State without having to pay a return visit to Clarksville or Nashville.  The OVC season will also start later than in year's past with the conference opener for EIU on Dec. 30 against Murray State.

OVC EXPANDING TO 12 TEAMS IN 2012
Much like many of the larger conferences, the Ohio Valley Conference will also be undergoing expansion next year as Belmont University (Nashville, Tenn.) will become the OVC's 12 member institution.  Belmont currently plays as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.  EIU is 1-1 against Belmont splitting a home-and-home series in 2010.