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

EASTERN ILLINOIS (9-8, 2-3) vs. Austin Peay (7-13, 4-3)

Jan. 21, 2012  •  6 p.m. (CST)
Lantz Arena  •  Charleston, Ill.
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM  •  TV: WEIU
Mike Bradd & Jack Ashmore

GAME 18
Eastern Illinois continues its two game homestand on Saturday evening hosting Austin Peay.  This is the lone meeting between the two schools this season based on the new OVC scheduling format.  Both schools have played Tennessee State this week.  EIU lost to the Tigers in Lantz Arena on Thursday night to fall to 9-8 on the season, 2-3 in the OVC.  Austin Peay beat TSU in Clarksville on Monday night as the Governors have won four straight league games to improve to 4-3 in the OVC, 7-13 overall.  APSU beat SIU Edwardsville on Thursday night.  EIU is 6-2 at home this season with the other loss coming to nationally ranked Murray State.

EIU-AUSTIN PEAY SERIES
This will be 36th meeting between Eastern Illinois and Austin Peay.  The Governors lead the all-time series 22-13 including a 15-2 record over EIU since the 2004 season.  EIU's last win over Austin Peay was Feb. 25, 2010 in Charleston.  Austin Peay swept the season series last year winning in overtime at Lantz Arena (77-73) and by a 65-56 margin at Austin Peay.  Despite the lopsided series record, EIU does own a 10-7 series advantage in Lantz Arena.

SCOUTING AUSTIN PEAY
The Governors were picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference title in the preseason polls but got off to an 0-9 start.  Most of that slow start can be attributed to the team missing big man John Fraley who averages 10.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.  Since Fraley has returned Austin Peay has posted a 7-4 record including four straight wins in the OVC race.  Josh Terry leads the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game followed closely by TyShwan Edmondson at 12.5.

MILLER HAS A BIG FIRST HALF AGAINST TSU
Freshman Joey Miller scored 17 points in the first half against Tennessee State as he posted his fifth straight game with double figure scoring.  Miller moved up to second on EIU's scoring list this year as he is now averaging 10.9 points per game.  Miller is also second on the team in 3-pointers made (21) and assists (49).  His season high point total was 24 on Jan. 4 in a win at SIU Edwardsville.

OUTSIDE SEMO SHOOTING GIVES REDHAWKS WIN OVER PANTHERS
Eastern Illinois was limited to just 3-of-21 shooting from 3-point range and 36 percent from the field for the game as Tennessee State slowed it down to win 55-46.  Joey Miller scored 17 of his game high 19 points in the first half to keep EIU in the contest.  The Panthers trailed 29-23 at the half.  Jeremy Granger pulled EIU to within one point with just over six minutes to play before TSU pulled away.  Granger added 10 points as he and Miller were the only two players to score in double figures.

PANTHERS FREE THROW SHOOTING AMONG NATION'S BEST
Eastern Illinois was limited to only three free throw attempts on Thursday night but the Panthers knocked down all three as they are now shooting 77.2 percent from the line as a team.  EIU is ranked first in the OVC and sixth in the NCAA in team free throw percentage.  Four players are currently over 80 percent on the season with senior Jeremy Granger ranked 37th in the NCAA at 86.3 percent.  EIU averages 14 points per game from the free throw line.

GRANGER QUICKLY CLIMBING SCORING LIST
Senior Jeremy Granger scored in double figures for the 15th time this season as he continues to climb on the EIU career scoring list.  Granger went over the 1,100 point mark for his career on Thursday night as he is now 29th on the EIU charts.  Granger needs four assists to reach 300 for his career and one steal to reach 100 for his career.  When Granger reaches the 300 assist and 100 steal plateaus he will join Kyle Hill as the only other EIU player to ever score 1,000 points, pass out 300 assists and get 100 steals.  Against Tennessee State on Thursday Granger collected his 300th rebound.

EIU ONE LINERS
• EIU was limited to only three free throw attempts on Thursday night will all three coming the first half.  The last time EIU was held to five free throw attempts or fewer was last year at home against Jacksonville State (5-for-5).  The Panthers lowest total for a game in recent years was a 1-for-2 night against Iowa State on Nov. 12, 2006.

• James Hollowell returned to the Panthers line-up following a ten game absence with an injury.  Hollowell played 12 minutes with three rebounds.  He is averaging 5.7 points and 4.0 rebounds for the season.  In Hollowell's last game before he was injured he scored four points with three rebounds against Maine.

• Taylor Jones also returned to EIU line-up after missing the last two games due to injury.  Jones came off the bench and was 1-of-3 from 3-point range.  Jones has now hit at least one 3-pointer in nine of the 15 games he has played this season.  For his career 24 of Jones 30 career field goals have come from beyond the arc.

• Freshman Josh Piper continues to provide solid production off the EIU bench.  Piper has hit 10 of his last 15 shots over the Panthers last five games including a 2-for-2 effort on Thursday night against Tennessee State.  Piper is shooting 57.8 percent for the season and has hit over 50 percent from the field in 13 of 17 games.  Piper is currently shooting 89.5 percent from the free throw line having made nine straight.

• L.C. Doss went through a hot streak from beyond the arc where he hit seven straight 3-pointers over a two game stretch climbing to 3rd in the OVC in 3-point field goal percentage.  Doss has cooled off in the last two games going 0-for-10 in that stretch falling to 40.3 percent for the season which is now 9th in the OVC.

• EIU was held to 46 points on Thursday its second lowest point output of the season.  It was only the fourth time this year that EIU has been held below 65 points, the Panthers posting an 0-4 record in the games.  EIU has limited opponents to 65 points or less in nine games this year with EIU going 6-3 in those contests.

• Alfonzo McKinnie was 2-of-3 from the field on Thursday night as he is shooting 54.7 percent from the field to rank fourth in the OVC in field goal percentage.  McKinnie is third in the OVC in rebounds per game at 7.2.  He added two blocks to his season total on Thursday and needs six more to crack the EIU single season top ten.

• EIU was outscored in terms of bench production on Thursday night as Tennessee State finished with 22-9 advantage.  For the season EIU's bench has outscored opponents 336-295 which averages to 19.7 points per game for EIU and 17.3 for opponents.

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 72-121 record at EIU.  The seven game OVC win streak was the best in school history as Miller has a 41-76 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 159-200 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.