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EASTERN ILLINOIS (0-2) at EMU Ice Man Classic

Nov. 16 vs. Eastern Michigan (1-1) @ 6 p.m.
Nov. 17 vs. Texas Pan American (1-2) @ 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 18 vs. IPFW (1-1) @ 3:30 p.m.

Friday & Sunday games on Hit Mix 88.9 FM
Saturday game on WEIU Odyssey (Internet only)

GAMES 3-5
Eastern Illinois travels to play in the Eastern Michigan ICE Man Classic this weekend with games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Ypsilanti, Mich.  The Panthers have opened the season with two losses, on the road at Bradley and home against Wright State.  Following the tournament in Michigan, the Panthers will return home to play three straight in Lantz Arena starting with a Wednesday afternoon matinee against Rochester College the day prior to Thanksgiving.

THREE GAME TOURNAMENTS
Eastern Illinois will be playing in an in-season three-game tournament for the first time since the 2006-07 season when they opened with three games at the Iowa State Tournament nearly knocking off the host Cyclones.  EIU finished that tournament with an 0-3 record.  EIU has also appeared in the Las Vegas Invite in 2001-02 and Chaminade Holiday Classic in 1988-89.  EIU placed seventh in both those tournaments.

EIU SERIES VERSUS THE FIELD
Eastern Illinois has played all three teams in the field of this weekend's ICE Man Classic.  EIU leads the all-time series with host Eastern Michigan, 17-11, as both schools were previous members of the Interstate Intercollegiate Conference.  They last met in 2006 with EMU winning 63-51 as part of the ESPN Bracketbusters contest.  EIU leads the series with Texas Pan American 2-1 with the last meeting a 57-56 win in Edinburg, Texas in 1985.  IPFW leads its series with EIU 2-0 winning both match-ups during the 2008-09 season.

ALEX AUSTIN NAMED OVC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Alex Austin was named the OVC Freshman of the Week following his efforts in the season opener at Bradley.  Austin was 5-of-8 from the floor including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.  He scored 13 points in the loss.  On Tuesday in the home opener with Wright State, Austin again reached double figures finishing with 11 points.  Austin is shooting a team best 64.3 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3-point range while leading the team in scoring at 12 points per game.

EIU DROPS HOME OPENER
For the second straight game EIU had an early lead but could not overcome a first half run by its opponent as the Panthers lost their home opener to Wright State, 56-44.  EIU limited WSU to just 35 percent shooting in the second half but trailed 32-17 at the break.  Sherman Blanford and Alex Austin both scored in double figures for EIU.

BLANFORD HAS NICE HOME OPENER
Junior Sherman Blanford led the Panthers in the paint during his first game in Lantz Arena finishing with 10 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.  Blanford was 4-of-6 from the floor as he is shooting 54.5 percent from the floor this season.  He is currently tied for the team lead in assists with Morris Woods with four each.

ONE LINERS
• Josh Piper has picked up where he left off last season at the free throw line.  The sophomore had now made 20 straight free throws over the two seasons.

• Junior Morris Woods leads the Panthers averaging 6 rebounds per game.  That total ranks 15th in the OVC.  He is tied for second in the OVC with five offensive boards.

• EIU enters the weekend ranked 6th in the OVC in 3-point field goal percentage defense with opponents only shooting 28.1 percent.  Opponents are 9-of-32 this season.

• The Panthers will regain the services of forward Keenan Anderson for this weekend's tournament.  Anderson started the exhibition game with 7 points and 4 rebounds.

• Freshman Alex Austin is the top scoring freshman in the OVC and ranked 20th overall in the league at 12 points per game.  He is 12th in the OVC in FG percentage at 64.3.

QUICK SCOUTS ON THE FIELD
• Eastern Michigan enters the tournament with a 1-1 record after a season opening win over Rochester College and a road loss at Jacksonville State.  EMU is led by Daylen Harrison with 13 points per game.  EMU is shooting 45.5 percent from the field.

• Texas Pan American beat Rochester College on Wednesday night to improve to 1-2 on the season.  The Broncos shoot over 40 percent from 3-point range with Aaron Urbanus the top trigger man with 10 made 3-pointers in three games. 

• IPFW is 1-1 on the year also having beaten Rochester College along with a road loss at Auburn.  IPFW is led by Frank Gaines averaging 28 points per game including 32 at Auburn.  IPFW is shooting 37.9 percent from the field.

EASTERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH JAY SPOONHOUR
Jay Spoonhour enters his first season as the Panthers head coach having been hired on April 9, 2012.  Spoonhour was most recently the head coach at Moberly Area Community College where he coached for three seasons.  He is a long time assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level and served as the interim head coach at UNLV to complete the 2004 season posting a 6-4 record and taking the team to the finals of the Mountain West Conference along with an NIT appearance.  In 2001 Spoonhour was named the National Junior College Coach of the Year leading Wabash Valley College to the NJCAA National Championship with a 36-1 record.  He is the son of the late legendary coach Charlie Spoonhour.  Spoonhour played basketball at Pittsburg State earning his degree in 1994.  He was an honorable mention All-Conference selection.  He has assistant coaching stops at Central Missouri, Saint Louis, UNLV, Missouri and Texas San Antonio.  Spoohour's career mark is 106-34, 6-6 at NCAA Division I.

PANTHERS PICKED 5TH IN OVC WEST
Eastern Illinois was picked to finish in 5th place in the Ohio Valley Conference West Division this season.  The Panthers finished 10th last season in the one division format missing the OVC Tournament.  With the addition of Belmont to the OVC this season, the conference will play in two six team divisions.  Murray State was picked to win the West Division followed by Southeast Missouri, Austin Peay, SIU Edwardsville, EIU and UT Martin.  Belmont was selected to win the East Division after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference last year.

OVC GROWS, SPLITS TO DIVISIONS
The Ohio Valley Conference grew to 12 members with the addition of Belmont for the 2012-13 school year.  The OVC will now play in Divisions - East & West for men's and women's basketball.  Each school will play a home & home series within its division and one game against opponents from the opposite division (3 home games, 3 road games).  The two eight schools in the conference based on record will advance to the OVC Tournament in Nashville with the division winners seeded first and second.  SIU Edwardsville is now eligible to play in the OVC Tournament.  Due to NCAA APR penalties, Jacksonville State is not eligible for the OVC Tournament this season.

FATHER, SON COMBINATIONS
Jay Spoonhour and his late father, Charlie Spoonhour, are one of several father/son combinations that have coached in collegiate basketball.  Entering the season the two have combined to win 376 NCAA basketball games, all coming at the Division I level.  Only 17 father/son combinations have ever won 600 or more games with Eddie, Scott and Sean Sutton topping the list with 1,091 wins between the three.  Scott is currently the head coach at Oral Roberts.  Only three father/son combinations have ever won more than 1,000 games at the NCAA level.

OVC DIGITAL NETWORK
Basketball fans can watch each Eastern Illinois home game and all OVC road games for free online this year on the OVC Digital Network streaming platform.  Fans can view games by visiting - www.ovcdigitalnetwork.com