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EASTERN ILLINOIS (9-12, 2-7) vs. Eastern Kentucky (12-11, 5-5)

Feb. 2, 2012  •  7 p.m. (CST)
Lantz Arena  •  Charleston, Ill.
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM  •  TV: WEIU
Mike Bradd and Jack Ashmore

GAME 22
Eastern Illinois lost its sixth straight game on Monday night as the Panthers ended their three games in fives days stretch with a 74-53 loss to Southeast Missouri.  EIU led 36-31 at the half before going ice cold in the second twenty minutes.  The Panthers fell to 9-12 overall, 2-7 in the OVC.  It was EIU's third straight home loss after opening the year 6-1 in Lantz.  Eastern Kentucky is 12-11 overall, 5-5 in the OVC.  The Colonels lost in double overtime at Tennessee State on Saturday.

EIU-EASTERN KENTUCKY SERIES
This will be 32nd meeting between Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky.  The Colonels hold an 18-13 series lead including wins in 12 of the last 15 meetings.  EKU swept the season series last year winning 63-49 in Charleston and 67-47 in Richmond.  EIU's last win in the series was in the OVC Tournament first round in 2010 when EIU won 68-61 to advance to Nashville.  The two teams will meet in the final game of this year's regular season on Feb. 25 in Richmond.

SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY
Eastern Kentucky is 21st in the nation in fewest turnovers per game as the Colonels average 11.3 turnovers per contest.  EKU is led by Jaron Jones who is scoring 17 points per game.  The Colonels remaining four starters are averaging between 9.9 and 8.3 points per game as EKU's starting five scores 53 of the Colonels 67 points per game.  The leading rebounder is Eric Stutz at 5.1 per game as EKU is at a negative five rebounds per game margin for the season.

EIU DRAWS ILLINOIS-CHICAGO FOR BRACKETBUSTER
Eastern Illinois will renew an old Mid-Continent Conference rivalry when the Panthers host Illinois-Chicago in this year's Sears Bracketbuster.  UIC is 6-15, 2-9 in the Horizon League with an 0-11 record on the road this season.  The Flames hold a slim 16-15 series advantage with the last meeting taking place Dec. 2, 2003, a 77-60 UIC win.  EIU's last win in the series was Jan. 15, 1994, a 91-89 win in Chicago.  EIU is 3-3 in previous bracketbuster games including three straight wins over Western Michigan, Northern Illinois and Toledo. 

ICE COLD SHOOTING SENDS EIU TO SIXTH STRAIGHT LOSS
Eastern Illinois led 36-31 at the half on Monday night.  The Panthers then went ice cold from the field scoring eight points in the opening 13:30 of the second half.  The cold streak allowed Southeast Missouri to pull away for a 74-53 win over EIU as the Redhawks swept the season series.  Jeremy Granger scored 14 points to lead EIU and Zavier Sanders chipped in with eight.  The Panthers were out rebounded by double digits for the third straight game with a 42-25 deficit.

MILLER HELPING IN SEVERAL WAYS
Freshman Joey Miller has scored in double figures in eleven games this season as he is currently third on the EIU roster with 10.2 points per game.  Miller has come on during OVC play helping the team in other areas as he leads the team in steals and is second in assists.  Miller has a team high 21 steals with a season high three against Austin Peay.  He has 63 assists on the season which is tenth in the OVC and first among OVC freshman.  In the Panthers last six games he has passed out 20 assists including five at Murray State and four against Southeast Missouri.

GRANGER QUICKLY CLIMBING SCORING LIST
Senior Jeremy Granger has scored in double figures 17 times this season as he continues to climb on the EIU career scoring list.  Granger picked up his 100th career steal on Thursday night at Jacksonville State.  He needs one assist to reach 300 for his career.  When he gets that one assist he will be only one of two EIU players to have reached the 1,100 points, 300 assist, 100 steal club joining Kyle Hill.  Granger has 1,148 career points to rank 21st on EIU's career scoring list.  He picked up his 300th career rebound against Tennessee State.

EIU ONE LINERS
• Morris Woods provided a spark off the bench for the second straight game as the sophomore scored six points against Southeast Missouri.  Woods has played 40 minutes over the last two games, accounting for a third of his minutes played this season.  He is shooting 50 percent from the field in the last two contests.

• Eastern Illinois had all 14 players on the roster appear in Monday's game against Southeast Missouri.  It marked the third time this season that has happened.  The other two occasions were in a home win over Eureka College and last Thursday during a loss at Jacksonville State.

• Eastern Illinois has dropped to 16th in the NCAA in free throw percentage after going 9-of-13 from the line on Monday.  EIU is shooting 75.5 percent for the season.  The Panthers had climbed to as high as 5th in the NCAA in the past two weeks.  EIU's season record for free throw percentage is 77.5 set during the 2001 season.

• Zavier Sanders scored eight points on Monday against Southeast Missouri hitting 4-of-7 from the field.  The eight points is Sanders third highest point total this season as the senior has had double figure scoring games at Houston Baptist and against Stony Brook.  Sanders needs six points to reach 300 for his career.

• EIU finished with fewer than ten turnovers for the third time this season on Monday night as the Panthers had only nine turnovers against the Redhawks.  EIU's other two low turnover games were at SEMO on Jan. 14 and in a win at Northern Illinois back on Nov. 20 with a season low seven.  EIU has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for the season averaging 13.4 assists per game and 13.0 turnovers per game.

• Alfonzo McKinnie was 3-of-5 from the floor on Monday night as he leads the Panthers in field goal percentage at 54.9 percent.  McKinnie is fourth in the OVC in field goal percentage while ranking third in the OVC in rebounds per game.  McKinnie has three double-doubles on the year with back-to-back double-doubles recently against Austin Peay and at Jacksonville State.

STRICTLY STREAKS
• Alfonzo McKinnie needs three rebounds to reach 250 for his career
• EIU has given up 30 or more points in the paint in seven of its last eight games
• Josh Piper has now made 13 straight free throws and is shooting 91.3 percent
• Jeremy Granger has been limited to one assist in the Panthers last three games
• EIU was out rebounded by double figures for the third straight game on Monday
• EIU is 3-3 in its first February game under head coach Mike Miller

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 72-125 record at EIU.  The seven game OVC win streak was the best in school history as Miller has a 41-80 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 159-204 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.