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EASTERN ILLINOIS (3-4) at Western Illinois (2-4)

Dec. 4, 2013 • 7 p.m. 
Western Hall (5,139) • Macomb, Ill.
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM
(Mike Bradd & Jack Ashmore)

THE OPENING TIP
The Panther men's basketball team travels to cross-state rival Western Illinois on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. from Western Hall.
 
EIU is 3-4 on the year and is coming off a 68-53 road loss at Western Kentucky on Nov. 30. WIU is 2-4 this year, most recently defeating Greenville College, 76-49, on Nov. 30 at home.
 
The Panthers are led by second-year head coach Jay Spoonhour. He has posted a 120-58 record in seven seasons as a head coach and a 14-25 record at EIU.
 
The Fighting Leathernecks are coached by Jim Molinari who has a 71-88 record in six seasons at WIU. He has a 294-274 overall record in 20 seasons as a head coach with stints at Minnesota, Bradley and Northern Illinois. Last season, Coach Molinari was named the Summit League Coach of the Year after leading WIU to their first conference title since the 1982-83 season with a school record 22 wins along the way.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH WESTERN ILLINOIS
The series between EIU and WIU is tied, 78-78. The Leathernecks won the last meeting between the two schools, 57-45, on Dec. 5, 2012 in Charleston, Ill. Alex Austin and Josh Piper both scored seven points in the loss while Sherman Blanford added four points, five rebounds and four assists.
 
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING LEATHERNECKS
The Leathernecks are averaging 61.5 points per game, led by Garret Covington's 14.4 points per game. Adam Link has added 9.3 points per game and a team-best 5.5 rebounds per game. WIU has a .469 field-goal percentage this season and is also averaging 31.5 rebounds and 8.5 steals per game.
 
LAST TIME OUT
EIU is coming off a 68-53 loss at Western Kentucky on Nov. 30. The 53 points was a season-low for the Panthers as they were led in scoring by Reggie Smith who netted 16 points. EIU committed 14 turnovers that led to 21 points for the Hilltoppers.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers play host to Indiana State on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. before traveling to Wright State (Dec. 19) and IPFW (Dec. 21). Fans can bring their football tickets from the EIU FCS Playoff game at O'Brien Field at 1 p.m. and receive $2 off general admission tickets for the Indiana State contest.
 
IN THE PAINT
• EIU is averaging a conference-best 6.9 blocks per game this season. The Panthers ranked 15th in the nation in blocks per game in the most recent NCAA statistical summary. Keenen Anderson leads the team with 11 blocks while Mat Piotrowski has added 10.
 
• Jake Verhagen scored a season-high nine points at Western Kentucky, going 3-for-4 from behind the arc in 11 minutes of action off the bench. The freshman forward is 5-for-8 from three-point range in his last four games.
 
• Reggie Smith leads the Panthers in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game – the seventh highest averaging in the conference. The junior guard also leads the team in assists (20) and steals (13).
 
• The Panthers have posted a .510 field-goal percentage in their last three games. Alex Austin has averaged 12.7 points per game in those contests, going 13-for-25 from the floor and 9-for-16 from the behind the arc.
 
• EIU is 1-3 in road games this season. The Panthers have averaged 62.2 points per game with a .395 field-goal percentage in those contests.
 
• Keenen Anderson has hit 85 percent of his field-goal attempts this season, going 17-for-20 from the floor. The junior forward is averaging 6.6 points per game this season after averaging 1.4 points per game a year ago.
 
• Keenen Anderson leads the team in rebounding this season, averaging 4.4 rebounds per game. He has 31 total rebounds with 18 of those coming on the offensive end of the floor. He ranks sixth in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (2.6).
 
• A total of 10, first-year players with the EIU program have seen action this season. Newcomers Reggie Smith and Dennis Green are two of the Panthers top-three scorers as the two guards have combined to average 23.6 points per game.
 
• The Panthers rank third in the conference in scoring defense after leading the OVC in scoring defense (64.2 ppg) last season.
 
• Alex Austin ranks second on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game. The junior guard led all OVC freshmen in scoring a year ago, averaging 9.3 points per game.
 
• Sherman Blanford, the Panthers lone senior, is averaging 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. The forward averaged 10.5 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game last season and was named to the All-OVC Newcomer Team.
 
PRESEASON POLL
EIU was picked to finish fifth in the OVC's West Division while Southeast Missouri and Murray State were tied for first in the preseason poll. Austin Peay was third followed by UT Martin, EIU and SIUE. Eastern Kentucky was tabbed to win the east division followed by Belmont, Morehead State, Jacksonville State, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech.
 
EASTERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH JAY SPOONHOUR
Jay Spoonhour enters his second season as the Panthers head coach having been hired on April 9, 2012.  Spoonhour was previously 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 120-58, 20-29 at NCAA Division I.
 
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 389 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 1,113 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. (through games on Nov. 18, 2013)
 
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
 
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.