EASTERN ILLINOIS (5-26, 3-15 OVC) at No. 23 Illinois (23-10, 15-5)
Monday, Nov. 7 • 8 pmÂ
Champaign, Ill. • State Farm Center
COMPLETE EIU GAME NOTES: PDF Link
RADIO: Hit Mix 88.9 FM WEIU
TV: ESPNUÂ and
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LIVE STATS: www.eiupanthers.com
SERIES RECORD: Illinois leads 6-0
LAST MEETING: @ILL 80, EIU 68 on Dec. 10, 2002
GAME 1
Eastern Illinois opens the 2022-23 season facing No. 23 Illinois as the Panthers tip off their second season under head coach
Marty Simmons. EIU was 5-26 last season and returns five players from that roster. Illinois was 23-10 last season winning the Big Ten Conference championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season.
PANTHERS RETURNERS
Eastern Illinois returns five players from last year's roster with those five accounting for nearly 50 percent of EIU's offensive production last season.Â
Dan Luers is EIU's top returning scorer at 7.8 points per game. EIU failed to have a player average in double figures for the first time since the 1945-46 season. The Panthers were one of five NCAA Division I teams without a double figure scorer on the roster last year.
STARTING LINE-UP SHUFFLE
EIU used 16 different starting line-ups in head coach
Marty Simmons first season with the Panthers. That total ranked fifth in the NCAA last season. Two of EIU's opponents for this upcoming season ranked ahead of the Panthers nationally with Alabama State the national leader and OVC newcomer Little Rock tied for third.
VS. NATIONALLY RANKED TEAMS
Eastern Illinois will open the season facing a nationally ranked team for the third time in the last four years when the Panthers tip off the 2022-23 season at No. 23 Illinois. EIU opened the 2019-20 season at No. 12 Texas Tech and 2020-21 season at No. 7 Wisconsin. EIU is 0-21 all-time against nationally ranked opponents, the closest upset a 76-66 loss in overtime at No. 20 Iowa State in December of 1987.
UP NEXT
Thursday - November 10 vs. Illinois State - 7 pmÂ
