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EASTERN ILLINOIS (6-6) at Iowa State (9-2)
Thursday, Dec. 21  •  7 pm 
Ames, Iowa  •  Hilton Coliseum

GAME INFO
RADIO: Hit Mix 88.9 WEIU
TV: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: www.eiupanthers.com
SERIES RECORD: Iowa State leads 3-0
LAST MEETING: @ISU 101, EIU 53 on Dec. 21, 2018
NOTES: Complete EIU Game Notes

GAME 13
Eastern Illinois wraps up non-conference play on Thursday evening as the Panthers travel to Iowa State.  EIU moved back to .500 on the season with a home win over Blackburn College on Sunday afternoon.   With a win, EIU would finish the non-conference portion of its schedule with a winning record for the first time since the 2019-20 season when they went 7-4 in non-conference play.  Iowa State enters at 9-2 on the season and is listed among the teams also receiving votes in both major Top 25 polls.   Last December EIU went into the holiday break with an upset win at Iowa for the fourth-ever program win over a Power Five school in basketball.

BENCH PRODUCTION CONTINUES TO THRIVE
Eastern Illinois had four players score in double figures in Sunday's win over Blackburn led by two players off the bench in Corey Sawyer Jr and Kyndall Davis.  Sawyer scored a game-high 18 points while Davis chipped in with 15.  As a team EIU scored 40 points with its bench against Blackburn and is averaging 31.1 points per game from its bench which ranks 30th in the NCAA and first in the OVC.  Sawyer is the leading scorer off the bench this season at 8.2 points per game as EIU has had a player score in double figures off the bench nine times this season.  The Panthers bench has now outscored its opponents bench production in eight straight games. 

STEALS ON THE RISE
Eastern Illinois posted double digit steals for the second straight game and fourth time in the last six contests with 11 steals on Sunday against Blackburn College.   For the season EIU leads the OVC in steals per game with 8.5 (102 total).  Last season EIU led the OVC in steals at 8.4 per game while setting the school single season record with 260 steals.   Sincere Malone led the OVC in steals last year with 62.  This year Tiger Booker currently leads the league in steals with  24.

UP NEXT
Friday, December 29 at SIUE - 7:30 pm (ESPN+) ... OVC Opener