EASTERN ILLINOIS (14-17, 8-10 OVC) vs. SIUE (16-15, 9-9 OVC)
Wednesday, March 6 • 9 pm
Evansville, Ind. • Ford Center
• OVC Championship Central | Ford Center Bag Policy |
Postseason Opportunities | Bracket (PDF) | Digital Program
GAME INFO
RADIO: Hit Mix 88.9 WEIU
TV: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: www.eiupanthers.com
SERIES RECORD: EIU leads 19-11
LAST MEETING: @EIU 84, SIUE 79 on Feb. 27, 2024
NOTES: Complete EIU Tournament Notes
GAME 32
Eastern Illinois makes its first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament since the 2019-20 season as the Panthers finished seventh in the OVC standings at 14-17 overall, 8-10 in the OVC. The Panthers will play SIUE in the opening round as the Cougars finished sixth in the league at 16-15 overall, 9-9 in the OVC. The two teams split the regular season series with each winning on their home court, most recently with EIU's 84-79 win over SIUE last Tuesday night. This will be the second time the two schools have faced each other in the OVC Tournament, EIU winning the previous meeting (78-66) in 2015.
SHELTON BIG NIGHT
Junior
Nakyel Shelton missed three games in early February due to injury and slowly returned to the Panthers line-up in the middle of the month. Shelton had his struggles in those first four games back, being held scoreless in two of them. During the final week of the regular season he appeared to be back to his pre-injury form scoring in double figures in both games with a return to the starting line-up. In the Panthers final regular season game at Western Illinois, Shelton exploded for a season-high 24 points going 6-of-8 from 3-point range. It was his fourth 20-point game this season and first in OVC play. His previous season high was 22 points against both Illinois State and Central Arkansas. Shelton did collect his season high for rebounds in conference action pulling down 12 boards at UT Martin. Last season at South Suburban Community College he ranked fifth in the nation in scoring (23.6 ppg) and tenth in rebounding (10.3 rpg).
OVC TOURNEY RETURN
Eastern Illinois returns to the Ohio Valley Conference for the first time since the 2019-20 season as the Panthers will play on Wednesday night as the No. 7 seed facing No. 6 seed SIUE in the late game of the opening day. EIU and SIUE have met one previous time in the OVC Tournament with EIU winning 78-66 in Nashville in 2015. EIU is 8-16 all-time in the OVC Tournament since joining the league in 1996-97 including two first round wins in games in Evansville in 2018 and 2020. EIU is 2-3 in OVC Tournament games at the Ford Center. EIU is 1-6 all-time in the OVC Tournament playing as the No. 7 seed in the field, the one win coming over Tennessee State in the 2018 OVC Tournament in Evansville. The Panthers won the 2001 OVC Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
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