EASTERN ILLINOIS (1-1) at Notre Dame (2-0)
Tuesday, November 11  •  6:30 pm 
South Bend, Ind.  •  Joyce Center

GAME INFO
RADIO: Hit Mix 88.9 WEIU
TV: ESPN+ / ACCx
LIVE STATS: www.eiupanthers.com
SERIES RECORD: First Meeting
LAST MEETING: n/a
NOTES: EIU Complete Game Notes

GAME 3
Eastern Illinois returns to the road for the first of two straight games against Power Four Conference opponents as the Panthers play Tuesday night at ACC member Notre Dame.  EIU is coming off a 65-57 win over Nicholls in the second game of the BBN United Tipoff Classic to stand at 1-1 on the season.  It was the third consecutive home opening win for EIU.  Notre Dame has won a pair of games at home beating both Long Island University and Detroit Mercy at the Joyce Center.

FRUSTER FIRES AWAY
Zion Fruster led the Panthers in scoring in Friday's home win over Nicholls as the senior scored 25 points knocking down 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 9-of-10 from the foul line.  It was the third time in Fruster's two-year EIU career that he has scored 20 or more points.  Last season he had an EIU career high of 29 points against Lindenwood followed by a 23-point game against Western Illinois.  Fruster began his career at Division II Virginia Wise scoring a career high 34 points against Mars Hill.   His early season scoring average of 18.5 points per game ranks him fifth in the league.  

JACOBI KEYS FIRST HALF RUN
Kooper Jacobi led the Ohio Valley Conference in rebounding last season averaging 8.9 rebounds per game.  He was held to just five rebounds in the season opener at Valparaiso.  In Friday's win over Nicholls Jacobi just missed his 12th career double-double finishing with nine points and nine rebounds.  During a key first half 11-0 run by EIU that helped turn the game in EIU's favor, Jacobi factored into all 11 points scoring two buckets while assisting on the other three.  He finished the game with a team-high five assists.  

SCHEDULE TESTS
Eastern Illinois faces a pair of tests on its 2025-26 schedule this week playing Tuesday at ACC member Notre Dame and Friday at No. 8 Kentucky.  Later this month EIU plays at current No. 1 ranked Purdue with a mid-December game at No. 16 Iowa State.  The Panthers do own four all-time wins over Power Conference teams with the most recent a 92-83 win over Iowa (Dec. 21, 2022).  EIU's other Power Conference wins are over Missouri (Dec. 2017), Wisconsin (Dec. 1987) and Ole Miss (Dec. 1974). 

UP NEXT
Friday - November 14, 2025 at No. 9 Kentucky (6 pm CT on SEC+)