E. Illinois looks for home win vs W. Illinois

Published Dec. 10, 2020 5:30 p.m. ET

Associated Press

Western Illinois (1-3) vs. Eastern Illinois (2-4)

Lantz Arena, Charleston, Illinois; Saturday, 5 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Illinois looks for its fourth straight win over Western Illinois at Lantz Arena. The last victory for the Leathernecks at Eastern Illinois was an 83-63 win on Nov. 21, 2015.

SENIOR STUDS: Western Illinois' Will Carius, Rod Johnson Jr. and Anthony Jones have combined to score 39 percent of all Leathernecks scoring this season.TERRIFIC TAMELL: Across four appearances this season, Western Illinois' Tamell Pearson has shot 53.7 percent.

LONG-RANGE THREAT: Eastern Illinois's Mack Smith has attempted 38 3-pointers and connected on 36.8 percent of them, and is 13 for 29 over the last five games.

ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Leathernecks have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Panthers. Eastern Illinois has 35 assists on 90 field goals (38.9 percent) over its previous three outings while Western Illinois has assists on 43 of 82 field goals (52.4 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: Eastern Illinois has committed a turnover on just 16.8 percent of its possessions this season, which is the second-lowest percentage among all OVC teams. The Panthers have turned the ball over only 11.8 times per game this season.

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