Eastern Illinois hosts Clay and Tennessee State

Eastern Illinois Panthers (7-12, 3-3 OVC) at Tennessee State Tigers (10-9, 2-4 OVC)

Nashville, Tennessee; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Tennessee State -8; over/under is 141.5

BOTTOM LINE: Tennessee State faces the Eastern Illinois Panthers after Jr. Clay scored 22 points in Tennessee State's 71-63 loss to the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.

The Tigers have gone 8-3 in home games. Tennessee State is second in the OVC scoring 77.5 points while shooting 44.7% from the field.

The Panthers have gone 3-3 against OVC opponents. Eastern Illinois is third in the OVC scoring 32.3 points per game in the paint led by Kinyon Hodges averaging 11.3.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Clay is averaging 18.2 points and 4.5 assists for the Tigers. Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. is averaging 13.3 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 38.7% over the last 10 games for Tennessee State.

Hodges is shooting 48.7% and averaging 13.4 points for the Panthers. Yaakema Rose Jr. is averaging 9.9 points over the last 10 games for Eastern Illinois.

LAST 10 GAMES: Tigers: 5-5, averaging 80.4 points, 33.9 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.5 points per game.

Panthers: 5-5, averaging 68.2 points, 28.8 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 8.3 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.3 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.