Men's Basketball Rings in New Year at Southeast Missouri

Men's Basketball Rings in New Year at Southeast Missouri | https://images.sidearmdev.com/r

By Press release submission

Jan 11, 2023

Game 15
SIUE Cougars (10-4, 1-0 OVC)
at Southeast Missouri Redhawks (5-9, 0-1 OVC)
Saturday, December 31, 2:00 p.m.
Show Me Center (7,000), Cape Girardeau, Missouri

LAST TIME OUT
Shamar Wright's 18 points led three SIUE players in double figures as the Cougars opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 64-51 win over Tennessee Tech Thursday at First Community Arena. Wright scored 18 points on 8-11 shooting. He knocked down both of his three-point attempts and added five rebounds, three steals and four blocks, which tied his career high. Wright scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half. Neither team shot better than 40 percent from the field. SIUE connected on 25-63 (39.7 percent) of its shots, but finished with a 42-33 rebounding edge.

CONFERENCE CALL
SIUE is playing its 12th season in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars are 59-129 in the OVC. Brian Barone is 18-38 in his fourth season in the league.

STARTING LINE
The 10-4 record marks SIUE's best 14-game start since an 11-3 start in 2005-06.

BLOCK PARTY
SIUE tied the school record for blocks with 11 against Illinois Tech. The Cougars lead the OVC in blocks at 5.0 per game, which ranks 32nd in the NCAA. Four Cougars appear in the top seven individually in blocks.

NET WORTH
SIUE checks in at No. 97 in Friday's NET rankings. It is the highest ranking in the OVC.

DO IT FOR FREE
SIUE leads the OVC in free throw percentage at .731, which ranks 88th in the NCAA and free throws made per game at 15.9, which ranks 31st in the NCAA. SIUE is fourth in attempts at 22.8, which is 39th nationally.

DOUBLE DIGIT WINS
SIUE has now won at least 10 games for the seventh time since moving to Division I. The school record for wins at the Division I level is 12 in 2014-15.

OVERTURNED
SIUE is second in the league and 71st in the NCAA in forcing turnovers. Cougar opponents average 15.2 turnovers a game. SIUE is third in the league in turnover margin at 2.8 and third in the OVC in steals at 7.8 per game.