Cougars Play Host to Tigers for Nationally Televised Contest

Cougars Play Host to Tigers for Nationally Televised Contest | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

By Press release submission

Jan 5, 2023

SIUE Cougars (10-5, 1-1 OVC)
vs. Tennessee State Tigers (9-6, 1-1 OVC)
Thursday, January 5, 6:00 p.m.
First Community Arena (4,000), Edwardsville, Illinois

LAST TIME OUT
SIUE dropped its first road test of the Ohio Valley Conference season falling at Southeast Missouri 82-73. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for SIUE. The Cougars never led in the contest and trailed by as many as 10 on several occasions. Despite shooting just 35 percent from the field, SIUE trailed just 37-32 at halftime thanks to the Cougars draining all 11 of their free throw attempts in the half. SIUE's fortunes changed in the second period. The Cougars connected on 12-26 shots (46 percent) from the field, but knocked down just 13-23 second-half free throws.

CONFERENCE CALL
SIUE is playing its 12th season in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars are 59-131 in the OVC. Brian Barone is 18-40 in his fourth season in the league.

DOUBLE DIGIT WINS
SIUE has now won at least 10 games for the seventh time since moving to Division I. Last year's team won 11 games, the most under Brian Barone. The school record for wins at the Division I level is 12 in 2014-15.

BLOCK PARTY
SIUE tied the school record for blocks with 11 against Illinois Tech. The Cougars lead the OVC in blocks at 4.7 per game, which ranks 42nd NCAA. Four Cougars appear in the top six individually in the OVC in blocks.

NET WORTH
SIUE checks in at No. 114 in Wednesday's NET rankings. It is the highest ranking in the OVC.

DO IT FOR FREE
SIUE is second in the OVC in free throw percentage at .729, which ranks 102nd in the NCAA. The Cougars lead the league in free throws made per game at 16.5, which ranks 21st in the NCAA and attempts at 22.6, which is 27th nationally. SIUE has had five games this year with at least 30 free throw attempts.

OVERTURNED
SIUE is fifth in the league and 71st in the NCAA in forcing turnovers. Cougar opponents average 14.7 turnovers a game. SIUE is fourth in the league in turnover margin at 2.1 and third in the OVC in steals at 7.6 per game.