Men's Basketball Set for Road Test at Eastern Illinois

Men's Basketball Set for Road Test at Eastern Illinois | https://images.sidearmdev.com/

By Press release submission

Jan 12, 2023

Game No. 18
SIUE Cougars (12-5, 3-1 OVC)
at Eastern Illinois Panthers (6-11, 2-2 OVC)
Thursday, January 12, 7:30 p.m.
Lantz Arena (5,300), Charleston, Illinois

LAST TIME OUT
SIUE's first meeting with Southern Indiana since 2008 proved to be a classic. The former Division II conference rivals met for the first time as Division I conference rivals Saturday with SIUE picking up a hard-earned 69-62 road win. Damarco Minor enjoyed a career-night to lead the Cougars, scoring 27 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. It was his second straight double-double. Minor was 3-10 overall and a perfect 15-15 at the free throw line.

CONFERENCE CALL
SIUE is playing its 12th season in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars are 61-130 in the OVC. Brian Barone is 20-39 in his fourth season in the league.

MAKE IT A DOZEN
SIUE has now equaled the single-season school record for wins at the Division I level with 12. The Cougars won 12 games total 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 4.8 per game, which ranks 37th in the NCAA. Four Cougars appear in the top six individually in the OVC in blocks.

NET WORTH
SIUE checks in at No. 117 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 .737, which ranks 86th in the NCAA. The Cougars lead the league in free throws made per game at 17.8, which ranks 13th in the NCAA and attempts at 24.1, which is 16th nationally. SIUE has had seven games this year with at least 30 free throw attempts. The Cougars attempted 41 free throws Jan.5 vs. Tennessee State, which was the most in a single game since 2018.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Minor earned Player and Newcomer of the Week in the OVC Monday after leading SIUE to a 2-0 week. He turned in a pair of double-doubles and averaged 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds and was 21-21 at the free throw line. He earned Newcomer of the Week Nov. 14 after averging 16.0 points in SIUE's first two contests. He is third nationally in free throw percentage at 96.3.