Men's Basketball Faces Tennessee Tech Thursday on National Television

Men's Basketball Faces Tennessee Tech Thursday on National Television | https://siuecougars.com/

By Press release submission

Jan 31, 2023

Men's Basketball Faces Tennessee Tech Thursday on National Television

Game 22
SIUE Cougars (14-7, 5-3 OVC)
at Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (9-12, 5-3 OVC)
Thursday, January 26, 6:00 p.m.
Hooper Eblen Center (9,280), Cookeville, Tennessee

LAST TIME OUT
Southern Indiana avenged an earlier loss to SIUE, knocking off the Cougars 82-72 Saturday at First Community Arena. SIUE suffered its second consecutive loss for the first time since December.
USI opened the game on a 8-0 run and never trailed in the contest. The Screaming Eagles made it a double-digit lead after a three-pointer from Isaiah Swope at 14:25 to lead 16-5. Southern Indiana hit eight first-half three-pointers and led 38-22 at the break. USI maintained the double-digit advantage most of the second half until a late push from the Cougars. The Eagles had a 19-point lead (61-42) with 6:45 to play, but SIUE whittled the lead to six (67-61) after a three-pointer from Shamar Wright with 2:16 left.

CONFERENCE CALL
SIUE is playing its 12th season in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars are 63-132 in the OVC. Brian Barone is 22-41 in his fourth season in the league.

RECORD WINS
With 14 wins, SIUE has won its most games at the Division I level.

BLOCK PARTY
SIUE tied the school record for blocks with 11 against Illinois Tech. The Cougars lead the OVC in blocks at 4.4 per game, which ranks 54th in the NCAA. Five Cougars appear in the top 15 individually in the OVC.

DO IT FOR FREE
SIUE leads the OVC in free throw percentage at .741. The Cougars lead the league in free throws made per game at 17.0, which ranks 14th in the NCAA and attempts at 23.0, which is 20th 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.

MAJOR RECORD FOR MINOR
With his first free throw at Eastern Illinois, Damarco Minor set a new OVC record with 47 consecutive free throws made. The previous record was set by Morehead State's Glen Napier in 1981-82. Minor missed his next attempt, before beginning a new streak. He's connected on his last three attempts. He is third nationally in free throw percentage at 94.4.