MACOMB, Ill. - The Leatherneck men's basketball team (11-8, 5-5) will continue Summit League action Saturday evening when it play host to the IUPUI Jaguars (8-14, 2-8) at 7 p.m. in Western Hall...The men's game will follow the women's game which begins at 4:30 p.m.

The Breakdown
Who: Western Illinois (11-8, 5-5) vs. IUPUI (8-14, 2-8)
When: Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m.
Where: Macomb, Illinois
Arena: Waste Management Court at Western Hall (5,139)
Live Stats: HERE

Radio
Leatherneck Sports Network (88.3 FM)
Radio Talent: Beau Spencer (play-by-play), Adam Studzinski (color), & Josh Gleason (sideline)
Listen HERE

A LOOK AT IUPUI: The IUPUI Jaguars, a fellow member of The Summit League, enter Saturday's game with a 8-14 overall record and a 2-8 league record...In its last action, IUPUI fell to the UMKC Kangaroos...Senior Alex Young scored a game-high 26 points but IUPUI's Ian Chiles misfired on a 55-foot desperation heave as time expired as UMKC escaped with a 64-62 win over the Jaguars inside Swinney Recreation Center on Saturday (Jan. 21) night. Sophomore Trinity Hall led three Kangaroos in double-digits with 17 points and freshman Thomas Staton added 16 in the win...Three Jaguars average double figures, with one of them averaging 20-plus points per game...Alex Young, who is the NCAA's active leader in career points, averages 20.5, while Stephen Thomas (11.1) and Ian Chiles (10.1) each average double figures...Young also leads the team in rebounds (136), steals (29), and blocks (23)...Thomas leads the team in assists with 82...As a team, the Jaguars shoot 42.5% from the floor, 32.3% from beyond the arch, and 77% from the charity stripe...They average 73.3 points per game, and allow 74.3.

COACHING THE JAGUARS: The Jaguars are coached by Todd Howard (Louisville, '93)...Howard is in the midst of his first season as head coach of IUPUI.

THE SERIES: Saturday night's game will be the 37th meeting between the two teams...IUPUI leads Western in the all-time series, 28-8...The two teams first played in the 1974-75 season with the Leathernecks picking up an 82-65 victory...Western has struggled as of late against the Jaguars, having lost their last seven games...IUPUI defeated the Leathernecks earlier this season in Indianapolis, 75-68.

WHAT'S IN A WESTERN WIN?: A win would mark the team's 1,196th victory in program history...A win would mark head coach Jim Molinari's 41st victory at Western, and his 264th career victory...A win would mark Western's ninth-ever against IUPUI, and first in the  last eight meetings.

ALL-TIME STEALS LEADER: Senior guard Ceola Clark III became the Western Illinois career steals leader earlier this season, picking up his 168th swipe at UMKC on January 19th...Clark passed Bill Heisler who finished his playing career with 167 steals...Since breaking the record, Clark has added three more and owns 171 heading into Saturday's contest.

BEST START SINCE...: The Leathernecks' 11-8 start to the 2011-12 season is the best start for the program since the 1997-98 season when they started 13-8...The 1997-98 team finished 16-11 overall and 11-5 in league games.

DEFENSE IS ALWAYS KEY: Western moved up to 27th in the nation in scoring defense in the NCAA's last release of statistics, and first in The Summit League...The Leathernecks are allowing opponents to score only 60.3 points per game...In Summit League games, the Leathernecks allow a league-low 61.6 points per game.

HANDLE WITH CARE: In the NCAA's most recent release of stats (1/23/12), Western ranks 19th in the nation in turnovers per game, averaging just 11.3...In eight of their games this season they have committed 10 or less.

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