THE BREAKDOWN

THE MATCHUP

WHO: Western Illinois Leathernecks (13-3, 5-0) at Omaha Mavericks (5-14, 2-5)
WHERE: Omaha, Neb. • Ralston Arena (3,500)
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 12 at 11:30 a.m.
SERIES HISTORY: Western leads 5-3

FOLLOW THE ACTION

Radio/Live Audio:
The Dog (88.3 FM) & Classic 103 (102.7 FM)
Talent: Beau Spencer (play-by-play) & Josh Gleason (color)

Live Video:
AmericanOnSports.com

Live Stats:
OMavs.com

Twitter:
@WIUAthletics

Facebook: WIU Athletics

Preseason Information:
2012-13 Information Guide/Record Book
2012-13 Quick Facts
2012-13 Schedule
2012-13 Outlook 2012-13 Season Preview
2011-12 Highlights

MID-MAJOR TOP 25: The Western Illinois men's basketball team has been receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll during the last few weeks, but Monday (Jan. 7) the Fighting Leathernecks jumped into the top 25 at #22.

NCAA RPI: The Leathernecks are 163rd on the NCAA's most recent RPI ratings.

PARKS NAMED SUMMIT LEAGUE'S MALE ATHLETE OF THE MONTH: The Summit League selected Western Illinois men's basketball student-athlete Terell Parks (Beloit, Wis./Beloit Memorial) as its Male Athlete of the Month for December. It marks his first career Athlete of the Month honor. Parks, who was named the league's men's basketball Player of the Week on Monday (Jan. 7), helped lead the Fighting Leathernecks to a perfect 6-0 overall record and 3-0 conference mark during December, and averaged a double-double (13.7 points & 10.0 rebounds) in the process. The Leathernecks' big man also averaged three blocks per game, shot 58.2 percent from the field, dished out eight assists, and tallied six steals.

UNBEATEN SINCE DECEMBER 1ST: Western is one of 14 teams in the nation that has not lost a game in the months of December or January.

UNDEFEATED AT HOME: Western Illinois has not lost a game at home this season, a perfect 8-0 inside Western Hall...The Leathernecks are also undefeated in neutral site games with a perfect 2-0 mark (vs. Buffalo & Yale)...Western has won 10 straight at home since last season, a home court winning streak that ranks tied for 21st in the country.

BEST START SINCE: Western is off to its best start in its NCAA Division I history...No Western Illinois team has started a season 13-3 or better since the 1957-58 season when the Leathernecks started 27-0.

STREAKING: The Leathernecks picked up their 10th straight victory last Wednesday against Greenville, a winning streak that started over a month ago on November 29th at South Dakota...The last time the Leathernecks earned 10 or more straight wins was during the 1982-83 season when they won 10 straight games...The last Leatherneck team to win 11 straight was the 1957-58 season when they put together 27 consecutive wins.

NCAA DIVISION I ERA: No Leatherneck team has earned 11 consecutive victories in Western's Division I era.

WIN AFTER WIN AFTER WIN: Western's 10 game winning streak ranks tied for seventh nationally with Butler and VCU...Michigan leads the country having won 15 straight.

UNDEFEATED CONFERENCE RECORD: The last time the Leathernecks started conference play 5-0 or better was the 1997-98 team which kicked-off conference play 6-0...The 1997-98 team's 6-0 conference start is Western's best start in league play in its Division I history.

MORE UNDEFEATED CONFERENCE RECORD: Western is one of only three NCAA Division I team that is 5-0 or better in conference play.

WHAT'S IN A WESTERN WIN?: A win would mark the 1,216th victory in program history...A win would mark head coach Jim Molinari's 61st victory at Western, and his 284th victory all-time as a head coach...A win would be Western's sixth-ever over Omaha...A win would mark the Leathernecks' 11th straight.

IN THE NATION (As of 1/10/13): Western ranks in the top three of two national categories, second in defensive scoring, having held its opponents to 50.9 points per game, and third in personal fouls per game, having committed only 12.2 per game...The Leathernecks also rank in the top 100 of six other categories...25th in field goal percentage defense (37.8), 33rd in both winning percentage (81.3) and field goal percentage (47.1), 49th in blocked shots per game (4.9), 56th in scoring margin (10.3), and 67th in turnovers per game (12.3).

CLARK AND PARKS NATION (As of 1/10/13): Seniors Ceola Clark III and Terell Parks rank in the top 100 of six national categories...Parks ranks 12th in blocked shots per game (2.88), 35th in field goal percentage (55.6), 38th in rebounds per game (9.3), and 43rd in double-doubles (5.0)...Clark ranks 47th in assist/turnover ratio (2.5) and 93rd in free throw percentage (83.9).

A LOOK AT THE MAVERICKS: Omaha is in its first season as a member of The Summit League...The Mavericks enter Saturday's tilt with a 5-14 overall record and 2-5 Summit League record...They defeated IUPUI at home Thursday (Jan. 10), 90-79... Justin Simmons leads UNO offensively with with 14.6 points per game...John Karhoff is the only other Maverick to average 10-plus points a game (11.9)...Three players on the team average four or more rebounds per game in Alex Welhouse (4.7), Matt Hagerbaumer (4.0) and Simmons (4.0).

COACHING OMAHA: The Mavericks are coached by Derrin Hansen (Nebraska Wesleyan '91) who is in his eighth year at the helm, and owns an all-time record of 126-100 coaching at UNO.

THE SERIES: Western leads the all-time series 5-3...Last season the Leathernecks swept Omaha with a 81-70 win on the road, and a 72-51 victory at home.

LAST TIME OUT: The Leathernecks downed Greenville College Wednesday evening, 95-48, inside Western Hall, marking the first time in 193 games Western Illinois has scored 95-plus points in a game, and increasing the Leathernecks' win streak to 10 games.

The last time the Leathernecks had reached the 95-point mark was November 21, 2005, against IPFW, and their 47-point win marked the largest margin of victory for the Leathernecks since the 2010-11 season.

Terell Parks' fifth double-double of the season led the way for the Leathernecks, as the senior forward connected on 11-of-11 shooting for 22 points, and pulled down 10 rebounds. Parks' 11-for-11 effort set a new Western Illinois program record for field goals made without a miss.

Senior guard Ceola Clark III also had a career night, dishing out 12 assists, 10 in the first half alone, to go along with his six points and six rebounds.

Besides Parks, three other Leathernecks finished with 10 or more points in Michael Ochereobia, who finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, both season-bests, Jordan Foster who recorded a season-high 14 points, and Don McAvoy III who notched 11.

Jason Hawthorne finished with a season-high nine points.

Jamaal Walker (5) and Isaiah Duncan (2) each tallied their first points as Leathernecks.

Greenville was led by MarQuel Jones who tallied 15 points and four rebounds.

Western shot 59.1% from the floor, while the Panthers connected on 37.3%. The Leathernecks also bested Greenville in rebounds, 43-24.

Greenville was unable to connect on a field goal through the first 7:30 of the game, and the Leathernecks took advantage of it. Western jumped out to a 21-1 lead before the Panthers were able to tally a field goal.

For the rest of the first half, the Leathernecks handled their business on both ends of the floor, and took a 48-20 lead into the break, and the Leathernecks cruised in the second, on their way to a victory.

UNDEFEATED DECEMBER: The Leathernecks finished the month of December with a 6-0 record...It was the first time Western finished the month of December undefeated in its Division I history, and the first time since the Leathernecks went 8-0 in December during the 1957-58 season.

#WIUAthletics