UP NEXT?: The Leathernecks continue their homestand Saturday versus Grace Bible in Macomb. The two teams are slated to begin action at 7 p.m. following the WIU women's game versus Southeast Missouri State.

A LOOK AT EASTERN ILLINOIS: The Panthers of Eastern Illinois, a former Mid-Continent Conference member, are currently members of the Ohio Valley Conference and enter Wednesday's game with a 3-4 overall mark. EIU most recently dropped back-to-back nonconference contests, first at home to Fort Wayne, 71-65, before a 68-53 loss at Western Kentucky. Eastern is led by Reggie Smith who leads the team with 14.7 points per game while dishing out a team-best 3.3 assists per contest. Smith also averages more than two steals per game. Jay Spoonhour is in his second season at the helm for Eastern and owns a 20-29 record at EIU, and holds a career record of 120-57 as a head coach. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Leathernecks have not faced any other team as many times as the Panthers. Eastern leads the all-time series 77-74, but the Leathernecks have earned victories over the Panthers during the last two seasons. Western defeated Eastern last season (Dec. 5) on the road, 57-45, and in Macomb during the 2011-12 season (Dec. 10), 64-48. The first-ever meeting between the two teams took place on February 10, 1928 when Eastern defeated Western, 38-25. The two teams have met five times in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament when the Panthers were a member of the league. EIU leads that series 3-2. Four of the five meetings took place in the first round of the tournament, with the fifth game being played in the semifinals.

LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois remained undefeated at home Saturday evening (Nov. 30) with a 76-49 victory over Greenville inside Western Hall. The Fighting Leathernecks improved to 2-4 overall after the win, and 2-0 at home, while Greenville fell to 4-2. WIU opened the game on a 5-0 run and never gave up the advantage throughout the contest. Western used the entire first half to build its lead to 10 points at the break. The Leathernecks increased their lead in the second, never surrendering their double-digit lead, and building it up to as large as 28 near the end. Senior Adam Link finished with a career-high five blocks in the win to go along with his game-high 16 points. Link also grabbed a team-high six rebounds, tallied a team-high five assists, and had one steal.

TEAM LEADERS: Freshman Garret Covington leads the Leathernecks in points per game with a 14.4 average, minutes per game (32.2), and free throw percentage (69.6% / 16-of-23), while senior Adam Link averages a team-best 5.5 rebounds per game and leads in steals per game (1.5). Junior Remy Roberts-Burnett leads Western with a team-high 3.4 assists per game. Senior Michael Ochereobia leads the team in blocks with a 1.0 per game average. Tate Stensgaard leads Western in field goal percentage (67.7% / 21-of-31).

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Newcomer Tate Stensgaard recorded the team's first double-double of the season versus Eureka (Nov. 21) at home after scoring a game-high 14 points and pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds.

RETURNING TO THE TEAM: Western has six players returning to the team this season in seniors Adam Link,Michael Ochereobia and Billy Molinari, junior Remy Roberts-Burnett, and sophomores Jordan Foster andJason Hawthorne.

WELCOME TO WESTERN: Six newcomers joined the Leatherneck family prior to the 2013-14 season. Four freshmen begin their college playing careers this season in: Garret Covington, Jabari Sandifer, Mike Miklusak and Travis Barnes, while sophomore Tate Stensgaard and junior Mohamed Conde transferred to Western.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: Western Illinois was projected to finish fourth in The Summit League this season according to the annual preseason poll of league coaches, SIDs and media. The Leathernecks, who shared the league's regular season championship last season, received a total of 161 points in the poll. 

PRESEASON RECOGNITION: Senior Adam Link was tabbed Preseason All-Summit League Second Team by the league's coaches, SIDs and media. The Elbert, Colo. native finished last season third on the squad in points having averaged 9.9 per game, while also tied for second in rebounds having pulled down 4.1 per game. Link was one of two Leathernecks to start all 31 games last season. Link was also tabbed All-Summit League Second Team by College Sports Madness in September.

SEASON ENDING INJURY: Senior guard Billy Molinari, son of head coach Jim Molinari, suffered an injury practicing during the 2013-14 preseason that required season-ending surgery. It marks the fourth consecutive season Billy has suffered an injury that has ended his season. Billy redshirted his freshman season and has only been able to compete in three games during his career at WIU due to injuries.

DIFFERENT AREA CODES: Western is slated to play 12 games on Waste Management Court inside Western Hall, and 17 games away from Macomb in 11 different states. The graphic below highlights each location the Leathernecks are slated to travel to.  

HOKENSON PROMOTED: Head coach Jim Molinari promoted Wade Hokenson, who is entering his sixth season at Western, to Associate Head Coach during the fall of 2013. Molinari had this to say about Hokenson: "Wade is a big part of the building of last year's championship season from the ground up. He is very efficient, he has tremendous organizational skills, and he commands great respect from our players. I think in the role of associate head coach, you want someone that has seen your philosophy be successful. He has truly earned this promotion." 

OFF THE COURT: The Western Illinois men's basketball team earned a share of the 2013 Men's Basketball Academic Achievement Award based on percentage of list-eligible student-athletes on The Summit League's Commissioner's List. The honor marked the first of its kind in Leatherneck men's basketball program history.

A SEASON TO REMEMBER: The Western Illinois men's basketball team concluded its historic season with its second-straight appearance in the College Basketball Invitational. Although The Fighting Leathernecks didn't reach their ultimate goal of advancing to the program's first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, the Leathernecks still made program history by winning a share of the Summit League regular season championship, and earning 22 wins, the most ever in the program's NCAA Division I history.

IN THE NATION LAST SEASON: As a team, the Fighting Leathernecks ranked #1 in personal fouls per game, having committed only 12.6 per game, #1 total fouls with 391, and #2 in scoring defense having allowed only 53.6 points per game. Western also ranked #12 in three-point field goal percentage having connected on 39.1 percent of their attempts and #20 in fewest total turnovers with 352. Other notable team rankings: #33 in field goal percentage (46.6), #35 in turnovers per game (11.4), #46 in field goal percentage defense (40.0), #47 in win-loss percentage (71.0) and #74 in scoring margin (5.9).

2013 HUGH DURHAM AWARD FINALIST: Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari was named a finalist for the 2013 Hugh Durham Award. The Hugh Durham Award is given annually to the nation's top mid-major coach. The award is named in honor of Hugh Durham who had retired at the end of the 2004-05 season. Durham is one of just twelve coaches to have led two different programs to the NCAA Final Four (Florida State in 1972 and Georgia in 1983). He is the only coach among that group to have led both schools to their lone Final Four appearance.

2013 COACH OF THE YEAR: Head coach Jim Molinari was tabbed The Summit League's 'Coach of the Year' for the second time in his career, and first time as the leader of the Leathernecks' program. Molinari also earned the honor in 1991 at Northern Illinois. Molinari was also tabbed The Summit League's 'Coach of the Year' by CollegeInsider.com and College Sports Madness in 2013.

NCAA RPI: The Leathernecks finished last season #137 in the NCAA's RPI ratings after being ranked 163rd to begin the season.

MORE WINNING: Besides earning more wins than any other Leatherneck men's basketball team in the program's NCAA Division I history, Western finished the 2012-13 season with 13 league wins. The 13 league wins tied the most ever earned during a season in Western Illinois' Division I era, and their win percentage stands alone as the program's best ever. 

WIN STREAK: Early in the 2012-13 season, Western had earned 11 consecutive wins, a winning streak that started with a win on November 29 at South Dakota, and ended at home versus South Dakota State on January 17. The Leathernecks had never earned 11 or more straight wins in a season during its Division I history, and the last time they did so in the program's history was during the 1957-58 season when they put together 27 consecutive wins.

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. 

DIVISION I SINGLE-GAME ATTENDANCE: The Western Illinois men's basketball team had its best attendance since 1987 when it played host to South Dakota on March 2, as 5,089 fans packed Western Hall and watch the Leathernecks clinch a share of the The Summit League regular season title. 

A COUPLE OTHER NOTABLE ATTENDANCES: The Fighting Leathernecks had two other games last season with more than 4,000 fans. First when they played host to South Dakota State on January 17 (4,163), and then on February 23 when Cleveland State visited Western Hall (4,259). Western also had 3,973 fans pack Western Hall on January 19 versus North Dakota State.

DIVISION I HOME ATTENDANCE AVERAGE: Last season Western averaged 2,454 fans per game, which ranks eighth in the program's NCAA Division I era, and was the best average since the 1998-99 season.