TV GAMES: Besides all Summit League tournament games being televised on Fox College Sports, the Leathernecks have one regular season league contest that will air nationally. Western at South Dakota is slated to air on Fox College Sports Central on February 22. WIU's game at IUPUI on January 30 will be streamed on ESPN 3.

SUMMIT LEAGUE GAMES: Since head coach Jim Molinari became the head coach at Western, WIU is 37-53 in Summit League action. 

SANDIFER'S ASSISTS: Freshman guard Jabari Sandifer leads Western in assists this season, averaging 2.9 per game. This season the Naperville, Ill. native dished out a career-high five helpers at UTEP (Dec. 21), and has recorded four assists versus Greenville (Nov. 30) and Alcorn State (Dec. 29). He also has 10 games this season with three assists. Overall on the year, Sandifer has recorded three or more assists in 13-of-17 games.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Newcomer Tate Stensgaard recorded the team's first double-double of the season versus Eureka (Nov. 21) at home by scoring a game-high 14 points and pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds. He then earned his second double-double of the season against Omaha (Jan. 11) when he recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds. On December 7th Garret Covington, who is the only other player to tally a double-double, totaled 15 points and a season-high 11 rebounds for Western in a win over Grace Bible.

LAST TIME OUT: South Dakota State downed the Western Illinois men's basketball squad, 64-55, Thursday evening (Jan. 16) inside Frost Arena. Freshman Garret Covington tallied a game-high 24 points in the loss, shooting 9-of-17 (52.9%) from the field and 4-of-9 (57.1%) from beyond the arc. The Edwardsville, Ill. native also dished out three assists, grabbed three rebounds, and recorded a steal. South Dakota State carried a 12-2 run from the end of the first half into the second, increasing its advantage to 15 points, 44-29. The Leathernecks were able to battle back and cut their deficit to five points twice with less than seven minutes to play in the game, but that would be as close as WIU would get before the end of regulation.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Western Illinois freshman guard Garret Covington was named The Summit League's 'Player of the Week' after finishing the Fighting Leathernecks' final nonconference game of the season against William & Mary last weekend (Jan. 4) with a career-high 26 points. Covington also knocked down a career-best five three-pointers in the contest.

ALL-TOURNAMENT NOD: Western Illinois played in nonconference tournaments this season, the Basketball Travelers Classic at Utah State and the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Classic at UTEP. Adam Link was named to the all-tournament team at Utah State after averaging 14 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in the invite. Link also shot 60% from the floor, and 66.7% from the free throw line. Mike Miklusak earned all-tournament honors at UTEP after averaging 9.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game in the two games. Miklusak also knocked down a team-best four three-pointers in the tournament.

HOME SWEET HOME: Western is 27-7 inside Western Hall since the beginning of the 2011-12 season. The Leathernecks went 10-4 during their 2011-12 campaign, 12-2 during last season's conference championship run, and are 5-1 so far this year.

WESTERN IN THE NATION TOP 100 (Last Released 1/17): The Leathernecks ranks in the 'Top 100' of four NCAA statistical categories. Western ranks #11 in scoring defense (60.1), #56 in field goal percentage defense (40.2), #62 in three-point field goal defense (31.0), and #84 in personal fouls per game (18.1). 

A LOOK AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE: North Dakota State was picked to finish first in The Summit League's annual preseason poll after advancing to The Summit League finals last season. The Bison enter Saturday's tilt with a 13-5 overall record, and a 2-1 league mark. NDSU most recently defeated Omaha at home Thursday (Jan. 16), 91-69, and has won six of its last seven games. Four players are averaging more than 10 points per game in senior Taylor Braun (18.6), Marshall Bjorkland (14.8), TrayVonn Wright (11.4), and Lawrence Alexander (10.4). The same four players lead the Bison in rebounds per game, all averaging between four and five per game: Braun (4.8), Wright (4.8), Alexander (4.6), and Bjorkland (4.3). Braun and Alexander each lead NDSU in assists per game averaging 3.8 and 3.1, respectively. The Bison also have four players with 20-plus three-pointers: Mike Felt (33), Alexander (22), Braun (20), and Braun (20). NDSU ranks in the 'Top 100' of 13 NCAA stat categories, including a #1 ranking in field goal percentage (51.8) and #17 ranking in free throw percentage (75.3).

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BISON: The all-time series between North Dakota State and Western is tied at 7-7. All of the two teams meetings have been conference games, with the Leathernecks winning the first-ever meeting on January 12, 2008, 83-67 at home. The Bison went on to win six of the next seven meetings before WIU earned five consecutive. The last meeting between the two teams went to NDSU in last season's Summit League semifinals contest, 55-43.

ALL MEETINGS BELOW:
DATE • RESULT • SCORE • LOCATION
Jan 12, 2008 • W • 83-67 • Macomb
Feb 7, 2008 • L • 62-86 • Fargo
Jan 10, 2009 • L • 64-81 • Fargo
Feb 5, 2009 • L • 61-52 • Macomb
Dec 3, 2009 • L • 55-60 • Macomb
Feb 27, 2010 • L-OT • 59-63 • Fargo
Jan 15, 2011 • W • 67-62 • Macomb
Feb 10, 2011 • L • 48-68 • Fargo
Dec 1, 2011 • W • 55-51 • Macomb
Feb 25, 2012 • W • 77-64 • Fargo
March 4, 2012 • W • 58-53 • Summit League Tournament
Jan 19, 2013 • W • 50-42 • Macomb
Feb 14, 2013 • W • 49-36 • Fargo
March 11, 2013 • L • 43-55 • Summit League Tournament 

DOUBLE FIGURES: Eight Western Illinois men's basketball players have had at least one game this season with 10 or more points. The total numbers of 10-plus points games for WIU is 40 led by Garret Covington who each have 10 games with 10 or more points. Adam Link ranks second on the team with nine contests, Tate Stensgaard has scored in double figures seven times, and Michael Ochereobia has four games scoring in double figures. Guards Jordan Foster and Jabari Sandifer have each tallied double-digits in the scoring column three times, Mike Miklusak has two games with double figures, and Remy Roberts-Burnett and Mohamed Conde each have scored 10 or more points in one game this season. 

SHUTTING DOWN EIU: The Leathernecks defeated the Panthers of Eastern Illinois 60-32 on December 4 this season. Eastern's 32 points was the lowest point total the Leathernecks have given up in their program's NCAA Division I history, and the lowest point total WIU has given up since January 10, 1948 when Western defeated Concordia-Missouri, 60-32. EIU's 32 points was also the Panthers' lowest point total since EIU became a Division I program in 1981.

BLOCK PARTY: Senior Michael Ochereobia tallied a career-high eight blocks for the Leathernecks on December 4 versus Eastern Illinois. As a team, WIU finished with 10 blocks.

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 and Jason 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.

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 WIU is slated to travel to. 

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.

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.

2012-13...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.

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