MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois men's basketball plays host to South Dakota on Thursday (Jan. 23), and then welcomes newcomer Denver to Western Hall Saturday. Both games are slated to tip off at 7 p.m.
UP NEXT?: After Western's week at home, the Leathernecks hit the road to face IUPUI (Jan. 30) and Fort Wayne (Feb. 1) next week before an away game at Omaha (Feb. 8).
300: Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari has 299 career victories as a head coach, approaching the career milestone of win #300. The Leathernecks head coach is in his sixth year at Western, and 20th season as a NCAA Division I head coach. Molinari's career win totals look like this: 76 at Western Illinois, 7 at Minnesota, 174 at Bradley, and 42 at Northern Illinois.
MARKETING NOTE: In honor of head coach Jim Molinari going for his 300th career victory, a special promotional giveaway will be available to the first 300 fans that enter Western Hall. Doors to Western Hall open at 6 p.m. Pack the gym to support Coach Molinari and the Leathernecks.
COACHES VS. CANCER: Western Illinois coaches will be participating in the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers Awareness Weekend this January Thursday and Saturday. NABC coaches across America will be wearing sneakers this year to show their support for Coaches vs. Cancer – a joint effort of the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches that empowers basketball coaches to help make a difference in the fight against cancer.
Opponent Websites:
Live Stats:
GoLeathernecks.com
Live Video:
Rocky Vision
Radio:
Flagship - WRMS (94.3 FM)
Affiliate - WJEQ (102.7 FM)
Live Audio:
Social Media:
Facebook: Western Illinois Athletics
Preseason Info:
2013-14 Preseason Press Conference (Video)
TEAM LEADERS: Sophomore Tate Stensgaard leads Western in most games started with 16. Freshman Garret Covington leads the Leathernecks in minutes per game (32.0), points per game (13.8), field goals (75), three-pointers (36), free throws made (48), free throw percentage (78.7), and defensive rebounds (71). Senior Adam Link leads the team in field goal percentage (58.5) and field goals made (72). Senior Michael Ochereobia leads the team in blocks per game (1.4), rebounds per game (5.1), and offensive rebounds (26). Freshman Jabari Sandifer leads Western with 3.1 assists per game and 1.2 steals per game. Sophomore Jordan Foster is shooting a team-best 43.5% (10-of-23) from beyond the arc.
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 37-54 in Summit League action.
SANDIFER'S ASSISTS: Freshman guard Jabari Sandifer leads Western in assists this season, averaging 3.1 per game. This season the Naperville, Ill. native dished out a career-high six assists in Western's last game at North Dakota State (Jan. 18). He also dished out five helpers at UTEP (Dec. 21), and has recorded four assists twice, first versus Greenville (Nov. 30) and then again versus 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 14-of-18 games.
LAST TIME OUT: The Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball squad battled in Fargo last Saturday afternoon (Jan. 18), but North Dakota State used a late scoring run during the final seven minutes of play to come out victorious, 65-52, despite senior Michael Ochereobia's career day. Ochereobia tied his career high with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, and connected on 6-of-9 from the free throw line. WIU's big man also grabbed a team-best six rebounds and recorded the team's only block. North Dakota State, picked to finished first in The Summit League's annual preseason poll, improves to 14-5 overall and 3-1 in league play after the win, while the Leathernecks fall to 7-11 overall and 1-2 in conference action.
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.
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.
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 1/20): The Leathernecks ranks in the 'Top 100' of four NCAA statistical categories. Western ranks #16 in scoring defense (60.4), #53 in three-point field goal defense (30.7), #62 in field goal percentage defense (40.4), and #71 in personal fouls per game (17.8).
A LOOK AT SOUTH DAKOTA: South Dakota was picked seventh in The Summit League's annual preseason poll. The Coyotes enter Thursday's contest with a 8-9 overall mark, and a first in the league standings with a 3-0 conference record. USD has also earned five consecutive victories. Most recently, South Dakota defeated both IUPUI and Fort Wayne at home, downing the Jaguars 69-57, and edging the Mastodons, 75-61. Brandon Bos and Trevor Gruis lead the Coyotes in points per game, averaging 13.5 and 12.6, respectively. Trey Norris averages a team-high 4.9 assists per game, while Gruis averages a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game. Norris owns a team-high 25 steals, while Tyler Flack have tallied a team-best 27 blocks. South Dakota ranks in the 'Top 100' of three NCAA stat categories, including #43 in fewest total fouls (295.0), #47 in personal fouls per game (17.4), and #93 in assists per game (14.1).
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE COYOTES: Western Illinois leads the all-time series 5-2. The Leathernecks dropped the first two meetings between the two teams, first at home on Dec. 6, 1969, 82-74, and then again on December 12, 1970, when USD downed WIU in Vermillion, 83-82. Since the two teams began playing one another in Summit League play, Western has never lost, winning the last five meetings. Last season WIU downed the Coyotes at home in the team's regular season finale, giving the Leathernecks a share of the regular season crown, and then WIU defeated USD in the opening round of The Summit League tournmament, 54-53.
ALL MEETINGS BELOW:
DATE - RESULT - SCORE - LOCATION
Dec. 6, 1969 - L - 74-82 - Macomb
Dec. 12, 1970 - L - 82-83 - Vermillion
Jan. 3, 2012 - W - 67-44 - Macomb
Jan. 21, 2012 - W - 47-45 - Vermillion
Nov. 29, 2012 - W - 73-71 - Vermillion
March 2, 2013 - W - 61-59 - Macomb
March 9, 2013 - W - 54-53 - Summit League Tournament
DOUBLE FIGURES: Nine 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 43 led by Garret Covington who each have 11 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 five games scoring in double figures. Jabari Sandifer has tallied double-digits in the scoring column four times, Jordan Foster three times, Mike Miklusak twice, and Remy Roberts-Burnett and Mohamed Conde have each 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 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.
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.
