MACOMB, Ill. -Â Western Illinois welcomes Summit League newcomer Denver to Macomb Saturday evening (Jan. 25). The Leathernecks and Pioneers are slated to tip off at 7 p.m. inside Western Hall.UP NEXT?:Â After Western's home game Saturday night, 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)Â
300...MILESTONE REACHED: Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari reached a career milestone versus South Dakota at home (Jan. 23), earning his 300th career victory as a head coach. 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: 77 at Western Illinois, 7 at Minnesota, 174 at Bradley, and 42 at Northern Illinois.
MARKETING NOTE: "Leatherneck Athletics looks to 'White Out' Western Hall for Saturday night's match up between the Leathernecks and Denver. Wear white to the game and stuff the stands to support the team in another conference showdown. Leatherneck Athletics will give away 'White Out' Towels and t-shirts while supplies last! Wear white Saturday night!"
A NOTE FROM COACH MO: "We need to have a huge crowd Saturday. Denver is a very good team, I don't care what their record is. That's how we won a championship last year, we had good players who wanted to win, but we had good crowds that wouldn't let us lose. The students have done a great job, the town has been tremendous, I'm just hoping we have a great crowd on Saturday. We need to make this place hopping and intimidating. It's a 'White Out' so I might even dress special."Â
COACHES VS. CANCER: Both the Western Illinois and Denver coaches will be participating in the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend Saturday evening. 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.  Â
TEAM LEADERS: Freshman Garret Covington and sophomore Tate Stensgaard lead Western in games started with 16 each. Covington also leads the Leathernecks in minutes per game (32.0), points per game (14.2), field goals (80), three-pointers (30), free throws (55), free throw percentage (80.9), and defensive rebounds (78). Senior Adam Link leads the team in field goal percentage (58.1). Senior Michael Ochereobia leads the team in blocks per game (1.4), rebounds per game (5.1), and offensive rebounds (27). 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 44% (11-of-25) from beyond the arc.
SUMMIT LEAGUE GAMES: Since head coach Jim Molinari became the head coach at Western, WIU is 38-54 in Summit League action. Over the last three seasons, Molinari and the Leathernecks are 24-14 in conference play.
SANDIFER'S ASSISTS: Freshman guard Jabari Sandifer leads Western in assists this season, averaging 3.1 per game. The Naperville, Ill. native dished out a career-high six assists in Western's 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). Sandifer also has 11 games this season with exactly three assists. Overall on the year, Sandifer has recorded three or more assists in 15-of-19 games.
LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari picked up his 300th career victory Thursday evening (Jan. 23) inside Western Hall, downing the South Dakota Coyotes by 18 points, 79-61. Western improved to 8-11 overall on the season and 2-2 in Summit League action after the win, while the Coyotes loss dropped them to 8-10 and 3-1 (USD's first league loss). The Leathernecks never surrendered their lead in the game, and only allowed USD to tie the game three times, all in the first half. Western used a 11-0 run midway through the first half, and outscored South Dakota 20-8 to begin the second half, giving WIU a 24-point advantage - its largest lead of the night. USD was able to cut its deficit to 15 points late, but the Leathernecks would pull away and cruise to Molinari's 300th career victory. A box score from the game can be found HERE, and highlights from the win can be found below:
A LOOK AT DENVER: The Pioneers enter Saturday's tilt with a 9-10 overall record, and 2-2 mark in Summit League play. Denver was selected to finish second in the conference according to the league's annual preseason poll. DU is 1-1 in home league games, and 1-1 in road conference contests. Denver most recently defeated IUPUI at home last Saturday (Jan. 18), 66-45, before downing Omaha on the road Thursday (Jan. 23), 74-60. Brett Olson is averaging a team-best 14.5 points per game, while Chris Udofia is the only other DU player averaging more than 10 points per game (12.1). Udofia and Olson also lead the team in assists per game, averaging 3.8 and 3.6, respectively. Cam Griffin averages a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game, and Udofia leads the team in blocks, swatting away 2.6 per game. Denver ranks in the 'Top 50' of seven NCAA stat categories, including #19 in assist/turnover ratio (1.45), #29 in scoring defense (63.1), #32 in assists per game (15.5), #35 in total assists (295), #35 in three-point field goals made per game (8.0), #37 in turnovers per game (10.7), and #38 in total three-pointers made (152).
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE PIONEERS: Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between the two programs.
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.Â
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 (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 28-7 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 6-1 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).
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 47 led by Garret Covington who has 12 games with 10 or more points. Adam Link ranks second on the team with nine contests, Tate Stensgaard has scored in double figures eight times, and Michael Ochereobia has six games scoring in double figures. Jabari Sandifer has tallied double-digits in the scoring column five 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 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.Â
