MACOMB, Ill. -Â Western Illinois men's basketball wraps up its two-game home stand Saturday evening (Dec. 12) when the Fighting Leathernecks play host to Alabama State on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court inside Western Hall... The nonconference game is scheduled for tip at 7 p.m.
UP NEXT: After WIU plays host to Alabama State on Saturday, the Leathernecks travel to Tennessee to face the Memphis Tigers on Dec. 23... The Leathernecks then conclude the nonconference portion of their schedule at home on Dec. 30 against Anderson (Ind.).
PURPLE & GOLD CHALLENGE: In the spirit of competition, it's your turn to win. Leatherneck Athletics will hold a Purple & Gold Challenge this Saturday night... Deck yourself in purple & gold for a chance to win the 2014-2015 Leatherneck Super Fan title. As our Fighting Leathernecks look to take down Alabama State, once again, the first 100 WIU students in attendance will receive a FREE t-shirt! Be the first to win, the Purple & Gold Challenge.
A LOOK AT ALABAMA STATE: Alabama State, members of Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), enters Saturday's (Dec. 13) contest with a 3-3 overall record... ASU opened the season with a 105-64 win at Auburn-Montomery before dropping back-to-back games on the road at Arkansas (97-79)Â and at North Dakota (75-68)... The Hornets then won at Texas-Pan American (91-79), lost at Utah (93-62), and defeated Jacksonville State at home (80-55)... Alabama State was selected to win the SWAC in the conference's annual preseason poll... DeMarcus Robinson (14.7), Jamel Waters (12.7) and Bobby Brown (11.3) lead the Hornets in scoring... Maurice Strong leads ASU in rebounds per game (6.5)... Waters also leads the team in assists per game (5.7)... Alabama State is coached by Lewis Jackson who is in his 10th year at the helm, and owns a 141-149.
LEATHERNECKS VS. HORNETS SERIES HISTORY: The Leathernecks are 1-2 all-time versus Alabama State... The first two meetings between the two programs were a part of a home-and-home series that took place during the 1986-87 season... WIU defeated ASU 109-97 in Macomb on December 20th before losing to the Hornets 108-100 in Alabama on December 30th... Last season was the third meeting between the Leathernecks and Hornets with ASU coming out on top, 59-52, in Alabama on Dec. 16.
THREE!: Sophomore guard Garret Covington, who has made a three-pointer in 24 consecutive games dating back to last season, missed all five of his first-half three-point attempts before tying the WIU program record in the second half by knocking down six consecutive triples in WIU's game versus Alabama State (Dec. 11)... Three other Leathernecks have accomplished the impressive streak of three-pointers made: Ceola Clark III, Quentin Mitchell and Toney Hickman. It's the most threes made in a game since Clark drained six against South Dakota in the 2012-13 regular season finale in which Western clinched a share of The Summit League's regular season title.
STAT LINE: Sophomore guard Jabari Sandifer finished the Leathernecks' win over Idaho (Dec. 11) with an impressive stat line... The Naperville, Ill. native finished with 10 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals.
FIRST, SECOND, OR THIRD: Western Illinois is in the midst of a five-game stretch that includes teams that were picked either first, second or third in their respective conference preseason polls... WIU recently dropped two nonconference games on the road, at Akron and at Cleveland State... Akron was selected to finish first in the Mid-American Conference with 117 points (17 first-place votes)... Cleveland State was selected to finish second in the Horizon League with 335 points (9 first-place votes).... Thursday night (Dec. 11) WIU beat Idaho who was picked to finish third in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll with 97 points (2 first-place points)... Alabama State, Saturday's opponent, was picked to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference with 106 points (4 first-place votes)... The Leathernecks then travel to Memphis to face the Tigers who were picked to finish third in the American Athletic Conference with 82 points.
TEAM LEADERS: Sophomore Garret Covington and Tate Stensgaard are the only two Leathernecks to have started all eight games this season for the Leathernecks... Covington also leads the team in points per game (17.8), minutes per game (30.8), field goals made (46), three-pointers made (25), free throws made (25) and three-point field goal percentage (47.2)... Stensgaard also leads the team in field goal percentage (47.8), free throw percentage (76.9) and defensive rebounds (31)... Jalen Chapman leads the team in rebounds per game (4.9), offensive rebounds (16), blocks (5) and steals (10)... Jabari Sandifer leads the team in assists per game (4.8). |
