MACOMB, Ill. -Â The Fighting Leathernecks hit the road for their first Summit League road game of the season Wednesday at South Dakota State... The two teams are slated to tipoff inside Frost Arena at 7 p.m. in Brookings, S.D... Western Illinois has never won at South Dakota State.
UP NEXT: The Leathernecks return home Saturday (Jan. 10) to face Oral Roberts before hitting the road for Summit League games at Denver (Jan. 14) and North Dakota State (Jan. 16).
LEATHERNECKS VS. JACKRABBITS SERIES HISTORY: South Dakota State leads the 18-game series 15-3. Prior to the Jackrabbits joining The Summit League, the two teams faced each other twice, first on December 31, 1948 when WIU won at home, 64-41, and then again on February 29, 1980 when SDSU won 98-86 on a neutral court. Western won the next meeting in Macomb, the two teams first-ever conference contest, 75-52. Since then SDSU has won 13-of-14, and 12 consecutive. WIU's only other win over the Jackrabbits came on February 7, 2009, when the Leathernecks defeated SDSU at home, 62-59.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore guard Jabari Sandifer was named Summit League 'Player of the Week' Monday morning (Jan. 5) after helping the WIU men's basketball squad go 3-0 on the week and begin league play undefeated. The Naperville, Ill. native averaged 19.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game this past week, and shot 47.4 percent (18-of-38) from the field. Sandifer averaged 21.0 points and 5.0 assists per game in the Fighting Leathernecks two Summit League games while only turning the ball over three times total. Sandifer recorded his three highest scoring performances of the season on the week. He opened the week by scoring 16 points, a career-best at the time, and four assists in WIU's win over Anderson (Dec. 30). The sophomore then bettered his career-high in points in Western's league-opening game when he dropped 22 on the Mastodons of Fort Wayne (Jan. 2) to go along with four helpers. Sandifer wrapped up the week with another 20-point outing in the Leathernecks' victory over Omaha (Jan. 4), tallying 20 points and dishing out six assists.
HOME SWEET HOME: Western is 36-12 (.750) inside Western Hall since the beginning of the 2011-12 season... The Leathernecks went 10-4 during their 2011-12 campaign, 12-2 during the 2012-13 league slate, and 7-5 last season... So far this year WIU is 7-1 on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court.
COVINGTON FOR THREE: Sophomore guard Garret Covington had 70 three-pointers as a freshman, and has 29 so far as a sophomore... He has 99 in his career... He has played in 42 career games, has only had five games played without at least one three, and has made at least one triple in 37 games... He has 26 games with multiple three pointers... He has 10 games with one trey, five games with two triples, nine games with three makes from long range, nine games with four three pointers, two games with five connections from beyond the arc, and a career-high six three-pointers in one game.
DOUBLE FIGURES: Sophomore guard Garret Covington has 631 career points and averages 15.0 points per game... He has 32 games with 10 or more points, 23 games having scored between 10-19 points, and nine games with 20-plus points... He finished the Leathernecks' win over Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 22) with 29 points, a career-best... Those 29 points were the most by a member of the program since David Jackson scored 32 against Fort Wayne on Nov. 21, 2006.
SANDIFER'S ASSISTS: Sophomore guard Jabari Sandifer has 156 assists in his young career, and averages 3.6 per game during his career... As a freshman, he played in all 30 games and averaged 3.1 per game, and has played in all 13 games this season and averages 4.9 per game (64 total)... He has at least one assist in all but one of his 43 career games played... He has multiple assists in 39 of those games... Three-plus assists in 33 career games... 18 games with four-plus... Seven games with five-plus... Six games with six-plus... Three games with eight-plus, all of which have come this season... And a career-high 13 assists this season versus Greenville College (Nov. 29) while not turning the ball over in 29 minutes of play... His 13 helpers was two shy of WIU's single-game record.
INDIVIDUALLY IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE (as of Jan. 6): Sophomore Garret Covington ranks: First in free throw percentage (84.5)... Fifth in points per game (16.1)... Fourth in three-pointers per game (2.2)... Sophomore Jabari Sandifer ranks first in assists per game (4.9)... Second in assist/turnover ratio (1.9)... Senior Mohamed Conde ranks fifth in rebounds per game (6.7)... Junior J.C. Fuller ranks ninth in free throw percentage (77.1)... Junior Jalen Chapman ranks ninth in steals per game (1.3).
TEAM LEADERS: Sophomore Garret Covington and junior Tate Stensgaard are the only two Leathernecks to have started all 13 games this season for the Leathernecks... Covington also leads the team in points per game (16.1), minutes per game (31.2), field goals (60), three-pointers (29), free throws (60), three-point field goal percentage (37.2) and free throw percentage (84.5)... Stensgaard also leads the team in field goal percentage (54.3)... Senior Mohamed Conde leads the team in rebounds per game (6.7), total defenseive rebounds (50) and total offensive rebounds (30)... Sophomore Jabari Sandifer leads the team in assists per game (4.9)... Junior Jalen Chapman leads the steals (16) and blocks (7).
WIU AND ITS OPPONENTS IN THE NCAA'S DAILY RPI: (as of Jan. 5): Western Illinois has an RPI of 272 in NCAA's Daily RPI... It's opponent's rankings are: 230. Pacific | 280. UIC | 248. Southeastern Louisiana | 103. William and Mary | 164. Akron | 171. Cleveland State | 261. Idaho | 240. Alabama State | 116. Memphis | 279. Fort Wayne | 281. Omaha | 152. South Dakota State | 183. Oral Roberts | 213. Denver | 165. North Dakota State | 250. South Dakota | 255. IUPUI. |
