MACOMB, Ill. -Â Western Illinois men's basketball (7-10, 0-6) looks to put an end to its losing streak at home when the Leathernecks continue Summit League play on Saturday (Jan. 23) vs. North Dakota State (13-7, 3-3)... The two teams are slated to tipoff at 2 p.m inside Western Hall.
SUMMIT LEAGUE FOOD FIGHT: The Western Illinois men's and women's basketball programs will participate in the annual Summit League "Food Fight" games this Saturday and Wednesday (Jan. 23 & Jan. 27) inside Western Hall.. Five cans of food can be exchanged for a $5 general admission ticket... Fans are encouraged to donate as much canned food as they would like, and those who have already purchased a ticket to either game may still donate. Food can be dropped off at the ticket booth at the entrance of Western Hall.
 
UP NEXT: After the Leathernecks play host to North Dakota State on Saturday (Jan. 23) the Leathernecks play five of their next six games on the road beginning with a trip to Indiana to face IUPUI and Fort Wayne for contests on Friday and Sunday (Jan. 29 & Jan. 31).
LEATHERNECKS VS. BISON SERIES HISTORY: North Dakota State leads the all-time series 11-7... The series was tied prior to the beginning of the 2013-14 season before NDSU has swept WIU each of the last two seasons... All of the two teams meetings have been Summit League regular season league games or Summit League Tournament games, with the Leathernecks winning the first-ever meeting on January 12, 2008, 83-67, in Macomb... The Bison went on to win six of the next seven meetings before WIU earned five consecutive during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
vs. North Dakota State • 18 Total Meetings • NDSU leads 11-7
Jan 12, 2008 • W, 83-67 • H
Feb 7, 2008 • L, 62-86 • A
Jan 10, 2009 • L, 64-81 • A
Feb 5, 2009 • L, 52-61 • H
Dec 3, 2009 • L, 55-60 • H
Feb 27, 2010 • L-OT, 59-63 • A
Jan 15, 2011 • W, 67-62 • H
Feb 10, 2011 • L, 48-68 • A
Dec 1, 2011 • W, 55-51 • HÂ
Feb 25, 2012 • W, 77-64 • A
March 4, 2012 • W, 58-53 • N
Jan 19, 2013 • W, 50-42 • H
Feb 14, 2013 • W, 49-36 • A
March 11, 2013 • L, 43-55 • N
Jan 18, 2014 • L, 52-65 • A
Feb 13, 2014 • L, 52-56 • H
Jan 16, 2015 • L, 48-61 • A
Feb 1, 2015 • L, 62-64 • H
EIGHT-GAME SKID: Western Illinois has dropped its last eight outings by less than 10 points, as the Leathernecks were outscored by a total of 50 points (5.9 per game) during the eight-game stretch... WIU lost at Chicago State by seven (77-70), at Loyola by five (72-67), at Omaha by two (82-80), at South Dakota State by four (63-59), to IUPUI at home by seven (67-60), to Denver by seven (76-69), to Oral Roberts by nine (77-68), and at South Dakota by nine... Western has led for the majority of the game in four of its six Summit League games and a total of 134:24 of the 240 minutes (56%)... In five of those games, if you take out WIU's game versus Denver (which they only led by 1:05), Western has led 133:19 of the 200 minutes (66.7%).
SENIOR BIG MEN: Western Illinois senior forwards Tate Stensgaard and Jalen Chapman have both been having individual success on the backetball court for Western as of late, and both are having the best seasons of their careers... Stensgaard is shooting 66.7 percent from the field which leads The Summit League... He also leads the team in rebounds per game (5.4) and ranks tied for 18th in the league... In league play Stensgaard is averaging 11.8 points per game, which ranks third on the team, and shooting a team-best 68.2 percent from the field... Chapman has come in off of the bench for 16 of WIU's 17 games, and started his first game of the season at South Dakota... He is averaging 6.2 points per game, and 11.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game through the last four games... He also leads the team in field goal shooting percentage through the last four games (58.1).
HOME SWEET HOME: Western is 42-20 (.677) inside Western Hall since the beginning of the 2011-12 season... The Leathernecks went 10-4 (.714) during their 2011-12 campaign, 12-2 (.857) during the 2012-13 league slate, 7-5 in 2013-14 (.583), 8-6 (.571) in 2014-15, and are 5-3 (.625) so far this season on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court inside Western Hall.
ROAD RAGE: Western is 2-7 so far this season on the road... WIU is 16-49 (.246) on the road since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, and 1-26 (.037) in the last two seasons... The Leathernecks went 6-10 (.375) in 2011-12, they were above .500 in 2012-13 with a 7-6 (.538) road mark, struggled again during the 2013-14 season with a 1-13 (.071) record on the road, and went 0-13 (.000) in 2014-15.
THE LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois led by 10 points early in the second half, but a large Coyote run helped South Dakota defeat Western Illinois, 76-67, inside the DakotaDome Wednesday evening (Jan. 20)... The Leathernecks led for nearly the entire first half and used a buzzer-beating layup by senior guard J.C. Fuller to take a five-point lead into the locker room after 20 minutes of play... After South Dakota cut its deficit to three points with the first basket of the second half, Western used a 10-3 run to build its lead up to 10 points three minutes into the period... The Coyotes answered with a 29-5 run over 8:55 minutes to turn their 10-point deficit into a 14-point lead, 66-52, with just under nine minutes to play in the game.... Western was able to cut USD's lead to six points at the 6:27 mark, and seven points with 2:13 to play in the game, before eventually dropping their eighth consecutive contest... Similar to its last game, Western took care of the ball in the first half before having a turnover-filled second. WIU had only five during the first 20 minutes of play, and 11 during the last 20 minutes. USD scored 22 points off of those turnovers, 15 of which came in the second half. |
