MACOMB, Ill. -Â Western Illinois hits the road for their next two contests, kicking things off at Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 26 at 2:30 p.m. (CT) in Oxford, Ohio, and wrapping up the trip at American on Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m. (CT) in Washington DC.
SERIES HISTORY:Â Saturday's meeting is the first ever between the two programs.
A LOOK AT THE REDHAWKS:Â Miami (Ohio) is 2-3 overall on the season with victories over Muskingum and Austin Peay, and losses to Wright State, Delaware and Northern Kentucky. The RedHawks are led by Michael Weathers who leads the team in points (23.2), assists (4.1), steals (2.0) and blocks (2.4) per game... He also ranks second on the team in rebounds per game (6.6)... Dion Wade leads Miami in boards per game (7.8)... John Cooper is the head coach of Miami and is in the midst of his fifth season... He owns a 50-83 record at Miami and a 93-134 record overall as a head coach in his eighth season.
THE LAST TIME OUT:Â Western Illinois topped the Crown College Storm Wednesday (Nov. 23) inside Western Hall, 91-53, led by Garret Covington's season-high 26 points. Crown (0-3) was able to hang around for the early portion of the game and held a three-point lead, 11-8, four minutes in. Western (2-3) then proceeded to outscore the Strom by 30 points (45-15) over the final 16 minutes of the opening half and took a 53-24 advantage into halftime. The second half was all Leathernecks as well, which allowed WIU to rest some of their starters and key reserves for the remainder of the contest. 10 players registered 10 or more minutes and 13 players played for the Leathernecks. Besides his season-high and game-high 26 points, Covington also led Western with eight rebounds and dished out three assists. The Edwardsville, Ill. native was effective from the floor, shooting 9-of-14 (64.3%) from the field, 4-of-6 (66.7%) from three and 4-of-4 (100%) from the free throw line.
NATIONAL EXPOSURE: Including WIU's game at Miami (Ohio) Saturday (Nov. 26), the Leathernecks have 12 remaining games that are scheduled to air live nationally... Seven more at home and five more on the road... Of the five road contests, three slated to air on ESPN3 and one on the Big Ten Network... The seven home games that will be available for a national audience will air on ESPN3.
AT HOME: Western is 46-24 (.657) 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, 7-6 (.500) in 2015-16, and WIU is 2-1 on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court inside Western Hall so far this season.
ON THE ROAD: WIU is 17-55 (.236) on the road since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, and 4-40 (.090) since the beginning of the 2013-14 season... 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, went 0-13 (.000) in 2014-15, and finished the 2015-16 season 3-11 on the road... So far this season WIU is 0-2 on the road.
COVINGTON POINTS AND TRIPLES: Over the last three seasons, one constant for the WIU men's basketball team has been Garret Covington as the team's leader in multiple stat categories, most notably points and 3-pointers... His scoring average increased every year through his first three seasons, and so far suring his season season: freshman- 14.6, sophomore- 15.5, junior- 17.9, senior- 19.8... During his freshman season he made 70 triples (38.7 shooting percentage)... As a sophomore he made 63 shots from long range (35.6 shooting percentage)... As a junior he has made 77 threes (42.3 shooting percentage)... So far as a senior he has made 19 (45.2 shooting percentage).
TOP ALL-TIME: Garret Covington sits 11th all-time in Western Illinois career scoring with 1,438 points... He is 11 points away from breaking into the 'Top 10' and 35 points from moving to eighth place... Grady McCollum and Jamie Lilly are tied for ninth with 1,448 points and Ceola Clark III, who was the last person to join the club 1,000-point club prior to Covington doing so last seaon, sits eighth all-time in program history with 1,472 points.
1. 2,248 - Joe Dykstra - 1978-83
2. 2,128 - Coleman Carrodine -Â 1960-64
3. 1,577 -Bob Anderson - 1966-69
4. 1,555 - Dwayne Banks - 1977-81
5. 1,524 - Marshall Stoner - 1952-56Â
6. 1,508 - Brad Bainter -Â 1975-79
7. 1,496 - Chuck Schramm -Â 1954-57
8. 1,472 -Â Ceola Clark III -Â 2008-13
9. 1,448 - Grady McCollum - 1956-60
  1,448 - Jamie Lilly - 1979-82
11. 1, 438 - Garret Covington - 2013-Pres. |
