MACOMB, Ill. -Â Western Illinois men's basketball (9-15, 2-11) continues Summit League play at home Saturday (Feb. 20) vs. South Dakota State (20-7, 9-4)... The game is slated to tipoff at 2 p.m.
PURPLE OUT!: Saturday's game is a Purple Out! Meaning fans are encouraged to wear puple proudly!
CHASE FOR THE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: Western Illinois has three games left in the regular season and is only 2.0 games out of eighth place and 3.0 games out of sixth and seventh place in The Summit League standings with a 2-11 league mark... South Dakota is 4-9 in league play, and both Denver and Oral Roberts are 5-8... Based on the last 10 years of the Summit League standings, the average number of wins for the eighth seed in the tournament is 4.4... The most wins by an eighth seed heading into the tournament over that time was seven during the 2010-11 season, and the next highest was six which happened twice (08-09 & 09-10)... The lowest win total came during the 2013-14 season when there was only eight teams in the league... The total was one... The next lowest eighth seed win total was three, which happened during both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
SENIOR BIGS: Western Illinois senior forwards Tate Stensgaard and Jalen Chapman have both been having individual success on the basketball court for Western as of late, and both are having the best seasons of their careers... Through the last six games, Chapman and Stensgaard rank second and third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.2 and 9.7 points, respectively... During that same time the two having combined for 9.8 rebounds per game... The two seniors have also been effective from the field, shooting a combined 45-of-81 (55.6 percent)... Stensgaard has made 23-of-38 (60.5) shots from the field during the last six games, and Chapman has connected on 22-of-43 (51.2) of his attempts.
COVINGTON'S THIRD YEAR AS A LEATHERNECK: Over the last three seasons, one constant for the WIU men's basketball team has been Garret Covington as the team's leader in points and 3-point field goals, and he has shot effectively from the free throw line... His scoring average has increased every year so far: freshman- 14.6, sophomore- 15.5 and junior- 17.4... During his freshman season he made 70 triples (38.7 percent of his attempts) and shot 80.0 percent from free throw line (92-115)... As a sophomore he made 63 shots from long range (made 35.6 percent of his attempts) and shot 82.8 percent from the charity stripe (101-122)... With three regular season games remaining in his junior season, he has made 68 threes (43.3 percent of his attempts) and is shooting 82.6 percent from the free throw line (76-92).
LEATHERNECKS VS. JACKRABBITS SERIES HISTORY: South Dakota State leads the 22-game series 19-3, with SDSU having won 17-of-18 and the last 16 consecutive meetings... WIU is 3-6 at home versus SDSU, 0-9 on the road versus the Jackrabbits, and 0-4 in neutral site contests (0-3 in league tournament games)... 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 on Jan. 10, 2008, the two teams' first-ever league contest, 75-52... WIU's only other league win over the Jackrabbits came on February 7, 2009, when the Leathernecks defeated SDSU 62-59 at home.
vs. South Dakota State • 22 Total Meetings • SDSU leads 19-3
Dec 31, 1948 • W, 64-41 • H
Feb 29, 1980 • L, 86-98 • N
Jan 10, 2008 • W, 75-52 • H
Feb 9, 2008 • L, 75-81 • A
Jan 8, 2009 • L, 55-64 • A
Feb 7, 2009 • W, 59-62 • H
Dec 5, 2009 • L, 74-80 • H
Feb 25, 2010 • L, 53-66 • A
INSIDE WESTERN HALL: Western is 43-21 (.672) 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 6-4 (.600) so far this season on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court inside Western Hall.
ROAD RAGE: Western is 3-11 so far this season on the road... WIU is 17-53 (.243) on the road since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, and 3-34 (.081) 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.
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