GAME 23
MEN'S BASKETBALL: WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS VS OMAHA MAVERICKS
Feb. 7, 2018  •  7:00 p.m. (CT)  •  Omaha, Neb.  •  Baxter Arena
LIVE STATS: HERE
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MACOMB, Ill. - The Leathernecks look to move up in The Summit League standings Thursday (Feb. 8) at 7 p.m. at Omaha. With a win, the Leathernecks would move into seventh place in the league, surpassing the Mavericks.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois was only down for a total of 43 seconds in Saturday's 82-56 win against Oral Roberts. Kobe Webster got the scoring started early for the Leathernecks as Jalen Morgan found Webster on the outside for three. WIU jumped out to a quick 15-9 lead behind two Webster 3-pointers and four points from Dalan Ancrum.
 
ALL EYES ON THE NEW KID: Kobe Webster ranks among one of the best freshman in the country and best in many statistical categories. Webster is only one of nine players, including only one of two freshman, in the country to average 16.2 points, 3.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds while shooting above 40 percent from 3-point land. If continued the entire season, he will end as the only freshman (seventh player, regardless of class) to post these numbers in The Summit League since 1992-93. The Indianapolis native will go down as the only player in Western Illinois program history since at least 1990 claim this stat line.
 
NOT JUST A SCORER: Kobe Webster ranks third in The Summit League in assists per game this season, dishing out 3.8 assists per contest. He is only .5 assists behind the league-leader Sam Kearns. This figure ranks 12th around the country among freshman players. He is the only player in the Summit League to be in the Top-6 (6th, 16.6) in scoring and Top-3 in assists (3rd, 3.8).
 
HE'S ONLY A FRESHMAN?: Kobe Webster is one of only two players, and only underclassmen, in The Summit League to average at least 19.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists during league play.
 
CHARITY STRIPE: WIU has struggled from the free throw line during Summit League play this season. WIU has shot below 70 percent in six Summit League contests this season, but improved dramatically in the second versus Oral Roberts, as the Leathernecks went 17-19 from the line led by a 7-7 performance from Dalan Ancrum.
 
CHAIRMEN OF THE.... DEFENSIVE BOARDS: The Leathernecks crash the boards on defense, averaging 28.33 defensive rebounds per contest, a figure that ranks 24th in country. On the offensive glass, the Leathernecks rank 332nd with only 7.57 per game. WIU ranks 349 out of 351 in offensive rebounds percentage this season, pulling down only 19.2 percent of misses, exa 10 percent less than the NCAA average (29.1 percent). 
 
SPEED IT UP: When the Leathernecks have more than 73 possessions, WIU is 5-3. When only having the ball fewer than 73, Western is 6-8.
 
ISOLATION:  Western Illinois is ranked 340 in assist percentage so far this season, assisting on only 42.5 percent of makes. In league play, WIU drops to just 34.1 percent, nearly 20 percent below the national average of 52.6 percent.
 
GET IT OUT OF HERE: The Leathernecks lead The Summit League in blocks per contest by swatting 4.0 blocks per games. Individually, Brandon Gilbeck is leading the way with 2.8 blocks per game (12th nationally, first in The Summit League) blocks per game and is rejecting 10.2 percent of opponents' attempts. Out of 2,167 ranked players in the country, Gilbeck is 27th in the NCAA in defensive block percentage.
 
MACHINE FROM SPRING GREEN: Spring Green, Wisconsin native Brandon Gilbeck is the one of two players in the NCAA who averages at least 12.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks while shooting 66 percent from the field.
 
SHOW YOUR HANDS, MOVE YOUR FEET: Out of all 351 teams in D-I, WIU has committed the fifth-fewest personal fouls of any team in the land. The Leathernecks have only fouled opponents 295 times through 22 games this season. On the offensive end, WIU does not get many of its points from the free throw line, as only 16.1 percent of its points are from the stripe (314th nationally).
 
SCOUTING THE MAVS: Omaha comes into the game with a 7-17 record and a 2-6 mark in the league. The Mavericks two league wins have come against Western Illinois and Denver. Zach Jackson leads the Mavs with 18.2 points per game.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Leathernecks are off on Satuday before their final road trip to Fort Wayne, Ind. and Brookings, S.D.
 
USIOSEFE OUT: Sophomore guard Jeremiah Usiosefe suffered a season-ending injury so the Leathernecks will have to look to freshman Isaac Johnson and junior Delo Bruster to fill his 23.7 minutes per contest. Before going down, Usiosefe started all fifteen games and averaged 6.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
 
Tip-Ins

- This will be the 20th meeting between Western Illinois and Omaha, with the Leathernecks claiming a 10-9 advantage in the all-time series.

- Earlier this season, the Leathernecks fell to Omaha, 87-66 in Macomb. The Mavericks jumped out to an early lead and the Leathernecks could not fully recover. Kobe Webster led the Leathernecks  with 18 points and five assists.

- The win against Oral Roberts on Feb. 3 was the Leathernecks' largest margin of victory over a league opponent since January 8, 1997 against Chicago State (35).

- After taking only 11 combined shots in the last three games, contests in which he played 70 total minutes, junior Brandon Gilbeck took 10 shots against Oral Roberts and made seven.

- Kobe Webster is grabbed six rebounds against Oral Roberts, his career high.

- Against ORU, Dalan Ancrum (25) and Kobe Webster (20) were the first pair of Leathernecks since the season-opener against Saint Mary's to both score over 20 points.