THE BREAKDOWN
THE MATCHUP
WHO: Greenville College (7-5) at Western Illinois Leathernecks (12-3)
WHERE: Macomb, Ill. • Western Hall (5,139)
WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY: Western leads 2-0
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Radio/Live Audio:
The Dog (88.3 FM) & Classic 103 (102.7 FM)
Talent:
Beau Spencer (play-by-play) & Josh Gleason (color)
Live Video:
Rocky Vision (Single-Camera)
Live Stats:
GoLeathernecks.com
Twitter:
@WIUAthletics
Facebook:
WIU Athletics
Preseason Information:
2012-13 Information Guide/Record Book
2012-13 Quick Facts
2012-13 Schedule
2012-13 Outlook
2012-13 Season Preview
2011-12 Highlights
MID-MAJOR TOP 25:
The Western Illinois men’s basketball team has been receiving votes in
the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll during the last few weeks,
but Monday (Jan. 7) the Fighting Leathernecks jumped into the top 25 at
#22.
NCAA RPI: The Leathernecks are 163rd on the NCAA’s first official RPI ratings.
PARKS TABBED CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK: After helping lead Western
Illinois to its eighth and ninth consecutive victories this past week,
senior forward Terell Parks was named Summit League co-Player of the
Week Monday (Jan. 7) as announced by the league office. The honor marks
the first of Parks’ career. Parks, who averaged a double-double on the
week, helped the Fighting Leathernecks pickup a come-from-behind,
nonconference win over Savannah State, 39-35, on Jan. 2, before
propelling the Leathernecks to a league victory over IUPUI, 57-53, on
Jan. 5. For the week, Parks averaged 11.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.0
blocked shots, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Parks shares the
weekly honor with Oakland’s Duke Mondy.
UNBEATEN SINCE DECEMBER 1ST: Western is one of 16 teams in the nation that has not lost a game in the months of December or January.
UNDEFEATED AT HOME: Western Illinois has not lost a game at home
this season, a perfect 7-0 inside Western Hall...The Leathernecks are
also undefeated in neutral site games with a perfect 2-0 mark (vs.
Buffalo & Yale).
BEST START SINCE: Western is off to its best start in its NCAA
Division I history...No Western Illinois team has started a season 12-3
or better since the 1957-58 season when the Leathernecks started 27-0.
STREAKING: The Leathernecks picked up their ninth straight victory
last Saturday against IUPUI, a winning streak that started over a month
ago on November 29th at South Dakota...The last time the Leathernecks
earned nine or more straight wins was during the 1997-98 season when
Western won nine straight games...The most games Western has won
consecutively in its Division I history was 10 during the 1982-83
season.
WIN AFTER WIN AFTER WIN: Western’s nine game winning streak ranks
tied for 10th nationally with Butler and VCU...Michigan leads the
country having won 15 straight.
UNDEFEATED CONFERENCE RECORD: The last time the Leathernecks started
conference play 5-0 or better was the 1997-98 team which kicked-off
conference play 6-0...The 1997-98 team’s 6-0 conference start is
Western’s best start in league play in its Division I history.
MORE UNDEFEATED CONFERENCE RECORD: Western is the only NCAA Division I team that is 5-0 or better in conference play.
WHAT’S IN A WESTERN WIN?: A win would mark the 1,215th victory in
program history...A win would mark head coach Jim Molinari’s 60th
victory at Western, and his 283rd victory all-time as a head coach...A
win would be Western’s third-ever over Greenville...A win would mark the
Leathernecks’ 10th straight.
IN THE NATION (As of 1/8/13): Western ranks in the top 10 of two
national categories, third in defensive scoring, having held its
opponents to 51.1 points per game, and third in personal fouls per game,
having committed only 12.5 per game...The Leathernecks also rank in the
top 100 of six other categories...29th in field goal percentage defense
(37.8), 38th in both winning percentage (80.0) and blocked shots per
game (5.0), 65th in turnovers per game (12.3), 71st in field goal
percentage (45.9), 88th in scoring margin (7.8).
CLARK AND PARKS NATION (As of 1/8/13): Seniors Ceola Clark III and
Terell Parks rank in the top 100 of five national categories...Parks
ranks 11th in blocked shots per game (3.0), 38th in rebounds per game
(9.2), 63rd in double-doubles (4.0), and 66th in field goal percentage
52.5)...Clark ranks 84th in assist/turnover ratio (2.15) and 94th in
free throw percentage (83.9).
A LOOK AT THE PANTHERS: Greenville is a NCAA Division III program
and a member of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference...The Panthers enter Wednesday's game with a 7-5 overall record...They most recently defeated Blackburn 100-48 in conference action...GC has four players that average 10 or more points per game in
Daniel Anderson (15.9), Alex Mumphard (13.2), MarQuel Jones (13.1) and
Jordan Smith (11.8)...Todd Albertson leads the Panthers in rebounds per
game (5.5).
COACHING GREENVILLE: The Panthers are coached by George Barber (Asbury ‘86) who is in his 14th season at the helm.
THE SERIES: Western leads the all-time series 2-0...The two teams played last season with the Leathernecks winning, 84-49.
LAST TIME OUT: Men’s basketball used a come-from-behind effort
and overtime to defeat the IUPUI Jaguars Saturday evening (Jan. 5)
inside Western Hall, 57-53, improving to 12-3 overall, the program’s
best start since the 1957-58 season.
The Fighting Leathernecks’ victory over IUPUI (6-13 overall, 1-4
conference) also marked the ninth consecutive for Western, something the
program has not seen since the 1997-98 season.
Ceola Clark III led all scorers Saturday with 16 points. Clark also had four rebounds and two assists.
Terell Parks (13) and Adam Link (10) also finished with 10-plus in the
contest. Parks also had 12 rebounds and five blocks, giving him his
fourth double-double of the season.
Jack Houpt pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds in the win to go along with his five points and two assists.
Both teams took care of the ball, each committing just eight turnovers.
Both teams also struggled shooting the ball with Western barely edging
out the Jaguars, 37.9%-37%. The Leathernecks, though, shot much better
from the free throw line than IUPUI, 87.5%-41.7%.
The Leathernecks were able to take a very early lead, 7-4, but after a
13-0 run from the Jaguars, Western found themselves down 17-7 midway
through the first half.
Thanks to good shooting, 50% from the field, and a better percentage
from three (63.6%), the Jaguars were able to head into halftime with a
12-point advantage, 28-16.
The Leathernecks shot just 28% from the floor, and 16% from beyond the arc in the first half.
Western came out firing in the second, a 7-0 run, eventually taking the
lead thanks to a Ceola Clark three at the 10:02 mark of the period.
From that point on, the two teams would go back-and-forth until the end of regulation, eventually heading to overtime.
UNDEFEATED DECEMBER: The Leathernecks finished the month of
December with a 6-0 record...It was the first time Western finished the
month of December undefeated in its Division I history, and the first
time since the Leathernecks went 8-0 in December during the 1957-58
season.
UP NEXT: Western hits the road to continue Summit League play at Omaha Saturday.
