Thursday, February 28th, 8:15 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Lantz Arena (5,300) -- Charleston, Illinois. Television: None. Home Record: JSU 6-9, EIU 3-8. Away Record: JSU 0-11, EIU 2-13. Neutral Record: JSU 0-1, EIU 0-1. Conference Record: JSU 4-14, EIU 4-14. Series Record: Eastern Illinois leads, 4-3.

GAME NOTES: Two teams in the basement of the Ohio Valley Conference will do battle this evening, when the Eastern Illinois Panthers host the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at Lantz Arena. Both teams currently sit at the bottom of the OVC standings with a 4-14 ledger. The last time JSU was on the floor, the team had its two-game winning streak snapped with a tough, 85-78 setback to Georgia State. The Gamecocks have been dreadful on the road this season, losing all 11 of their matchups away from home. As for the Panthers, they have lost five of their last six contests, including two in a row. The last time EIU was on the court the team suffered a rough, 63-55 loss to Evansville. The Panthers only have five victories on the season, but three of them have come at Lantz Arena. The Panthers grabbed a 4-3 lead in the all-time series against JSU with a 72-67 victory over the Gamecocks earlier this season.

The Gamecocks have been simply atrocious at the defensive end of the floor and are being abused for 77.3 ppg on the season. The terrible defensive play continued this past weekend, as the team was defeated by Georgia State, 85-78. In the loss the Gamecocks were hammered on the glass by a 39-25 margin and also allowed the Panthers to shoot 48.2 percent from the floor. At the other end of the court the team was paced by Jonathan Toles, who scored 23 points. DeAndre Bray and Jeremy Bynum contributed 15 and 11 points, respectively, while Will Ginn (10.6 ppg) chipped in 10 points. As for the team's leading scorer, Nick Murphy (12.8 ppg), he finished with only five points in the losing effort.

As for the Panthers, their biggest issue this year has been a lack of production at the offensive end, as the team is netting only 62.6 ppg, while shooting a mediocre 43.2 percent from the floor. The team's top scorer, Romain Martin (13.6 ppg), has missed some time with a foot injury and is questionable for tonight's matchup. The only other player netting double figures is Bobby Catchings, who is chipping in 11.0 ppg to go along with 4.6 rpg. The offensive struggles for EIU continued this past weekend, as the team suffered a 63-55 loss to Evansville. In the setback, EIU shot 46.9 percent from the floor, but made only 4-of-13 attempts from behind the arc and just 5-of-9 shots from the foul line. Jake Byrne tallied 11 points for EIU, while Ousmane Cisse chipped in 10 points. Jon'Tee Willhite posted nine points, and dished out 10 assists, while Catchings struggled, finishing with four points.

If there was ever a chance for Eastern Illinois to produce a solid offensive performance, this would be the night, as the Gamecocks have struggled mightily to hold anyone down.

Predicted Outcome

Eastern Illinois 71, Jacksonville State 69