Eastern Illinois faces Western Illinois, seeks 5th straight home win

By Canadian Press on January 13, 2026.

Western Illinois Leathernecks (4-13, 0-6 OVC) at Eastern Illinois Panthers (6-10, 3-3 OVC)

Charleston, Illinois; Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Illinois will try to keep its four-game home win streak alive when the Panthers take on Western Illinois.

The Panthers are 6-2 on their home court. Eastern Illinois is 3-7 against opponents with a winning record.

The Leathernecks are 0-6 in OVC play. Western Illinois is 3-11 against opponents with a winning record.

Eastern Illinois is shooting 42.3% from the field this season, 3.8 percentage points lower than the 46.1% Western Illinois allows to opponents. Western Illinois’ 41.2% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.7 percentage points lower than Eastern Illinois has given up to its opponents (43.9%).

The matchup Tuesday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Zion Fruster is scoring 15.7 points per game with 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Panthers. Meechie White is averaging 12.5 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 51.9% over the last 10 games.

Karyiek Dixon is averaging 7.9 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Leathernecks. Lucas Lorenzen is averaging 17.1 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 4-6, averaging 69.9 points, 30.5 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 8.6 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 43.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.9 points per game.

Leathernecks: 3-7, averaging 66.2 points, 33.1 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 6.2 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 40.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.1 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press