The Leathernecks finish off their three game road swing tonight when they face off against the Mavericks of the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO), a team that will be joining the Summit League next season. Coming in, WIU sits at 10-8 and 5-5 in the Summit and as you may recall, just ended a three game losing streak with a close win over South Dakota on Saturday. They currently are tied for fourth in the conference with Oakland and Southern Utah. They still maintain their number one defensive ranking in the Summit and are now giving up just 59.8 points per game, good enough for 27th in that nation. We are also still number one in turnover margin at +3.1 (26th nationally).
Individually, WIU has a couple guys who rank in the top 35 nationally in field goal percentage. Terell Parks is unoffcially ranked 7th in the nation (he's .06 made field goals per game off being officially ranked) which puts him at second in the conference. He's shooting 62% this year from the field. Obi Emegano, our true freshman forward, is 35th in the nation (9th in the Summit) and is shooting 55% this season. Obi's mark is especially impressive because most of his shots are mid-range jumpers. Ceola Clark is still ranked 5th in the nation in three-point field goal percetage. He is hitting 48% of his three pointers.
UNO is in their first year of transition into Division I and they have been struggling a bit. They do not play a full D1 schedule yet (only 12 of their 21 games are vs D1 teams) and when they do, they have not done too well. They are just 1-11 vs D1 opponents. Their only victory came against NIU 77-72 back on December 3rd. In those games, they are giving up 87 points and scoring 72. That being said, they have competed in some of these games. They lost by three on OT vs IPFW, by two at South Dakota, and by three at UMKC. All games included this year, UNO is scoring 73 points per game and giving up 78. They have really struggled over the last month as they have gone just 1-6 in their last seven and currently are riding a three game losing streak. Their last win was at Johnson & Whales University 81-68.
UNO's best player is Mitch Albers who is averaging 18 points per game, shoots 47% from the field and hits 78% of his free throws. He will undoubtedly be the focus of the WIU defense. Another guy for the Leathernecks to look out for is John Karhoff, a 6'8" sophomore center who averages 13 points per game, shoots 58% from the field and is making 74% of his free throws (a pretty good number for a big man).
Even though the Mavericks have been struggling, WIU cannot fall asleep against them. This will be UNO's first home game since December 19th , you know they are going to be excited to be playing back on their home court. Plus, like I said earlier, they have competed in some of their games. The Leathernecks will have to come out ready to play and not overlook these guys, because if they do they could find themselves in a fight. They need to come out strong, fired up, and with the same intensity the had against South Dakota. Tip-off tonight is set for 7pm and as always, GO 'NECKS!!!
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