Tonight the Fighting Leathernecks take on the Golden Eagles from Oral Roberts University in a rematch of a thrilling double overtime game in which WIU ended up falling 71-70. That game had the feeling of a Summit League Tournament game and was as close as one too. ORU sits in first place in the Summit as they are 22-5 overall and 14-1 in the conference. They are coming off a thrilling overtime win against IUPUI on Thursday. WIU enters having lost their last two games and are 13-10 overall with a 7-7 conference record. We are currently tied for fifth in the Summit.
The Leathernecks still have the best D in the conference as they still are allowing just 60 points per game. Their three point field goal percent fell a little bit and they are now 3rd in the conference and hit 38% of their three's. They still own the best turnover margin in the conference but their assist to turnover ration fell a bit after they stuggled to get assists against Southern Utah the other night. They are now 2nd in the conference in that stat.
Terell Parks is the best rebounder in the Summit, he averages 8.8 rebounds per game and he is still 2nd in the conference in field goal percentage as he hits 62% of his shots. However, he is no longer eligible to be ranked in the nation in that stat. If was he was he would be in the top ten. Ceola Clark, who struggled a bit in the last game with his three's, is now third in the conference in three point percentage. He is still 6th in the nation though. He does continue to lead the conference in assist to turnover ratio which is currently at +3.1. His ability to control the ball this year has been hug for this team. Obi Emegano is still shooting a high percentage from the field as he is hitting 52% of his shots. He is 12th in the conference and 52nd in the nation.
As for ORU, they are probably all around the best team in the Summit League. There is a reason they are/have been in first place the whole season. They own the 3rd best scoring offense in the league as they score around 74 points per game. Their defense is solid as well, in fact they are 2nd behind the Leathernecks as they give up 66 points per game. They are the second best free throw shooting team in the conference and also number two in field goal percentage. Their numbers in those stat lines are 76% and 49% respectively.
Individually, the Golden Eagles are home to one of the best players in the conference. That man is named Dominique Morrison. In the lost game against us, he scored 27 points and also hit the game deciding free throw with about a second left in the second overtime. He averages about 20 points per game and is the 4th leading scorer in the conference. Containing him tonight will be a big key. Morrison is also 4th in the conference in free throw percentage. He hits about 84% of his free throws. ORU has two other guys who typically score in double figures, Warren Niles scores 12 points per game while Michael Craion scores 11.
This is a big time game for WIU. We are on a two game losing streak and getting this win at Oral Roberts would be HUGE. It should be a great atmosphere tonight because it's ORU's homecoming. Word is that they are expecting about 7000 people in the stands tonight. The Leathernecks will need to get off to a fast start and make sure that this big crowd will not be a factor. Another thing is that they will NEED to be better at the free throw line tonight. In the last two games they have made just 27 of their 47 free throws (57%). That has really hurt their ability to win the last two games. They will have to come out confident, fired up and ready to play. Game time tonight is set for 7:05pm...GO 'NECKS!!!
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