Tonight the Leathernecks try to make it four wins in a row when they take on the Mastodons from IPFW (Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne) at 7pm in Western Hall. WIU enters the game at 12-8 (6-5 in the Summit) while IPFW comes in at 10-11 (4-8 in the Summit). The last time they played, WIU was able to come away with a good win 75-65 over in Fort Wayne. In that game, Jack Houpt lit it up from behind the acr as he nailed 7 three points totaling 21 points which was a career high for him. I know he has the capability to do that now and then but that performance was just incredible.
WIU currently is allowing just 60 points per game, which is good enough to put them at 28th in the nation for scoring defense and number one in the conference. The Leathernecks still are ranked last in the conference in scoring offense as they only score about 64 points per game. They also rank 20th in turnovers per game as they only turn it over 11.4 times per game. That mark also has them at number one in the conference. As for some individual numbers, Ceola Clark is now ranked 3rd in the nation in three point percentage as he hits 49% of his three pointers...unreal. Meanwhile Terell Parks is 5th in the nation in field goal percentage as he hits 64% of his shots from the floor...another great number. True freshman Obi Emegano is not far behind as he shoots 54% from the floor which is good enough to put him at 37th in the nation. That number is very impressive because most of his shots are not easy ones. He takes a lot of mid-range jumpers that most guys will not hit 54% of for a season, but he has be a beast on his shooting this year.
IPFW is scoring around 70 points per game this year, which puts them at number six in the conference. Meanwhile they give up nearly 75 points per game, a number which sits them at number nine (second to last) in the Summit. The Mastodons are lead by their main man Frank Gaines who is scoring just over 20 points per contest this season. He also shoots about 43% from the field and makes 75% of his free throws. The last time these two played, Gaines was able to drop 30 points in a losing effort. Unfortunately for his team, he was the only one with more than 10 points. Regardless, WIU will definitely look to shut him down better in the game tonight. Coming in to tonight, the Mastodons have lost five of their last six games, including a big loss last week to South Dakota State 74-43.
While IPFW's numbers may not be all that impressive, WIU cannot come in too confident. IPFW has the ability to play very well. They will need to try and focus on stopping Frank Gaines as best they can and make sure he does not have a huge impact on the game. This game is the start of a very important stretch because after tonight, they will play Oakland on Saturday (again at home) and then hit the road for a long trip to Southern Utah and Oral Roberts. I hope that the fans will once again be out in full force tonight. The last game had such a great atmosphere and I know that really got the players going. In college basketball, a good home court advantage can really do you well so hopefully Leatherneck Nation will represent tonight. That's it for now, as always...GO LEATHERNECKS!!!
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