Eastern Illinois hosts Southern Indiana following Polakovich's 27-point game

Published Dec. 30, 2022 2:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (8-6, 1-0 OVC) at Eastern Illinois Panthers (5-9, 1-0 OVC)

Charleston, Illinois; Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Southern Indiana plays the Eastern Illinois Panthers after Jacob Polakovich scored 27 points in Southern Indiana's 86-81 win over the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks.

The Panthers have gone 3-4 at home. Eastern Illinois leads the OVC in team defense, allowing 67.9 points while holding opponents to 41.2% shooting.

The Screaming Eagles are 1-0 in OVC play. Southern Indiana has a 4-4 record against opponents over .500.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Sincere Malone is averaging 6.8 points and 2.1 steals for the Panthers. Kinyon Hodges is averaging 11.5 points over the last 10 games for Eastern Illinois.

Polakovich is averaging 11.8 points and 11.2 rebounds for the Screaming Eagles. Trevor Lakes is averaging 3.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Southern Indiana.

LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 5-5, averaging 74.1 points, 31.3 rebounds, 15.7 assists, 8.9 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.9 points per game.

Screaming Eagles: 6-4, averaging 75.6 points, 34.4 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 9.5 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 42.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.3 points.

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