Jacksonville State (6-8, 1-0) vs. Eastern Kentucky (4-10, 1-0)
McBrayer Arena, Richmond, Kentucky; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Jacksonville State pays visit to Eastern Kentucky in an OVC matchup. Both teams earned victories this past Thursday. Eastern Kentucky earned a 74-59 home win over Tennessee Tech, while Jacksonville State emerged with a 76-72 win at Morehead State.
STEPPING UP: Jomaru Brown has averaged 16.2 points to lead the way for the Colonels. Ty Taylor is also a primary contributor, accounting for 13.2 points per game. The Gamecocks are led by De'Torrion Ware, who is averaging 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds.DOMINANT DE'TORRION: Ware has connected on 32.5 percent of the 83 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 8 of 18 over the last three games. He's also converted 77.3 percent of his foul shots this season.
SUCCESS AT 71: Jacksonville State is a perfect 6-0 when scoring at least 71 points and 0-8 when scoring 65 points or fewer.
ACCOUNTING FOR ASSISTS: The Gamecocks have recently created buckets via assists more often than the Colonels. Eastern Kentucky has an assist on 36 of 79 field goals (45.6 percent) over its previous three outings while Jacksonville State has assists on 50 of 95 field goals (52.6 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Eastern Kentucky defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 26.9 percent of all possessions, which is the eighth-highest rate in the country. The Jacksonville State offense has turned the ball over on 20.6 percent of its possessions (ranked 255th among Division I teams).
