RICHMOND, Ky. – Ohio Valley Conference play comes to McBrayer on Thursday night, as the Eastern Kentucky University men's and women's basketball teams host SIUE in a doubleheader. The women's game begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 8 p.m.

Men's Preview

WHAT TO KNOW

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- EKU (7-9, 0-1 OVC) dropped its OVC opener at Southeast Missouir on New Year's Eve. Sophomore Nick Mayo and freshman DeAndre Dishman led Eastern in the loss with 12 points apiece.
 
- Junior forward Zach Charles returned to the starting lineup at SEMO, and responded with eight points and eight boards.
 
- Freshman forward Marlon Adams came off the bench to tally nine points, four rebounds and two blocks against the Redhawks.
 
- Mayo currently leads EKU and ranks fourth in the OVC in scoring at 17.6 points-per-game. The native of Oakland, Maine is the only player ranked in the top-15 in the OVC in all three shooting percentage categories: field goal percentage (14^th / 48.7%), three-point field goal percentage (8^th / 41.5%) and free throw percentage (8^th / 78.9%).
 
- Of all players in the OVC with over 55 field goal attempts, no one has a better shooting percentage than Dishman. The freshman from Lexington is shooting 68.4 percent (39-of-57) from the floor. He went 6-of-7 from the floor against SEMO.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
 
- SIUE (5-10, 0-1 OVC) lost its conference opener at home to Tennessee Tech, 72-66, on Saturday.
 
- The Cougars are paced by Jalen Henry, who comes in averaging 13.2 points-per-game and 5.5 rebounds-per-game.
 
- This is only the ninth meeting between EKU and SIUE. The all-time series is tied, 4-4. The Colonels have lost two straight to the Cougars, including a 67-65 defeat last January in Edwardsville.
 
- Mayo scored his career high of 28 points last year against SIUE. He shot 10-of-14 from the field in his previous outing against the Cougars.
 
UP NEXT
 
EKU will continue its OVC homestand by hosting Eastern Illinois on Saturday, January 7, at 2:00 p.m.
 

Women's Preview

WHAT TO KNOW

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- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville leads the all-time series, 6-3. The Cougars have won three of the last four, including the previous two meetings. SIUE won last year's meeting in Edwardsville, 89-74. 
 
- EKU senior guard Shavontae Naylor was named OVC Newcomer of the Week on Monday for the third time this season. Naylor set a new career-high with 24 points in Eastern Kentucky's 74-63 win over Southeast Missouri. Naylor hit on 8-of-11 (73 percent) from the floor and pulled down eight rebounds in the win.

- EKU senior forward Jalen O'Bannon netted a career-high 30 points against the Cougars last season in Edwardsville. 

- Senior guard Alexus Cooper (12.9 ppg), Naylor (12.8 ppg), and O'Bannon (12.6 ppg) rank in the OVC's top-20 in scoring. Naylor's 6.8 rebounds-per-game is ninth in the league.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

- Southern Illinois Edwardsville is 5-9 overall and 1-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference after picking up a 60-49 win over visiting Tennessee Tech on Saturday. 
 
- Junior guard Donshel Beck's 15.1 ppg leads the Cougar offense and ranks sixth in the conference. 
 
- As a team, SIUE's 37.4 percent from three-point range leads the league. The Cougars average 72.3 percent from the free throw line which is second in the OVC.
 
UP NEXT

- EKU will be back home to host Eastern Illinois University on Saturday (Jan. 7).  Tip-off at McBrayer Arena is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.