SIUE Cougars (7-12, 1-5 OVC) vs. Tennessee State Tigers (8-12, 3-5 OVC)

Thursday, January 27, 7:30 p.m.
First Community Arena (4,000) 
Edwardsville, Illinois

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WHITE OUT
Cougar fans are encouraged to wear WHITE to Thursday's games.

LAST TIME
SIUE men's basketball dropped a 76-70 decision Monday night at UT Martin. The Cougars held a 17-14 lead at 8:04 in the first half. The Skyhawks made it a 9-1 push before SIUE scored its next field goal. UT Martin finished the half on a 20-5 run to lead 34-22 at the break. After shooting just 22 percent from the field in the first, SIUE connected on 52 percent of its field goal attempts after halftime, but the game was decided on the free throw line, where the Cougars missed 11 shots (13-24). They were 11-20 from the stripe in the second half.

CONFERENCE CALL
SIUE is playing its 11th Ohio Valley Conference season. The Cougars are 54-121 in OVC play. Head Coach Brian Barone has a 13-29 record in OVC play. 

ROAD WARRIORS
After tonight, SIUE will return to the road for three of its next four games. The Cougars played eight of their first nine games away from home. SIUE has three road wins this season. Last season, SIUE set a new mark for road wins in a season in the Division I era with six.

GIMME FIVE
Taylor has won the OVC Freshman of the Week award five times this season, incuding for this past week. He is the first SIUE player to win more than three weekly OVC awards in the same season. 

DP AWARDED
DeeJuan Pruitt earned his first selection as OVC Newcomer of the Week for this past week, where he averaged 15.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in three games. He connected on 59 percent of his shots for the week. 

CLAMPING DOWN
SIUE is one of the OVC's best defensive teams, allowing 68.6 points per game, which is third. Cougars' opponents shoot just .414 overall and .323 from three-point range. Both rank second in the league.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
The Cougars are second in the OVC at 38.3 rebounds per game, which is 66th in the NCAA. SIUE is third in total rebounds at 690. SIUE is second in the OVC in offensive rebounds at 12.6 a game, which is 33rd in the NCAA.