16 SIUE Cougars (22-11) vs. 1 Houston Cougars (30-4)
NCAA Championship Midwest Region First Round
March 20, 1:00 p.m.
INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
- Thursday marks the Cougars' first appearance in the Division I NCAA tournament.
- SIUE made five appearances in the Division II tournament, the last coming in 2006.
- With 22 wins, SIUE has a program high at the Division I level.
- The Cougars' 13 Ohio Valley Conference wins also were a program high.
- SIUE was 12-3 at home this year, tying the Division I-era mark for home wins.Â
- The Cougars were 7-8 on the road, also equaling their Division I-era record.
- The Cougars' boast the Ohio Valley Conference's best defense in terms of points allowed. SIUE allowed 66.1 points per game, which ranks 36th nationally.
- Including both games in the OVC tournament, SIUE has held its opponent under 70 points 20 times this year and is 18-2 in those games.
- The Cougars are second in the league in field goal percent defense at .402, which ranks 21st in the NCAA.
- SIUE is scoring 72.6 points per game, which is fourth best in the OVC.Â
- The Cougars' scoring margin (+6.5) is second best in the league, and 80th nationally.
- SIUE averages 38.5 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the league and 32nd in the NCAA.
- The Cougars' rebounding margin (+2.5) is fourth.
- SIUE is second in the OVC in turnovers, averaging just 11.4 per game.Â
- The Cougars' turnover margin (+1.3) is fourth in the league.
- The Cougars knocked down a school-record 17 three-pointers against Eureka Dec. 15.
- The win over Eureka was the first time SIUE hit the 100-point mark since December 2014.
- Brian Barone is in his sixth season as Head Coach. He has a career record of 86-102 at SIUE.
