5 Things to Know About Purdue's Next Opponent — Eastern Illinois Panthers
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After a pair of big wins in the Baha Mar Championship last week, Purdue returns to Mackey Arena on Black Friday for a non-conference matchup against Eastern Illinois. The Boilermakers will play this contest before stepping into Big Ten play next week, traveling to Piscataway for a matchup with Rutgers.
What do we know about Eastern Illinois so far this season? Here are five things about the Panthers before Friday afternoon's game at Mackey Arena.
Jacobi was Kaufman-Renn's teammate
There will be some familiarity on the court on Friday, as Kooper Jacobi and Trey Kaufman-Renn will go head-to-head. The two played together at Silver Creek High School, both graduating in 2021. Can you imagine trying to slow down that tandem?
Jacobi has been Eastern Illinois' top player through the first five games, averaging 11.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per contest. That includes a 20-point performance on the road against Notre Dame earlier this month.
Last season, Jacobi was the OVC's top rebounder, averaging 8.9 rebounds per game. We'll see the two former Silver Creek stars battling for boards at Mackey Arena on Friday afternoon.
Reluctant to shoot threes
Eastern Illinois is patient when it comes to running its offense and doesn't often pull the trigger on the three-point shot, especially if it's contested. The Panthers like to get the ball into the painted area and get close looks at the basket or draw fouls.
The Panthers rank 349th nationally in three-point tries, averaging just 17 attempts per game. Their 4.7 made three-pointers per game ranks 355th in the country. This isn't a team that fires up long-range shots regularly.
Poor assist-to-turnover ratio
One of the reasons Eastern Illinois has struggled to find success early in the season is because of its assist-to-turnover ratio. The Panthers are giving the basketball away more times than they're finding open teammates for baskets. Obviously, a portion of that is skewed because of games against Notre Dame and Kentucky at the high-major level. Still, it's not a quality coaches want for their team.
EIU is averaging 14.0 turnovers per game with just 10.2 assists. That's a 0.729 assist-to-turnover ratio through five games. For comparison, Purdue's assist-to-turnover rate is 2.084 through six games. That's a large gap between the two teams.
Plays hard-nosed defense
The thing that stands out about Eastern Illinois is its effort defensively. It hasn't had the most talent on the court in a handful of games this year, but it does like to make life difficult on the opposition.
EIU will double the post and attempt to force teams into settling for three-point shots. The Panthers also defend the perimeter well for a mid-major program and aren't afraid to get in the face of the ball-handlers. It does create blow-by opportunities for the guards, but trying to keep opponents uncomfortable is something this team tries to do on the defensive end.
Simmons in his 22nd season
Marty Simmons is a seasoned coach who has 22 years of experience as a head coach and has also spent time on the bench as an assistant. A former Indiana and Evansville basketball player, Simmons is in his fifth season at Eastern Illinois and is still trying to get things rolling.
Simmons began his coaching career as an assistant at Evansville, where he worked from 1990 until 96. He then spent one year at Wartburg College (1996-97) as head coach before returning to the Purple Aces staff, where he stayed from 1997 through 2002.
He was then the head coach at SIU-Edwardsville from 2002 through 2007, and took the job at Evansville in 2007, where he stayed through the 2018 season. Simmons then worked as an assistant coach from 2018 until 2021 at Clemson before taking over at Eastern Illinois. He owns a 324-336 record as a head coach.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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