The Missouri men’s basketball team returns home for a non-conference matchup tonight against the Eastern Illinois Panthers.
Tip-off is at 7 p.m. at Mizzou Arena. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network-Plus.
Missouri (4-4) is coming off a 66-45 loss last Thursday at Liberty. The Tigers are 3-2 this season in home games and hold a 3-1 lead in the all-time series against the Panthers.
In their previous meeting, Missouri defeated Eastern Illinois 67-64 on Dec. 17, 2016.
Kobe Brown leads the Tigers this season with 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, ranking third in the Southeastern Conference in rebounding. He finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds against Liberty.
Amari Davis is also averaging double figures in scoring for the Tigers at 11.4 points per game. Ronnie DeGray III is next with 9.5 points per game and Javon Pickett is at 8.0 points per game.
Missouri is averaging 65.8 points per game and allowing the same number on its scoring defense.
Eastern Illinois (2-7) is coming off a 76-71 win Saturday at home against North Park, an NCAA Division III program. The Panthers’ other win this season came against Rockford, another Division III school.
Kashawn Charles is the only player averaging better than 10 points per game this season for the Panthers. The 6-foot-1 fifth-year guard is scoring 12.6 points per game and finished with 17 against North Park.
Sammy Friday IV, a 6-9 graduate forward, is next with 9.0 points per game, with Kejuan Clements, a 6-2 junior guard, right behind him at 8.9 points per game. Clements also leads the team with 5.6 rebounds per game.
The Panthers are averaging 59.7 points per game and allowing an average of 70.4.
Missouri and Eastern Illinois share two common opponents: Central Michigan and Northern Illinois. The Tigers defeated Central Michigan 78-68 and Northern Illinois 54-37, while the Panthers lost 62-61 to the Chippewas and 55-45 to the Huskies.
The first round the of NCAA NET Rankings were released Monday. Missouri was ranked No. 278, the lowest ranking of any Power Five program, while Eastern Illinois was 357th out of 358 NCAA Division I teams.