Screaming Eagles begin four-game homestand Thursday
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball begins a four-game homestand at Liberty Arena Thursday when the Screaming Eagles host Eastern Illinois. The four-game homestand, USI’s longest on the OVC schedule, also features Western Illinois Saturday; Lindenwood January 29; and SIU Edwardsville January 31.
The USI-EIU matchup, which is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff, is a White Out Game with fans encouraged to wear white and a t-shirt giveaway to the first 500 USI students.
Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. USI-WIU contest is the Hoops for the Troops/Military Appreciation Game, sponsored by the USI Student Veteran Association. Veterans and their guests will receive free tickets (limit to five per veteran) with proof of service. The pre-game will feature a special full-court flag presentation for the national anthem by Rolling Thunder Chapter 6, Honor Flight of Southern Indiana, and the Wounded Warrior Project.
Both games are scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+. All USI games are aired live on ESPN 97.7FM and The Spin 95.7FM.
The Screaming Eagles (4-14, 1-7 OVC) are coming off their first .500 week in OVC play this year after winning at Tennessee Tech, 71-54, and falling at Tennessee State, 73-67. USI senior guard Cardell Bailey led the Eagles at TTU and TSU with 18.0 points per game, while senior guard Ismail Habib and junior guard /forward Amaree Brown added 16.5 points and 11.5 points per outing, respectively. Junior forward Tolu Samuels controlled the boards with 10.5 rebounds per contest.
For the season, Habib has been posting 16.5 points per game to lead USI in scoring. Senior guard Cardell Bailey is second on the team in scoring with 14.6 points per contest this season and is averaging 16.1 points per outing in the last nine games.
Brown rounds out the active USI double-digit scorers with 13.8 points per game.
EIU (8-11, 4-4 OVC) has won four of its last five after falling at Little Rock last week, 74-63, and winning a rescheduled non-conference game with Blackburn, 105-49, Sunday. The Panthers also have won six of the last nine contests overall.
The series is tied, 4-4, after the teams split last season with each winning on the other’s home court.
WIU (4-15, 0-8 OVC), which visits Morehead State Thursday before coming to USI, starts the week in search of its first OVC win of 2025-26. The Leathernecks have lost their last eight games.
WIU leads the all-time series USI, 6-2, and is 5-1 against the Screaming Eagles since 1980-81.
The USI-EIU matchup, which is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff, is a White Out Game with fans encouraged to wear white and a t-shirt giveaway to the first 500 USI students.
Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. USI-WIU contest is the Hoops for the Troops/Military Appreciation Game, sponsored by the USI Student Veteran Association. Veterans and their guests will receive free tickets (limit to five per veteran) with proof of service. The pre-game will feature a special full-court flag presentation for the national anthem by Rolling Thunder Chapter 6, Honor Flight of Southern Indiana, and the Wounded Warrior Project.
Both games are scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+. All USI games are aired live on ESPN 97.7FM and The Spin 95.7FM.
The Screaming Eagles (4-14, 1-7 OVC) are coming off their first .500 week in OVC play this year after winning at Tennessee Tech, 71-54, and falling at Tennessee State, 73-67. USI senior guard Cardell Bailey led the Eagles at TTU and TSU with 18.0 points per game, while senior guard Ismail Habib and junior guard /forward Amaree Brown added 16.5 points and 11.5 points per outing, respectively. Junior forward Tolu Samuels controlled the boards with 10.5 rebounds per contest.
For the season, Habib has been posting 16.5 points per game to lead USI in scoring. Senior guard Cardell Bailey is second on the team in scoring with 14.6 points per contest this season and is averaging 16.1 points per outing in the last nine games.
Brown rounds out the active USI double-digit scorers with 13.8 points per game.
EIU (8-11, 4-4 OVC) has won four of its last five after falling at Little Rock last week, 74-63, and winning a rescheduled non-conference game with Blackburn, 105-49, Sunday. The Panthers also have won six of the last nine contests overall.
The series is tied, 4-4, after the teams split last season with each winning on the other’s home court.
WIU (4-15, 0-8 OVC), which visits Morehead State Thursday before coming to USI, starts the week in search of its first OVC win of 2025-26. The Leathernecks have lost their last eight games.
WIU leads the all-time series USI, 6-2, and is 5-1 against the Screaming Eagles since 1980-81.
