Tennessee State Tigers (9-5, 3-1 OVC) at Western Illinois Leathernecks (4-11, 0-4 OVC)
Macomb, Illinois; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Tigers -6.5; over/under is 147.5
BOTTOM LINE: Tennessee State visits Western Illinois after Aaron Nkrumah scored 22 points in Tennessee State’s 84-79 win against the Little Rock Trojans.
The Leathernecks have gone 3-3 at home. Western Illinois has a 3-10 record against teams over .500.
The Tigers are 3-1 in OVC play. Tennessee State is fifth in the OVC with 13.5 assists per game led by Dante Harris averaging 3.9.
Western Illinois’ average of 5.5 made 3-pointers per game is 1.1 fewer made shots on average than the 6.6 per game Tennessee State allows. Tennessee State averages 6.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.2 fewer made shots on average than the 8.3 per game Western Illinois allows.
The Leathernecks and Tigers match up Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Lucas Lorenzen averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Leathernecks, scoring 15.2 points while shooting 30.6% from beyond the arc. Isaiah Griffin is shooting 37.0% and averaging 10.8 points over the past 10 games.
Harris is averaging 12.4 points, 3.9 assists and two steals for the Tigers. Travis Harper II is averaging 17.3 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Leathernecks: 3-7, averaging 67.3 points, 32.3 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 5.9 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 40.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.4 points per game.
Tigers: 7-3, averaging 75.1 points, 32.7 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 11.0 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.0 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
