Complete Game Notes (PDF)
ALL TIME SERIES - Chicago State and SIUE have five previous meetings, with SIUE holding a 3-2 advantage. The two clubs met last season with SIUE winning 71-57 in Edwardsville, Ill. on Dec. 1, 2012. The Chicago State Cougars led 34-26 at halftime before SIUE rallied to defeat Chicago State with a 45-23 second half.
LAST TIME OUT - The Cougars fell to DePaul on Sunday 77-70 in overtime at Allstate Arena.
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) and
Nate Duhon (Lansing, Mich./Sexton) each had 18 points.
Corey Gray (Houston, Texas/Hightower) made a 3-pointer to put the Cougars up by one point with less than two minutes left, but rallied and DePaul forced overtime.
FOUR IS MORE - Grand Canyon and Chicago State are the only two WAC teams with four individuals averaging 10 or more points per game.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN - Eight different Cougars have made a 3-pointer this season.
DOUBLE TROUBLE - Six Cougars finished in double-digits in Chicago State's victory over Southern Illinois on Nov. 30. The last time the Cougars accomplished this task was Nov. 20, 2008 in an 84-74 win over Central Michigan.
UP NEXT - The Cougars travel to Cincinnati on Monday for a non-conference game with the Bearcats. The game will be aired live on WVON 1690 AM and ESPN3.com.
FRESH LEGS - Chicago State's freshmen have played 225 minutes this season. Last season a freshman didn't play a single minute for the Cougars.
WHAT ARE PROBABLE STARTERS? - Chicago State used 15 different starting lineups last season. This season, the Cougars have already used six different combinations.
START 'EM UP - Nine different Cougars have started at least one game this season.
CALL HIM THE ROCK - The lone name you can write in pen in the Chicago State lineup since the start of last season is senior
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon). Since arriving last season as a junior college transfer, Ross has started in 42 of 43 Chicago State games. The only game he didn't start was Senior Night last season against Eastern Illinois when then senior
Quincy Ukaigwe (Matteson, Ill./Rich Central) started for him instead.
YEAR-BY-YEAR -
Clarke Rosenberg (Skokie, Ill./Evanston Township) is shooting 51.7 percent (46-of-89) this season. Up from his 41.6 percent performance last season after his 34.6 percent shooting as a freshman.
NEARING 500 - Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) (450) and
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) (470) are nearing the 500 mark for career points at Chicago State.
Clarke Rosenberg (Skokie, Ill./Evanston Township) (538) passed the 500 mark earlier this season.
FORCING MISTAKES - Dating back to last season, the Cougars have forced double-digit turnovers in 34 straight games. The stretch includes 10 games of forcing 20 or more turnovers. This year the Cougars are averaging 8.2 steals per game, ranking 46th in the nation.
ON THE PLUS SIDE - The Cougars' +3.70 turnover margin is the best in the WAC. The total ranks 36th in the nation.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP X8 - The Cougars have a WAC-high eight seniors on the squad.
REJECTED - The six blocks
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) recorded Nov. 8 at Indiana are the most for a Cougar in a single game during the
Tracy Dildy era (2010-11 to present).
QP FOR THREE - Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) owns 90 career 3-pointers. He needs one more to enter the top-10 for career 3-pointers at Chicago State. Christian Wall made 91 in his career from 2007-11 to rank 10th in the NCAA Division I era at Chicago State. Craig Franklin (2002-05), ninth with 92, is also within striking distance.
20/20 VISION - The Cougars have already had four 20-point performances this season. Last year Chicago State didn't have a Cougar score 20 points in a game until
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) scored 20 vs. DePaul (Dec. 5, 2012), 10 games into the season. He was one of only five 20 point performances all season.
QP IS A PRESEASON PICK - Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) was named to the 2013-14 Preseason All-WAC Second Team by a vote of the league's coaches.
RELATIVE GREATNESS - Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) is the nephew of former Chicago Bull Scottie Pippen. Not surprising, Quinton wears No. 33.
PRESEASON POLL - The Cougars were picked to finish sixth in the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Poll by a vote of the league's coaches.
EDDIE IS READY - The final addition to the 2013-14 roster was senior
Eddie Denard (Chicago, Ill./Foreman). The 6-6 forward played last year at New Orleans University but was allowed to transfer without sitting out a season due to New Orleans' APR penalties barring them from postseason play this year. Denard started all 26 games last season at UNO, averaging 5.4 points and 3.8 rebounds. Denard is from Chicago, Ill. and played high school basketball at Foreman High School. He attended UIC his freshman year of college.
DEFENSE! - Chicago State limited opponents to just 69.0 points per game last season. It was the best defensive performance for a Chicago State team during the NCAA Division I era (1984-85 - present).
TAKING IT AWAY - The Cougars ranked seventh in the nation in steals per game last season by averaging 9.4 swipes a contest. The last time the Cougars finished a season ranking in the top 10 in the nation in a category was in 2008-09 when CSU ranked third in both scoring (84.2) and steals per game (10.0).
FOREIGN TOUR - The Cougars traveled to Costa Rica August 10-16 to play three exhibitions against international clubs. As per NCAA rules the team earned 10 extra practices to prepare for the trip. In between basketball the team went rafting, ziplined and volunteered at a local school.
AWARDS FOR NEWCOMERS - Chicago State head coach Tracy DIldy made a name for himself as an accomplished recruiter during his time as an assistant coach. He's continued that success at Chicago State. Dildy's recruits took home Great West Conference Newcomer of the Year Awards in each of the final two seasons of the GWC.
Jeremy Robinson (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) picked up GWC Newcomer of the Year honors in 2011-12 and
Nate Duhon (Lansing, Mich./Sexton) earned the award last year.
THE FIRST SINCE - Chicago State's Great West Conference title last season was the first men's basketball championship for one of Chicago's Division I teams since UIC won the Horizon League Tournament in 2004.
TIME FOR MORE FIRSTS - Chicago State earned the program's first ever conference tournament championship and first ever postseason tournament berth last season by winning the Great West Conference Tournament and earning a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The Cougars fell to crosstown rival UIC in the CIT first round 80-69.
THE WAC IS WHERE IT'S AT - Chicago State became an all-sport member of the WAC on July 1, 2013. The WAC is Chicago State's first conference with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2006 as a member of the Mid-Continent (now Summit League).
