Saturday, November 14th, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Savage Arena (7,300) -- Toledo, Ohio. Television: None. Home Record: EIU 0-0, Toledo 0-0. Away Record: EIU 0-0, Toledo 0-0. Neutral Record: EIU 0-0, Toledo 0-0. Conference Record: EIU 0-0, Toledo 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: The 100th season of basketball at Eastern Illinois will tip-off this evening when the Panthers take on the Toledo Rockets in a non-conference battle at Savage Arena.

The Panthers will try to forget last season's 18-loss effort, as they begin a new journey this evening. Eastern Illinois dropped seven of its last eight matchups to close out this past season, but coach Mike Miller has a strong group of veteran players back in the mix that could lead EIU in the right direction.

As for the Rockets, they struggled even more last year, losing 25 games. Toledo finished 0-16 on the road, and suffered through losing skids of nine and seven games. Coach Gene Cross has the talent on the roster to move the Rockets forward, but there will likely be limits to the team's success.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Eastern Illinois and Toledo on the hardwood.

Sure the Panthers lost 18 games a year ago, but the team returns plenty of experience for this season and increased wins are expected. However, the season-opener begins with a big question, as the team's top scorer from a year ago, Romain Martin (15.4 ppg) could be absent from the starting lineup. Martin did not participate in the team's exhibition game, and it is unclear if he will suit up this evening. Fortunately the team can rely on Tyler Laser to pick up the slack if Martin is not available. Laser can be just as important, as the guard shot 40.7 percent from behind the arc and finished the year averaging 11.7 ppg and 3.1 apg. The frontcourt will be headlined by Ousmane Cisse, a dominating force in the paint who averaged a modest 8.0 ppg to go along with his team-best 7.5 rpg and has the capability of racking up the double-doubles this year.

The Rockets had to endure through a 25-loss campaign, but like their counterpart, Toledo has plenty of talent back this year, and there should be a boost in production. The Rockets possess a promising tandem in the paint with Justin Anyijong and Mouhamed Lo. Anyijong is the top returning scorer from a year ago, as the forward posted 9.7 ppg, and also pulled down a team-best 6.4 rpg. As for Lo, he started just 10 games, but was solid in a reserve role, contributing 5.2 ppg, while pulling down 4.5 rpg. Lo should provide a significant boost in production now that he will be relied on much more. Larry Bastfield should lead the way for the Rockets on the floor, while Stephen Albrecht and Jake Barnett will need to provide the team with some offensive punch from the guard position. Freshman Malcolm Griffin will also see plenty of time on the court at the guard position, giving the Rockets solid depth.

The Rockets seem to have a much better team than last year, but the squad is still very young and raw. The Panthers are a more veteran group, but their success tonight may rely on the availability of Martin.

Predicted Outcome

Eastern Illinois 66, Toledo 58