OVC play starts for E. Illinois, Tennessee St.

Eastern Illinois (7-5, 0-0) vs. Tennessee State (8-5, 0-0)

Gentry Center, Nashville, Tennessee; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Illinois visits Tennessee State as conference play starts for both teams. In conference play last season, Eastern Illinois finished with seven wins and 11 losses, while Tennessee State won six games and lost 12.

SUPER SENIORS: Tennessee State's Wesley Harris, Michael Littlejohn and Emmanuel Egbuta have combined to score 39 percent of the team's points this season and have accounted for 43 percent of all Tigers scoring over the last five games.HOT HARRIS: Harris has connected on 32.6 percent of the 46 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 8 for 21 over the last five games. He's also converted 74.4 percent of his foul shots this season.

SUCCESS AT 72: Eastern Illinois is a perfect 7-0 when scoring at least 72 points and 0-5 when scoring 69 points or fewer.

UNDEFEATED WHEN: The Tigers are 7-0 when at least four of their players score 10 or more points and 1-5 when any fewer than that achieve double-figures. The Panthers are 6-0 when recording at least 13 offensive rebounds and 1-5 when they fall short of that total.

DID YOU KNOW: Tennessee State is ranked first among OVC teams with an offensive rebound percentage of 34.7 percent. The Tigers have averaged 11.5 offensive boards per game and 13.8 per game over their last five games.