How to watch Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs. Eastern Illinois Panthers: Live stream, TV channel, start time for Saturday's NCAA Basketball game

How to watch Eastern Kentucky vs. Eastern Illinois basketball game

By Scout Staff

Dec 14, 2024 at 9:00 pm ET • 3 min read

Halftime Report

After a tough loss on the road their last time out, Eastern Kentucky looks much better today on their home court. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead Eastern Illinois 39-28.

If Eastern Kentucky keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 6-5 in no time. On the other hand, Eastern Illinois will have to make due with a 3-7 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

Eastern Illinois Panthers @ Eastern Kentucky Colonels

Current Records: Eastern Illinois 3-6, Eastern Kentucky 5-5

How To Watch

When: Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Seabury Center -- Berea, Kentucky
TV: ESPN Plus
Follow: CBS Sports App
Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
Ticket Cost: $23.10

What to Know

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels will face off against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Seabury Center. The Colonels are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 76.3 points per game this season.

Eastern Kentucky managed to keep up with Pittsburgh until halftime on Wednesday, but things quickly went downhill from there. Eastern Kentucky was dealt a punishing 96-56 defeat at the hands of Pittsburgh. The contest marked the Colonels' lowest-scoring match so far this season.

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from George Kimble III, who scored 16 points plus three steals.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Eastern Kentucky struggled to work together and finished the game with only six assists. Sadly, that's becoming something of a trend for them; they were averaging 15 assists per game earlier this season, but in their last five games they've fallen to only 11.2 per game.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Eastern Illinois, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Tuesday. They put a hurting on Calumet to the tune of 87-57 last Friday. With the Panthers ahead 39-18 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.

Eastern Kentucky has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-5 record this season. As for Eastern Illinois, they pushed their record up to 3-6 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season.

Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's match: Eastern Kentucky has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 8.9 threes per game. It's a different story for Eastern Illinois, though, as they've been averaging only 5.3. Given Eastern Kentucky's sizable advantage in that area, Eastern Illinois will need to find a way to close that gap.

Everything came up roses for Eastern Kentucky against Eastern Illinois in their previous matchup back in November of 2021, as the team secured an 82-43 victory. Will Eastern Kentucky repeat their success, or does Eastern Illinois have a better game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.