2024–25 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team

2024–25 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball
2024–25 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	2–5 (0–0 OVC)
Head coach	Marty Simmons (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Kylen Butler; Rich McBride; Bob Lockart; Nate Michael;
Home arena	Groniger Arena
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
SIU Edwardsville	0	–	0	–	5	–	4	.556
Little Rock	0	–	0	–	4	–	4	.500
Tennessee Tech	0	–	0	–	4	–	4	.500
Western Illinois	0	–	0	–	4	–	4	.500
Morehead State	0	–	0	–	3	–	4	.429
Southeast Missouri State	0	–	0	–	3	–	4	.429
Southern Indiana*	0	–	0	–	3	–	4	.429
Tennessee State	0	–	0	–	3	–	5	.375
Eastern Illinois	0	–	0	–	2	–	5	.286
Lindenwood*	0	–	0	–	2	–	5	.286
UT Martin	0	–	0	–	2	–	5	.286
* ineligible for the 2025 NCAA tournament due to transition period

† 2025 OVC tournament winner As of November 30, 2024

The 2024–25 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represents Eastern Illinois University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by fourth-year head coach Marty Simmons, play their home games at Groniger Arena in Charleston, Illinois, as members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2023–24 season 14–18, 8–10 in OVC play to finish in seventh place.^[1] They were defeated by SIU Edwardsville in the first round of the OVC tournament.^[2]

Roster

2024–25 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	1	Corey Sawyer Jr.	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sr	Cloud County Community College	Orlando, Florida
G	2	Artese Stapleton	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	GS	Kansas City	Chicago, Illinois
G	3	Nakyel Shelton	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	South Suburban College	Chicago, Illinois
G	4	Isaiah Griffin	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	So	Sunrise Christian Academy	Orange, New Jersey
G	5	Zion Fruster	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	UVA Wise	Douglasville, Georgia
G	6	Kam O'Connor	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	RS So	UNC Pembroke	Lebanon, Ohio
F	8	Blake Goodman	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Jr	Fisk	Detroit, Michigan
G	9	Obadiah Curtis	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Jr	Arkansas State	Fresno, California
F	10	Jackson Connor	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS Jr	John A. Logan College	Marion, Illinois
G	11	Malik Olafioye	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Fr	Kansas City	Ecorse, Michigan
G	12	Carson Prost	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Rend Lake College	Mount Vernon, Illinois
F	17	Lazar Grbovic	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	RS Jr	Moberly Area Community College	Belgrade, Serbia
F	22	Sekou Kalle	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	Evansville	Sellersburg, Indiana
F	23	Rodolfo Bolis	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Sr	NBA Academy Latin America	Espírito Santo, Brazil
F	24	Terry McMorris	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Link Year Prep	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
F	40	Kooper Jacobi	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	GS	Toledo	Sellersburg, Indiana

Head coach

Marty Simmons (Evansville)

Assistant coach(es)

Kylen Butler (Indianapolis)
Rich McBride (Illinois)
Bob Lockart (Millikin)
Nate Michael (McKendree)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 29, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024* 7:00 pm, B1G+	at Illinois	L 67–112	0–1	State Farm Center (15,246) Champaign, IL
November 6, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	Earlham	W 97–61	1–1	Groniger Arena (1,350) Charleston, IL
November 10, 2024* 11:00 am, B1G+	at No. 17 Indiana	L 55–90	1–2	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN
November 15, 2024* 7:00 pm, Peacock	at Northwestern	L 58–67 ^OT	1–3	Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,969) Evanston, IL
November 19, 2024* 8:00 pm, FS2	at DePaul DePaul Classic	L 69–78	1–4	Wintrust Arena (2,829) Chicago, IL
November 24, 2024* 1:00 pm, ESPN+	at Valparaiso DePaul Classic	L 53–81	1–5	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,354) Valparaiso, IN
November 29, 2024* 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Northern Illinois DePaul Classic	W 72–59	2–5	Groniger Arena (715) Charleston, IL
December 3, 2024* 5:30 pm, FS2	at Butler			Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN
December 6, 2024* 12:00 pm, ESPN+	Calumet			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
December 14, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Eastern Kentucky			Seabury Center Berea, KY
OVC regular season
December 19, 2024 7:30 pm, ESPN+	at Southeast Missouri State			Show Me Center Cape Girardeau, MO
December 21, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+	at Little Rock			Jack Stephens Center Little Rock, AR
December 28, 2024* 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Blackburn			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
January 2, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Lindenwood			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
January 4, 2025 3:30 pm, ESPN+	Western Illinois			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
January 7, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+	SIU Edwardsville			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
January 9, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Tennessee Tech			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
January 16, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+	at UT Martin			Skyhawk Arena Martin, TN
January 18, 2025 3:30 pm, ESPN+	at Tennessee State			Gentry Center Nashville, TN
January 23, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Morehead State			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
January 25, 2025 3:30 pm, ESPN+	Southern Indiana			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
January 30, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+	at Western Illinois			Western Hall Macomb, IL
February 1, 2025 3:30 pm, ESPN+	at Lindenwood			Robert F. Hyland Arena St. Charles, MO
February 4, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+	at SIU Edwardsville			First Community Arena Edwardsville, IL
February 8, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN+	at Tennessee Tech			Hooper Eblen Center Cookeville, TN
February 13, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Tennessee State			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
February 15, 2025 3:30 pm, ESPN+	UT Martin			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
February 20, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+	at Southern Indiana			Liberty Arena Evansville, IN
February 22, 2025 2:30 pm, ESPN+	at Morehead State			Ellis Johnson Arena Morehead, KY
February 27, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+	Little Rock			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
March 1, 2025 3:30 pm, ESPN+	Southeast Missouri State			Groniger Arena Charleston, IL
OVC tournament
March 5–8, 2025 ESPN+	vs.			Ford Center Evansville, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[3]^[4]

References

^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ "SIU Edwardsville tops Eastern Illinois 68-57 in 1st round of OVC tourney". USA Today. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Eastern Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
^ "Eastern Illinois Panthers 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[1] "2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[2] "SIU Edwardsville tops Eastern Illinois 68-57 in 1st round of OVC tourney". USA Today. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[3] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Eastern Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

[4] "Eastern Illinois Panthers 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 29, 2024.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball
Venues	Pemberton Hall (1909–1938) Health Education Building (1938–1967) Lantz Arena (1967–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
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