Teams › OVC · Compare Eastern Illinois with another team
Eastern Illinois
Eastern Illinois returns 73% of last season's minutes and rates #337 on offense and #272 on defense of 365 teams. 80% range: -15.9 to -1.4.
Why we have them here
Eastern Illinois's preseason projection of -8.6 (No. 324 of 365) starts from the roster: its players' ratings, weighted by projected minutes, add up to a roll-up worth -4.4, more than the -5.4 typical of teams ranked near it. Last season's rating (No. 311 at the end of 2025-26) adds -2.0, about its neighbours' -2.1; the program's level two and three seasons back and the roster's experience and shape add -2.6. It returns 73% of last season's minutes, about the same as teams ranked near it (73%). The projection leans most on Terry McMorris (+1.2), Zion Fruster (-0.1) and Preston Turner (-0.4); the newcomer who matters most is Kyle Layton, a newcomer from outside Division I, at -0.5. Its 80% range, -15.9 to -1.4, is about as wide as that of teams ranked near it.
Generated from the published projection's own terms, not written by hand. "Teams ranked near it" are the thirty nearest in the preseason order. Preseason projection frozen 2026-10-23; how the projection is built.
Roster
Returning 63% · Other newcomer 16%
| Rank | Player | Pos | Ht | D1 yrs | Group | From | MPG | Rating | Contrib. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 793 | Terry McMorris | F | 6-7 | 2 | Returning | Eastern Illinois | 24 | +2.0 | +1.2 |
| 1800 | Zion Fruster | G | 6-2 | 2 | Returning | Eastern Illinois | 26 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
| 2573 | Preston Turner | G | 6-6 | 1 | Returning | Eastern Illinois | 21 | -0.7 | -0.4 |
| 3485 | Prince Johnson | F | 6-8 | 1 | Returning | Eastern Illinois | 15 | -1.4 | -0.5 |
| 3845 | Kyle Layton | F | 6-0 | 3 | Other newcomer | 10 | -2.1 | -0.5 | |
| 4071 | Shane Sims | F | 6-4 | 0 | Other newcomer | 10 | -2.3 | -0.6 | |
| 4401 | Jaden Miller | G | 1 | Other newcomer | 11 | -2.6 | -0.8 | ||
| 4707 | Andrew Austin | F | 6-7 | 1 | Returning | Eastern Illinois | 12 | -3.1 | -0.9 |
| 5073 | Markus Blackwell | G | 6-2 | 1 | Returning | Eastern Illinois | 15 | -4.0 | -1.5 |
| 5191 | Malik Olafioye | G | 6-2 | 3 | Returning | Eastern Illinois | 13 | -5.4 | -1.8 |
A player's rating is points per 100 possessions better than an average Division I player while he is on the floor. Contribution weights it by the share of a rotation slot he is projected to play, so a star on the bench and a role player who never sits both read right. Rank is among all 5,249 rated players. MPG is the projected share of a rotation slot times 40. "From" is last season's team. The bars are contribution, the player's rating times his projected share; their sum is the roll-up the projection starts from.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Proj. margin | Win prob. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Nov 02 | at |  Indiana #55 | -20.2 | 5% | |
| Fri Nov 06 | at |  Iowa #33 | -21.0 | 4% | |
| Mon Nov 09 | at |  Notre Dame #75 | -16.9 | 8% | |
| Sun Nov 15 | vs |  Purdue Fort Wayne #212 | +1.0 | 53% | |
| Tue Nov 17 | at |  Vanderbilt #26 | -23.2 | 3% | |
| Fri Nov 20 | at |  Illinois #5 | -27.3 | 1% | |
| Sat Nov 28 | vs |  Northern Illinois #333 | +5.8 | 68% | |
| Wed Dec 02 | vs |  Illinois State #108 | -3.1 | 40% | |
| Sat Dec 05 | at |  Bellarmine #305 | -6.4 | 30% | |
| Wed Dec 09 | at |  Kansas City #338 | -5.1 | 34% | |
| Sat Dec 12 | vs |  Arkansas-Pine Bluff #349 | +7.8 | 73% | |
| Sat Dec 19 | at | Northern Illinois #333 | -4.4 | 36% | |
| Thu Dec 31 | vs |  Southeast Missouri State #219 | conf | -1.9 | 44% |
| Sat Jan 02 | vs |  Tennessee State #154 | conf | -4.2 | 37% |
| Thu Jan 07 | at |  Morehead State #265 | conf | -5.1 | 34% |
| Thu Jan 14 | at |  Western Illinois #362 | conf | +3.7 | 62% |
| Sat Jan 16 | vs |  Lindenwood #258 | conf | -0.6 | 48% |
| Thu Jan 21 | at | Southeast Missouri State #219 | conf | -6.7 | 29% |
| Sat Jan 23 | vs |  UT Martin #271 | conf | +0.0 | 50% |
| Sat Jan 30 | at | Lindenwood #258 | conf | -5.6 | 33% |
| Thu Feb 04 | vs |  Southern Indiana #315 | conf | +1.9 | 56% |
| Sat Feb 06 | vs |  SIU Edwardsville #234 | conf | -1.1 | 46% |
| Thu Feb 11 | at | Tennessee State #154 | conf | -9.0 | 23% |
| Sat Feb 13 | at | UT Martin #271 | conf | -4.1 | 37% |
| Thu Feb 18 | vs | Western Illinois #362 | conf | +7.5 | 73% |
| Sat Feb 20 | at | Southern Indiana #315 | conf | -2.0 | 44% |
| Thu Feb 25 | at | SIU Edwardsville #234 | conf | -6.2 | 31% |
| Sat Feb 27 | vs | Morehead State #265 | conf | -0.3 | 49% |
Projected margin is from Eastern Illinois's side, with home court where the game is not neutral (N). Games are the schedule as posted; tournaments and late additions appear as they are listed. Predictions are as of 2026-10-26 and reflect the roster as the model has it on that date.