Western Illinois men’s basketball game on Feb. 10 to be first in program history televised on ESPNU from Macomb

MACOMB. Ill. — For the fourth time this season, the Western Illinois men’s basketball team will be on a nationally televised broadcast. For the second time this season, the Leathernecks will be on ESPNU.

But for the first time this season and a first in program history, the broadcast will originate from Western Hall on the campus of Western Illinois University in Macomb.

The Ohio Valley Conference and ESPNU announced on Wednesday that the Tennessee-Martin at Western Illinois men’s basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 10 will be part of the OVC-ESPN Wild Card matchup. The televised game is the fifth of a 10-game OVC basketball linear TV package to air on the ESPN family of networks this season.

The game tips off and airs nationally on ESPNU at 11 a.m. The UT Martin-Western Illinois women’s game follows at 2 p.m., airing online on ESPN+.

“This is a great opportunity for our men’s basketball team as well as our athletic department and university, to be showcased on a national broadcast,” Paul A. Bubb, director of athletics, said in a press release. “To have this type of media coverage for our programs is another example that membership in the Ohio Valley Conference is a good place for our programs and the university.”

Western Illinois has twice appeared on the Big Ten Network this season, playing at Wisconsin and Illinois in November. The Leathernecks previously have been part of the OVC-ESPN Wild Card game, playing at Southern Indiana on Thursday, Jan. 25.