Perhaps the only two Illinois teams in the Ohio Valley Conference could be considered rivals.

But when the Eastern men’s basketball team hosts Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, there will be much more to the rivalry than an in-state opponent.

Before the Panthers lost to the Cougars 49-45 on Feb. 2, 2013 in Edwardsville last season, players asked Eastern coach Jay Spoonhour whether or not he believed Edwardsville can be considered Eastern’s rival.

He assured his players that the Cougars were indeed a rival to the Panthers, being the only two Illinois team in the OVC.

But more importantly, Spoonhour said the definition of a rivalry runs much deeper than territory.

“Rivals aren’t determined geographically,” Spoonhour said to the team. “Any meaningful game is a rivalry.”

At 2 p.m. Saturday in Lantz Arena, Eastern will host Edwardsville with the sole possession of the No. 2 ranked team in OVC’s the west division at stake.

“This is the time of the season where you tell guys to pay attention to the standings,” Spoonhour said.

The Panthers, who are 4-5 in OVC play with only seven conference game remaining, sit a half game behind the Cougars, who are 4-4 the conference with just eight such games remaining.

This is the first of a three-game home stand in the OVC for the Panthers and the first of two meetings against the Cougars, with the second coming in the season finale in Edwardsville on March 1.

But Eastern guard Dylan Chatman knows the final stretch of the conference season begins Saturday.

“We have to sweep (Edwardsville) in conference to get into the tournament,” Chatman said. “We need theses home games.”

The Cougars bring a quick team that yields a guard-dominated lineup, giving the Panthers a significant height advantage, Spoonhour said.

“If we can guard their quickness and rebound the ball with our height advantage, we will be in pretty good shape,” Spoonhour said.

In conference play, Donivine Stewart leads Edwardsville with 13.4 points per game. Also, his 4.1 assists per game average is seventh in the OVC.

“He has the ball in his hands a lot,” Spoonhour said. “They are really balanced, averaging 72 points per game, but (Stewart) is the only player in double figures.”

The Cougars are shooting 46.4 percent on the season — fourth in the OVC — with seven players averaging more seven points per game.

“Any one of their players can jump up and get on you,” Spoonhour said. “You can’t relax on any of them.”

Spoonhour said defensive stops have been something the Panthers need to improve on, adding that the Panthers cannot afford to keep up with opponents when they are giving up 84 points per game, as Eastern has in its last five losses.

“We have to string stops together,” Chatman said. “In practice, we work on trying to get five stops in a row and that’s something we have to do if we want to get to the conference tournament.”

Anthony Catezone can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].