At 4-4, the Eastern men’s basketball seems right on track of where it was projected at the beginning of the season.

The Panthers have beaten the teams they were expected to beat, and lost to the teams that appeared better than them.

Still, a .500 record is an accomplishment considering they have yet to play a game with last year’s leading scorer, senior guard Romain Martin, who has been out since having his left knee scoped on Nov. 18.

Martin has been the steady hand of the Panthers for the past three seasons, leading the team in scoring each season while moving up to 24th on the all-time scoring list.

He was named a preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference performer and was listed as one of the 50 best shooters in the country by Fox Sports.

And while the Panthers have held firm without their star, the lack of his presence has hurt at times, most noticeably during Wednesday’s 69-58 loss to Western Michigan.

The Panthers were torched time and time against by Broncos’ star guard David Kool, and could not answer him on either end of the court.

The zone defense was ineffective against the Mid-American Conference’s preseason Player of the Year, and the inability to match him when Eastern was on offense is what ultimately cost the team the game.

Kool was unable to run wild, unopposed on the other end of the court, and Martin would have been the one to do that.

Without him in the lineup, the Panthers struggled.

The initial diagnosis on Martin was that he would miss 4-to-6 weeks, and if that is, in fact, on schedule, he would be expected back right after New Years, and just in time for the brunt of conference play.

There is little question that having Martin undergo the procedure was the smart move.

Having him held out of the non-conference games matters little in the bigger picture of winning the OVC, and having him fresh and healthy once OVC play gets in full swing is what is important.

While him being out might hurt in games such as Wednesday’s loss, he will help the team in a number of ways upon his return.

He will take some of the scoring burden off junior guard Tyler Laser, some of the ball-handling responsibility off senior guard T.J. Marion and sophomore guard Jeremy Granger, and will help the team depth-wise, keeping the bench more fresh.

If the Panthers can withstand the storm while Martin sits, his injury could prove a blessing if he has fresh legs come March.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.