Salukis Open Missouri Valley Conference Action Wednesday at Evansville
Saluki Basketball opens Missouri Valley Conference action Wednesday evening against Evansville. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT from the Ford Center.
THE BROADCAST
• The game will be available nationally on ESPN Plus with Kyle Peach (play-by-play) and Rick Johnston (analyst) calling the action.
• The radio broadcast can be heard on the Saluki Radio Network with SIU Hall of Famer Mike Reis (play-by-play) and Rodney Watson (analyst) on the call.
THE MATCHUP
• The game Wednesday will mark the 135th meeting all-time between Southern Illinois and Evansville. SIU holds a 76-58 record in the series with the first meeting coming in 1927. Against the Purple Aces, Southern is 46-18 at home, 27-38 on the road, and 3-2 at neutral sites. Southern Illinois has won eight of the last 10 meetings in the series, including three-straight games on the road.
DOMASK PICKS UP HONORS
• For his effort in the two games at the SoCal Challenge, Marcus Domask was named to the All-Tournament Team as well as the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week. The Waupun, Wisconsin native averaged 26.5 points on 61.3 percent (19-of-31) shooting, 6.5 rebounds, three assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game.
A HOMECOMING OF SORT
• Saluki guard Jawaun Newton will make his first trip to the Ford Center as a visitor Wednesday after spending four seasons with the Purple Aces. Over his career at UE, he averaged eight points, 3.6 rebounds and one assist in 103 games including 65 starts.
DUO CONTINUES TO CLIMB THE CHARTS
• Marcus Domask and Lance Jones continue to climb their way up the SIU all-time scoring list. Domask entered the top-30 after a 32-point outing last game, now with 1,179 career points while Jones sits in 33rd with 1,126 career points.
JONES ENTERS TOP-5 IN STEALS PER GAME AVERAGE
• After recording three steals in the last two games for the Salukis, guard Lance Jones has moved into the top-5 in career steals per game now averaging 1.46 steals per contest. The senior has recorded 134 steals to rank 13th overall in the category, needing just four more to move into the top-10.
DEFENSE IS THE IDENTITY
• Southern held Oklahoma State to just 34.5 percent shooting in the second half en route to a 12-point comeback on the road to pull off the upset. SIU held the Cowboys without a field goal for over four minutes until the end of regulation, including three steals in that time. The Dawgs are holding opponents to .260 (13-for-50) shooting from behind the arc, allowing just 13 3-pointers this season.
• The Salukis held Tennessee State to just 17 second-half points -- good enough to tie for 8th fewest points allowed in the second half in program history. The complete defensive effort by the Salukis led to TSU shooting just 28.1 percent (15-53) from the floor -- which is the best mark under head coach Bryan Mullins in four seasons. SIU held the Tigers without a field goal for over 10 minutes in the second half of action.
POWER 5 ROAD WIN
• Southern Illinois rallied to defeat Oklahoma State to earn the program's first true road win over a Power opponent since 2000 when SIU beat Colorado in the NIT. Southern has a Power Conference win in the last two seasons now, after defeating Colorado during the Paradise Jam in 2021-22.
LAST TIME OUT
It took overtime and a career-high 32 points from senior Marcus Domask, but Southern Illinois basketball returns to Carbondale with a third-place finish in the SoCal Challenge after defeating Cal Baptist 64-61. After Cal Baptist scored the first four points of overtime to jump ahead 61-57 with 3:44 left in action, the Salukis did not surrender another point to CBU for the remainder of the game while Domask took over scoring the next seven points to secure the victory.
SEASON TICKETS
• Season tickets are on sale now, with prices beginning as low as $125. For more information, fans can call the SIU Ticket Office at 877-SALUKIS.
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