Southern Illinois News

Salukis Square Off with League Leader Indiana State Wednesday on the Road

The Southern Illinois men's basketball program will look to create separation in the Missouri Valley Conference standings come Wednesday night with a meeting with Indiana State. The Sycamores currently sit atop the MVC at 6-0 while SIU is 4-2 along with five other Valley programs. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET from Hulman Center.
 
THE BROADCAST
• The game will be available nationally on ESPN Plus with John Rooney calling the action and Tim Jankovich serving as analyst.
• 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.
 
QUICK HITS
• It's a matchup of opposite styles of play Wednesday in Terre Haute as the Salukis and Sycamores square off in an MVC showdown. Indiana State leads the MVC in scoring at 80.8 points per game with a trio of double-figure scorers while the Salukis rank second in the MVC and 20th nationally in scoring defense. The matchup features four preseason All-MVC selections in SIU's Marcus Domask and Lance Jones and Indiana State's Cameron Henry and Cooper Neese.
• The Sycamores knocked off SIU at home in early December, 74-71 to move to 2-0 in League play.
• SIU center's Scottie Ebube and JD Muila as well as INS guard Cooper Neese will be active for this meeting after each missed the first game due to injuries.
• Southern Illinois has held conference opponents to just 57.8 points per game and four of its six Valley foes to under 57 points. The Salukis held Belmont to 45 points and preseason favorite Drake to 49 points.
• Southern put the clamps on Drake's Tucker DeVries and Roman Penn. The Salukis gave up just 11 points to DeVries on 4-for-13 shooting while holding Penn to 1-for-15 from the floor and two points.
• SIU's 60.4 points allowed per game is second in the MVC and 20th nationally.
• The Salukis are holding opponents to just 30.2 percent from behind the arc -- ranking third in the MVC and 55th nationally.
• SIU's 7.9 steals per game is second in the MVC. Lance Jones leads the team with 1.9 steals per game and has recorded multiple steals in 11 games this season including a career-high six coming at UE.
• Marcus Domask and Lance Jones combined to score the final 20 points against Murray State. Against Drake, Domask scored the final 15 points of the game.
• Marcus Domask (20th-1,355) and Lance Jones (25th-1,293) each rank in the top-25 in program history in points scored. The duo also ranks in the top 20 in career assists.
• Marcus Domask has scored in double-digits in 15 of 17 games this season to lead SIU. He has scored 20 or more in five games and his 17.1 points per game rank fifth in the MVC.
• Lance Jones leads the Salukis with 34 3-pointers this season. The senior has made 169 threes over his career to rank eighth in program history.
• Xavier Johnson ranks third on the team during Valley play with 8.8 points per contest. The guard is shooting 42.1 percent from behind the arc and has 15 assists in League play.
• Clarence Rupert is shooting 66.7 percent (50-75) -- the best of any Saluki with more than 10 attempts. The forward has shot 100 percent from the field in three games this season, including a pair of 6-for-6 outings. 
• Since forward Clarence Rupert entered the starting lineup eight games ago, SIU is 7-1.
• SIU's four turnovers against Murray State is the fewest for the Salukis in a game since the 2017-18 season when Southern turned the ball over four times against Duquesne. It tied for the 19th-best (fewest turnovers) in a game this year.
• The Salukis check in at No. 24 in the latest CollegeInsider.com men's basketball mid-major poll. 

Original source can be found here