Southern Illinois News

Salukis and Bears Square Off in Springfield Saturday

 Southern Illinois and Missouri State will meet for the first time this season on Saturday in Springfield. Tipoff with the Bears is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Great Southern Bank Arena with the game airing on ESPN3.
 
THE BROADCAST
• The game will be available nationally on ESPN3 with Don West calling the action and James Westling 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
• Southern Illinois and Missouri State meet for the first time this season on Saturday in Springfield. 
• SIU has won 9 of its last 10 games, including three-straight games with wins against INS, ILS, and UE.
• The Salukis sit tied with Belmont atop the MVC standings at 7-2 in League play.
• SIU is off to its best start under head coach Bryan Mullins in four seasons at 15-5 and 7-2 in MVC.
• The Salukis are 5-1 this month -- Mullins and SIU are 15-14 overall in January over his tenure.
• SIU is 9-1 at home -- its seven-game home streak is the second longest in the MVC behind Bradley.
• Since forward Clarence Rupert entered the starting lineup, SIU is 10-1.
• SIU ranks fourth in the MVC in bench points at 20.4 per game. MSU leads with 25.5 per game.
• Sophomore Troy D'Amico scored a career-high 10 points against Evansville on 4-for-4 shooting.
• The Salukis moved up 14 spots and check in at No. 10 in the latest CollegeInsider.com men's basketball mid-major poll.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
• Forward Marcus Domask can become just the fourth player in program history to score 1,400 points, grab 500 rebounds and dish out 300 assists. The senior needs just two rebounds to join Wayne Abrams, Darren Brooks, and Marcus Timmons – all three of which are Saluki Hall of Famers.
• Domask ranks 17th in program history in scoring (1,410), 14th in assists (302) and just outside the top 30 in rebounds (498).
 
A DYNAMIC DUO
• Marcus Domask (17th-1,410) and Lance Jones (22nd-1,339) 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 scored in double-digits in 18 of 20 games this season to lead SIU. He has scored 20 or more five times, 30 or more twice, and his 17.2 points per game rank fifth in the MVC.
• Marcus Domask and Lance Jones combined to score the final 20 points in a win on the road against Murray State. Against Drake, Domask scored the final 15 points of the game to defeat DU.
• Lance Jones leads the Salukis with 42 3-pointers this season and 18 in Valley play. The senior has made 177 threes over his career to rank seventh in program history.
 
THE MATCHUP
• There have been 93 games between Southern Illinois and Missouri State with the Salukis leading the series 50-43. In the last 10 meetings between the programs, Missouri State has won six meetings, including five-straight wins over the Salukis. SIU is 16-27 all-time against the Bears on the road with the last win in Springfield coming in 2018 when SIU won 79-77 at then JQH Arena. All-time against MSU, the Salukis are 28-11 at home and 6-5 during Arch Madness.
 
• The Bears are 10-9 overall, 6-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, and have won two-straight games with wins over Indiana State and preseason favorite Drake. MSU defeated Drake on the road in overtime 65-62, rallying back from a 14-point deficit.
 
• Missouri State is led by the duo of Chance Moore (11.9 ppg) and Donovan Clay (10.3 ppg). As a team, MSU is outscoring opponents 66.1 to 62.8 per game while outrebounding opponents by an average of 3.1 rebounds per game. The Bears shoot 43.7 percent from the field, 34 percent from distance, and 61.7 percent from the charity stripe. 

Original source can be found here