Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Wichita State Tonight
01/15/2003 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2003
Southern Illinois (9-3, 4-0) will host Wichita State (8-4, 3-0) at 7 p.m. tonight in a game televised by Fox Sports Midwest. Tickets are still available by calling 453-2000.
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Best Start in Valley Play Since 1994
Southern Illinois is 4-0 and off to its best start in MVC play since the 1993-94 team began conference play 6-0.
Home Winning Streak At 19 Games
The Salukis have a 19-game home winning streak that began with last season's opening win over Belmont and includes six home victories this season. It is the longest home winning streak since the Salukis won 20-straight at SIU Arena between Feb. 11, 1992 and Dec. 16, 1993.
Series Vs. Wichita State
Southern Illinois has a four-game home winning streak against Wichita State and has won 13 of the last 14 against the Shockers at SIU Arena. Overall, the Salukis have won seven of the last eight, and 18 of the last 23 meetings.
Backcourt Triple Threat
The Salukis play a three-guard offense, and starting guards Kent Williams (14.9 ppg), Stetson Hairston (13.8 ppg) and Darren Brooks (13.1 ppg) are the team's three leading scorers. Combined, the three players account for 54 percent of SIU's scoring, 74 percent of its 3-pointers, and 63 percent of its assists.
Dawg Bites
G Stetson Hairston had a career-high seven offensive rebounds at ISU...The Salukis have recorded double digits in offensive rebounds in 11-straight games...F Brad Korn has broken out of a slump by hitting 7-of-9 shots and 4-of-4 3-pointers in the last three games...G Kent Williams has made 7-of-8 3-pointers in the last two games.
Williams Excels In New Role as Point Guard
Although senior G Kent Williams' scoring average (14.9 ppg) is down slightly, he is having perhaps his best season ever at SIU. As the team's point guard, he is distributing the ball and shooting selectively. Williams leads the conference with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1-to-1. He is also converting 50.8 percent from 3-point range this season. He entered the year with a career mark of 36.9 from 3-point.
Hairston Emerges
Sophomore guard Stetson Hairston entered the season with a reputation as a defensive stalwart. However, he has nearly doubled his scoring average over last year and is second on the team in scoring (13.8). On Dec. 9, he was named the MVC ?Player of the Week? for his performances in wins over Murray State and SEMO.
Miscellaneous
On Saturday, SIU travels to #16 Creighton. The Salukis, who beat Evansville and Indiana State on the road last week, have not won three straight conference road games since the 1995 season...In its last four games, SIU is shooting 57.5 percent from 3-point range (23-of-40)...G Darren Brooks has led SIU in scoring in four of the last seven games...Indiana State's two 3-pointers were the fewest by a Saluki opponent since Wichita State made 1-of-11 on Feb. 6, 2002.
National Rankings
Southern Illinois picked up three votes in the Coaches Poll this week and no votes in the Associated Press Poll.
1,000-Point Club
Senior guard Kent Williams and senior forward Jermaine Dearman are both members of the 1,000-point club at SIU and are taking aim at the top scorers in school history this season. Williams passed Steve Middleton (1985-88) Saturday into fourth place in career scoring and
