Men's Basketball hosts Mount St. Mary's on Monday night

Monday, November 21

Carbondale, Ill.

7 PM

Southern Illinois University

Mount Saint Mary's

11/20/2016 | 5:07:00 | Men's Basketball

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By: By Tom Weber, SIUSalukis.com

Southern Illinois (2-2) hosts Mount St. Mary's (1-3) in a non-conference men's basketball matchup at SIU Arena on Monday night at 7 p.m. The game is part of the Coats for Kids program, which is a partnership between Saluki Athletics and the Carbondale Police Department. Fans can donate new coats for area children in need, at donation bins in both the east and west lobbies. Sizes needed range from Youth Small to XL. The Coats for Kids program will continue at games through Dec. 11.

Series vs. Mount St. Mary's
The teams have met only once, with Mount St. Mary's winning in the small-college NCAA Tournament, 58-57, on March 16, 1962 in Evansville, Indiana. Ed Spilla led the Salukis with 15 points and Dave Henson added 14. SIU was coached by Harry Gallatin that season and finished the year 21-10.

5-in-10
Both SIU and Mount St. Mary's are playing their fifth game in 10 days. SIU has played three at home, while the Mountaineers have played all five on the road. In fact, they open their regular season with nine-straight road games. The Mountaineers are located in Emmitsburg, Maryland and are members of the Northeast Conference.

Salukis vs. the Northeast Conference
The Salukis are 1-1 all-time against current members of the Northeast Conference. Besides Mount St. Mary's, SIU played Long Island in 1969, posting a 65-63 win at SIU Arena.

Updating the Record Book after SIUE
The Salukis put up some impressive offensive numbers during Friday's 101-83 win at SIUE. There were three new team additions to the school record book.
Field Goal Percentage   68.5 (3rd)
FG Percentage in a half   73.3 (11th)
Assists   25 (13th)

Offense among national leaders
The Salukis rank 81st in the nation in scoring (83.0), 25th in field goal percentage (52.3) and 26th in 3-point shooting percentage (43.3) through four games.

Dawg Bites
•SIU's three seniors combined for 62 points and 18 assists in the win at SIUE.
•Entering Friday's game, SIU's four-man front court had combined for just four assists on the season. Sean O'Brien more than doubled that with nine.
•After being +17 in assists-to-TOs at SIUE, the Salukis are nearly even (-2) on the season.
•Sean O'Brien nearly became the third player in school history to record a triple double. He had 22 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists at SIUE. Wayne Abrams and Rashad Tucker are the only two Salukis to accomplish the feat. Tucker did it twice.

Sean O'Brien voted Preseason Second-Team All-MVC
F Sean O'Brien (6-7, 215, Sr.) is SIU's top returning scorer (12.1 points), rebounder (6.0 rebounds) and shot blocker (29 blocks). He was also second on the team in assists (63). The savvy veteran first cracked the lineup early in his freshman campaign, and has started 93 of the last 94 games, including a current streak of 71-consecutive starts.

Mike Rodriguez leads team in scoring, assists
PG Mike Rodriguez (5-10, 165, Sr.) has accounted for 33 percent of SIU's baskets this year, as the team's leader in scoring (16.0) and assists (19). He has a 1.90 assist-TO ratio. His ratio last year (1.88) was the ninth-best single-season mark in school history. Rodriguez scored a career-high 29 points in the opener against Wright State, nearly doubling his previous best of 15 versus Air Force on Nov. 13, 2015.

Armon Fletcher with the hot hand
Armon Fletcher (6-4, 190, So.) is the team's top 3-point shooter so far, converting 9-of-15 (.600). He has made multiple 3-pointers in every game and is the only Saluki player to score double figures in all four games this season.

Leo Vincent also off to hot start
G Leo Vincent (6-1, 192, Sr.) has also shot the ball well from 3-poin, hitting 8-of-15 (.533). He is the team's third-leading scorer (14.3) and rebounder (4.0).

Senior leadership
The Salukis' senior class (Sean O'Brien, Leo Vincent, Mike Rodriguez, Tyler Smithpeters) has the most returning career points and rebounds of any school in the Missouri Valley Conference. In fact, 25 percent of the returning scoring in the MVC comes from SIU's four seniors.