Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball plays at Illinois State on Wednesday
02/23/2016 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Southern Illinois (21-8, 10-6) travels to Illinois State (17-12, 11-5) for a 6 p.m. game between two teams battling for second and third place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. In the first meeting between the teams, the Salukis rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to win, 81-78. Leo Vincent made the game-winning 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining. He came off the bench to make 6-of-7 shots from 3-point and scored a career-high 24 points.
| Southern Illinois (21-7, 10-6) at Illinois State (17-13, 11-5) | |
| Date | Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 |
| Time | 6 p.m. CT |
| Location | Normal, Ill. • Redbird Arena (10,200) |
| Game Notes | Southern Illinois  |
| Radio | Saluki Sports Network |
| Watch | FS Midwest, Comcast Chicago, ESPN3 John Rooney, David Kaplan |
| Watch | ESPN3 |
| Live Audio | CBS All-Access |
| Live Stats | Stat Broadcast |
| Social Media | @SIU_Basketball |
Head coach Barry Hinson met with the media on Tuesday before practice
Q: What challenges do you have against Illinois State defensively?
"The great thing about us is our field goal percentage on the defense side is great. We do a great job guarding the three. Certainly, they're going to shoot anywhere from 25-30 threes, I know that. The thing that is so great about them is everybody shoots the three. We have to do a good job on first-shot defense, but we've really got to rebound the ball. When you shoot threes, your guards are involved in the rebounding statistics. A lot of times when you play a team like this a guard has to be one of your best rebounders."
Q: What has Illinois State done to be one of the better teams down the stretch?
"I don't know if they've done anything other than the process of maturing. You can say the same thing when you look at our basketball team. What have they done to win 21 games? We've matured along the way. I think (ISU) is the most athletic team in the Valley. That's a pretty bold comment when you consider Wichita State, but I do think they're the most athletic team. They've got the best collection of athletes in the Valley."
Q: It was a tough loss at Evansville. What do you do to keep your mind right late in the season?
"At this time of year you've just got to go. You've got to play. Everything is difficult. Everything is hard. Weather is fluctuating. Books are fluctuating. Girlfriends are upset at you. It's just all problems. You forgot your mom's birthday. Your forgot your wife's birthday, which I didn't do yesterday, but I almost did. You're so clouded in your thoughts; things are just going to happen. You've just got to move on to the next game. Everyone is going through this. We're not the only team. We're not immune to February. I wish we were, but we aren't.
Q: How do you feel about Leo Vincent right now? Is he practicing well?
"Yeah, he really has been. Leo is kind of going through a little rut, which most junior college players go through. Hopefully, we're getting ready to see him start to explode again."
Q: Is the three seed important to you?
"I think it's important. Let's get past the three seed and being opposite of Wichita State because that's what everyone is thinking about. It doesn't matter. Last time I checked you have to win a game. The reason the three seed is important is because we were picked ninth and we have a chance to finish third or in a tie for second. Wow, what a great testament and what a great opportunity for your program to talk about. I think that's why the three seed is so high."
Q: Is Illinois State like a home game for Anthony Beane?
"I think this has been a tough game for Anthony when he goes back. I think he presses himself a little bit too much. There's no one that puts more pressure on Anthony than himself. We've done some things that I think will help him. I'm really anxious to play this team. There's not a lot of guys that say they're anxious to go in and play Illinois State."
Q: DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell had migraines in the last game. Do you expect him to be 100 percent?
"He will be, it's senior night. I hope he doesn't have the migraines. I don't want to ever beat anybody with an injured player or anybody that's sick because I don't want an asterisk. I certainly don't want this kid, which is a first team All-Conference player to miss out on his senior night because he's a good kid and he's a good player."
Q: What do you think of Anthony's chances to make the Valley's first team?
"I think it's a close race. I think it's between him, Purcell and Wes Washpun. I think it comes down to those three guys. If we finish second or third, he wins. If we finish fourth there's a chance he could win. We know who the first four spots are going to. How the leading scorer and a guy that delivers your team from a ninth place prediction to anywhere from fourth, third or second, I can't fathom that he wouldn't be in the top-five players in the league."
Q: Last time against Illinois State you guys fell down by 10 points. How do you prevent that from happening again?
"Hopefully, a guy doesn't get 20 points on us in the first half. That was a tough time for us. We had just come off a very embarrassing loss against Wichita State. It was going to take us a while to get jump started."
Q: How big is this game?
"It's not a make or break game. We won 21 games. We've got a winning record in the Valley. We've got a great road record. We know we're not in the play-in game. We get to play in a postseason tournament hopefully. For me to come out and tell these kids we have to do this would be completely false. What we have to do in my opinion is play well. Play well. Stick to the game plan. Do what we ask you to do and if it doesn't work out, then game plan is on me."
