Men's Basketball plays at Drake on Wednesday night

Southern Illinois (11-8, 4-2) plays at Drake (5-12, 3-3) on Wednesday night in a rematch of the conference season-opener that SIU won in Carbondale on Jan. 1. In that game, the Salukis got off to a slow start, trailing 32-24 with four minutes remaining in the first half. That's when SIU turned up the defensive pressure, holding the Bulldogs scoreless for more than seven-straight minutes during a 15-0 Saluki run. Two seniors were the key to Southern's comeback — Sean O'Brien and Leo Vincent. At times playing point guard and at other times posting up in the paint, O'Brien helped pick apart Drake's 1-3-1 defense. He recorded 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Vincent made a season-high 5-of-8 shots from 3-point. The Salukis have won the last four meetings and five of the last seven versus Drake.

Measuring Mike Rodriguez impact on Saluki offense
   How big of an impact has PG Mike Rodriguez (5-10, 165, Sr.) had on SIU's offense? Consider these stats.
•He has either scored (69) or recorded an assist (85) on 32 percent of SIU's field goals.
•By comparison, All-Conference G Anthony Beane either scored or recorded an assist on 32 percent of SIU's field goals last year.
•His 1.97 assist-TO ratio currently stands as the sixth-best single-season mark in school history. Bryan Mullins (3.26 in 2009) holds the school record.

Salukis getting to the FT line
   Through six Valley games this season, the Salukis have a huge advantage in free throws made (+32) and attempts (+30), for an average of more than six per game.
   On the season, Mike Rodriguez ranks 10th in the nation in free throw attempts and 16th in free throws made (100-of-136). He has accounted for 34 percent of the team's made free throws and 33 percent of free throw attempts. Forty percent of Rodriguez' points have come from the free throw line.

Sean O'Brien churns out double-doubles
   F Sean O'Brien (6-7, 215, Sr.) has six double-doubles on the season and 15 in his career. The last Saluki player to have more than six double-doubles in a season was G Jeff Early, who had eight in 2013.
   O'Brien is the 45th player in school history to reach 1,000 points in his career. He currently stands 36th in scoring at SIU with 1,078 points. O'Brien is also 13th in career rebounds (680) at SIU. A preseason Second-Team All-MVC pick, O'Brien has 108 career starts, including 85-straight. He is ninth in career starts.

Sean Lloyd steps up in starting role
   G Sean Lloyd (6-5, 215, So.) has started five-straight games and seven of the last nine. As a starter, he is averaging 8.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 30.0 minutes. He's coming off a 14-point outing at Evansville, which matched his career high.

Armon Fletcher returns
   Armon Fletcher (6-4, 190, So.), SIU's leading scorer (13.3 points) missed three games with a sprained foot, but came out firing last Wednesday versus Illinois State. He made a 3-pointer to open the game and scored 12 points. He is shooting a team-best .379 from outside the arc. Fletcher also leads the club and ranks fourth in the MVC in steals (1.8).

Thik Bol 33rd in nation, 2nd in MVC in blocked shots
   F Thik Bol (6-8, 205, Jr.) ranks second in the MVC (behind Missouri State's Obediah Church) and 42nd in the nation in blocked shots per game (2.21). His 42 blocks have already eclipsed Sean O'Brien's team-leading total of 29 last year. Bol had a career-high six blocks versus Mount St. Mary's and Evansville.

Dawg Bites
•In MVC-only games, there are two defensive categories where the Salukis lead the league — blocked shots (5.2) and steals (8.3)
•In SIU's 11 wins, it is +4.9 on the boards. In the eight losses, it is -7.0.
•The Salukis average 76 points per game at home, compared to 65 points on the road.
•SIU is 10-1 when it has an advantage in points in the paint, and 6-1 when it wins the rebounding battle.
•Armon Fletcher has made 17-straight FTs in a streak that started versus Texas Southern on Dec. 3.
•O'Brien and Bol combine to account for 46 percent of SIU's rebounding total.
•SIU shoots .503 from inside the 3-point arc, compared to .315 outside the arc.
•SIU's non-conference SOS ranks 95th in the nation. Last year, it was 325th.

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Players Mentioned

Anthony Beane

Thik Bol

Armon Fletcher

Sean Lloyd Jr.

Sean O'Brien

Mike Rodriguez

Leo Vincent

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