Men's Basketball plays matinee at Loyola on Saturday

Saturday, February 4

Chicago, IL

1 PM

Southern Illinois University

Loyola

02/03/2017 | 7:05:00 | Men's Basketball

Watch Watch Listen Live Stats Game Notes

By: By Tom Weber, SIUSalukis.com

Southern Illinois (13-11, 6-5) plays at Loyola (16-8, 6-5) at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a game televised on the MVC TV network. The telecast will be cleared live on FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports Indiana and FOX Sports Kansas City, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, ESPN3 (outside the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska), DirecTV (FOX Sports Midwest – Channel 671; Comcast SportsNet Chicago – Channel 665), Dish Network (FOX Sports Midwest – Channel 418; Comcast SportsNet Chicago – Channel 429) and AT&T U-verse (FOX Sports Midwest -- Channels 748 and 1748; Comcast SportsNet Chicago – Channels 740 and 1740). The game will also be shown on KSMO-TV (974,000 homes) in Kansas City, Missouri.

Since Loyola joined the MVC in 2014, the Salukis hold a 4-2 edge in the series. The Ramblers' two wins came at home in 2015 and at SIU Arena in 2016. In five games against SIU, Loyola's Milton Doyle has recorded 78 points, 18 rebounds and 22 assists, while shooting 25-of-47 (.531) from the field.

All five starters in double figures
   All five Saluki starters have scored in double figures in back-to-back games versus Missouri State and Bradley. The last time that happened at SIU was Feb. 23-27, 1994 in road games at Northern Iowa and Illinois State. Based on box scores through the 1976-77 season, the Salukis have had all five starters score double figures in 38 games.

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 (88) or reecorded an assist (109) on 33 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 2.14 assist-TO ratio currently stands as the third-best single-season mark in school history. Bryan Mullins (3.26 in 2009) holds the school record.
•Rodriguez is 16-for-38 (.421) from 3-point in the last nine games. In the preceding six games, he was 0-for-11.
•His 109 assists are the most by a Saluki since Kevin Dillard had 146 in 2009.

Trends
•Mike Rodriguez and Sean O'Brien have combined for 22 of SIU's 34 assists in the last two games.
•SIU is 12-3 when it has an advantage in points in the paint, and 7-2 when it wins the rebounding battle.
•SIU has led at halftime in 10 of its 24 games. Four times SIU has rallied from a halftime deficit to win.

Dawg Bites
•In MVC-only games, there is one category where the Salukis lead the league — offensive rebounds (12.9).
•In SIU's wins, it averages 80.8 points. In its losses, it averages 60.5 points.
•In SIU's wins, it is +5.1 on the boards. In the losses, it is -6.8.
•O'Brien and Bol combine to account for 45 percent of SIU's rebounding total.
•O'Brien 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.

Sean O'Brien cracks Top 30
   F Sean O'Brien (6-7, 215, Sr.) is the 45th player in school history to reach 1,000 points in his career. He currently stands 30th in scoring at SIU with 1,138 points. O'Brien is also 12th in career rebounds (717) at SIU. A preseason Second-Team All-MVC pick, O'Brien has 113 career starts, including 90-straight. He is ninth in career starts.

Armon Fletcher is SIU's top 3-point threat
   Armon Fletcher (6-4, 190, So.) leads the team 3-pointers (41) and 3-point percentage (.363). Fifty-two percent of his field goal attempts come from outside the arc. He is SIU's second-leading scorer (13.1 points) and ranks sixth in the conference in steals (1.5).

Thik Bol climbs into Top 10 in single-season blocks at SIU
   F Thik Bol (6-8, 205, Jr.) ranks eighth at SIU in single-season blocks with 50. That mark is also good for 19th all-time at SIU. Bol had a career-high six blocks versus Mount St. Mary's and Evansville, which tied for the fifth-most in a game in school history. He ranks second in the MVC (behind Missouri State's Obediah Church) and 41st in the nation in blocked shots per game (2.09).

Sean Lloyd steps up in starting role
   G Sean Lloyd (6-5, 215, So.) has started 10 games this season, making his first start on Dec. 14 versus Saint Louis. As a starter, he is averaging 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 32.5 minutes, while shooting 48 percent from three. He had a career-high 17-point outing at Drake, in which he made 4-of-6 from 3-point.