Men's Basketball takes on top-seed Illinois State at 2:30 today

Saturday, March 4

St. Louis, Mo.

2:30 PM

Southern Illinois University

Illinois St.

Photo by: Tom Weber

Men's Basketball takes on top-seed Illinois State at 2:30 today

03/04/2017 | 9:15:00 | Men's Basketball

Watch Listen Live Stats Game Notes

By: By Tom Weber, SIUSalukis.com

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Southern Illinois squares off today with No. 1-seed Illinois State in the semifinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network. The Salukis (17-15) beat Loyola in the quarterfinals, 55-50. The last time SIU advanced to the semis was in 2014, when Desmar Jackson scored 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and snagged six steals to beat UNI. The last time SIU advanced to the title game was in 2007.

MVC Tournament Quick Facts
•The Salukis have won five MVC Tournament championships in school history (1977, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2006). •As the No. 4 seed this year, this is the program's highest seed at the tournament since being the No. 3 seed in 2008.
•The last time SIU advanced to the semifinals was in 2014 (beat UNI, lost to Indiana State). The last time SIU advanced to the championship game was in 2007 (beat Drake and Bradley, lost to Creighton).

MVC Tournament Head to Head
SIU vs.   Record    Last Meeting
Bradley   5-2   L, 2009
Creighton   1-6   L, 2007
Drake   3-2   L, 2010
Evansville   3-0   W, 2006
Illinois State   5-3   W, 2011
Indiana State   3-5    L, 2014
Loyola   1-0   W, 2017
Missouri State   5-5   W, 2015
New Mexico State   0-1   L, 1982
Northern Iowa   4-2   L, 2016
Tulsa   3-2   W, 1995
West Texas State   1-0   W, 1977
Wichita State   1-4   L, 2015

Sean O'Brien named Second-Team All-MVC
   F Sean O'Brien (6-7, 215, Sr.) is putting the finishing touches on a stellar career as a four-year starter for SIU.
•Ranks 25th in career scoring (1,240)
•Ranks 9th in career rebounds (797)
•Ranks 20th in career assists (244)
•Ranks 13th in career blocks (71)
•Ranks 5th in career starts (121), including 98-straight.
•Nine double-doubles on the season, giving him 18 in his career. It's the most double-doubles in a season by a Saluki since Mamadou Seck had 10 in 2012.

Thik Bol named to MVC's All-Defense team
Juco transfer F Thik Bol (6-8, 205, Jr.) ranks fifth at SIU in single-season blocks with 74. That mark is also good for 11th all-time at SIU. The Iowa Western Community College grad had a career-high seven blocks against Loyola, which was the second-most in a game in school history. He ranks second in the MVC (behind Missouri State's Obediah Church) and 26th in the nation in blocked shots per game (2.21).

Series vs. Illinois State
   In a battle of fifth-year head coaches, Dan Muller holds a 7-3 advantage head-to-head versus Barry Hinson.
   The last time these teams met in the MVC Tournament was on March 3, 2011. It was the play-in game and Chris Lowery was the head coach at SIU and Tim Jankovich at the helm for ISU. Southern Illinois won, 57-54, as Justin Bocot scored 13 points off the bench, and Mamadou Seck and Kendal Brown-Surles scored 10 each.

Regular season vs. Illinois State
   Illinois State held Southern Illinois to 18 percent shooting in the second half to grind out a 60-53 win at SIU Arena on Jan. 11. In the rematch at Illinois State on Feb. 22, the Redbirds rallied from a three-point deficit with 6:37 to go, to win 50-46. Tony Wills led all scorers with 16 points and made 4-of-9 from 3-point.

Dawg Bites
•O'Brien and Marcus Timmons (1992-95) as the only player in school history in the top 25 in scoring, top 10 in rebounding and top 20 in assists.
•In MVC-only games, there were two categories where the Salukis led the league — offensive rebounds (11.4), steals (6.8).
•In SIU's wins, it averages 77.6 points. In its losses, it averages 59.4 points.
•In SIU's wins, it is +3.9 on the boards. In the losses, it is -7.5.

Hinson fourth in Valley Tournament wins
Only Dana Altman (21), Rich Herrin (17) and Gregg Marshall (15) have won more MVC Tournament games than Barry Hinson (14).
Wins at MVC Tournament   W   L   Pct.   Years
Dana Altman, Creighton   21   9   .700   16
Rich Herrin, Southern Illinois   17   8   .680   13
Gregg Marshall, Wichita State   15   7   .682   10
Barry Hinson, MSU/SIU   14   13   .519   14
Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa   13   7   .650   11
Nolan Richardson, Tulsa   11   3   .786   5
Jim Molinari, Bradley   11   10   .524   11

Senior leadership in Valley play
   SIU's three seniors have led the team in scoring in 16 out of the team's 19 games against Missouri Valley Conference opponents — Sean O'Brien (8 times), Mike Rodriguez (6 times) and Leo Vincent (3 times). Note: O'Brien and Vincent tied for the team-high at Bradley.

Trends
•The Salukis held Loyola to 27.3 percent shooting in the quarterfinal game — the best shooting percentage defense of the Hinson era.
•Thik Bol has 21 blocked shots in the last five games — his best five-game span of the season. •The Salukis were 8-of-14 (.571)from 3-point range in the season finale against Loyola — their best shooting percentage of league play.
•SIU is 14-4 when it has an advantage in points in the paint, and 9-2 when it wins the rebounding battle.
•SIU has either trailed or been tied at halftime in 20 of its 32 games. In seven of those games, SIU has gone on to win.
•O'Brien and Bol combine to account for 45 percent of SIU's rebounding total.
•SIU's non-conference SOS ranks 86th in the nation. Last year, it was 325th.

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 (120) or recorded an assist (127) 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 1.89 assist-TO ratio currently stands as the eighth-best single-season mark in school history. Bryan Mullins (3.26 in 2009) holds the school record.
•His 124 assists are the most by a Saluki since Kevin Dillard had 146 in 2009.

Rodriguez getting to the FT line
   On the season, Mike Rodriguez ranks 34th in the nation in free throw attempts and 36th in free throws made (147-of-198). He has accounted for 31 percent of the team's made free throws and 29 percent of free throw attempts. Thirty-six percent of Rodriguez' points have come from the free throw line.

Rodriguez to Bol connection
   The biggest beneficiary of Mike Rodriguez passing prowess has been C Thik Bol. Of Rodriguez' 124 assists this season, 33 percent (43) have led to baskets by Bol. Bol has shown he can finish with authority — 57 of his 122 field goals (46 percent) have been dunks.

Leo Vincent providing a spark
   In the last eight games, G Leo Vincent (6-1, 192, Sr.) is 19-for-42 (.452) from 3-point. He had a season-high 21 points versus Evansville on Feb. 11. A member of the MVC's All-Bench team last year, he started 15 games this season before returning to his familiar sixth man role.

Fletcher — Most Improved Team
   Armon Fletcher (6-4, 190, So.) is secondon the team in 3-pointers made (47) behind Leo Vincent. Fifty-thre percent of his field goal attempts come from outside the arc. He is SIU's third-leading scorer (11.2 points) and ranks sixth in the conference in steals (1.4).

Sean Lloyd steps up in starting role
   G Sean Lloyd (6-5, 215, So.) has started 18 games this season, making his first start on Dec. 14 versus Saint Louis. As a starter, he is averaging 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 31.8 minutes, while shooting 16-of-41 (.390) from three. He had a career-high 17-point outing at Drake, in which he made 4-of-6 from 3-point.