Saturday, January 6
Valparaiso, IN
3 PM
Southern Illinois University
at
Valparaiso
Photo by: Tom Weber
Men's Basketball plays first game at Valparaiso since 1980
01/05/2018 | 10:11:00 | Men's Basketball
Southern Illinois and Valparaiso will meet for the first time in men's basketball since 1980, when the teams square off at the ARC arena on Saturday at 3 p.m. in a game televised on the MVC TV network. The game will air live on Fox Midwest, Fox Indiana Plus, Fox Kansas City Plus, NBC Sports Chicago and ESPN3 outside the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
The Salukis are 2-2 all-time versus Valparaiso with wins in 1979 and 1980, and losses in 1929 and 1956. The last time the Salukis played at Valparaiso was on Dec. 30, 1980 — a 60-59 victory. It would be Southern's final win of the season and the final win under coach Joe Gottfried, as the team proceeded to lose its remaining 18 games.Â
The magic number is 70
The Salukis are 10-0 when they hold an opponent under 70 points and 0-6 when an opponent scores 70 or more.
Balanced attack
The Salukis don't have a player in the top 10 in scoring in the MVC, but they have four players averaging double figures in scoring. Four-different players have reached the 20-point mark in a game. Armon Fletcher and Kavion Pippen have done it twice, while Aaron Cook and Sean Lloyd have each done it once.
G Armon Fletcher flourishes at hybrid-four spot
The Salukis unveiled a new, four-guard lineup on Dec. 13 versus Jackson State, inserting guard Aaron Cook into starting lineup in place of forward Jonathan Wiley. G Armon Fletcher (6-5, 207, Jr.) moved to the "hybrid-four" position and has averaged 13.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and shot 48 percent from the field since the change. He had his second-career double-double — a 15-point, 12-rebound outing vs. Drake.
Sean Lloyd Jr. emerges as leader
G Sean Lloyd Jr. (6-5, 210, Jr.) has emerged as the team leader. At 33 minutes per game, he averages five more minutes than any teammate. He typically guards the opponent's top scorer. Lloyd is the nephew of two-time MVC player-of-the-year Lewis Lloyd, who played two seasons at Drake (1980-81) and seven years in the NBA. Another uncle, Daryl Lloyd, also played at Drake and led the team in scoring in 1985 with 17.9 points per game.Â
Aaron Cook steps up on offense
G Aaron Cook (6-2, 185, So.) has made dramatic improvement in his offensive game as a sophomore.
   2016-17   2017-18
Scoring   3.0 PPG   10.3 PPG  Â
FG Percentage   .333   .483
3FG Percentage   .185   .420
Kavion Pippen leads team in field goal percentage, blocked shots
Juco transfer C Kavion Pippen (6-10, 240, Jr.) leads the team in field goal percentage (.547) and blocked shots (29). Pippen has scored in double figures in all but four games this season. The nephew of NBA legend Scottie Pippen was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 12 and again on Dec. 4. He had a career-high 24-point outing versus Jackson State.
Marcus Bartley for three
After missing the first six games of the season with a broken wrist, Saint Louis transfer G Marcus Bartley (6-5, 193, Jr.) has emerged as a 3-point shooting threat, converting 16-of-40 (.400). He made four treys to key SIU's win at Northern Iowa. Bartley also has 30 assists and 16 turnovers.Â
Salukis among Top 100 in three defensive categories
The Salukis rank No. 69 in scoring defense (67.1), No. 95 in field goal percentage defense (.416), and No. 48 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.312). Â
Dawg Bites
•All three of SIU's league games have been decided by three points or less.
•If the Salukis win Saturday, they will start 3-1 in conference play for the third-straight season.
•Armon Fletcher has made 11-straight free throws dating back to the Duquesne game.
•The Salukis are 22-13 during Tyler Smithpeters' career when he has made two or more 3-pointers in a game, including 5-1 this season.
•SIU has gone 98-consecutive games with at least one 3-point field goal and 1,006-consecutive games with at least one free throw (dating back to 1986).
The Salukis are 2-2 all-time versus Valparaiso with wins in 1979 and 1980, and losses in 1929 and 1956. The last time the Salukis played at Valparaiso was on Dec. 30, 1980 — a 60-59 victory. It would be Southern's final win of the season and the final win under coach Joe Gottfried, as the team proceeded to lose its remaining 18 games.Â
The magic number is 70
The Salukis are 10-0 when they hold an opponent under 70 points and 0-6 when an opponent scores 70 or more.
Balanced attack
The Salukis don't have a player in the top 10 in scoring in the MVC, but they have four players averaging double figures in scoring. Four-different players have reached the 20-point mark in a game. Armon Fletcher and Kavion Pippen have done it twice, while Aaron Cook and Sean Lloyd have each done it once.
G Armon Fletcher flourishes at hybrid-four spot
The Salukis unveiled a new, four-guard lineup on Dec. 13 versus Jackson State, inserting guard Aaron Cook into starting lineup in place of forward Jonathan Wiley. G Armon Fletcher (6-5, 207, Jr.) moved to the "hybrid-four" position and has averaged 13.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and shot 48 percent from the field since the change. He had his second-career double-double — a 15-point, 12-rebound outing vs. Drake.
Sean Lloyd Jr. emerges as leader
G Sean Lloyd Jr. (6-5, 210, Jr.) has emerged as the team leader. At 33 minutes per game, he averages five more minutes than any teammate. He typically guards the opponent's top scorer. Lloyd is the nephew of two-time MVC player-of-the-year Lewis Lloyd, who played two seasons at Drake (1980-81) and seven years in the NBA. Another uncle, Daryl Lloyd, also played at Drake and led the team in scoring in 1985 with 17.9 points per game.Â
Aaron Cook steps up on offense
G Aaron Cook (6-2, 185, So.) has made dramatic improvement in his offensive game as a sophomore.
   2016-17   2017-18
Scoring   3.0 PPG   10.3 PPG  Â
FG Percentage   .333   .483
3FG Percentage   .185   .420
Kavion Pippen leads team in field goal percentage, blocked shots
Juco transfer C Kavion Pippen (6-10, 240, Jr.) leads the team in field goal percentage (.547) and blocked shots (29). Pippen has scored in double figures in all but four games this season. The nephew of NBA legend Scottie Pippen was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 12 and again on Dec. 4. He had a career-high 24-point outing versus Jackson State.
Marcus Bartley for three
After missing the first six games of the season with a broken wrist, Saint Louis transfer G Marcus Bartley (6-5, 193, Jr.) has emerged as a 3-point shooting threat, converting 16-of-40 (.400). He made four treys to key SIU's win at Northern Iowa. Bartley also has 30 assists and 16 turnovers.Â
Salukis among Top 100 in three defensive categories
The Salukis rank No. 69 in scoring defense (67.1), No. 95 in field goal percentage defense (.416), and No. 48 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.312). Â
Dawg Bites
•All three of SIU's league games have been decided by three points or less.
•If the Salukis win Saturday, they will start 3-1 in conference play for the third-straight season.
•Armon Fletcher has made 11-straight free throws dating back to the Duquesne game.
•The Salukis are 22-13 during Tyler Smithpeters' career when he has made two or more 3-pointers in a game, including 5-1 this season.
•SIU has gone 98-consecutive games with at least one 3-point field goal and 1,006-consecutive games with at least one free throw (dating back to 1986).
Players Mentioned
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