Saint Louis comes to SIU Arena on Wednesday

The Southern Illinois men's basketball team hosts Saint Louis on Wednesday night at SIU Arena. The Billikens, who are the preseason Atlantic 10 Conference favorites, are coming off a 12-point win over Butler. The Salukis have won three games in a row and five of the last six. In the SIU-SLU series, the teams have split the last four games, and three of the last four games have been decided by five points or fewer. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The NCAA Division I men's basketball national championship trophy will be at SIU Arena for the game. Fans are invited to take photos with the trophy in the Charles Helleny Pavilion. The Salukis are also celebrating College of Business night, with more than 450 potential College of Business students coming to the game. Fans are encouraged to "Suit Up" with their favorite sport jacket for the game.

Southern Illinois (5-3) vs. Saint Louis (6-1) || Carbondale, Ill. (SIU Arena) || Wednesday, December 5 || 7 p.m.

Tickets » SIUSalukis.com/tickets or call 877-SALUKIS
Watch » ESPN+ with Scott Warmann and Rich Zvosec
Listen » Saluki Sports Network with Mike Reis and Ray Giacoletti (Stream available through TuneIn)
Stats » SIUSalukis.com/MBB/LiveStats
Game Notes » Southern Illinois (PDF)
Press Conference » Watch Coach Hinson's press conference on YouTube

THE RUNDOWN

Southern Illinois hosts Saint Louis on Wednesday night at SIU Arena.
The Salukis have won five of the last six games and are on a season-best three-game winning streak.
In SIU's winning streak, the Salukis are shooting 58 percent and holding opponents to 44 percent. SIU is also shooting 50 percent from the 3-point line during that stretch.
Armon Fletcher surpassed 1,000 career points on Saturday at SIU Edwardsville. Fletcher, an Edwardsville native, is the 46th Saluki to reach the milestone.
Fletcher averaged 22 points and 8.5 rebounds in the last two games.
In SIU's four wins, the Salukis have 103 assists on 146 field goals (71 percent).
In the MVC, SIU is...
- 1st in assists per game (16.8)
- 2nd in field goal percentage (49.3)
- 2nd in 3-point FG percentage (42.1)
- 3rd in field goal percentage defense (40.8)
- 3rd in scoring defense (66.4)

GAME PREVIEW

Saint Louis leads the all-time series 30-26. The Billikens won by five over SIU last year, and the Salukis won the previous two matchups.
The teams have played annually since 2011. Since 1989, the teams have played every year except 1999, 2003 and 2010. Three of the last four games have been decided by five points or fewer.
Saint Louis has three players averaging double-figures, led by Javon Bess (14.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg). The Billikens are coming off a 12-point win over Butler.
Five Salukis are averaging double-figures. Nine Salukis have scored in double-figures at least once this year.
SIU returns to SIU Arena after four-straight games away from Carbondale, the program's longest stretch away from Carbondale since the first five games of the 2014-15 season.
SIU-SLU will feature two of the top defenses in the country. SIU is ranked 72nd (of 351) and SLU is ranked 22nd in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.

STREAKING SALUKIS

SIU has won five of its last six games after starting the year with back-to-back losses to ranked opponents (#2 Kentucky and #25 Buffalo).
Southern has won three games in a row. SIU has shot better than 56 percent in all three games.
In the last three games, SIU is 90-for-155 (58.1 percent) and 31-for-62 (50 percent) from the 3-point line.
Armon Fletcher, after returning from an injury suffered in the season opener at No. 2 Kentucky, has been especially impressive in the last three games. He is averaging 17.7 points per game on 64.5 percent shooting and is 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from the 3-point line.

For a complete set of game notes in PDF format, click here.

SIU HEAD COACH BARRY HINSON PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

Southern Illinois men's basketball head coach Barry Hinson met with the media on Tuesday. Below is a partial transcript. To watch the full press conference, click here to watch on YouTube.

On ball movement affecting the offense in SIU's 82-61 win over SIUE on Saturday...
I don't think I can remember a time we scored 82 points and I wasn't happy how we played. I have to do a better job as a head coach. I left the game extremely upset. I was not happy at all. I have to change my attitude. That's not fair to these players. It's not fair to me as a basketball coach. All of our expectations have grown, but we are certainly a better ball club when the ball moves instead of dribbles. There's a time to dribble, and there's a time not. For the majority of the game at SIUE, we dribbled when the time was not. Hopefully we'll be better in our next game.

On defense and Saint Louis's defense...
I hope they're saying the same thing about us. We're going to come after them, too. Our defensive numbers are just as good as theirs. I think it's going to be a slug-fest. I think it's going to be a blood-bath. I think this is going to be a heck of a basketball game. I think every time down the floor it's going to be hard to get a basket on either time. I just think it's going to be a heck of a college basketball game. This place is going to be packed. I just think this is the type of games players want to play for, and certainly the type of game I want to coach in. There is a lot of significance with this game, and I'm excited about it.

On Saint Louis...
This is the best Saint Louis team I've ever coached against. They're the most physical. They're the most talented. They have the most height since I've coached against them. They're a Big Ten team. They play like a Big Ten squad; that's how physical they are. I'm excited to see where we are and how physical we're going to be. Are we going to shy away from it or are we going to accept the challenge? That's what I'm excited to see.

On SIU's offense...
We've never had this many assists in my six years that I've been here. We're sharing the ball more than we ever have. I thought (our game at) Colorado State was phenomenal. Twenty-three assists and eight turnovers. I thought that was probably some of the best offense we've run since I've been here.

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