SIU hosts early league leader Valpo at SIU Arena

The Southern Illinois men's basketball team hosts Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in SIU Arena. Valpo is the lone Missouri Valley Conference school to get to 3-0 in league play, and SIU (2-1 MVC) is in a four-way tie for second place in the league. Special $10 tickets are available in the Dawg Pound for the final time during Christmas Break for students. The game also is FCA Day, Camper Reunion, and Family Day.

Television Info » The game will be televised on Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Kansas City, Fox Sports Indiana, and NBC Sports Chicago. Inside the MVC's four-state footprint (Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and Missouri), the game can be streamed on Fox Sports Go. Outside the league's footprint, the game can be streamed on ESPN3.

Southern Illinois (9-7, 2-1 MVC) vs. Valparaiso (10-6, 3-0 MVC) || Saturday, January 12 || 3 p.m. || SIU Arena

Tickets » SIUSalukis.com/tickets or call 877-SALUKIS
Watch » MVC TV Network with John Rooney and Rich Zvosec (see TV Info above)
Listen » Saluki Sports Network with Mike Reis and Mike Trude (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 Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon at SIU Arena. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
Valpo is the MVC's lone 3-0 team, and SIU (2-1 MVC) can vault itself into a tie for first place in the MVC with a win.
On Tuesday at Drake, senior forward Armon Fletcher returned to the lineup after a suspension held him out six games. Fletcher scored 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
SIU has won 8 of its last 10 home MVC games. Southern's 7-2 mark at home last season was the program's best MVC home mark since 2007-08 (8-1).
Eric McGill has three double-doubles with rebounds, which is tied for second in the NCAA among players 6-2 and under.
In the MVC, SIU is...
- 2nd in blocks (4.1)
- 2nd in fewest fouls/game (15.8)
- 2nd in 3-point FG% (.382)
- 3rd in FG% (.472)
- 3rd in FG% defense (.418)

GAME PREVIEW

Southern Illinois hosts Valpo on Saturday at 3 p.m. in SIU Arena. The game will be televised on the MVC TV Network (full TV listing at the top of the page).
Southern Illinois and Valparaiso each have five players averaging double-figures. Last year, Loyola became the first MVC team since 2001-02 to have five players average 10+ points per game.
SIU and Valpo split two games last year, with each team winning at home. Valpo earned its first-ever MVC win against SIU.
The all-time series is tied, 3-3. The series dates back to 1929, but the teams did not play between 1980 and 2018, when Valpo joined the Missouri Valley Conference.
With a win, SIU would...
- move into a tie for first place in the MVC
- start MVC play 3-1 for the third time in the last four years
- be 9-2 in its last 11 home MVC games
- improve to 2-1 over Valpo since the Crusaders joined the MVC last year
- be 4-1 against Valpo in the last five meetings, dating back to 1979
Valpo is led by Ryan Fazekas, who is averaging 12.7 points and shooting 44 percent from the 3-point line. Fazekas is day-to-day after suffering an ankle injury in Valpo's last game. Derrik Smits (11.9 ppg), Javon Freeman (11.1 ppg), Bakari Evelyn (10.5 ppg) and Markus Golder (10.3 ppg) also average double-figures for the Crusaders.
SIU and Valpo each assist on 59.9 percent of field goals and are tied for 28th nationally.
41.1 percent of of points scored against SIU are from the 3-point line, the eighth-highest percentage nationally. Conversely, 57.2 percent of the points scored against Valpo are 2-point field goals, which is the 10th-highest percentage nationally.