SIU faces Loyola in Chicago on Sunday

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The Southern Illinois men's basketball team travels to Chicago for a 3 p.m. game against Loyola on Sunday afternoon. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

Southern Illinois (10-10, 3-4 MVC) at Loyola (12-8, 5-2 MVC) || Sunday, January 27 || 3 p.m. || Chicago, Ill.

Watch » ESPNU with Mitch Holtus and Malcolm Huckaby
Listen » Saluki Sports Network with Mike Reis and Connor Onion (Stream available through TuneIn)
Live Stats » via Loyola
Game Notes » Southern Illinois (PDF)
Coach Hinson Press Conference » Watch on YouTube

THE RUNDOWN

Southern Illinois travels to league-leading Loyola for a 3 p.m. game on Sunday. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
The Salukis came back from a 21-point deficit to beat Northern Iowa on Wednesday, tied for the fifth-largest comeback in MVC history. After trailing 35-14, SIU went on a 20-0 run and held UNI scoreless for nearly 10 minutes.
SIU head coach Barry Hinson has been the head coach for three of the top seven comebacks in MVC history. When he was head coach at Missouri State, Hinson's Bears overcame a 23-point deficit to beat SIU and a 22-point deficit to beat Winthrop.
Thik Bol surpassed the 100 career blocked shots mark with two blocks against UNI. Bol is the sixth player in SIU history to surpass 100 career blocked shots.
Salukis in the MVC individual rankings (all games)...
- 1st - Kavion Pippen in blocks (1.65)
- 1st - Eric McGill in steals (1.78)
- 3rd - Aaron Cook in assists (3.8)
- 3rd - Thik Bol in blocks (1.47)
- 3rd - Aaron Cook in minutes (652)
Salukis in the MVC team rankings (all games)...
- 1st in blocks (4.2)
- 1st in field-goal percentage defense (.416)
- 1st in 3-point FG% (.375)
- 2nd in fewest fouls (15.2) (LUC is 1st, 14.3)
- 2nd in rebound margin (+0.9)
- 2nd in steals (6.7)

GAME PREVIEW

Southern Illinois travels to league-leading Loyola for a 3 p.m. game on Sunday. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
SIU leads the all-time series, 7-6. The teams played only twice before Loyola joined the MVC in 2013-14. After Loyola joined the MVC, the Salukis won seven of the first nine meetings, but the Ramblers swept a pair of games last year.
Loyola was the preseason MVC favorite after advancing to the Final Four last season. The Ramblers are currently tied with Valparaiso for first in the MVC with 5-2 conference records.
The Ramblers are led by Marques Towns, who is averaging 14.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Cameron Krutwig is averaging 13.5 points on an exceptional 64.8 percent mark from the field. Preseason MVC Player of the Year Clayton Custer is averaging 12.7 points and shooting 42.2 percent from the 3-point line.
Loyola has won 10-straight home games vs. MVC opponents.
Both teams are exceptional defensively...
- Loyola ranks 6th nationally (of 353) in fewest fouls per game, and SIU ranks 16th.
- SIU leads the league in field-goal percentage defense, and Loyola leads the league in scoring defense.
Loyola ranks on the extremes in offensive rebounding: LUC only gets 18.5 percent of its offensive rebound opportunities, which ranks third-last in the nation. But LUC allows opponents only 21.1 percent on offensive rebounds, which ranks second-best nationally.
Nine of the 10 teams in the MVC are within two games of first place after seven games for the first time since 2010.