Tuesday, October 22
Carbondale, Ill.
7:00 PM
Southern Illinois University
vs
Minnesota State
SIU hosts Minnesota State for an exhibition game on Tuesday
10/21/2019 | 8:19:00 | Men's Basketball
The first chance to see the 2019-20 Salukis in action is Tuesday night at Banterra Center for a 7 p.m. exhibition game against Minnesota State.Â
Follow The Game » Saluki Sports Network | TuneIn | Live Stats
COMMUNITY APPRECIATION NIGHT
All single-game tickets are discounted to 50 percent off, posters will be given out, and the team will sign autographs after the game. Order them by calling 877-SALUKIS or by visiting SIUSalukis.com/tickets. The First Mid Bank Lounge will also be open to all in attendance. The Salukis will also be honoring community members during the game. Additionally, several local charities will have booths set up in the Charles Helleny Pavilion, including Good Samaritan Ministries, Veterans Honor Flight, Boys and Girls Club, Boy Scouts of America, the Women's Center, IlliniCare Health, Southern Illinois Wellness, St. Francis Animal Shelter, the Women's Center, Veterans Honor Flight, America Cancer Society, Alzheimer's Foundation, and WLC Management.Â
"Our fans' dedication and support is incredible, and this initiative is a way to show our appreciation," Director of Athletics Liz Jarnigan said. "Along with our ongoing commitment to community service, we hope this demonstrates our desire to serve the community as much as they continue to help us."
ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE
The Minnesota State Mavericks are a talented Division II team that is picked to win its conference in 2019-20. The Mavericks are led by 6-6 senior Cameron Kirksey, who is this year's NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year. He was the team's leading scorer last year at 17.7 points per game on 52.9 percent shooting. He also shot an impressive 43.4 percent from beyond the 3-point line. Kirksey poured in a 43-point game last year against MSU Moorhead. Minnesota State also returns its second-leading scorer, Kevin Krieger, who averaged 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds last year en route to an 18-win season and an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.Â
ABOUT SIU
The Salukis, who were picked 10th in the preseason MVC poll, have four players returning from last year's team and 10 newcomers. SIU Hall of Famer Bryan Mullins enters his first season as the head coach of his alma mater. Mullins was a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year for the hard-nosed Floorburn U Salukis of the mid-2000s and returns to SIU after several years as an assistant at Loyola, where he helped lead the Ramblers to the Final Four in 2018. The Salukis will be led by senior guards Aaron Cook and Eric McGill, who combined to average 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists per game last year. The duo was also a force defensively, with each player ranking in the top-three in the MVC in steals last year. Ten newcomers fill out the roster, led by graduate transfers Barret Benson (Northwestern) and Ronnie Suggs (Missouri). Suggs is in his second stint in the MVC after playing his first two seasons at Bradley.
COACH MULLINS ON THE SALUKIS
"I think for us, especially for AC (Aaron Cook) and Eric (McGill), even though they have been here, everything we're doing is new in terms of the basketball, the X's and O's, the teaching, how we're running offense, how we're doing defense. It's still new for them, but they have been trying to grasp the concepts and then teach the younger guys. What they've been doing is teaching with their work ethic and their energy, making sure everyone is on time every single day, and that's been awesome. Barret (Benson) and Ronnie (Suggs), those two guys came in here from different programs, and both of them have been to the NCAA tournament with their other programs. I think to have those four seniors for the younger guys in our program has been a huge advantage. I know for me, a first-time head coach to take over the program, I couldn't ask for a better seniors right now."Â
View Coach Mullins' entire media day press conference on YouTube
Follow The Game » Saluki Sports Network | TuneIn | Live Stats
COMMUNITY APPRECIATION NIGHT
All single-game tickets are discounted to 50 percent off, posters will be given out, and the team will sign autographs after the game. Order them by calling 877-SALUKIS or by visiting SIUSalukis.com/tickets. The First Mid Bank Lounge will also be open to all in attendance. The Salukis will also be honoring community members during the game. Additionally, several local charities will have booths set up in the Charles Helleny Pavilion, including Good Samaritan Ministries, Veterans Honor Flight, Boys and Girls Club, Boy Scouts of America, the Women's Center, IlliniCare Health, Southern Illinois Wellness, St. Francis Animal Shelter, the Women's Center, Veterans Honor Flight, America Cancer Society, Alzheimer's Foundation, and WLC Management.Â
"Our fans' dedication and support is incredible, and this initiative is a way to show our appreciation," Director of Athletics Liz Jarnigan said. "Along with our ongoing commitment to community service, we hope this demonstrates our desire to serve the community as much as they continue to help us."
ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE
The Minnesota State Mavericks are a talented Division II team that is picked to win its conference in 2019-20. The Mavericks are led by 6-6 senior Cameron Kirksey, who is this year's NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year. He was the team's leading scorer last year at 17.7 points per game on 52.9 percent shooting. He also shot an impressive 43.4 percent from beyond the 3-point line. Kirksey poured in a 43-point game last year against MSU Moorhead. Minnesota State also returns its second-leading scorer, Kevin Krieger, who averaged 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds last year en route to an 18-win season and an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.Â
ABOUT SIU
The Salukis, who were picked 10th in the preseason MVC poll, have four players returning from last year's team and 10 newcomers. SIU Hall of Famer Bryan Mullins enters his first season as the head coach of his alma mater. Mullins was a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year for the hard-nosed Floorburn U Salukis of the mid-2000s and returns to SIU after several years as an assistant at Loyola, where he helped lead the Ramblers to the Final Four in 2018. The Salukis will be led by senior guards Aaron Cook and Eric McGill, who combined to average 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists per game last year. The duo was also a force defensively, with each player ranking in the top-three in the MVC in steals last year. Ten newcomers fill out the roster, led by graduate transfers Barret Benson (Northwestern) and Ronnie Suggs (Missouri). Suggs is in his second stint in the MVC after playing his first two seasons at Bradley.
COACH MULLINS ON THE SALUKIS
"I think for us, especially for AC (Aaron Cook) and Eric (McGill), even though they have been here, everything we're doing is new in terms of the basketball, the X's and O's, the teaching, how we're running offense, how we're doing defense. It's still new for them, but they have been trying to grasp the concepts and then teach the younger guys. What they've been doing is teaching with their work ethic and their energy, making sure everyone is on time every single day, and that's been awesome. Barret (Benson) and Ronnie (Suggs), those two guys came in here from different programs, and both of them have been to the NCAA tournament with their other programs. I think to have those four seniors for the younger guys in our program has been a huge advantage. I know for me, a first-time head coach to take over the program, I couldn't ask for a better seniors right now."Â
View Coach Mullins' entire media day press conference on YouTube
Players Mentioned
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