SIU hosts San Francisco Saturday night at Banterra Center

The SIU men's basketball team hosts San Francisco on Saturday night at Banterra Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. SIU students will receive free pizza and shirts in the Dawg Pound, and admission is always free for SIU students. The group Diamond Dog is playing a pregame concert, starting at 5:30 p.m. in the Charles Helleny Pavillion, and fans are invited to attend. Banterra and SIU will host a ribbon cutting at 6:45 p.m. on the court in honor of the first Division I game at the newly renamed Banterra Center.

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OPENING TIP

Southern Illinois hosts San Francisco on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Banterra Center.
SIU students will receive free shirts and pizza in the Dawg Pound on Saturday night. SIU students always receive free admission to all Saluki Athletics events with student ID.
The Salukis are kicking off the second annual pregame concert series on Saturday. SIU will have a live performance prior to all Saturday home games this season. Diamond Dog will perform in the Charles Helleny Pavillion, starting at 5:30 p.m. (doors will open 90 minutes prior to tip on concert series dates, instead of the usual 60 minutes).
- Nov. 16 - Diamond Dog
- Dec. 21 - Christmas Carols by Barbershop Choir
- Jan. 4 - Tucker Kuhnert Band
- Feb. 8 - Diamond Dog
- Feb. 15 - Second Hand CarTunes
The game is the Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic. Charles -- "Mr. Southern Illinois" -- was a long-time SIU fan and supporter who passed away in August. Charles (a 1957 SIU alum) donated the fourth-largest gift in Saluki Athletics history, and SIU's first Division I home game every year is denoted as the Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic.
USF's Todd Golden (34) and SIU's Bryan Mullins (32) are two of the youngest head coaches in the nation. As players (Golden at Saint Mary's and Mullins at SIU), they played against each other twice. SIU won both games, and Mullins scored a career-high 24 points on Dec. 11, 2007.
Aaron Cook had 7 steals against Oakland (11/10/19), the most in the nation in 2019-20. Cook became the 4th player in SIU history with 7+ steals in a game, and first since Mullins did it in 2006.
Aaron Cook enters the game ranked No. 2 in the nation with 14 steals this season. With 133 career steals, Cook has 43 more than anyone else in the Missouri Valley Conference

MVC Career Steals

Aaron Cook, SIU (133)
Jordan Barnes, Indiana State (90)

NCAA Steals Rankings (2019-20)

Jason Wade, Old Dominion (16)
Aaron Cook, SIU (14)

SERIES CHECK

SIU and San Francisco have met twice. Both meetings were on neutral courts. The Salukis lost to the Dons on December 1967, the year after SIU won the NIT with Walt Frazier. SIU evened the series with a one-point win in December 2009.
In 2009, SIU overcame a five-point deficit in the final two minutes to win. Kevin Dillard made a go-ahead driving layup with 12.5 seconds left for the win. Dillard had 18 points and nine assists in the win.

DAWG BITES

Saluki Athletics donated more than 5,300 hours of community service to Carbondale and the surrounding area during 2018-19, which ranked fourth in the nation.
SIU ranks 36th nationally (of 353) and No. 2 in the MVC in scoring defense. SIU is allowing just 56.3 points per game through four games.
SIU held its first three opponents of the season under 40% shooting, the first time SIU opened a season by holding its first three opponents under 40% shooting since 1989-90.
Mid-Major Madness listed SIU's non-conference schedule as the toughest in the Missouri Valley Conference: (1) Southern Illinois, (2) Illinois State, (3) Missouri State, (4) Loyola, (5) Bradley, (6) Drake.
The Salukis have made at least one 3-point field goal in 147 consecutive games.
Head coach Bryan Mullins and assistant coach Brendan Mullins are brothers. They are the only brothers coaching together in Division I basketball.
Aaron Cook had seven steals in SIU's game against Oakland (11/10/19), the most in a single game by anyone in the nation this year. Cook became the 4th player in SIU history with 7+ steals in a game (Marcus Timmons, Darren Brooks [3x], and Bryan Mullins).

DOMASK SHINES

SIU freshman forward Marcus Domask has made a great impression through his first four games at the Division I level. Domask is averaging 14.0 points on 52% shooting.
Domask scored 24 points in his first game against a Division I opponent, leading SIU to a 72-60 win over UTSA in the opening round of the Sunshine Slam. Domask's 24 points were...
- more than the freshman season high point marks from such SIU greats as Bryan Mullins (15), Kevin Dillard (22), Anthony Beane (17), Darren Brooks (19), Matt Shaw (22), Randal Falker (15), and Jamaal Tatum (19).
- the most for an SIU freshman since redshirt freshman Justin Bocot scored 28 vs. Missouri State in 2009
- the most for an SIU true freshman since Kent Williams scored 25 vs. Indiana State in 2000.

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

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