Southern Illinois hosts Loyola for Sunday matinee

With three games left in the regular season, Southern Illinois hosts MVC co-leader Loyola on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in SIU Arena. SIU will provide free pizza for students. The Salukis are looking to salvage a season split with the Ramblers. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

Southern Illinois (14-14, 7-8 MVC) vs. Loyola (17-11, 10-5 MVC) || Sunday, February 24 || 3 p.m. || Carbondale, Ill. (SIU Arena)

Tickets » SIUSalukis.com/tickets or call 877-SALUKIS
Watch » ESPNU with Mitch Holthus and Malcolm Huckaby
Listen » Saluki Sports Network with Mike Reis and Mike Trude (Stream available through TuneIn)
Stats » SIUSalukis.com/MBB/LiveStats
Game Notes » Southern Illinois (PDF)
Coach Hinson Press Conference » Watch on YouTube

THE RUNDOWN

Southern Illinois hosts Loyola on Sunday at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
SIU will provide free pizza for the Dawg Pound for the game.
With one more block, Kavion Pippen will become the seventh player in SIU history with 100+ career blocked shots. Thik Bol became the sixth earlier this season.
SIU is 12-5 when Sean Lloyd scores in double figures and 2-9 when he does not. SIU is 9-2 when he scores 12+.
Salukis in the MVC individual rankings (all games)...
- 1st - Kavion Pippen in blocks (1.9)
- 2nd - Eric McGill in steals (1.7)
- 3rd - Aaron Cook in steals (1.5)
- 3rd - Pippen in FG% (.564)
- 4th - Cook in minutes (922)
Salukis in the MVC team rankings (all games)...
- 1st in blocks (4.1)
- 1st in 3-point FG% (.378)
- 2nd in assists (14.1)
- 2nd in FG% defense (.426)
- 2nd in offensive rebounds (9.2)
- 2nd in fewest fouls (15.2)
- 2nd in steals (7.0)

GAME PREVIEW

Southern Illinois hosts Loyola on Sunday at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
The first game -- After SIU took an early 12-7 lead, Loyola went on a 35-7 run to seize control. SIU never got closer than 17 points the rest of the way. Loyola's Cameron Krutwig had 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
The all-time series is tied, 7-7. 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 have won three-straight in the series.
Loyola leads the nation in defensive rebounding percentage. The Ramblers allow just 20.6 percent of opponent misses to become offensive rebounds. (The national average is 28.5%).
With a win, SIU would...
- Split the season series with Loyola
- Get back to .500 in the MVC
- Snap a 3-game skid against Loyola

FIVE AVERAGING DOUBLE-FIGURES

SIU has five players averaging near double-figures: Armon Fletcher (15.2 ppg), Kavion Pippen (12.5), Aaron Cook (10.8), Sean Lloyd (10.8) and Eric McGill (9.7).
The last time SIU had five players average double-figures for a season was 1993-94: Paul Lusk, Marcus Timmons, Chris Carr, Mirko Pavlovic, and Chris Lowery.
Against Evansville on Feb. 9, five Salukis scored in double figures, marking the third time this season SIU has had five players in double figures. The Salukis are 3-0 when five players score 10+ points.

OFFENSE INDICATOR

SIU has won 21-straight games when scoring 75+ points.
SIU is 12-2 when scoring 70+ points this year and 2-12 when scoring fewer than 70 points.
In SIU's nine games decided by five points or fewer, SIU is 1-5 when scoring fewer than 70 points and 3-0 when scoring 70+ points.
In the seven-year Barry Hinson era, SIU is 73-17 (.811) when scoring 70+ points and 34-77 (.306) when scoring fewer than 70 points.
Since the start of the 2015-16 season, SIU is 43-3 (.935) when scoring 75 points or more.

SECOND HALF SALUKIS

SIU is outscoring opponents by 147 points in the second half this year.
The Salukis overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to beat Northern Iowa (Jan. 23) and a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Bradley (February 2).
Southern Illinois trailed Missouri State by 13 points at halftime (February 6) and rallied to take the lead in the second half, but ultimately fell 65-59.
In 15 MVC games, the Salukis have outscored opponents by 71 points in the second half. SIU has outscored its opponent in the second half in 10 of its 15 league games. Five times, SIU has outscored an MVC opponent by 9+ points in the second half.

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