Wednesday, December 15
Carbondale, Ill.
7 PM
Southern Illinois University
vs
Southeast Missouri
Men's Basketball hosts SEMO on Wednesday night
12/13/2021 | 5:28:00 | Men's Basketball
Santa Claus is making a special visit to the Banterra Center for Wednesday's game. He'll be available in the Charles Helleny Pavilion before the game to welcome children between 6-7 p.m.
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois hosts regional rival SEMO on Wednesday night at 7 p.m., and Santa will be making a special visit in the Charles Helleny Pavilion before the game. Doors open at 6 p.m.
The Salukis (5-4) had their three-game winning streak snapped last Saturday at Tulsa, but senior guard Ben Coupet won Missouri Valley Conference newcomer-of-the-week honors for his 27-point performance. The Little Rock transfer made 6-of-11 shots from 3-point, had four assists, two steals and a blocked shot. SIU made a season-high 15 3-pointers in the game.
SIU head coach Bryan Mullins is 2-0 vs. SEMO, including a 64-45 win at home (Dec. 7, 2019) and an 87-79 overtime win in Cape Girardeau (Dec. 2, 2020). Southern holds a 72-47 lead in the all-time series, and the last time SIU lost to the Redhawks was on Dec. 9, 2017 at home.
The Salukis have one of the top defenses in the country, allowing 59.2 points per game, which leads the MVC and ranks 25th nationally. SIU leads the MVC in 3-point field goal percentage defense (32.1)
The Redhawks (5-5) are coached by Saluki alum Brad Korn, who played on four NCAA Tournament teams during his career (2002-05) and also coached on two more (2006-07).
Head Coach Bryan Mullins' Press Conference – 12/14/21
Opening Statement:
"Excited for this week – obviously it's a big week for us, being able to play two home games starting with SEMO. A great program with great wins, obviously coach [Brad] Korn coached me, I'm close with him and he's done a great job in his first two years coaching there. They won at Missouri State, beat Evansville, so 2-0 against the Valley. They are extremely well coached, they play with a ton of pace, they are one of the most offensive teams we've played all year. So, it'll be a huge challenge for us Wednesday night and have to bounce back. Our guys have done a pretty good job at responding, we haven't gotten the result we wanted, now here's another chance to prove ourselves come Wednesday night."
Injury updates on Trent Brown and Ben Harvey:
"Ben will be cleared to play this week, he got good results a week ago and started full practicing last week to progress and get back in shape. He'll be available Wednesday. Trent is on the court, progressing. He won't be available Wednesday, but he's making steps forward. With Trent, it will be a lot more day-by-day these next couple of weeks."
On forward J.D. Muila:
"I don't look too much in terms of starting line-up, we put JD in there because we've gotten off to some slow starts and JD overall brings up a good defensive lift, a lot of energy, he plays with a lot of pace on both sides of the ball, and he's a really good screener. We just have to continue to work with him, teach him, he's missed quite a bit of game reps in terms of the last two years. Each game he's getting more comfortable in decision making offensively and defensively. His best basketball is still ahead of him and we'll work with him in the next year-and-a-half to develop him."
On SEMO's defense:
"They are a really quick, athletic team. They probably have some of the fastest guards we've played against this year. Their guards rebound because they play with such great pace, they found to push the transition. And they will play small a lot: they play with five guards out on the court. For us, we have to be able to continue to block out, transition defense will be a big emphasis, trying to get back and not let them get some easy shots in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock."
The Salukis (5-4) had their three-game winning streak snapped last Saturday at Tulsa, but senior guard Ben Coupet won Missouri Valley Conference newcomer-of-the-week honors for his 27-point performance. The Little Rock transfer made 6-of-11 shots from 3-point, had four assists, two steals and a blocked shot. SIU made a season-high 15 3-pointers in the game.
SIU head coach Bryan Mullins is 2-0 vs. SEMO, including a 64-45 win at home (Dec. 7, 2019) and an 87-79 overtime win in Cape Girardeau (Dec. 2, 2020). Southern holds a 72-47 lead in the all-time series, and the last time SIU lost to the Redhawks was on Dec. 9, 2017 at home.
The Salukis have one of the top defenses in the country, allowing 59.2 points per game, which leads the MVC and ranks 25th nationally. SIU leads the MVC in 3-point field goal percentage defense (32.1)
The Redhawks (5-5) are coached by Saluki alum Brad Korn, who played on four NCAA Tournament teams during his career (2002-05) and also coached on two more (2006-07).
Head Coach Bryan Mullins' Press Conference – 12/14/21
Opening Statement:
"Excited for this week – obviously it's a big week for us, being able to play two home games starting with SEMO. A great program with great wins, obviously coach [Brad] Korn coached me, I'm close with him and he's done a great job in his first two years coaching there. They won at Missouri State, beat Evansville, so 2-0 against the Valley. They are extremely well coached, they play with a ton of pace, they are one of the most offensive teams we've played all year. So, it'll be a huge challenge for us Wednesday night and have to bounce back. Our guys have done a pretty good job at responding, we haven't gotten the result we wanted, now here's another chance to prove ourselves come Wednesday night."
Injury updates on Trent Brown and Ben Harvey:
"Ben will be cleared to play this week, he got good results a week ago and started full practicing last week to progress and get back in shape. He'll be available Wednesday. Trent is on the court, progressing. He won't be available Wednesday, but he's making steps forward. With Trent, it will be a lot more day-by-day these next couple of weeks."
On forward J.D. Muila:
"I don't look too much in terms of starting line-up, we put JD in there because we've gotten off to some slow starts and JD overall brings up a good defensive lift, a lot of energy, he plays with a lot of pace on both sides of the ball, and he's a really good screener. We just have to continue to work with him, teach him, he's missed quite a bit of game reps in terms of the last two years. Each game he's getting more comfortable in decision making offensively and defensively. His best basketball is still ahead of him and we'll work with him in the next year-and-a-half to develop him."
On SEMO's defense:
"They are a really quick, athletic team. They probably have some of the fastest guards we've played against this year. Their guards rebound because they play with such great pace, they found to push the transition. And they will play small a lot: they play with five guards out on the court. For us, we have to be able to continue to block out, transition defense will be a big emphasis, trying to get back and not let them get some easy shots in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock."
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