Salukis Open 2022-23 Season Monday against Little Rock in the Charles Helleny Tipoff Classic

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois hosts Little Rock on Monday, November 7 at 7 p.m. at the Banterra Center in the home opener for Saluki Basketball. The game is billed as the Charles Helleny Tipoff Classic in honor of the late Charles Helleny, a long-time supporter of the program.

Helleny, who was known as "Mr. Southern Illinois," was a 1957 SIU alum and generously donated the fourth-largest gift in Saluki Athletics history. He passed away in August 2019, and SIU's first home game against a Division I opponent each season is named in his honor.

Less than a week away from ???????????????????? at Banterra Center!

We're selling a limited amount of $6 tickets for the home opener. Get yours ??https://t.co/Pum0vUowj8 pic.twitter.com/0eL8pJwwD0
— Saluki Basketball (@SIU_Basketball) November 1, 2022

THE BROADCAST

Monday's game will be available nationally on ESPN3 with Noah Reed (play-by-play) and Mike Trude (analyst) calling the action.
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Saluki Radio Network with SIU Hall of Famer Mike Reis (play-by-play) and Rodney Watson (analyst) on the call.

PACK THE POUND & MAROON OUT

A limited amount of discounted tickets are available in section 113 and can be purchased by visiting SIUSalukis.com/PackThePound.

FREE TUITION ON THE LINE

If 2,000 Southern Illinois University Carbondale students attend the first home men's basketball game on Monday, one lucky Saluki chosen at random will win free tuition for the spring semester. More information here.

SEASON TICKETS

Season tickets are on sale now, with prices beginning as low as $125. For more information, fans can call the SIU Ticket Office at 877-SALUKIS.

QUICK NOTES (Full Game Notes)

SIU is 1-2 all-time against Little Rock, with each team winning its home game. The Trojans won in Little Rock in 2004-05 and again in 2021-22. SIU won in Carbondale in 2005-06. Now-SIU head coach Bryan Mullins was a freshman point guard for the Salukis in 2005-06 and had 5 points, 2 assists, 4 steals and 0 turnovers against Little Rock in 25 minutes in 2005-06, helping SIU to a 25-point win.
The Salukis are 74-34 all-time in season openers ... SIU is 4-3 in its last seven season openers, dating back to 2015-16.
SIU head coach Bryan Mullins is 12-1 in season openers (4-0 as a player at SIU, 6-0 on staff at Loyola, and 2-1 as head coach at SIU).
Southern has won 14-straight home non-conference games, dating back to the 2019-20 season. SIU's last home non-conference loss came against San Francisco on Nov. 16, 2019.
Last season, the Salukis allowed 61.4 points per game, which led the MVC and ranked 16th nationally.
The Salukis have held 19-straight opponents under 70 points at Banterra Center. The last time came in 2019 when Illinois State scored 80 points.
Marcus Domask and Lance Jones were named to the preseason All-MVC teams. Domask was named to the First Team and Jones was named to the Second Team.
Domask led the Salukis and ranked fifth in the MVC a year ago after scoring 15.1 points per game. To go along with his scoring output, the Waupun, Wisconsin native also led the Salukis in rebounding (5.2) and assists (3.9) becoming just the third player in school history to do so, joining Darren Brooks and Desmar Jackson.
Jones, a two-way stopper, was second on the team and eighth in the MVC in scoring at a 14.8 clip, reaching double-digits in 25 games. An Evanston, Illinois product, Jones led the MVC with 1.93 steals per game, recording at least one steal in 26 games. For his efforts he was named to the MVC All-Defensive Team.
Southern Illinois was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, behind favorite Drake (646) and Bradley. The Salukis (537) finished just five points behind the Braves (542) in total points. Each of the top three received a first-place vote.
Mike Reis enters his 44th year as the radio play-by-play Voice of the Salukis. He is tied with Bradley's Dave Snell for longest active tenure in the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks sixth overall.

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Basketball, on Instagram at @SIU_Basketball and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiAthletics. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

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