Saturday, January 7
Cedar Falls, IA
1 PM
Southern Illinois University
at
Northern Iowa
Streaking Salukis Begin Road Swing at Northern Iowa Saturday
01/06/2023 | 10:21:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois men's basketball begins a two-game road swing on Saturday when the Salukis take on Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. The game is set for a 1 p.m. tipoff from the McLeod Center.
THE BROADCAST
• The game will be available nationally on ESPN3 with Brad Wells calling the action and Matt Schneiderman serving as analyst.
• 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.
QUICK HITS
• Saluki basketball will put its seven-game winning streak on the line on the road Saturday at UNI.
• The last time SIU won seven-straight games was during the 2020-21 COVID-shortened season when the Salukis started the season with seven-straight wins. It is the longest streak in the MVC this year.
• Southern Illinois has held conference opponents to just 55 points per game and four of its five Valley foes to under 57 points. In its last two games, the Salukis held Belmont to 45 points and preseason favorite Drake to 49 points.
• Southern put the clamps on Drake's Tucker DeVries and Roman Penn. The Salukis gave up just 11 points to DeVries on 4-for-13 shooting while holding Penn to 1-for-15 from the floor and two points.
• SIU's 59.8 points allowed per game is second in the MVC and 18th nationally.
• The Salukis are holding opponents to just 29.6 percent from behind the arc -- ranking third in the MVC and 48th nationally.
• SIU's 7.8 steals per game is second in the MVC. Lance Jones leads the team with 1.9 steals per game and has recorded multiple steals in 10 games with a career-high six coming against Evansville.
• Marcus Domask and Lance Jones combined to score the final 20 points against Murray State. Against Drake, Domask scored the final 15 points of the game.
• SIU's four turnovers against Murray State is the fewest for the Salukis in a game since the 2017-18 season when Southern turned the ball over four times against Duquesne. It tied for the 19th-best (fewest turnovers) in a game this year.
• Marcus Domask (21st-1,347) and Lance Jones (25th-1,276) each rank in the top-25 in program history in points scored.
• Lance Jones leads the Salukis with 34 3-pointers this season. The senior has made 169 threes over his career to rank eighth in program history.
• Xavier Johnson ranks third on the team during Valley play with 9.2 points per contest. The guard is shooting 43.8 percent from behind the arc and has 15 assists in League play.
• Clarence Rupert is shooting 68.1 percent (49-72) -- the best of any Saluki with more than 10 attempts. The forward has shot 100 percent from the field in three games this season, including a pair of 6-for-6 outings.
• After suffering an injury following the season opener against Little Rock, big man Scottie Ebube returned to the floor against Drake for his first action in nearly two months. Ebube scored nine and had six rebounds against the Trojans.
• The Salukis check in at No. 23 in the latest CollegeInsider.com men's basketball mid-major poll.
THE MATCHUP
• Saturday's meeting with UNI will mark the 74th meeting all-time. Southern Illinois leads the series 38-35 and has won six of the last 10 games. UNI swept the Salukis last season, winning at Banterra Center 69-68 and in Cedar Falls 53-44. SIU's last win on the road against the Panthers came in 2019 when Kavion Pippen scored 18 to lead SIU to a 58-51 win at the McLeod Center. Overall, Southern is 9-23 all-time at the McLeod Center.
• UNI enters play at 7-8 overall and 3-2 in MVC play after downing Valparaiso on a buzzer-beater on the road Wednesday night. The Panthers are scoring at a clip of 69.6 points per game while holding opponents to 66.1 points. UNI is led by a trio of double-digit scorers with Bowen Born pacing the team at 19.3 points per contest. Born is shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from behind the arc while also leading UNI in assists with 44 in 15 games. Tytan Anderson is averaging 14.3 points and 9.2 rebounds while Nate Heise has put up 12 points per game in a pair of games.
JONES EARNS MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
• Lance Jones has been an offensive weapon for the Salukis over the past week, leading the team with 18.5 points and 3.5 assists per game. He scored 21 to go with four assists and three rebounds in a win at Murray State. Jones went on to score 16 for SIU as the Salukis rallied back from a halftime deficit to defeat Belmont at home. Jones scored 13 of his 16 in the second half to lead the charge.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
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.
THE BROADCAST
• The game will be available nationally on ESPN3 with Brad Wells calling the action and Matt Schneiderman serving as analyst.
• 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.
QUICK HITS
• Saluki basketball will put its seven-game winning streak on the line on the road Saturday at UNI.
• The last time SIU won seven-straight games was during the 2020-21 COVID-shortened season when the Salukis started the season with seven-straight wins. It is the longest streak in the MVC this year.
• Southern Illinois has held conference opponents to just 55 points per game and four of its five Valley foes to under 57 points. In its last two games, the Salukis held Belmont to 45 points and preseason favorite Drake to 49 points.
• Southern put the clamps on Drake's Tucker DeVries and Roman Penn. The Salukis gave up just 11 points to DeVries on 4-for-13 shooting while holding Penn to 1-for-15 from the floor and two points.
• SIU's 59.8 points allowed per game is second in the MVC and 18th nationally.
• The Salukis are holding opponents to just 29.6 percent from behind the arc -- ranking third in the MVC and 48th nationally.
• SIU's 7.8 steals per game is second in the MVC. Lance Jones leads the team with 1.9 steals per game and has recorded multiple steals in 10 games with a career-high six coming against Evansville.
• Marcus Domask and Lance Jones combined to score the final 20 points against Murray State. Against Drake, Domask scored the final 15 points of the game.
• SIU's four turnovers against Murray State is the fewest for the Salukis in a game since the 2017-18 season when Southern turned the ball over four times against Duquesne. It tied for the 19th-best (fewest turnovers) in a game this year.
• Marcus Domask (21st-1,347) and Lance Jones (25th-1,276) each rank in the top-25 in program history in points scored.
• Lance Jones leads the Salukis with 34 3-pointers this season. The senior has made 169 threes over his career to rank eighth in program history.
• Xavier Johnson ranks third on the team during Valley play with 9.2 points per contest. The guard is shooting 43.8 percent from behind the arc and has 15 assists in League play.
• Clarence Rupert is shooting 68.1 percent (49-72) -- the best of any Saluki with more than 10 attempts. The forward has shot 100 percent from the field in three games this season, including a pair of 6-for-6 outings.
• After suffering an injury following the season opener against Little Rock, big man Scottie Ebube returned to the floor against Drake for his first action in nearly two months. Ebube scored nine and had six rebounds against the Trojans.
• The Salukis check in at No. 23 in the latest CollegeInsider.com men's basketball mid-major poll.
THE MATCHUP
• Saturday's meeting with UNI will mark the 74th meeting all-time. Southern Illinois leads the series 38-35 and has won six of the last 10 games. UNI swept the Salukis last season, winning at Banterra Center 69-68 and in Cedar Falls 53-44. SIU's last win on the road against the Panthers came in 2019 when Kavion Pippen scored 18 to lead SIU to a 58-51 win at the McLeod Center. Overall, Southern is 9-23 all-time at the McLeod Center.
• UNI enters play at 7-8 overall and 3-2 in MVC play after downing Valparaiso on a buzzer-beater on the road Wednesday night. The Panthers are scoring at a clip of 69.6 points per game while holding opponents to 66.1 points. UNI is led by a trio of double-digit scorers with Bowen Born pacing the team at 19.3 points per contest. Born is shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from behind the arc while also leading UNI in assists with 44 in 15 games. Tytan Anderson is averaging 14.3 points and 9.2 rebounds while Nate Heise has put up 12 points per game in a pair of games.
JONES EARNS MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
• Lance Jones has been an offensive weapon for the Salukis over the past week, leading the team with 18.5 points and 3.5 assists per game. He scored 21 to go with four assists and three rebounds in a win at Murray State. Jones went on to score 16 for SIU as the Salukis rallied back from a halftime deficit to defeat Belmont at home. Jones scored 13 of his 16 in the second half to lead the charge.
FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
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.
Players Mentioned
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