Saluki Basketball Opens 2023-24 Campaign Monday Night at Banterra Center

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois men's basketball plays host to Kentucky State on Monday, November 6 at 7 p.m. at Banterra Center to kick off the program's 18-game home schedule.

PROMOS
• Bring two canned goods to the game and purchase a ticket in Section 113 for $5 each.

• Dawg Pound members will have the opportunity to pick up the first of two raffle tickets during Monday's game prior to a drawing for free tuition during Friday's game against Queens. Students that attend both games and pick up their raffle tickets will double their chances in the drawing. 2,000 students must attend Friday's games for the raffle to take place.

• Remember, at all Saluki men's basketball games, kids are invited down to the court for pregame starting lineups. To participate, bring your child to the floor in front of Section 107 10 minutes before tipoff and look for Brown or Grey Dawg.

WHERE TO WATCH AND LISTEN
• The game will be available nationally on ESPN Plus with Mike Trude (play-by-play) and Dominic Hosher (analyst) calling the action.

• The radio broadcast can be heard on the Saluki Radio Network, SIUSalukis.com/Listen, the Saluki Mobile App, and the Varsity Network App with Luke Martin (play-by-play) and Rodney Watson (analyst) on the call.

THE MATCHUP
• It will be the first-ever meeting between Southern Illinois and Kentucky State come Monday night. The Thorobreds are coached by Jamaal Jackson in his eighth season and are coming off a 15-13 season a year ago. KSU was led by forward Kong Kong who signed a professional contract with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G-League.

• KSU opened the year in an exhibition against Kentucky on Friday, falling to the Wildcats 99-53 in Lexington. Josiah Mitchell led the Thorobreds with 10 points on 4-11 shooting over 27 minutes.

QUICK HITS
• The Salukis were picked ninth in the MVC Preseason Poll.
• SIU welcomes back three starters and five letterwinners from a year ago.
• SIU finished the 2022-23 season 23-10 -- the most wins since the 2006-07 season.
• Closed the 2022-23 eight games over .500 in MVC play -- the best since 2007.
• SIU won a true road game over a Power-5 team for the first time since 2000 (at Oklahoma St) last year.
• Southern has beat a Power-6 team three years in a row for the first time in program history.
• SIU ended the season ranked 12th nationally and first in the MVC in scoring defense (61.4 ppg).

JOHNSON AN MVC PRESEASON PICK
• Graduate Xavier Johnson was named to the preseason MVC Third Team. The guard returns for his second season in maroon & white after starting in 31 games a year ago and scoring seven points per outing. Johnson was named to the MVC All-Defensive Team following the 2022-23 and was second on the team and sixth in the MVC with 50 steals. To go along with his scoring output Johnson averaged 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

BANTERRA MAGIC
The Salukis tied a program record with their 19th-straight home nonconference win against Chicago State last season -- a record dating back to the 2019 season. Under the direction of head coaches Bruce Weber and Matt Painter, the Salukis won 19-straight from 1999-2003.

TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets start at just $125 and are on sale now for the 2023-24 season. Fans can purchase tickets for the 18-game home slate including nonconference games against Oklahoma State and Saint Louis by calling 877-SALUKIS, visiting SIUSalukis.com/Tickets or by visiting the SIU Ticket Office during normal business hours.

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.

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