Preview | Salukis Face Former Valley Foe Wichita State Saturday in Kansas

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois will take on Wichita State for the first time since 2017 when the Salukis take the court at Charles Koch Arena Saturday at 6 p.m.

WHERE TO WATCH AND LISTEN
• The game will be available nationally on ESPN Plus with Shane Dennis (play-by-play) and Bob Hull (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.

QUICK HITS
• SIU enters the game ranked 115 in the NET, while Wichita State sits at 94.
• The Salukis rank 39th nationally and second in the MVC in effective field goal percent at 56.0 percent.
• Southern is shooting 40.5 percent from behind the arc -- ranking 8th nationally.
• SIU is holding opponents to 28.6 percent from 3-point range -- 35th-best nationally.
• Xavier Johnson leads the nation in scoring at 25 points per game.
• Xavier Johnson has scored 16 or more in all eight games this season -- the longest stretch of his career.
• Xavier Johnson leads the MVC with a 91.4 percent mark (63-69) from the free throw line.
• Xavier Johnson is one of 11 players in SIU history with four 30+ point games. All four have been this season and are as many as the rest of the MVC has combined.
• SIU is second in the MVC with 16.1 made free throws per game -- SIU shoots 73.6 percent as a team.

NUMBERS WATCH
• Xavier Johnson needs just 32 points to reach 1,000 career points. In two seasons, Johnson has scored 426 points in maroon & white. Johnson scored 511 points in three years at George Mason.
• Trent Brown enters play with 126 career 3-pointers and needs just one to tie for 16th in program history -- a spot held by head coach Bryan Mullins.
• Clarence Rupert has two double-doubles this season -- matching the number of double-doubles SIU has produced in the last two seasons combined.

THE MATCHUP
• Wichita State enters the game at 7-3 overall under first-year head coach Paul Mills. The Shockers have won or lost all but one of their games by double-digits this season and enter the weekend dropping their last two outings -- the first game on the road at Mizzou and their last game in Wichita against South Dakota State. WSU is 5-0 at home this season.
• Wichita State is scoring 78.3 points per game while holding opponents to 71 points. The Shockers have four players who score in double-figures led by Colby Rogers' 17 points per game. Rogers is also shooting 30.3 (29-72) from behind the arc to lead the team.

THE SERIES
• Southern Illinois leads the series with Wichita State 48-45, but the last 17 games (2010-2017) have not been kind to the Salukis -- dropping 15 of the meetings, including nine straight in the series. From 2000-2009 SIU dominated the series, winning 16 games while losing just three times.

LAST TIME OUT
• Southern Illinois dropped its home contest with Austin Peay, 70-68 -- seeing its 24-game home nonconference win streak come to a close.
• The Salukis led at the break 40-31 before the Govs rallied back in the second half, outscoring SIU 39-28.
• Xavier Johnson scored 31 points, dished out eight assists and pulled down seven rebounds in the loss – it was his fourth 30+ point game of the season.

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NOTES
• The Missouri Valley Conference ranks No. 9 as a league in the NET rankings (Dec. 14). Indiana State leads nine MVC teams among the Top 145 as ISU sits at No. 13. The MVC finished 15th as a league in the Conference NET last year.
• The MVC has combined for a 38-5 record (.884) at home in non-conference play. Drake (41-straight at home) has the longest active win streak in the MVC in home non-conference games (and second-longest on record in the MVC since 1975-76).

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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Preview | Salukis Face Former Valley Foe Wichita State Saturday in Kansas

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