Preview | Salukis travel to UNI for Saturday night game on CBS Sports Network

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois basketball will look to snap a two-game losing skid on the road against Northern Iowa on Saturday night. The game will tipoff at 7 p.m. from McLeod Center on CBS Sports Network.

WHERE TO WATCH AND LISTEN

The game will be available nationally on CBS Sports Network with Chris Hassel (play-by-play) and Michael O'Donnell (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 is ranked 104 in the NET, while UNI ranks 102.
SIU is holding opponents to 27.6 percent from 3-point range -- 11th-best nationally.
Southern is shooting 38.4 percent from behind the arc -- ranking 19th nationally.
The Salukis rank 42nd nationally in effective field goal percentage at 54.9 percent.
AJ Ferguson has scored in double-figures his last three outings, going 5-for-7 from the field for 15 points against Bradley.
SIU is 27-0 under Bryan Mullins when scoring 75 points or more and 51-6 when scoring 70 or more.
With a 10-point win over Belmont, SIU now has nine double-digit wins this season out of the 12 overall. The most wins in one season by 10+ points SIU has had under head coach Bryan Mullins is 10 in 2019-20, with three of them being MVC wins.

XAVIER JOHNSON...

has been named to two Mid-Season Watch List: Lute Olson (National Player of the Year) & Lue Henson (Mid-Major Player of the Year).
is second in the nation in scoring at 23.5 points per game.
is 17th nationally and leading the MVC with 6.2 assists per game.
is third nationally with 129 free throws made and 12th nationally in free throw attempts with 141.
is the only player in the nation averaging 20+ points, shooting better than 40 percent or better from the field, 40 percent or better from three, 85 percent or better from the free throw line, and averaging five or more assists per game.
has scored 16 or more in all 18 games this season -- the longest stretch of his career.

NUMBERS WATCH

Xavier Johnson is one of seven players in SIU history with five 30+ point games in a season. He has five of the 11 30+ point games in the MVC. His 11 20+ point games lead the MVC.
Graduate Trent Brown enters the game with 144 career 3-pointers -- ranking 14th in program history.
Clarence Rupert has two double-doubles this season -- matching the number of double-doubles SIU has produced in the last two seasons combined.

LAST TIME OUT

SIU saw a 23-point lead dwindle in the second half as Bradley rallied back for a 70-69 victory Wednesday.
The Salukis had a chance to win it in the final seconds as Xavier Johnson pulled up for a 15-foot jumper that was just off.
Turnovers proved to be costly down the stretch as Bradley capitalized late on Saluki miscues resulting in baskets down the stretch. The Braves turned 10 Salukis turnovers into 14 points in the game while SIU only scored six points on eight BU turnovers.

THE MATCHUP

UNI has won its last three outings and enters play at 10-8 overall and 4-3 in MVC action.
The Panthers are led by the duo of Nate Heise and Bowen Born who each score 14.4 points per game.
As a team, UNI is outscoring its opponents 75.6 to 71.6 and holds a slight edge on the glass, 33.9 to 32.6.

THE SERIES

SIU leads the all-time series with UNI 39-36 but holds just a 9-24 record against the Panthers in Cedar Falls. The last win over UNI on the road came during the 2018-19 season when Kavion Pippen dominated the paint, scoring 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting to help the Salukis to a 58-51 victory. Marcus Bartley went 3-for-5 from deep and finished with 13 points.

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.

Calendar

Upcoming Events