Preview | Salukis Return to Valley Play with Northern Iowa Sunday in Cedar Falls

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Christmas break is over, and Missouri Valley Conference action returns as Southern Illinois basketball gears up for a trip to face Northern Iowa on Sunday. The tip is set for 1 p.m. CT from McLeod Center in Cedar Falls.

ESPN+ Broadcast | Radio Broadcast | Live Stats | SIU Game Notes | Live Updates on X

HOW TO FOLLOW

The ESPN Plus broadcast team is Eric Bailey and Kevin Lehman.
The radio broadcast can be heard locally on 101.5 CIL-FM, on the Saluki Radio Network, SIUSalukis.com/Listen, the Saluki Mobile App, and the Varsity Network App with Luke Martin and Rodney Watson calling the action.
Fans can follow Live Stats at SIUSalukis.com.

QUICK HITS

Kennard Davis Jr. and Ali Dibba earned Third Team Preseason All-MVC honors.
SIU was picked to finish seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll.
Ali Dibba has scored 10 or more points in all but one game this season. The senior guard put in another career high with 27 against High Point after scoring 26 points against Eastern Kentucky with 24 of the 26 points coming in the second half. He leads the team with 15.8 points per game.
Kennard Davis Jr. is second on the team with 14.4 points per game to go along with 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Davis ranks third in the MVC (behind Drake's Bennett Stirtz and UIC's Javon Jackson) in steals per game this season. Davis Jr. averages 2.08 steals per game.
Jarrett Hensley has recorded back-to-back doubles doubles for the Salukis against Bradley and Southern Indiana -- the first double-doubles of his career. Hensley had 12 points and 12 rebounds against Bradley while going for 16 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Indiana. On the year he is averaging 10.8 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Salukis.
Davion Sykes scored 10 points against High Point last time out -- his second 10+ point game of the season.
SIU ranks third in the MVC with 37.58 rebounds per game. The Salukis have done damage on the offensive glass as they rank fourth in the league with 11.25 caroms on the offensive end this season.
SIU is averaging 11.33 fastbreak points per game this season to rank fourth in the MVC.

LOOKING AT UNI

The Panthers were picked to finish second in the MVC Preseason Poll coming into the season and enter play at 7-5 overall and 1-0 in the MVC with a win over UIC -- an 83-56 road win in Chicago in early November.
Lethal on their homecourt, UNI is 6-1 with a 22.7-point average margin of victory inside McLeod Center. Their lone loss at home came to UC Irvine.
As a team, UNI is shooting 52 percent from the floor, 39.7 percent from behind the arc, and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe while outrebounding opponents 32.9 to 30.7 in 12 games.
The Panthers feature a quartet of double-digit scorers led by Tytan Anderson at 13.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 27.5 minutes. Jacob Hutson is averaging 13.2 points and four rebounds.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE PANTHERS

SIU leads the all-time series with UNI 39-38, though the Salukis were swept by the Panthers last season. SIU is 26-9 at home against UNI but just 9-25 on the road against UNI. SIU leads the series at Arch Madness, 4-3. SIU has just three wins in the last 10 meetings in the series.

LAST TIME OUT
SIU fell to High Point, 94-81, last time out. Ali Dibba scored a career-high 27 in the loss, marking the second time this season that the senior has scored more than 20 points. High Point (12-2) scored the first points of the game and did not surrender the lead for the remainder of the game. Leading by eight at the midway point of the first half Southern made a run to cut into the lead thanks in part to strong defensive efforts during an 8-2 run. Trailing at the break 51-37, the Salukis came out with energy early in the second and cut the High Point lead to just seven points. During the 9-2 run the SIU was able to get four players involved while forcing three turnovers during the stretch. High Point weathered the Saluki run and would answer back with a run of their own to push their lead back into double-digits. Titus Anderson gave the Panthers a 16-point lead with just eight minutes remaining and High Point would coast the rest of the way to pick up their 12th win of the season.

NAGY TOP-20 IN CAREER WINS
Nagy brings 30 years of head coaching experience to Carbondale and has recorded 14 straight winning seasons while at the helm of both South Dakota State and Wright State. Nagy ranks No. 17 in wins (582) among active Division I head coaches.

EXPERIENCE ON THE BENCH FOR THE SIU
One thing that Southern Illinois does not lack on the bench is experience within the coaching staff. SIU boasts over 100 years of total coaching experience between six coaches, as well as over 50 years of head coaching experience between Scott Nagy (30) and Steve Hawkins (28). Nagy (582) and Hawkins (453) have won a combined 1,035 games while at the helm of their programs respectively.

UP NEXT FOR THE DAWGS
Holiday ticket specials New Year's Day game against Evansville can be found HERE. Tickets start at just $4 with no added fees.

FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by visiting SIUSalukis.com as well as following the team on X at @SIU_Basketball, Instagram at @SIU_Basketball, and Facebook at Facebook.com/SIUBasketball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" mobile app from the App Store or Google Play Store.

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