Preview | Saluki Basketball Welcomes Southern Indiana Saturday Afternoon

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois men's basketball will host Southern Indiana on Saturday afternoon at Banterra Center. Tipoff with the Screaming Eagles is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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

PROMOTIONS

Saluki Athletics will give away 5,000 glow sticks to "Light Up Banterra Center".
A halftime performance by Ultimate Gymnastics and Cheerleading of Carbondale.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The ESPN Plus broadcast team is Mike Trude and Saluki Hall of Famer Jamaal Tatum.
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 picked up Third Team Preseason All-MVC honors.
SIU was picked to finish seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll.
Kennard Davis Jr. has scored at least 15 points in the last four games for the Salukis. The sophomore has scored in double-figures in eight of nine games this season with a season-high 22 coming against Missouri S&T. He also has a team-high 22 steals in nine games after recording 22 all last season. Davis pulled down 10 rebounds against La Tech to earn his first double-double after adding 16 points.
Ali Dibba has scored 10 or more points in all but one game this season. The senior guard put in a career high 26 points against Eastern Kentucky with 24 of the 26 points coming in the second half.
Sheridan Sharp planned to redshirt this season but was pushed into the rotation following an injury to Elijah Elliott. The sophomore had a breakout week in Florida, averaging eight points, four rebounds and 3.3 assists in three games. He put up a career-high 12 points to go with four assists in a win over Florida Tech.
After a slow start to the season, Jarrett Hensley has gotten it going. The forward has scored 10 or more in four of his last five games. He put in a season-high 15 points with eight rebounds in an overtime loss to La Tech to open the Gulf Coast Showcase. He also scored 14 against No. 21 Florida.
Davion Sykes scored a season-high 10 points in his last outing against Florida Tech. The forward was 4-for-7 from the field and had nine rebounds -- a new season high.
Freshman guard Drew Steffe has 15 assists and just four turnovers this season.
Big man Rolyns Aligbe pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds in a loss to Florida. The freshman is second on the team with 4.7 rebounds per game.

CURRENT STORYLINES

The Salukis lost their leading scorer in senior Elijah Elliott due to an ACL tear during the Florida game. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 14 points, 3.4 rebounds, and one steal in five games for the Salukis, including four starts at point guard.
First-year head coach Scott Nagy leads the Salukis. 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 (580) among active Division I head coaches.
SIU welcomed 11 newcomers to the roster this season with three returners from last year's squad. Kennard Davis Jr., Jarrett Hensley, and Sheridan Sharp were the lone returners for SIU.
Tyler Bey, Isaac Billington, and Jaheem Webber are set to redshirt this season. Sheridan Sharp was set to redshirt before a season-ending injury to Elijah Elliott.

LOOKING AT SOUTHERN INDIANA

Southern Indiana comes into play at 4-4 on the season and are winners of their last three games, including a victory over MVC member Indiana State in Evansville.
USI is scoring nearly 80 points per game and is led by Jayland Randall who is scoring 16.3 points per game. As a squad, four players are scoring in double-digits for USI.
The Screaming Eagles are 3-1 at home and 1-3 on the road this season.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE SCREAMING EAGLES

SIU and USI have met five times overall with the Salukis leading the series 4-1. The game is the final scheduled meeting of a 2-for-1 deal signed before the 2022 season. SIU dropped its first game to USI in Evansville, 71-53, in 2022. Southern bounced back with an 81-50 win at home last season. Before 2022, the teams met just three times in the early 80's with SIU claiming all three wins at home.
Last game, the Salukis put together one of its best defensive performances of the season in the first half of action, holding Southern Indiana to just 18.8 percent shooting (6-of-32) – the lowest shooting percentage of the season and just out of the top 10 in school history.
Xavier Johnson had 16 in the win while current Saluki Jarrett Hensley scored 12 points in 16 minutes.

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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