Preview | Salukis Travel to Peoria to Face Bradley Wednesday Night

CARBONDALE, Ill. – With just two games remaining in the regular season, Southern Illinois is still fighting for seeding for Arch Madness as the team travels to face Bradley Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Carver Arena. The Salukis currently sit in fourth place in the MVC standings with Bradley a game ahead in third place. The top four seeds receive a first-round bye at Arch Madness.

The Salukis will matchup with Northern Iowa in the final regular season on Sunday, March 3 at 1 p.m. Every available seat inside Banterra Center is just $10 as the SIU will honor Trent Brown, Xavier Johnson, Chris Cross, and RJ McGee for Senior Day ahead of tipoff. Fans can purchase tickets at SIUSalukis.com/X. Fans can also call the SIU Ticket Office at 877-SALUKIS or visit the ticket office during normal business hours.

WHERE TO WATCH AND LISTEN

The game will be available on ESPN Plus with Brian Bedo (play-by-play) and Kristoff Kendrick (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

Southern Illinois is ranked 103 in the NET, while Bradley is ranked 65.
The Salukis have won 11 MVC games in back-to-back years for the first time since Bryan Mullins was a player.
SIU is holding opponents to 29.4 percent from 3-point range -- 12th-best nationally.
The Salukis rank third in the MVC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.26.
SIU's scoring defense ranks 45th in the nation -- holding opponents to 66.6 points per game.
Xavier Johnson leads the MVC with 6.2 assists per game and has had five assists or more in 25 games this season.
SIU is shooting 76.5 percent from the free throw line which is second in the MVC and 23rd nationally.
Troy D'Amico has scored 12 or more points in each of the last four games. He tied a career-high with 20 points against Murray State.
SIU is 8-0 in games when Scottie Ebube scores in double figures.
Out of 17 MVC games, 10 of SIU's games have been decided by six points or less.

UNDER MULLINS...

SIU has beaten a Power 6 team each of the last four seasons.
SIU is 29-2 under Bryan Mullins when scoring 75 points or more and 55-8 when scoring 70 or more.
Mullins is tied for the fourth-fastest coach in program history to reach 80 wins -- 142 games.
SIU has 10 double-digit wins this season out of the 19 overall. It ties the most 10+ point wins under Mullins and is the most since the 2019-20 season, with four of them being MVC wins.

XAVIER JOHNSON...

was named to two Mid-Season Watch List: Lute Olson (National Player of the Year) & Lue Henson (Mid-Major Player of the Year).
is third in the nation in scoring at 22.4 points per game and has scored 16 or more in all 27 of 29 games.
is 16th nationally and leading the MVC with 6.2 assists per game.
is 11th nationally in minutes per game with 36:40.
is fifth nationally with 200 free throws made and ninth nationally in free throw attempts with 223.

NUMBERS WATCH

Johnson is one of five players in SIU history with six or more 30+ point games in a season. He has six of the 22 combined 30+ point games in the MVC. His 16 20+ point games lead the MVC.
Johnson has 180 assists this season to pass Bryan Mullins who held the single-season record with 154 assists during the 2007-08 season.
Johnson now owns the single-season free throws made record with 200 so far this season. He passed Freddie McSwain (182).
Johnson has scored 649 points this season, ranking fourth in SIU history. Charlie "Chico" Vaughn scored 779 in 1960 to top the list.
Brown enters play with 172 career 3-pointers -- 9th in SIU history.
Brown is on pace to break the program record for games played -- currently with 138 games. Tony Young (139) holds the record.
Rupert has three double-doubles this season -- exceeding the number of double-doubles SIU had last year in total.

THE SERIES

Bradley leads the all-time series with SIU 57-50 and has won seven of the last 10 meetings. The Salukis hold a 28-20 advantage against the Braves on their home court and are 16-34 on the road, and 6-3 in neutral-site contests.
SIU fell to the Braves in Carbondale in January, 70-69, after leading by 23 points early in the second half.

THE MATCHUP

The Braves enter Wednesday's game winners of their last two games and hold a 20-9 overall record and a 12-6 record in the MVC.
Picked to finish third in the MVC Preseason Poll, the Braves are led by Duke Deen who is averaging 14.3 points per game.
BU is also getting 10+ points from three others including Connor Hickman (14.2), Malevy Leons (13.9), and Darius Hannah (11.4).

LAST TIME OUT

SIU defeated Evansville 65-53 on the road after holding the Aces to just 27 second-half points and 2-for-10 from behind the arc overall.
Troy D'Amico led the team with 17 points -- all coming in the second half of play. Xavier Johnson and Scottie Ebube had 12 points each.
Xavier Johnson finished just two assists shy of a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. SIU has had two triple-doubles in program history.

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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