Preview | Salukis Battle for Arch Madness Bye Sunday Against UNI

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa will battle for the final bye of Arch Madness on Sunday at 1 p.m. inside Banterra Center. The stakes are high for the showdown, with the winner claiming the coveted No. 4 seed.

Though Belmont could still finish in a tie with either team, the NET tiebreaker would favor Sunday's winner between SIU and UNI. Full tiebreaker details can be found HERE. More details on Arch Madness can be found on the Tournament Central page.

Saluki Athletics recently announced the X-Factor ticket promotion for the final game of the season. All available seats can be purchased for just $10. 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.

GAME PROMOTIONS

It's Senior Day at Banterra Center and the team will honor Trent Brown, Xavier Johnson, Chris Cross, and RJ McGee pregame.
Saluki Athletics will also honor its Senior Spirit Squad and Saluki Pep Band members as well as Dawg Pound leadership on the court during the game.
Remember, at all Saluki men's basketball games, kids are invited down to the court for pregame starting lineups. To participate, bring your child to the floor in front of Section 107 10 minutes before tipoff and look for Brown or Grey Dawg.

WHERE TO WATCH AND LISTEN

The game will be available on ESPN Plus with Noah Reed (play-by-play) and Mike Trude (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 107 in the NET, while UNI is ranked 119.
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 29.7 percent from 3-point range -- 13th-best nationally.
The Salukis rank third in the MVC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.25.
SIU boasts the MVC's top scoring defense and ranks 54th in the nation -- holding opponents to 67.2 points per game.
SIU is shooting 76.2 percent from the free throw line which is second in the MVC and 34th nationally.
Out of 18 MVC games, 10 of SIU's games have been decided by six points or less.
It marks the first time in over a decade that SIU Basketball has averaged over 5,000 fans in consecutive seasons.

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 the USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy and All-America Watch List on Tuesday.
was named to two Mid-Season Watch List: Lute Olson (National Player of the Year) & Lue Henson (Mid-Major Player of the Year).
is fourth in the nation in scoring at 21.9 points per game and has scored 16 or more in all 27 of 30 games.
is 19th nationally and leading the MVC with 6.1 assists per game.
is 17th nationally in minutes per game with 36:22.
is sixth nationally with 202 free throws made and 11th nationally in free throw attempts with 226.

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 are tied for the MVC lead.
Johnson has 183 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 203 so far this season. He passed Freddie McSwain (182).
Johnson has scored 658 points this season, ranking fourth in SIU history. Charlie "Chico" Vaughn scored 779 in 1960 to top the list.
Brown enters play with 173 career 3-pointers -- 9th in SIU history.
After tipoff against UNI, Trent Brown will own the program record for games played with 140. Tony Young (139) currently holds the record.
Rupert has three double-doubles on his own this season -- exceeding the number of double-doubles SIU had last year in total.

THE SERIES

SIU leads the all-time series with UNI 39-37, including a 26-9 record at home against the Panthers. The Salukis fell to UNI earlier this season on the road 71-67. Last season SIU closed out the regular season with an 86-63 win on Senior Day.

THE MATCHUP

The Panthers come into play 17-13 overall and 11-8 in Valley play.
UNI has three double-digit scorers and is led by Nate Heise with 13.8 points per game. Guard Bowen Born is averaging 13.2 points.
The Panthers came away with a 71-67 home win against SIU back in January. Xavier Johnson had 17 to lead SIU while AJ Ferguson (12) and Clarence Rupert (10) joined him in double-digits.

LAST TIME OUT

SIU dropped a road game at Bradley, 86-67 Wednesday night.
Southern surrendered a season-high 16 offensive rebounds on the night, leading to 18 second-chance points for Bradley. The Salukis also committed 14 turnovers that led to 22 Bradley points.
Bradley led by 10 at halftime, 37-27, but used a 15-0 run midway through the second half to put the game away. BU shot 61 percent from the field in the second half.
AJ Ferguson led the Salukis with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Jarrett Hensley had 15 off the bench for SIU.

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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