Preview | Southern Illinois and Missouri State Meet in Springfield Wednesday Night

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois and Missouri State are set to square off for the second consecutive game Wednesday night in Springfield. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from Great Southern Bank Arena.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The ESPN Plus broadcast team is John Rooney and Rich Zvosec.
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.

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

QUICK HITS

SIU enters play at 6-11 overall and 1-5 in MVC play after defeating Missouri State at home on Saturday.
Ali Dibba scored 33 on the road at Belmont before Jarrett Hensley had 30 at home against Missouri State. They become the first Saluki duo to score 30 or more in a season since 2005-06 when Jamaal Tatum (37) and Tony Young (30) did so against Eastern Washington and Bradley.
Ali Dibba leads the team with 15.7 points per game. He has scored 10 or more points in all but two games this season.
Dibba scored a career-high 33 at Belmont. He finished the game 13-for-23 from the field, 5-for-8 from behind the arc, and a rebound short of a double-double. His 13 made field goals also set the opponent record at the Curb Event Center.
Kennard Davis Jr. is second on the team with 13.7 points per game to go along with 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Davis ranks second in the MVC in steals with 1.8 per game this season. He has 29 steals this year after just 22 all of last season.
Jarrett Hensley put up a career-high 30 points in an overtime win against Missouri State, including hitting a trio of 3-pointers. He ranks third on the team with 11.5 points per game and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per contest. Hensley leads SIU and ranks 10th in the MVC with 15 blocked shots.
Hensley has scored in double-digits in three straight games dating back to Jan. 5. The senior has 10 games this season scoring in double-figures.
Drew Steffe scored a career-high 16 points against Missouri State, including hitting three 3-pointers in the win - the most this season for the Frisco, Texas native.
Steffe dished out a season-high five assists at Belmont. The freshman has multiple assists in 13 of 17 games this season. His 38 assists to 13 turnovers lead the Salukis.
SIU ranks fourth in the MVC with 35.56 rebounds per game. The Salukis have done damage on the offensive glass as they rank third in the league with 11.41 caroms on the offensive end this season.
SIU is averaging 10.71 fastbreak points per game which ranks third in the MVC.
As a team, SIU is sixth in the Valley in blocks with 2.9 per game. Jarrett Hensley leads SIU with 15 blocks and 0.88 blocks per game. Antwaun Massey has nine blocks for the Dawgs.
With nine points at Belmont, freshman Rolyns Aligbe has scored five or more in nine games.
SIU went on a 14-1 scoring run in the first half against Mo State. That was the first scoring run of that magnitude in the first half of a game for the Salukis since an 18-3 run versus La Tech on November 25.
With an overtime win over the Bears on Saturday, SIU snapped a four-game skid in overtime games.
SIU forced 10 lead changes against Belmont after 12 in the previous eight games combined.

LOOKING AT MISSOURI STATE

Missouri State comes into play at 7-10 overall record with a 0-6 mark in the MVC.
The Bears have dropped their last five games and have a 5-3 record at Great Southern Bank Arena.
MSU is scoring 71.4 points per game this season and is led by Dez White (15.4 ppg) and Vincent Bradley II (14.6 ppg).
The Bears are second in the MVC in forced turnovers (13.8) and steals per game with 8.2 per outing.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BEARS

Southern Illinois leads the series with Missouri State 54-44 in a series dating back to 1957, including a 30-12 record in Carbondale, a 17-27 record in Springfield, and a 3-2 record on neutral courts.
SIU won three straight games in the series before the Bears snapped the streak with an overtime win in Carbondale in the lone meeting between the two programs last season.
Southern took the last meeting on Saturday in Carbondale in overtime with an 88-78 victory.
The last two meetings with Missouri State have gone to overtime. MSU won last season (76-75) while SIU won the previous game (88-78).

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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