Preview | Salukis Head North to Face UIC Saturday to Start Five Day Road Swing

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois and UIC will square off for the first time this season on Saturday in Chicago. Tipoff with the Flames is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT from Credit Union 1 Arena.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The ESPN Plus broadcast team is Sam Brief and Chris Sparks.
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

Southern Illinois comes into Saturday with an 8-12 overall and 3-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
SIU ranks fifth in the MVC with 35.40 rebounds per game. The Salukis have done damage on the offensive glass as they rank third in the league with 10.90 caroms on the offensive end this season. SIU is outrebounding teams on the offensive glass this season 218 to 197 in 20 games.
SIU is averaging 10.95 fast break points per game which ranks second in the MVC.
As a team, SIU is fourth in the Valley in blocks with 3.4 per game. Jarrett Hensley leads SIU with 21 blocks and 1.05 blocks per game. Antwaun Massey has nine blocks for the Dawgs.
Ali Dibba leads the team and ranks third in the MVC with 16.2 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 14.8 points per game which ranks sixth in the MVC to go along with 5.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Davis ranks second in the MVC in steals with 1.68 per game this season. He has 32 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 11.6 points per game and a team-high 5.5 rebounds per contest. Hensley leads SIU and ranks seventh in the MVC with 21 blocked shots.
Dibba scored 33 on the road at Belmont before Jarrett Hensley had 30 at home against Missouri State. They became 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.
Drew Steffe dished out a season-high five assists at Belmont. The freshman has multiple assists in 17 of 20 games this season. His 3.6 assist-to-turnover (47:13) ratio leads the Salukis.

LOOKING AT UIC

UIC comes into action at 13-6 overall, 6-3 in the MVC, and winners of their last three games.
Javon Jackson leads the Flames with 12.9 points per game. Sasa Ciani (11.5), Ahmad Henderson II (11.3), Tyem Freeman (10.3) and Jordan Mason (10.1) also score in double-digits for UIC.
As a team, UIC holds its opponents to 73.3 points, 43.6 percent from the field, and 33.2 percent from behind the arc.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE FLAMES

The Salukis lead the series with UIC 10-5 all-time and have won six of the last seven meetings. Four of the five meetings since UIC joined the MVC have been decided by three points or less.
SIU is 6-0 at home, 3-3 on the road, and 1-2 on neutral floors against the Flames. Southern had won six-straight games against the Flames before losing in double overtime at Arch Madness last season.

DAVIS NAMED MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Davis, a St. Louis native, averaged a team-high 21 points and nine rebounds. Davis finished the two-game stretch shooting 57.1 percent (16-28) from the floor and 46.7 percent (7-15) from behind the arc.
Davis scored a career-high 24 in a win over UNI as he notched his third double-double of the season with a 24-point, 10-rebound performance against the Panthers. The sophomore had 18 points, eight rebounds, and three 3-pointers during a road win at Missouri State.

STRONG DEFENSE

SIU put on a defensive clinic against Northern Iowa at home, but especially in the first half of the play, where SIU held UNI to just 15 points – a tie for sixth in program history for the fewest points in a first half.
UNI struggled to get any open looks from the floor as Southern locked in to hold the Panthers to just 4-of-28 from the floor in the first – UNI's first-half shooting percentage of 14.3 percent ranks as the third-best defensive effort in a half in program history.
SIU held Wright State to 13 percent in a half in 2010 and New Mexico State to 14 percent last season at the Cancun Challenge.

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 (585) among active Division I head coaches.

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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