Preview | Salukis and Beacons Square Off Tuesday Night in Valparaiso

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Southern Illinois basketball is set to wrap up a five-day road swing Tuesday night against Valparaiso. Tipoff with the Beacons is set for 7 p.m. from the ARC.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The ESPN Plus broadcast team is Todd Ickow and Jamie Stangel.
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 comes into Tuesday winners of four of their last five games and holds a 9-12 overall record and 4-6 in the MVC. The Salukis are tied for seventh in the standings at the midway point of the conference slate.
The Salukis rank sixth in the MVC with 35.43 rebounds per game. SIU has done damage on the offensive glass as they rank fourth in the league with 10.86 offensive boards a game. Southern is outrebounding teams on the offensive glass this season 228 to 207 in 21 games.
SIU is averaging 10.71 fastbreak points per game which ranks second in the MVC.
As a team, SIU is fourth in the Valley in blocks with 3.2 per game. Jarrett Hensley leads SIU with 21 blocks and 1.00 blocks per game. Antwaun Massey has nine blocks for the Dawgs.
Ali Dibba leads the team and ranks second in the MVC with 16.7 points per game. He has scored 10 or more points in all but two games this season.
Dibba leads the MVC and ranks 46th nationally with 133 made field goals. His 48.9 percent from the floor ranks third in the MVC.
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 15.0 points per game which ranks fifth in the MVC to go along with 5.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Davis ranks second in the MVC in steals with 1.65 per game this season. He has 33 steals this year after just 22 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 5.4 rebounds per contest. Hensley leads SIU and ranks eighth 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 18 of 21 games this season. His 3.8 assist-to-turnover (49:13) ratio leads the Salukis.

LOOKING AT VALPO

Valpo is 10-11 overall and 3-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference after dropping the last five games.
As a team, Valpo is scoring 76.9 points per game while holding opponents to 73.8 percent scoring.
Four Beacons score in double-digits led by Cooper Schwieger at 14.3 points per game. Tyler Schmidt is second on the team with 12.1 points while Jefferson De la Cruz Monegro and All Wright score 11.4 points a game.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BEACONS

Southern Illinois and Valparaiso have met on the hardwood 17 times in their histories, with SIU leading the series 10-7. Southern has won six straight games in the series, including the last three meetings on the road.

STRONG DEFENSE

SIU put on a defensive clinic throughout against Northern Iowa at home, but especially in the first half of 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.

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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