Preview | Salukis Host Murray State Wednesday Night at Banterra Center

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois men's basketball team will host Murray State for the second time this season on Wednesday, February 19. Tipoff with the Racers is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from Banterra Center.

The game was moved from Murray, Kentucky to Carbondale due to an ongoing power issue on the campus of Murray State University following severe weather in western Kentucky over the weekend.

Although the game will be played in Carbondale, it will be treated as a Murray State home game. Tickets already purchased for the game, originally slated for the CFSB Center, will be honored at the Banterra Center. Fans currently without tickets can purchase tickets at the door for $5 cash.

All seating will be general admission, with Section 102 designated for Murray State fans. Parking outside the Banterra Center will be free for all patrons and first-come, first-serve.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The ESPN Plus broadcast team is made up of Mike Trude and Saluki Hall of Famer Jamaal Tatum.
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+ | Radio Broadcast | Live Stats | SIU Game Notes | Live Updates on X

QUICK HITS

SIU enters the matchup with Murray State at 12-15 overall and 7-9 in Missouri Valley Conference action. The Salukis are in a five-way tie for sixth place in the league standings with four games remaining in league play before Arch Madness.
The Salukis rank third in the MVC with 35.63 rebounds per game. SIU has done damage on the offensive glass as they rank second in the league with 10.56 offensive boards per game. Southern is outrebounding teams on the offensive glass this season 285 to 261.
SIU is averaging 10.19 fastbreak points per game which ranks third in the MVC.
Ali Dibba (16.7) and Kennard Davis Jr. (15.4) rank third and sixth in scoring in the MVC.
Dibba has scored in double-digits in all but three games this season.
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.
Freshman Drew Steffe scored a career-high 20 points and hit four shots from behind the arc in a home win over UIC. It marked the second-straight game that he has recorded multiple makes from behind the arc and just the sixth time the Frisco, Texas native knocked down two or more triples in a game this season.
Steffe has multiple assists in 23 of 27 games. His 3.6 assist-to-turnover (62:17) ratio leads the Salukis.
Jarrett Hensley is third on the team with 11.2 points per game. The graduate student has three double-doubles of the season.

LOOKING AT MURRAY STATE

Murray State was picked to finish third in the MVC Preseason Poll and currently sits at 13-14 overall and 7-9 in The Valley standings. The Racers dropped their last game to UNI in a neutral site game in Nashville, 74-67.
The game with UNI was played in Nashville due to a power issue on the Murray State campus. The persistent power issue forced the Racers to move their scheduled home game with SIU on Wednesday to Carbondale.
The Racers are scoring 72.0 points per game while holding opponents to 69.2.
JaCobi Wood leads the Racers with 13.4 points while shooting 40.1 percent from behind the arc.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE RACERS

It will be the 44th meeting of all time between Southern Illinois and Murray State. The Salukis lead the series 23-20 and have won six of the last 10 games against the Racers. SIU is 9-11 on the road, 13-6 at home, and 1-3 on neutral courts against Murray State.

THE TURNAROUND

This year marked only the fifth time that SIU had started an MVC season 0-5 or worse. SIU has gone 7-3 in the last 10 games since that 0-5 start.
The seven wins are the most wins SIU ever had after starting 0-5 in league play.
Prior to this season, the most was five wins total in 1979-80 (5-11) and 1986-87 (5-9).

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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