Preview | Salukis Head to Evansville for Matchup with Aces Wednesday

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois basketball is set to face off against Evansville on Wednesday night at Ford Center. Tip with the Aces is set for 7 p.m. CT.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The game will air on ESPN Plus.
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 Wednesday winners of five of their last seven games and holds a 10-13 overall record and 5-7 in the MVC. The Salukis are tied in the standings with Indiana State and Murray State.
SIU has now won three straight MVC road games, dating back to Missouri State on January 15th. It is the first time SIU has won three straight MVC road games since the 2019-20 season when winning at Illinois State, Drake, and Evansville.
This year marked only the fifth time in program history that SIU had started an MVC season 0-5 or worse. SIU has gone 5-2 in the last seven games since that 0-5 start. The most wins SIU ever had after starting 0-5 in league play were five wins total in 1979-80 (5-11) and 1986-87 (5-9).
SIU scored 54 points in the paint in the win over UIC.The 54 paint points rank first in the MVC this year for a single game. It also marked the first time since 2020 (vs Quincy) that Southern had scored 50 or more paint points in a game.
The win at Valpo marked the first time that SIU had won a game when trailing at halftime. SIU was 0-12 when trailing at the break entering the game.
Five Salukis scored in double-digits on the road at Valpo. It marked the second time this season (Nov. 27 vs Florida Tech) that the Salukis have had five players score in double-figures.
The Salukis rank sixth in the MVC with 35.17 rebounds per game. SIU has done damage on the offensive glass as they rank fourth in the league with 10.47 offensive boards per game. Southern is outrebounding teams on the offensive glass this season 247 to 223 in 23 games.
SIU is averaging 10.22 fastbreak points per game which ranks third in the MVC.
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.
Kennard Davis Jr. is second on the team with 15.5 points per game which ranks fourth in the MVC to go along with 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Davis ranks seventh in the MVC in steals with 1.5 per game this season. He has 33 steals this year after just 22 last season.
Davis has scored 18 or more in his last six games. This season Davis has 19 double-digit scoring games.
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.
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.
Drew Steffe dished out a season-high five assists at Belmont. The freshman has multiple assists in 19 of 23 games this season. His 3.7 assist-to-turnover (52:14) ratio leads the Salukis.
Jorge Moreno went 5-for-5 from the field and scored a career-high 13 points in the win at Valpo. Before the outing, the big man's best scoring output this season was seven points versus Florida Tech.

LOOKING AT EVANSVILLE

Evansville was picked to finish ninth in the MVC Preseason Poll. The Aces come into action at 9-14 overall, 6-6 in MVC play, and are currently riding a three-game winning streak with two road wins at Belmont and Valpo while winning at home against Murray State.
As a team, UE is scoring 66.3 points per outing and is led by Gabriel Pozzato's 16.2 points per game. Tyshawn Comer is second on the team with 14.9 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE ACES

Southern Illinois leads the series with the Purple Aces 79-59 and has won eight of the last 10 games. Southern is 47-19 at home against UE, 23-28 on the road, and 2-3 on a neutral floor. Evansville snapped SIU's five-game winning streak in the series on New Year's Day with a 68-53 win at Banterra Center.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE ACES

The Salukis never led in the game and forced only three ties up until the midway point of the first half in a 68-53 loss on New Year's Day to Evansville.
SIU shot just 31.1 percent while Evansville was 48 percent from the field during the game.
Kennard Davis Jr. led SIU with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Ali Dibba added 12 for SIU to go with two steals. Antwaun Massey had eight off the bench for Southern.
Tyshawn Comer led UE with a game-high 26 points while shooting 8-for-13 from the floor. Cameron Haffner added 20 for the Aces in the win, including hitting three of UE's five 3-pointers.

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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