Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Evansville
SIU Hosts Evansville for Blackout Cancer Game
02/11/2026 | 4:21:00 | Men's Basketball
The Salukis (11-14, 5-9 MVC) take on the Purple Aces (6-19, 2-12 MVC) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Banterra Center in Carbondale, Ill.
Game Details
Matchup: SIU vs. Evansville
Time: 7Â p.m.
Location: Banterra Center, Carbondale, Ill.
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SCOUTING THE PURPLE ACES
After losing six games in a row, Evansville got out of its funk with an 88-80 win over Illinois State on Feb. 9.
A.J. Casey leads the Purple Aces, averaging 12.1 points per game. He's averaging 15.43 in conference play, tied with Illinois State's Chase Walker for sixth in The Valley.
Leif Moller leads UE with 4.0 assists per game and leads all facilitators with 4.3 assists in league play.
2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year Connor Turnbull has been limited this season, playing in 16 of 25 possible games. He did not see action in Monday's win over Illinois State.
Evansville averages 67.7 points per game as a team, last in The Valley and 336th nationally.
Defensively, the Purple Aces allow 74.5 points per game, which is eighth in The Valley and 207th in the country.
Evansville ranks No. 282 in the latest NET ratings and No. 290 in KenPom.
THE DAWGS
Head Coach Scott Nagy became the 13th active coach and the 70th all-time to reach 600 wins with a 65-50 victory over UNI on Jan. 28.
Eight Salukis average more than 18 minutes per game. Quel'Ron House leads the team with 14.4 points per game. Six others average seven or more points, including Rolyns Aligbe (10.3), Drew Steffe (9.5), Damien Mayo Jr. (8.6), Jalen Haynes (8.5), Prince Aligbe (7.8) and Isaiah Stafford (7.3).
Southern is shooting 46.0% from the field, which is 141st in the nation. They do most of their work inside the arc,making only 4.8 3-pointers per game, which is bottom five in the country.
Freshman Jalen Haynes has been a bright spot off the bench this season, scoring in double figures in nine contests. He had a season-high 22 in his first start of the season on Jan. 17 against Belmont.
On the boards, the Dawgs split up the work pretty evenly, with Rolyns Aligbe leading the way with 6.9 boards per game. Aligbe has five double-doubles on the season, one coming against Northern Iowa on Jan. 28 when he had a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds. He tallied a career-high 16 rebounds in SIU's win over Indiana State on Feb. 9, the most a Saluki has recorded since Thik Bol had 17 on Nov. 16, 2016.
Quel'Ron House was named the MVC's Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 9 after averaging 24.0 points in two games between Feb. 2-8. He had a career-high 26 on Feb. 6 against Murray State.
Southern's Jan. 25 game at Evansville was postponed due to the winter storm. The game has been rescheduled for Sunday, Mar. 1.
SIU landed at No. 127 in the most recent NET ratings, sixth in the MVC.
LAST TIME OUT
Southern Illinois beat Indiana State 80-65 on Monday night. Rolyns Aligbe collected a career-high 16 rebounds, the most by a Saluki since Thik Bol had 17 on Nov. 16, 2016, and tied for the most in the MVC this season.
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.
