Salukis vs Illinois State
February 25 | 7 PM | Banterra Center | ESPN+
Notes
QUICK HITS
SIU enters play at 12-17 overall and 7-11 in Missouri Valley Conference action. The Salukis tied for ninth place in the league standings with Indiana State with just two games remaining before Arch Madness.
The Salukis rank third in the MVC with 35.90 rebounds per game. SIU has done damage on the offensive glass as they rank second in the league with 10.52 offensive boards per game.
SIU is averaging 10.17 fastbreak points per game which ranks second in the MVC.
Ali Dibba (16.8) and Kennard Davis Jr. (15.9) rank third and fifth in scoring in the MVC.
Dibba has scored in double-digits in all but three games this season.
Dibba leads the MVC and ranks 28th in the nation with 189 made field goals.
Davis has been an iron man for SIU the last two games, playing all 40 minutes in each. He scored 26 against Murray State and 21 against Valpo. During the stretch, he has averaged 6.5 boards and 3.5 assists.
Davis' 21 points against Valpo last time out marked the eighth 20+ point performance this season. The sophomore scored 20 or more in four of his last seven games.
Davis recorded his fourth double-double of the season against Murray State with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Davis is second on the team with 5.1 boards per game.
Jarrett Hensley is third on the team with 10.7 points per game. The graduate student has four double-doubles of the season, including a 10 points and 12 rebound performance last game.
Freshman Drew Steffe has recorded multiple assists in 23 of 29 games. His 3.4 assist-to-turnover (64:19) ratio leads the Salukis.
Five Salukis scored in double-figures last game out. It was the third time this year that SIU has done so, but the first game which the Salukis lost.
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.
SIU is 10-3 when leading at the half.
LOOKING AT ILLINOIS STATE
Illinois State comes into Sunday at 17-12 overall and winners of their last two outings, including a win in Normal against Bradley.
ISU is 11-4 at home, 5-6 on the road, and 1-2 in neutral-site games.
The Redbirds are coming off a two-point win on the road at Missouri State. Chase Walker scored with four seconds left to give Illinois State the win.
ISU is scoring 76.2 points per game and is led by Chase Walker who is scoring 15.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Johnny Kinziger is averaging 15.3 points a game.
Former Saluki Dalton Banks is scoring 9.5 points while leading ISU with 109 assists in 29 games.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE REDBIRDS
It will be the 170th meeting between SIU and Illinois State when the two teams face off on Tuesday. The Salukis lead the all-time series with ISU, 89-80, winning seven of the last 10 meetings, but falling to the Redbirds earlier this season in Normal.
Overall, SIU is 54-20 at home against Illinois State, 27-53 on the road, 7-8 on neutral courts, and 8-6 when matched up in the MVC Tournament.
