Saluki Men’s Basketball travels to Murray State on Saturday

CARBONDALE, IL — Southern Illinois will look to bounce back from a 42-point defeat at the hands of No. 18 Louisville when it travels to play regional foe Murray State on Saturday at 7 p.m. 

The series versus the Racers dates back to 1929. From 1950 to 1980, the teams did not play each other. Since 1981, SIU leads, 14-8. Since 2000, the Salukis have an 8-3 advantage in the series.  

SIU beat Murray State in overtime last season at SIU Arena, 89-85. Sean O’Brien broke a tie in OT when he tipped-in a missed shot by Mike Rodriguez with 0.8 seconds remaining. Rodriguez led the team with 21 points, while Leo Vincent added 17.  

This game will mark the 17th time Hinson has faced an Ohio Valley Conference team since becoming head coach at SIU in 2012. He has a 11-5 record in previous games, including a 2-2 mark against Murray State. 

Salukis No. 63 in nation in blocked shots
The Salukis rank 63rd in the nation in blocked shots per game (5.0), which leads the MVC. SIU has 15 blocked shots in three games. Kavion Pippen has eight, Jonathan Wiley has two, and five other players have one.

JUCOs make instant impact
JUCO transfers C Kavion Pippen (6-10, 240, Jr.) and G Eric McGill (6-2, 175, Jr.) are SIU’s second and third-leading scorers this season. Pippen (12.0 points) has scored double figures in all three games and leads the team in rebounding (7.7) and blocked shots (2.7). The nephew of NBA legend Scottie Pippen was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 12. McGill has also impressed, averaging 9.0 points off the bench and leading the team with four 3-pointers and six steals. 

Armon Fletcher scoring output jumps again
G Armon Fletcher (6-5, 207, Jr.) has made significant jumps each year in scoring output. 
Freshman:  5.1 PPG
Sophomore: 11.1 PPG
Junior: 14.0 PPG
He was named to the MVC’s Most Improved Team last year. He was second on the team in 3-pointers made (47) and ranked seventh in the conference in steals (1.3). 

Sean Lloyd takes leadership role
Hinson said G Sean Lloyd (6-5, 210, Jr.) has emerged as the team leader and defensive stopper. In 34 minutes at Winthrop, he scored a team-high 15 points, dished out four assists and grabbed four steals. He leads the team in assists (8) and steals (6). 

Veteran roster
The Salukis enter the season with seven players who have a combined 178 games of starting experience at the Division I level. 
• Ten of the 12 players are upperclassmen.
• Half of the roster (six players) are in either their fourth or fifth year of eligibility.
• Nine of the 12 players are at least 21-years-old. A 10th player turns 21 in December.
• The team enters the season with 498 games of Division I playing experience combined.

Dawg Bites
•After Murray State, SIU plays six of its next seven games at home.
•G Marcus Bartley (6-5, 193, Jr.) was diagnosed with a broken bone in his right wrist on Oct. 25 and is expected to miss six weeks.
•F Thik Bol (6-8, 202, Sr.) had knee surgery on Nov. 3 and is expected to miss approximately six weeks.
•C Rudy Stradnieks (6-9, 229, Jr.) scored a career-high eight points at Louisville. He leads the team in field goal percentage (7-of-9, .778).
•Tyler Smithpeters has made two or more 3-pointers 29 times in his career.
•SIU has gone 85-consecutive games with at least one 3-point field goal and 993-consecutive games with at least one free throw (dating back to 1986).
•Hinson is 42-33 overall in non-conference games at SIU.
•Hinson is 15-17 overall in non-conference road games at SIU.
•Hinson is 21-15 at SIU during the month of November.

Salukis host 16 home games at SIU Arena 
The Salukis hosted a school-record eight non-conference home games for a total of 17 home games last season — the most in school history. The Salukis will host 16 home games this year, which is tied with the 1985 and 2011 teams for second-most home games in a season. SIU Arena which opened in 1964, underwent a $29.9 million renovation prior to the 2010-11 season.