South Cook News

Salukis Matchup with UIC on the Road to Close Regular Season Sunday

Southern Illinois basketball is set to close its regular season Sunday afternoon in Chicago with a matchup against UIC. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. from Credit Union 1 Arena. A win against the Flames would solidify the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye for the Salukis at Arch Madness next week in St. Louis.
 
THE BROADCAST
• The game will be available on Bally Sports Midwest Extra, Bally Sports Indiana, Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports South, NBC Sports Chicago Plus, and ESPN Plus. Scott Warmann (play-by-play) and Rich Zvosec (analyst) will have the call.
• The radio broadcast can be heard on the Saluki Radio Network with SIU Hall of Famer Mike Reis (play-by-play) and Rodney Watson (analyst) on the call.
 
QUICK HITS
• Southern Illinois will look for the season sweep and its fourth-straight victory over UIC Sunday afternoon.
• At 21-9 overall, SIU has won 20 games for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
• Head coach Bryan Mullins has surpassed the most wins in a season under his leadership -- Mullins had previously led the Salukis to a pair of 16-win seasons in both 2019-20 (16-16) and 2021-22 (16-15).
• Southern's 21-9 record is the best start to a season since the 2006-07 season -- the last time SIU advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
• SIU is 15-1 this season when leading at the half and 52-11 under Mullins.
• SIU is ranked No. 22 in the latest CollegeInsider.com men's basketball mid-major poll.
 
TRENDING
• The Salukis knocked down the second-most 3-pointers in school history last time out against UNI. The 17 3-pointers against the Panthers were the most since 1996 when SIU hit 16 against Tulsa. The program record (18) for 3-pointers in a game came against Hawaii Hilo in 1995.
• Marcus Domask currently ranks ninth in program history and is the MVC's active leader in scoring with 1,575 points. Domask is one of 13 players in program history to surpass the 1,500-point mark.
• Marcus Domask is having the best free throw shooting season in 34 years, shooting 87.1 percent (115-132) from the charity stripe which ranks 13th in program history.
• Both Marcus Domask and Lance Jones rank in the top-15 in program history in scoring, separated by 99 points. The duo is also top-15 in career assists. Domask has 347 assists and Jones has 282. 
• Lance Jones is third on the MVC's active list for career 3-pointers with 201.
• Needing 26 points to surpass 1,600 for his career, Marcus Domask would join just Darren Brooks as the only other Saluki all-time to score 1,600 points, have 500 rebounds and 300 assists.
• Marcus Domask tied a career-high with six 3-pointers against the Panthers.
 
THE MATCHUP
• There have been 11 previous meetings between Southern Illinois and UIC dating back to the 1975 season. The Salukis lead the series 7-4 and have won the last three games.
 
• UIC, in its first season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, enters play at 12-18 overall and 4-15 in Valley play. UIC is coming off back-to-back wins over Valpo and Evansville. The Flames have a trio of double-digit scorers led by Jace Carter at 16.5 points per outing. Tre Anderson (12.9) and Toby Okani (11.4) also score 10+ for UIC.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Salukis are coming off an 86-63 victory over UNI to close out the home slate -- splitting the season series with UNI.
• The Salukis hit 17 3-pointers in the game against UNI, which ranks second in school history.
• Lance Jones scored a season-high 28 points on 11-for-14 shooting while Marcus Domask scored 24. Trent Brown scored 11 points, knocking down a trio of 3-pointers as well on Senior Night.
 
A DYNAMIC DUO
• Marcus Domask has scored in double-digits in 26 of 30 games this season to lead SIU. He has scored 20 or more 10 times, 30 or more three times. His 17 points per game rank fifth in the MVC.
• Lance Jones leads the Salukis with 66 3-pointers this season and 41 in Valley play. The senior has made 201 threes over his career to rank fifth in program history.
• Lance Jones' two steals at Valpo moved the guard into SIU's Top-5 in career steals -- he has 173 in 116 games.
 
IT STARTS ON DEFENSE
• SIU's 61.5 points allowed per game ranks 15th nationally. The Salukis have held conference opponents to just 61.4 points per game and eight of its 19 Valley opponents to 57 points or fewer.
• SIU's 7.3 steals per game lead the MVC. The duo of Lance Jones (51) and Xavier Johnson (46) are No. 1 and 4 in the MVC in steals. 

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