A battle for the top of the Missouri Valley Conference is set to take place when the Southern Illinois Salukis (17-6, 9-12-1 ATS, 9-3 MVC) take on the Bradley Braves (15-8, 11-11-0 ATS, 8-4 MVC) in Carver Arena at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday. These teams have not met yet this season, and only one game separates them in the standings.
Southern Illinois fell to Illinois State 72-66 on Sunday, despite being 5.0-point favorites, which ended a five-game winning streak. Their three-point defense wasn't sharp in the loss, allowing the Redbirds to knock down 57.9% of their attempts from downtown. The Salukis also only shot 30.0% from the free-throw line. One positive was that they came up with nine steals in the contest. Forward Marcus Domask was also phenomenal, leading the team with 32 points on 13/25 shooting along with a team-high four assists.
Highlights from yesterday's game at ISU are brought to you by @SIUC pic.twitter.com/FOaxo5kYnP
— Saluki Basketball (@SIU_Basketball) January 30, 2023
Southern Illinois plays at one of the slowest paces in the nation, resulting in a conference-leading 61.2 points against per game defensively. That mark is also 15th in the nation. Their 8.0 steals per game is also tops in the MVC this season. The Salukis are holding opponents to 41.7% shooting, third in the MVC, but 33.0% on three-pointers which is only sixth in the conference.
On offense, Southern Illinois is putting up 67.0 points per game, tied for eighth in the conference entering this game. They are led by the aforementioned Marcus Domask, who averages 17.6 points per game on 47.6% shooting. As a team, the Salukis are shooting 45.8% from the field, good for sixth in the conference. However, just like on defense, they lag a bit from behind the arc, only knocking down 31.8% of their triples which is 10th in the NVC and 303rd in the nation.
KenPom currently has the Salukis ranked 117th. They are 6-4 on the road this season. The team's strong performance has led to their 9-3 MVC record, which is tied with Belmont for first place. They're currently ahead due to winning the first matchup between the schools. However, along with Belmont, three other schools are breathing down their neck.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $50 1st w/ promocode WandW!