The Southern Illinois Salukis are heading to the McLeod Center on Saturday night to take on the Northern Iowa Panthers in Missouri Valley Conference action. The Salukis (12-6, 4-3 in MVC) are on a two-game losing streak after a 70-69 home loss on Wednesday against the Bradley Braves. The Panthers (10-8, 4-3) are sitting on a three-game winning streak after an 83-72 road win against the Belmont Bruins on Wednesday.
The Southern Illinois Salukis are coming off a brutal 70-69 home loss against the Bradley Braves and it does not help giving up 46 points in the second half of the game. Southern Illinois shot the ball at a decent clip as they were 24-of-50 (48.0 percent) throughout the game, 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from distance and 18 shots at the charity stripe. Senior guard Xavier Johnson had a good game as he recorded 18 points, four rebounds, seven assists, one block, two steals and five turnovers in 34 minutes of action. They need to do better defensively than they did in this game as Bradley was able to shoot 50.0% overall, 46.7% from beyond the arc and attempted 15 free throws.
The offense for the Southern Illinois Salukis need to improve as they are 214th in the sport with 73.8 point s per game. The defense has been elite as the Salukis are allowing 64.8 points per game, which is 33rd in the nation.
Injury Report for Southern Illinois
Center Cade Hornecker: Ankle (OUT)