Bears Begin Valley Home Stand vs. Rival Salukis

Missouri State Bears (11-5, 2-1 MVC) vs. Southern Illinois Salukis (9-7, 2-1 MVC)
Date and Time	Saturday, Jan. 7, 3:00 p.m. (Central)
Location	JQH Arena (11,000) \| Springfield, Mo.
Tickets	Southern Illinois Game \| Season Tickets
Radio	KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) \| MSU Radio Network \| Listen Live
Television	CBS Sports Network (Brent Stover, Bob Wenzel)
Series	SIU leads 43-37 \| Last Meeting: SIU 78, MSU 68 (2/27/16)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Game Notes	Missouri State \| Southern Illinois \| MVC Notebook \| MSU Media Guide
Follow	Facebook \| Athletics Twitter \| Basketball Twitter \| Instagram \| #MSUBears
Promotion	Men's Basketball Alumni Day
Ticket Specials	$5 Bleacher Tickets \| Price Cutter Customer Appreciation Zone \| $50 Family Four Pack - includes four tickets in JJ, plus $25 concessions voucher \| Game Day $15 Lower-Level Tickets in Sections E, I, O, P

Missouri State (11-5, 2-1 MVC) returns to JQH Arena on Saturday afternoon to host long-time rival Southern Illinois (9-7, 2-1) at 3 p.m. on a nationally-televised game on CBS Sports Network.

Enjoy the Game
The Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena opens at 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Box office purchases are also available by phone at (417) 836-7678. Tickets may also be purchased 24/7 online and printed from home at MissouriStateBears.com.

Series History
The Bears and Salukis first met in 1957 in a rivalry that has seen SIU take a 43-37 lead. The Bears are 23-14 in Springfield against SIU, including a 6-2 record at JQH Arena.

Last season, SIU swept the regular-season series for the first time since 2009-10. In the first game at JQH Arena (Jan. 24) five Salukis scored in double figures in an 80-65 win over the Bears. MSU got 22 points from Dequon Miller and 7 rebounds and 5 assists from Obediah Church. In the regular-season finale in Carbondale (Feb. 27), Leo Vincent scored 17 to lead the Salukis to a 78-68 win. MSU led by three at the half and got 16 points from Chris Kendrix and 15 from Miller to help overcome 17 turnovers and 13 missed free throws.

MSU has won 11 of the last 16 meetings between the two squads.

Scouting the Salukis
Fifth-year head coach Barry Hinson returns eight lettermen and three starters froma 22-10 club that went 11-7 in the MVC last season to tie for fourth place.

Sophomore Armon Fletcher (G, 6-4) leads the Salukis this season with 13.8 points per game, 30 3-pointers and 27 steals. Preseason All-MVC pick Sean O'Brien (F, 6-7) averages 12.3 points and a team-best 8.5 rebounds per night, with Mike Rodriguez (G, 5-10) posting 12.7 points and 73 assists. As a team, the Salukis average 72.5 points per game and have won three of their last four ball games.

The Ten Count

For the Jan. 7 (SIU) and Jan. 11 (Evansville) games, MSU is offering $5 bleacher seats to the general public. The special is valid only at the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena or by phone (417) 836-7678.
Alize Johnson (Jr., Williamsport, Pa.) leads the MVC with 9.7 rebounds per game and is coming off his fourth straight double-figure rebounding game with 10 boards at Illinois State. He is this week's MVC Player of the Week (second time) and MVC Newcomer of the Week (fourth time), marking the second time this year he has swept both awards.
The Bears are averaging 10.0 threes per game in MVC contests this season and are coming off 14 at Illinois State.
Dequon Miller (Sr., Charleston, W.Va.) averaged 18.5 points in two starts against the Salukis last season.
Missouri State is 4-0 in games coming off a loss during the 2016-17 campaign.
Obediah Church (So., Springfield, Ill.) has blocked a shot in every game this season -- 23 straight games overall.
With 71 blocked shots, Tyler McCullough (Sr. Fayetteville, Ark.) needs 1 more to move into MSU's career top 10. His next appearance will mark his 50th career Valley game. He is one of just three seniors on the MSU roster.
Miller's assist-to-turnover ratio has improved dramatically from last season -- from a 1.17 ratio as MVC Newcomer of the Year last season to an impressive 2.26 ratio through 16 games this season.
Former Saluki players who have recently coached at MSU include Bears head coach Paul Lusk (1992-95), and former assistants Brad Korn (1999-2004), Derrick Tilmon (1997-2000), Kent Williams (1999-2003) and Kyle Smithpeters (2004-06). SIU head coach Barry Hinson was 169-117 (.591) in 9 seasons as head coach at MSU.
The last time MSU played back-to-back overtime games was in 2002-03. The Bears have only played consecutive OT games against MVC foes once -- in 1998-99 -- and have never played three consecutive overtime contests.

Bears Begin Valley Home Stand vs. Rival Salukis

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Players Mentioned

Obediah Church

Alize Johnson

Chris Kendrix

Tyler McCullough

Dequon Miller

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