Illinois St. looks to end streak vs S. Illinois

Southern Illinois (10-10, 4-3) vs. Illinois State (6-13, 1-6)

Redbird Arena, Normal, Illinois; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Southern Illinois looks to extend Illinois State's conference losing streak to seven games. Illinois State's last MVC win came against the Northern Iowa Panthers 76-70 on Dec. 31, 2019. Southern Illinois beat Northern Iowa by two points at home in its last outing.

FEARLESS FRESHMEN: Southern Illinois' Marcus Domask, Eric McGill and Lance Jones have combined to account for 49 percent of the team's scoring this season and have scored 62 percent of all Salukis points over the last five games.

OFFENSIVE THREAT: Zach Copeland has accounted for 51 percent of all Illinois State field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has 22 field goals and 12 assists in those games.

SLIPPING AT 67: Southern Illinois is 0-6 when it allows at least 67 points and 10-4 when it holds opponents to less than 67.

SHARING THE BURDEN: Southern Illinois is a perfect 6-0 when at least four of its players score 10 or more points. The team is 4-10 when fewer than four Salukis players score in double-figures.

DID YOU KNOW: The Southern Illinois defense has allowed only 60.5 points per game to opponents, which is the 13th-best mark in the country. The Illinois State offense has averaged just 66.1 points through 19 games (ranked 256th among Division I teams).