Southern Illinois (12-13, 6-13) vs. No. 1 seed Loyola of Chicago (21-4, 16-2)
Missouri Valley Conference Tourney Quarterfinals, Enterprise Center, St. Louis; Friday, 12 a.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Southern Illinois and Loyola of Chicago are prepared to match up in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament. Loyola of Chicago won both of the regular season matchups earlier this season. The teams last went at it on Feb. 27, when the Ramblers forced 20 Southern Illinois turnovers and turned the ball over just 11 times en route to a seven-point victory.
STEPPING UP: Loyola of Chicago’s Cameron Krutwig has averaged 15 points and 6.5 rebounds while Lucas Williamson has put up 7.9 points. For the Salukis, Lance Jones has averaged 13.4 points while Ben Harvey has put up 10 points.LIKEABLE LANCE: Jones has connected on 42.6 percent of the 122 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 11 of 19 over his last three games. He’s also made 70.8 percent of his foul shots this season.
WINNING WHEN: Southern Illinois is a perfect 5-0 when it scores at least 73 points. The Salukis are 7-13 when scoring any fewer than 73.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Ramblers have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Salukis. Loyola of Chicago has 39 assists on 66 field goals (59.1 percent) across its previous three games while Southern Illinois has assists on 38 of 70 field goals (54.3 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Loyola of Chicago defense has allowed only 55.7 points per game to opponents this season, ranking the Ramblers first among Division I teams. The Southern Illinois offense has averaged 66.2 points through 25 games (ranked 272nd, nationally).
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