Belmont Bruins (6-7, 1-1 MVC) at Southern Illinois Salukis (2-9, 0-2 MVC)
Carbondale, Illinois; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Southern Illinois aims to break its five-game losing streak when the Salukis play Belmont.
The Salukis are 1-4 in home games. Southern Illinois is the MVC leader with 11.8 offensive rebounds per game led by Gift Uchenna averaging 5.7.
The Bruins are 1-1 in conference play. Belmont ranks sixth in the MVC with 23.9 defensive rebounds per game led by Kendal Cheesman averaging 5.0.
Southern Illinois averages 59.4 points per game, 5.1 fewer points than the 64.5 Belmont allows. Belmont’s 38.8% shooting percentage from the field this season is 5.4 percentage points lower than Southern Illinois has given up to its opponents (44.2%).
The Salukis and Bruins square off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Uchenna is averaging 15.3 points, 12.5 rebounds and two blocks for the Salukis.
Jailyn Banks is shooting 38.8% and averaging 13.0 points for the Bruins.
LAST 10 GAMES: Salukis: 2-8, averaging 62.2 points, 33.3 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 8.5 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 37.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.1 points per game.
Bruins: 4-6, averaging 63.7 points, 30.4 rebounds, 11.9 assists, 8.6 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 38.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.5 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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