Game Notes
Tuesday is Game Night at SIU Arena in Carbondale, Illinois, where defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Southern Illinois (10-10, 5-4) hosts the University of Evansville (6-13, 1-8) at 7:05 CST. The game can be heard on the UE Radio Network. ONLY THE INDIANA TEAMS HAVE A CHANCE Nobody can win their road game at SIU Arena, unless they are from the state of Indiana. The Salukis lost earlier this season on their homecourt to Indiana (64-51) and Butler (57-55). Those are rare losses for Southern Illinois, which came into this season with a 79-3 record at home since 2001, the nation’s best homecourt record in that span. The Salukis are 10-10 overall this season, and 7-2 at home. THE SIU SERIES Southern Illinois has a 59-46 advantage in the 105-game series against Evansville that dates back to 1926-27. Evansville won seven straight games over SIU in the late ‘90s. Since then, SIU is 18-3 against Evansville. The Aces have lost six in a row at SIU Arena since beating the Salukis 79-74 on Feb. 24, 2001. SALUKIS WIN EASILY AT UE Southern Illinois wrapped up the win quickly at Evansville’s Roberts Stadium two weeks ago. On Jan. 15, SIU jumped ahead 15-0 and 22-2 on its way to an 80-67 win. The Salukis led 45-32 at halftime thanks to 77 percent shooting in the first half. UE’s Shy Ely did lead all scorers, with 21. WILL ELY PLAY TUESDAY? Evansville's win on Saturday over Missouri State was squelched a bit when Shy Ely went down with a sprained right ankle late in the game. The junior forward went into the game as UE's leading scorer and rebounder, and has averaged 19.8 points over the last five games. He is expected to play in Saturday's game against Bradley, but it's not known if he'll be able to play at Southern Illinois on Tuesday. FINALLY. ACES WIN Evansville’s eight-game losing streak ended with relative ease Saturday in the 19-point win over Missouri State. The Aces hit 12 of 22 three-point attempts in the win, producing a season-high 84 points. The Aces are now 5-2 this season when they hit more three-pointers than the opposition. Coach Marty Simmons also called the defensive effort on Saturday the best of the season as the Aces held the Bears to 38 percent shooting. ZERO TO 28 IN THREE DAYS Jason Holsinger went from one scoring extreme toward another last week. He was held scoreless for the first time in his career in Wednesday's 72-42 loss at Indiana State. Then on Saturday, he was one point shy of his career high with 28 points in the win over Missouri State. Holsinger is up to an even 50 percent in 3-point shooting this season (52-for-104). That’s the best 3-point shooting percentage in the Missouri Valley Conference. MIGHT BE TIME TO PASS SHREFFLER UE Hall of Famer Scott Shreffler will provide the color commentary for play-by-play radio announcer Mike Crowley Tuesday. During that game, there’s a chance Shreffler will drop to fifth on career three-point field goals at UE. Scott is number four with 211. Holsinger is number five at 208. Holsinger is 20 points away from becoming UE’s 42nd 1,000 point scorer. WE’RE COMING HOME Tuesday’s game at Southern Illinois will be the fifth of the last seven on the road for Evansville. Beginning Saturday against Bradley, the Aces play three of the next four at home. COACH MARTY SIMMONS Evansville’s Dec. 5 victory over Princeton was the 100th in first-year coach Marty Simmons’ career. Simmons goes into the SIU game with a career record of 104-85. He was head coach one year at Wartburg (Iowa) University and five years at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, compiling a record of 98-73 in those six years. Simmons played two years at UE after transferring from Indiana University, and led the Aces to a conference championship in 1987 and the second round of the NIT in 1988, when he was the nation’s sixth leading scorer at 25.9. He was an assistant coach at UE for 11 years under head coach Jim Crews, and helped lead UE to three NCAA Tournaments (1992, 1993, 1999) and one NIT?(1994).
