The Southern Illinois men’s basketball team will attempt to continue its winning streak as it faces the Richmond Spiders on Saturday. The Salukis, currently holding a 6-4 record, will play the Spiders (8-1) at 5 p.m. CST at Robins Center in Richmond, Virginia.
Richmond comes into the game with momentum after an 86-77 home victory over Old Dominion. The Spiders’ roster features three redshirt freshmen and two graduate students. Freshman Aiden Argabright has been named Atlantic 10 rookie of the week twice this season and averages 11.3 points per game, one of three Richmond players averaging double figures.
Statistically, Richmond has a scoring margin of +15.1 points per game compared to SIU’s +6.6. Their strong margin is attributed to large wins over Southern Virginia, VMI and Gardner-Webb. Defensively, the Spiders allow 69.7 points per game and offensively average 84.8 points per contest.
Richmond’s only loss was a close 73-72 defeat against Furman during the ESPN Events Invitational in Kissimmee, Florida, on Thanksgiving Day. They have also secured a win over Missouri Valley Conference leader Belmont in Nashville.
After playing SIU, Richmond is scheduled to travel to North Carolina for a matchup with Elon on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
In terms of national rankings, Richmond is No. 88 in the latest NET ratings and No. 100 according to KenPom analytics.
For Southern Illinois, nine players average more than 13 minutes per game this season. Quel’Ron House leads with an average of 14.2 points per game while several others contribute significantly: Sykes (10), Drew Steffe (9.4), Isaiah Stafford (8.7), Prince Aligbe (8.2), Rolyns Aligbe (8), Damien Mayo Jr. (7.6) and Haynes (7.4). Max Pikaar recently played a season-high of 25 minutes during SIU’s last outing.
SIU has improved its three-point shooting during its current three-game win streak—hitting 41 percent from beyond the arc—and Steffe has converted half his attempts in that span.
On average this season, SIU scores about 80 points and secures nearly 40 rebounds each game while outrebounding opponents by over four boards.
The Salukis are ranked No. 113 in NET ratings and No. 117 by KenPom analytics.
In their previous game on Wednesday against UT Martin, SIU won decisively with a score of 83-54 and improved their home record at Banterra Center to an undefeated mark this season at 4-0.
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