UIC hosts Southern Illinois following Dibba's 21-point performance

Southern Illinois Salukis (8-12, 3-6 MVC) at UIC Flames (14-6, 6-3 MVC)

Chicago; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Southern Illinois faces UIC after Ali Abdou Dibba scored 21 points in Southern Illinois' 74-64 loss to the Murray State Racers.

The Flames are 7-2 in home games. UIC is the MVC leader with 34.8 rebounds per game led by Sasa Ciani averaging 9.2.

The Salukis have gone 3-6 against MVC opponents. Southern Illinois is eighth in the MVC with 23.0 defensive rebounds per game led by Jarrett Hensley averaging 4.1.

UIC makes 47.6% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.0 percentage points higher than Southern Illinois has allowed to its opponents (44.6%). Southern Illinois has shot at a 45.0% rate from the field this season, 1.4 percentage points greater than the 43.6% shooting opponents of UIC have averaged.

The Flames and Salukis face off Saturday for the first time in MVC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Filip Skobalj averages 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Flames, scoring 9.5 points while shooting 44.1% from beyond the arc. Javon Jackson is shooting 41.1% and averaging 13.6 points over the past 10 games.

Dibba is scoring 16.2 points per game with 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Salukis. Kennard Davis is averaging 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Flames: 8-2, averaging 78.6 points, 32.9 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 5.4 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.4 points per game.

Salukis: 4-6, averaging 70.4 points, 29.5 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 7.1 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.7 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press