On Thursday, Mar. 7, Missouri State took on Southern Illinois and got a victory over the Salukis 61-53 in the first round of the Missouri Valley Tournament. The Bears tie the season series against Southern Illinois at 1-1 with the win. The Bears got the win with 10 points and eight rebounds from Christian Kirk. Marcus Marshall had a game-high 18 points and added three rebounds. For the Salukis, Dantiel Daniels got seven points and five rebounds. Southern Illinois (14-17) finished the regular season 10th in the Missouri Valley with a 6-12 conference record.

Missouri State Game Notes

  • MSU beat the spread by 10.5 points. That makes the 16th time this season the Bears have beaten the spread.
  • Missouri State has been outshot by their opponents in field goal percentage for the past six games.
  • The top two scorers (Marcus Marshall and Anthony Downing) accounted for 55.7 percent of the points.
  • The top two rebounders (Christian Kirk and Anthony Downing) accounted for 40.7 percent of the rebounds.
  • Marcus Marshall has led the team in scoring in nine out of 32 games this season.
  • Christian Kirk has led the team in rebounding in five out of 32 games this season.
  • Anthony Downing has four straight double-digit point games.

Southern Illinois Game Notes

  • The top two scorers (Anthony Beane Jr. and Desmar Jackson) accounted for 45.2 percent of the points.
  • The top two rebounders (Jalen Pendleton and Dantiel Daniels) accounted for 45.4 percent of the rebounds.
  • Jalen Pendleton has led the team in rebounding three times in 31 games this season.
  • Desmar Jackson has four straight double-digit point games.