Southern Illinois hosts Drake following Shetlar’s 26-point performance

By Canadian Press on January 13, 2026.

Drake Bulldogs (8-9, 2-4 MVC) at Southern Illinois Salukis (8-9, 2-4 MVC)

Carbondale, Illinois; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Drake faces Southern Illinois after Eli Shetlar scored 26 points in Drake’s 78-76 loss to the Belmont Bruins.

The Salukis are 5-1 in home games. Southern Illinois is 4-2 in games decided by 10 or more points.

The Bulldogs are 2-4 in MVC play. Drake scores 76.5 points and has outscored opponents by 5.0 points per game.

Southern Illinois makes 47.9% of its shots from the field this season, which is 5.6 percentage points higher than Drake has allowed to its opponents (42.3%). Drake averages 76.5 points per game, 3.1 more than the 73.4 Southern Illinois gives up to opponents.

The Salukis and Bulldogs face off Wednesday for the first time in MVC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Rolyns Aligbe is averaging 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Salukis. Quel’Ron House is averaging 11.9 points over the last 10 games.

Shetlar is shooting 39.3% from beyond the arc with 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulldogs, while averaging 7.9 points. Jalen Quinn is averaging 17 points and 3.5 assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Salukis: 5-5, averaging 74.5 points, 33.5 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 8.3 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.5 points per game.

Bulldogs: 4-6, averaging 76.5 points, 28.4 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 5.7 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.6 points.

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

The Associated Press