Shetlar leads Drake against Southern Illinois after 26-point game

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 visits 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 the best team in the MVC with 12.7 fast break points.

The Bulldogs have gone 2-4 against MVC opponents. Drake ranks third in the MVC shooting 37.1% from 3-point range.

Southern Illinois scores 76.8 points, 5.3 more per game than the 71.5 Drake allows. Drake has shot at a 45.5% rate from the field this season, 3.0 percentage points above the 42.5% shooting opponents of Southern Illinois have averaged.

The Salukis and Bulldogs match up Wednesday for the first time in MVC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Quel’Ron House is averaging 13.8 points and 1.6 steals for the Salukis. Drew Steffe is averaging 10.6 points over the past 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