Missouri Valley Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

8. Southern Illinois Salukis

2020-21 record: 12-14 overall, 5-13 in the MVC

Bryan Mullins’ Salukis struggled through the rocky road that was the 2020-21 season to 12-14 season, winning just five games in the Missouri Valley after finishing at 16-16 the year prior. The season got off to a roaring start with a seven-game winning streak right out of the gate. That was then followed by a six-game losing streak and they were never able to regain their footing after that going just 5-8 the rest of the way.

The good news for Mullins is that his entire eight-man rotation from last season returns including arguably their best player, 6-6 Marcus Domask who started the first 10 games before missing the year with an injury.

In those 10 games, Domask averaged 16.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, giving the guard combo of Lance Jones and Ben Harvey who netted 23.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists someone they can depend on in the Saluki’s frontcourt. Mullins also welcomes Ben Coupet, Jr. who joins the team from Little Rock where he was a double-digit scorer for the Trojans over the last two seasons.

Even though Southern Illinois gave up just 68 points per game it was the defense that really let them down after that seven-game winning streak, allowing less than 68 just seven times the rest of the year, a plateau they reached five times in their first seven games. With everyone back and a more normal season on tap, there is hope in Carbondale that things will improve on the defensive end.