CARBONDALE, Ill. – On Saturday afternoon, the High Point men's basketball team will travel to Carbondale, Illinois for a non-conference matchup with Southern Illinois University. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. ET.

Men's Basketball - Southern Illinois University
Saturday, December 21 | 2 p.m. ET | Carbondale, Ill. | Banterra Center
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Records: High Point 11-2, SIU 5-6 (0-1)
This will be their first meeting

The Matchup
This will be the first meeting between the Panthers and Saluki's. Southern Illinois competes in the Missouri Valley Conference and finished the 2023-24 season with a 19-13 overall record and a conference record of 11-9 to finish middle of the league. Currently, the Salukis are 5-6 and 0-1 in the MVC. SIU is led by three players averaging 14+ points per game, Ali Dibba, Kennard Davis, Jr. and Jarrett Hensley. As a team the Salukis average 73.7 points per game and are shooting 45.1% from the field. SIU is coached by Scott Nagy who enters his first season with the program after spending eight seasons at Wright State.

Last Time Out
High Point played in a mid-week home contest against Carolina University from the NAIA conference. The Panthers defeated the Bruins 99-31 and were led by Abdoulaye Thiam with 14 points followed by Chase Johnston and Kimani Hamilton with 11 a piece. Two freshman produced solid minutes as Ivan Matlekovic scored a season-high nine points with two blocks and Josh Ibukunoluwa led the game with 11 rebounds, helping the team register 51 rebounds as a unit. HPU shot 58.5% from the field as a team and captured a season-high 51 rebounds.

Notable Player & Team Notes

Tied DI Program Non-Conference Wins
The Panthers have tied last season's D1 non-conference win record with 11 wins.
 
Williams Captures 1000th Point
D'Maurian Williams reached his 1000th career point on Tuesday night against Carolina U after knocking down his first three-point basket of the game.
 
Career Milestones on the Rise
Abdoulaye Thiam is at 980 points, Juslin Bodo Bodo is at 91 career blocks in his young career and Bobby Pettiford is at 193 assists.
 
Undefeated at Home
With Tuesday night's win over Carolina U, HPU advances to 8-0 inside the Qubein Center. The Panthers finished the home non-conference season in 2023-24 with an 8-0 record.
 
CIC All-Tournament Team
Kezza Giffa was named to the Cayman Islands Classic All-Tournament team after averaging 16 points, 3.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. He scored a week-high 23 points in the win over Old Dominion.

Pettiford Loves Thanksgiving Game Winners
In the final game of the Cayman Islands Classic, Bobby Pettiford secured the go ahead basket with 10 seconds left to go in the game. This was the third straight season that he scored a game winner in the game before Thanksgiving.

Best Start in DI History
The 5-0 start for High Point is the best start in Division I program history since becoming DI in 1999. In 2022-23, High Point started 3-0 before falling to UNLV in mid-November.

Giffa & Bodo Bodo on Lou Henson Watch List
The 2024-25 Lou Henson 'Early Season' Watch list has been announced as two players from the High Point University men's basketball team have earned recognition, Kezza Giffa and Juslin Bodo Bodo. Giffa was named a finalist in 2023-24 for the Lou Henson award after averaging 16.2 points per game, 2.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. 
Top 10 - CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Rankings
In the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 rankings, High Point ranks No. 14 in the week six rankings. The Panthers highest spot in the rankings thus far was 8th in week two.
Bracketeer.com Preseason All-American Awards
In the Bracketeer's Preseason All-American Watch List Kimani Hamilton was named a First Team recipient while Kezza Giffa was named to the second team.
 
Preseason Polls
On October 15th, the Big South Conference announced the Preseason Men's Basketball Poll for the upcoming 2024-25 season. High Point University was picked to finish 1st in the poll, while Kezza Giffa was named the Preseason Player of the Year, while Kimani Hamilton & Juslin Bodo Bodo were named to the first team.
 
New & Improved
Returning eight players from last year's roster, the Panthers added 12 newcomers with six transfers and six freshmen. The reigning Big South Regular Season Champions are ready to jump back into full action after a historic 27-win season led by first-year Head Coach Alan Huss in 2023-24.
 
HPU Stat Rankings Following 2023-24 Season
-9th in NCAA in PPG (83.9)
-1st in NCAA in Free Throws Made (20.1)
-6th in NCAA in Free Throws Attempted (25.8)
-15th in NCAA in Free Throw % (77.8)
-16th in NCAA in Rebounds (40.00)
-25th in NCAA in Win % (75%)
-Highest National Kenpom Ranking in Program History (114th)
-Highest National NET Ranking in Program History (110th)
-8th in Kenpom Raw Offensive Efficiency
-10th in Kenpom Offensive Rebound %
 
2023-24 Regular Season CHAMPS
HPU was named the outright Big South regular season champs for the first time since 2015-16. This was HPU's 5th Big South Regular-Season Title and the 2nd outright title.
 
2023-24 Season Recorded Most Wins in D1 Era
With a record of 27-9, the Panthers set the record for the most wins in a single-season.
 
2023-24 Season Was the Most Wins by a First-Year Head Coach
Coach Huss won the most wins as a first-year head coach in the entirety of the men's basketball program history. Also registered the most wins by a rookie head coach in the country last season.
 
Bodo Bodo Awards
Juslin bodo Bodo was named a National Freshman of the Year and a Kyle Macy Freshman of the Year Finalist in 2023-24.
 
Lou Henson Award Finalist
Giffa was named a Lou Henson Award Finalist in 2023-24.
 
2023-24 Big South Postseason Awards
Head Coach Alan Huss was named the Big South Coach of the Year becoming the 2nd coach in program history to earn the award (Scott Cherry). Duke Miles was named the Big South Newcomer of the Year and Juslin Bodo Bodo was named the Defensive and Freshman Player of the Year. Duke Miles, Kimani Hamilton & Kezza Giffa were named to the First Team All-Conference selections while Juslin Bodo Bodo and Titas Sargiunas were named to the All-Freshman team.