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GAME NOTES: The 2010 Missouri Valley Tournament gets underway this evening, as the eighth-seeded Drake Bulldogs tangle with the ninth-seeded Southern Illinois Salukis at the Scottrade Center. The winner of this first round matchup will move on to face top-seeded Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals on Friday.

The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 7-11 mark in the MVC and they stumbled down the stretch with just one league win in their final seven conference bouts. Drake did win this tourney as recent as 2008, but that is the program's lone title in an event it has gone just 14-30 all-time.

As for SIU, it has posted a successful 31-25 mark in this championship event and it has won five titles, ranking second to only Creighton. The Salukis however, aren't the power they used to be, going just 6-12 against league foes during the regular season.

SIU leads the all-time series with Drake, 51-23, and the Salukis also hold a 3-1 edge in the MVC Tournament. The Bulldogs however, swept both meetings during the regular season.

Behind 45.9 percent shooting from the field, the Salukis have been able to generate a solid 70.4 ppg for the season. Kevin Dillard is the player that makes this offense go and he not only leads SIU in scoring (12.5 ppg), but assists (5.1 apg) as well. Tony Freeman nips at his heels with 12.1 ppg and he is the squad's top three-point threat, hitting at a 42.3 percent rate. Carlton Fay is another player SIU can rely on to score each night, as he averages 11.9 ppg to round out the double-digit producers.

The Bulldogs are averaging just 67.5 ppg and allowing a slightly higher 69.1 ppg and that would explain their losing record. The team though, can be dangerous with its three-point shooting, as Drake is knocking down 38.1 percent of its long-range attempts. Josh Young, a 36.8 percent three-point shooter, is the team's most dangerous offensive weapon, as he turns in 14.6 ppg to pace the squad. Ryan Wedel can also score it at 10.9 ppg, but he more known for his defense, racking up a team-high 50 steals. Adam Templeton gets involved with 10.0 ppg and the team's leading rebounder (7.4 rpg) also has some range, shooting 45.8 percent from downtown.

Drake has had SIU's number this season and the Bulldogs should be able to emerge with the victory behind a big effort from Young and company tonight.