Meet The Opponent: Indiana Opens Season Against SIU-Edwardsville

SIU-Edwardsville comes off two winning seasons and is expected to contend in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2025.

SIU-Edwardsville coach Brian Barone talks to his team during SIU-E's win over Westminster (Mo.) on Monday in Edwardsville, Ill. / SIU-Edwardsville athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s 17th-ranked men’s basketball lifts the lid on its 2024-25 season on Wednesday as the Hoosiers host SIU-Edwardsville at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

SIU-Edwardsville is not to be confused with Southern Illinois, which is located in Carbondale, Ill. SIU-Carbondale, the original campus in the system, plays in the Missouri Valley Conference. SIU-Edwardsville, located in the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis, plays in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Since becoming a Division I program in 2008, the Cougars have never made the NCAA Tournament. SIU-E had one of its best Division I seasons in 2024 with a 17-16 record and a 9-9 finish in the OVC. SIU-E’s 19-14 record in 2023 was its best-ever in Division I. The bad news for SIU-E is that it lost its top two scorers from the 2024 team.

Indiana has played SIU-E twice previously – winning in 2010 and 2016.

The Cougars played on opening night as they earned a 95-42 home victory over Division III Westminster (Mo.) on Monday.

There’s an Indiana connection on the Cougars’ roster. Forward Kyle Thomas – a 6-foot-10 transfer from Bradley – is the son of former Indiana player Daryl Thomas, who was a member of Indiana’s 1987 national championship team.

Kyle Thomas did not play in SIU-E’s game against Westminster on Monday.

Here's a breakdown of the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars.

SIU-Edwardsville guard Ray'Sean Taylor brings the ball up during the Cougars' win over Westminster (Mo.) on Monday in Edwardsville, Ill. / SIU-Edwardsville athletics

Key players

(2023-24 stats)

G Ray’Sean Taylor: 13.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.8 apg

G Desmond Polk: 4.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.5 apg

F Arnas Sakenis: 3.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.4 apg

G Brian Taylor: 2.8 ppg, 1 rpg, 0.9 rpg

G Jordan Pickett: 2.2 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.4 apg

G Eddiean Tirado: 1.6 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.1 apg

Newcomers

G-F Ring Malith (JUCO transfer, 12.2 ppg at Barton CC)

F Myles Thompson (JUCO transfer, 14 ppg, 6.7 rpg at Barton CC)

F Jo Valrie (NAIA Point Park transfer, 20.1 ppg, 10.1 rpg)

F Kyle Thomas (2.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg at Bradley)

G Jordan Hamilton (JUCO, 8.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg at College of Southern Idaho)

G Declan Dillon (5.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg at Division II Winona State)

G Raynard Horry (JUCO, Southeastern Illinois)

F Darrion Baker (Akron transfer, did not play for Zips in 2023-24)

G Cham Okey (freshman)

Schedule (1-0)

W, 95-42. Westminster (Mo.)

Strengths

The Cougars have experience in guards Ray’Sean Taylor and Desmond Polk. Both are graduate students and both were named as SIU-E’s Two Players To Watch in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason voting.

Taylor was SIU-E’s best 3-point shooter at 36.7%. Polk was right behind at 36.2%. SIU-E will take its share of threes as it averaged 21.8 attempts per game.

Sixth-year coach Brian Barone has put together a team that can play decent defense. The Cougars ranked 57th in Division I in field goal attempts against. SIU-E also ranked 48th nationally in preventing assists. Scoring-wise, SIU-E held opponents to 70.1 points.

One thing that could be a strength in an infusion of players who know how to win. Swingman Ring Malith and forward Myles Thompson are junior college transfers from Barton Community College in Kansas. Barton was the NJCAA national champions with a 26-1 record and both players were instrumental in winning the JUCO title.

Weaknesses

SIU-E struggled a bit on the glass against Division III Westminster as the Cougars only had a 31-28 edge. In 2024, the Cougars were not very efficient on the offensive end. They ranked 294th in field goal percentage and 240th in points scored despite playing at a tempo that was in the top 200 in Division I. The Cougars also only shot 33.2% from 3-point range. There is size on the roster in 6-11 Sakenis, 6-10 Thomas and 6-9 Malith, but none of those players have yet become productive scorers at the Division I level.

Season and game outlook

SIU-E was predicted to finish third in the 11-school OVC and got two first-place votes. However, this game against Indiana (and then another at Illinois on Friday) will not likely reflect fairly on the Cougars’ season. Indiana doesn’t schedule this game to be pushed. In fact, it would behoove the Hoosiers to win by as much as possible to help with their NET score. The Hoosiers should have too many weapons for the Cougars to handle.

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• INDIANA INJURY UPDATES: Even though five players missed one exhibition game as a precaution, Indiana coach Mike Woodson is confident he'll have a healthy lineup for Wednesday night's regular season opener against SIU-Edwardsville at Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE

• NEWTON TALKS DEBUT: A knee injury held Jakai Newton out of his entire freshman season last season, but he made his Indiana debut in Friday’s exhibition game against Marian. CLICK HERE

• WHAT WOODSON SAID: What Mike Woodson said after Indiana's 106-64 exhibition victory over Marian. CLICK HERE.