Factoid:SIU hosts Missouri Southern Sunday at 5:05 p.m.

The fact that SIU has beaten seven of its last eight exhibition opponents doesn’t bother Robert Corn.

Missouri Southern’s 16-year head coach is not even fazed by the 24-point margin of victory the Salukis have averaged in those wins.

What concerns Corn most about Sunday’s exhibition match-up with SIU is the speed and tenacity of the Salukis’ defense.

“Our players will see pressure that they won’t see all year long on the defensive end,” Corn said.

The relentless, suffocating pressure Corn speaks of produced the second most steals in the Missouri Valley Conference last year – SIU forced 16.8 turnovers a game.

But the defense was dealt a major blow with the departure of its second-leading thief Bryan Turner.

“He had great anticipation, but we’ve got some good guards still here,” said last season’s defensive player of the year Darren Brooks.

“We’re going to come out pressuring them, being real aggressive like we normally have in games in the past.”

In facing its only Division I opponent this season, Missouri Southern will have the daunting task of defeating SIU at home, a feat that has been accomplished by one team – Charlotte – since the 2001-2002 season.

To do that, Missouri Southern will have to pick up the slack left by three starters and the possible absence of two players.

In addition to the departures of Ameer Watts, Deon Rose and Darrell Redmond – and the 35.3 points and 13.7 rebounds a game that left with them – the Lions will be without Jeremie Bond and possibly Hiram Ocasio.

Bond, who averaged 18.7 points and seven rebounds a game as a sophomore at Black Hawk College, will not play Sunday because of a knee injury. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound center was the Lions’ only true big man.

The most devastating blow, though, could be the loss of Ocasio.

Ocasio was the Lions’ third leading scorer last season, pouring in 11.9 points a game, and led the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in steals with 3.07 a contest. The 6-foot-2, 190 guard also injured his knee, but could possibly see limited action Sunday.

“Right now, we’re really struggling just keeping 10 guys on the floor so we can do some five-on-five stuff,” Corn said.

Shouldering the burden of those voids will be senior Orestus Cavness, who was the Lions’ second leading scorer last season.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound forward averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds a game.

“We feel like OC is one of those guys who will be right there in the thick of things,” Corn said. “He’s probably the most athletic player that we have on the team.”

The Salukis will not be at full strength either with the suspensions of Stetson Hairston and Mike Dale stemming from a July 19 incident.

Dale, a 6-foot-5 guard, has yet to make his college basketball debut and will sit the first three games of the season.

Hairston, who was the Salukis’ third-leading scorer last season, is suspended indefinitely. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior guard was also forced to sit out last season’s exhibition games after violating team rules.

With seven players – Tony Boyle, Wesley Clemmons, Randal Falker, Jamaal Foster, Matt Shaw, C.J. Smith and Kyle Smithpeters – who have yet to make their Division I college basketball debut, one of the main objectives for Sunday will be to get them playing time.

“Right now we’re all great individual players, and we’re also a good team,” said sophomore guard Tony Young. “But it’s little things that we gotta work on to come together to be a great team.”

If nothing else, SIU has history on its side. The Salukis haven’t lost an exhibition game since Nov. 9, 2001, a 90-87 loss to the Birmingham Bullets.

And if history repeats itself, SIU will take the Lions out early, assuring the newcomers plenty of playing time.