An upcoming SIU men’s basketball game has been selected to appear on ESPNU through the Missouri Valley Conference’s agreement with ESPN.

The Salukis (13-2, 2-0 MVC) game Jan. 17 at Drake (5-9, 0-2 MVC) has been switched to broadcast live on ESPNU instead of being streamed online on ESPN3.

This announcement uses ESPN’s netflex selection process, which is how the company determines what game will air on ESPNU, instead of online. That means one MVC game will air live on ESPNU and another on ESPN3.

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SIU will play in three consecutive netflex matchups, with the Jan. 24 game at Missouri State (4-10, 0-2 MVC) and Jan. 31 game at Northern Iowa (9-6, 1-1 MVC) appearing on ESPN3. All three games tip off at 3 p.m.

“This year, we will continue to utilize the netflex process for our Sunday ESPNU telecasts and for the first time, we have pre-determined, consistent times on both networks,” said Jack R. Watkins, MVC associate commissioner, in a press release.

The MVC and ESPN3 agreed to a deal through the 2023-2024 school year to broadcast all court sports on the online platform. The deal, which was signed in July, replaced Saluki All-Access, a paid subscription to view and hear SIU athletics. ESPN3 is free with a cable subscription.