The SIUC men’s basketball team heads to Terre Haute, Ind., for a pivotal Missouri Valley Conference game tonight.

Indiana State University welcomes the Salukis to the Hulman Center for a 6:05 p.m. showdown between the sixth and seventh place teams in the conference.

Both teams own identical 7-8 records in league play, but the Sycamores are 13-10 overall, compared to SIUC’s 12-13 mark. With only two games remaining after tonight, every game becomes important as teams fight for seeding in the MVC Tournament. The tourney takes place at the Kiel Center in St. Louis Feb. 27 through March 2.

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The Salukis enter the game having lost to Bradley University 86-76 Saturday. The Braves were the first team to win the rebounding war against SIUC this season 45-32.

But the Salukis have the comfort of catching Indiana State in the midst of five-game losing streak The Sycamores also have lost six of their last seven. SIUC defeated the Sycamores Jan. 24 in Carbondale 82-58, outrebounding them 51-38. In that game, SIUC’s defense forced 18 turnovers and junior guard Monte Jenkins scored a game-high 19 points.

A season sweep of ISU would almost guarantee the Salukis a higher finish in the league standings. If the teams end up tied for a spot heading into the tournament, SIUC would have the tiebreaker with the season sweep and would get the higher seed.