Southern Illinois Salukis basketball — program history
Southern Illinois' basketball program dates to 1913, and the Salukis have been one of the Missouri Valley Conference's strongest programs. The Salukis reached national prominence in the 2000s under coach Chris Lowery and Bruce Weber, making deep NCAA Tournament runs.
The name
The Salukis name was adopted in 1951, replacing "Maroons." The Saluki is an ancient Egyptian hunting dog breed, chosen because southern Illinois is known as "Little Egypt."
Signature moment
Reaching the 2007 Sweet Sixteen as a 4-seed, beating Holy Cross and Virginia Tech before falling 61-58 to top-seeded Kansas, the program's second Sweet Sixteen run in six seasons.
The region of southern Illinois is nicknamed "Little Egypt" — a reference dating to the 1800s — which inspired the choice of the Saluki, an Egyptian dog breed, as the school's mascot.
The Southern Illinois Salukis compete in the MVC and hold an all-time record of 978–790 (.553 winning percentage) across 60 recorded seasons dating back to 1966-67.
Season-by-season results
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