CARBONDALE - Wichita State's men's basketball team has a lot more in common with this season's Southern Illinois University squad than their place in the standings.

The Shockers (6-8 overall and 0-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference), like the Salukis (5-9, 0-3), expect to start at least three new faces from last season tonight in the hopes of nabbing their first league win. The two cellar dwellers square off at 7:05 p.m. at Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.

Only senior Ramon Clemente, a 6-foot-6 forward that leads the Valley in rebounding, returns as a starter from last year's 11-20 Shockers squad. It was second-year coach Gregg Marshall's first losing season as a head coach.

WSU had won at least 20 games in three of the last four seasons prior to last year. This season has largely been a rebuilding project, much like SIU's challenge of implementing seven newcomers into the program. Marshall has nine newcomers this season.

"It's not something that I want to get used to. I don't think the players enjoy it, but it's a fact," Marshall said. "When you lose those three seniors from last year, you've got to bring in a lot of new players. That's what we did. I'm hoping that this is the baseline, as bad as it's going to get, and that we'll get better from here."

Off to its worst conference start since 1987, the Salukis also hope this is as bad as it gets the rest of the season. With three new starters, SIU has struggled to get to the foul line, muffed a few defensive assignments, and endured a lot more scoring droughts than fans thought were possible considering the Salukis' highly-regarded recruiting class.

Two of the jewels of that class, freshman guards Kevin Dillard and Ryan Hare, are expected to start tonight for the Salukis. Dillard is averaging 19.7 points per game in conference play and leads the Valley in 3-point shooting, hitting better than 51 percent of his attempts. Hare, a 6-4 guard in for his defense as much as his offense, is averaging just over five points and just under three rebounds per game this season.

"We're playing a bunch of freshmen and some new guys, and we're experiencing some things we haen't experienced in the past," SIU coach Chris Lowery said. "We have some very experienced teams in our league. We've always been very experienced. We've always had our experienced guys lead us, and it hasn't been like that this year."

Marshall pointed to the senior Bryan Mullins as the difference between the two squads. Mullins, a preseason all-conference point guard who broke SIU's school record for assists Sunday, is a four-year starter. Mullins and seniors Tony Boyle and Wesley Clemmons are the only remnants from SIU's last NCAA tournament team in 2007.

"It does look very similar in that they have so many new players, as we do. But they've got Bryan Mullins, who's been in the program for four years, and Tony Boyle, and some guys who have been in the NCAA tournament," Marshall said. "They're a little more seasoned than our veterans."

SIU leads the series with the Shockers 44-32 and has won four straight. The Salukis' only losses in the last 10 years have all come in Wichita, Kan. The Shockers beat the Salukis there in 2002, 2005 and 2006.

todd.hefferman@thesouthern.com / 351-5087