BLOWOUT!

SIU got halfway to 20 wins tonight with 68-49 drubbing of Illinois State. Everyone played well tonight and for the second straight game Randal Falker was nothing short of dominant. The 6-7 big man (who plays much bigger) set a career high with 17 rebounds to go along with 10 points, 3 assists, and 4 blocked shots. Nice.

It wasn't just Falker getting the job done. ALL FIVE starters played A+ ball tonight. This is the first time all year that all five starters have played "A" basketball, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Shaw and Tatum continue the 1-2 scoring punch with 16 each. Bryan Mullins played his usual stout defense, absolutely shutting down ISU point guard Boo Richardson. Tony Young hit some big shots and pumped his fist as he nailed the dagger three ball in the second half.

This ISU team is not bad at all, but they saw first hand what the Salukis can do when they get hot. With the win the Salukis improve to 10-2 and 1-0 in the conference.

Looks like this squad is coming together and the best may be yet to come. Want a better measuring stick? Look no farther than #16 Wichita State. SIU did a great job of focusing in on the task at hand preparing for ISU, now they'll usher in the New Year with their toughest challenge so far.

Head Coach Chris Lowery is looking forward to Monday’s game as well. In the post game interview (95.1 FM) Lowery said "This is the type of game you want to play. When the other team is perceived to be better than you, it fires you up and you always like to see how you stack up against the best competition."

Well Coach, we'll second that motion. It's going to be a great game Monday, so if you’re around Carbondale, pull out your Maroon shirt and get down to the Arena for this one. No matter where you are you can get full coverage here at Salukihoops. Check back Sunday for a full preview, and late Monday night we'll be back again with greydawg's "view from row two."

Game #1 --- SIU v. Illinois State

The time for putting rivalries aside is over. The time for "rooting" for other teams in the Missouri Valley is over. The conference season gets under way tomorrow night, when the Salukis travel about 200 miles north on Route 51, to take on the Illinois State Redbirds in the first of 18 Missouri Valley conference match-ups.

The Salukis have fared well against the Redbirds over the last few seasons, having won each of the last 9 consecutive meetings. While I expect the outcome to be similar this time around, we are looking at a much improved ISU squad, compared to the woeful line-ups of the recent past. The boys from Normal, Illinois posted an 8-3 non-conference mark, highlighted by a 13 point victory on the road against St. John's. They also played a resurgent Florida State outfit close for most of the game before running out of gas down the stretch.

Who should we watch out for? Well... junior college transfer Boo Richardson handles the point and leads the team in scoring (12 points and 6 assists ). He sets the pace for the Redbirds and as he goes... they go. In their 7 victories he has averaged over 15 ppg, while only 5 ppg in their 4 losses. Also, another new face filling up the net this season is Dominitrix (Dom) Johnson. His season average of 12 ppg is inflated by a 32 point night against the Seminoles, but that doesn't make him any less of a threat. He can hurt a team from beyond the arc and he shoots 92% from the line. As for their low post players... Anthony Slack and Greg Dilligard, are both double digit scorers and solid rebounders, but they aren't flashy or overpowering in any way, shape, or form... plus Dilligard is gimpy, coming off of a severe ankle sprain during practice this week.

Bottom line... the Salukis can't take this team too lightly. Last season, the Redbirds didn't have a single player averaging more than 10 ppg and through 12 games, this year's squad has four players above that mark. They are also undefeated on their home floor this season at 6-0. However, after taking all factors into consideration and after providing a thorough and even-handed evaluation of this year's incarnation of ISU basketball, I think the Salukis will work through some early jitters and handle this team to the tune of 65-52. Make book on it.

Get On The Bus

For this game and for the remainder of the season, we at "Saluki Hoops" welcome any and all comments you might have concerning SIU basketball. We encourage you to voice your own opinion, provided that you don't slam anybody else. Since this is a forum not only for our analysis and commentary, but for your own as well, let's get some chatter going... the "hazardous road" that ends with Arch Madness is about to begin. Who's along for the ride?

SIU tops Saint Mary's 66-61

Road wins are big and SIU just added another quality road victory to their Tournament resume. Saint Mary's is a team that often makes the NCAA Tournament and you'll remember SIU beat them in the first round just two years ago. Todays 66-61 victory adds a road win over a team that will most likely be a top 100 RPI team when the dust settles in March.

One thing that I like about this years version of the Salukis is you have four guys who can step up and score 20+ points to lead us to victory. Tatum can do it any day, Matt Shaw did it against Minnesota, Tony Young's shooting got us the win at Western Kentucky, and today... well... None other than Randal Falker led SIU with 23 points, 11 boards, and 5 blocked shots. A huge performance from the 6-7 junior who plays much bigger.

JT followed up the big man with 17 points of his own going 6 of 10 from the floor. Not to be overlooked in this game is the play of Wesley Clemmons who is making a bid to either get into our starting lineup or win 6th man of the year in the valley. Clemmons scored 11 points while only shooting the ball 4 times; and tallied 5 rebounds in his ultra-efficient 25 minutes of play.

Rounding out the performances- Shaw and Young were quiet. Can we get Tony Young tested for mono or something? If anyone has a theory on what's wrong with Tony this year please post it in the comments section below. Boyle and Foster played short minutes due to Falker's big game and he and Shaw both stayed out of foul trouble. Tyrone Green hit 2 of 2 shots in 15 minutes of play, but I am still trying to figure out if this kid is a DI player or not. Conference play will tell the story.

Speaking of Conference play.... It's finally here! SIU heads up to Illinois state Friday at 6:05 pm . If you're in Carbondale you can listen to the game on Magic 95.1 FM. No matter where you are you can check salukihoops.com for a brand of coverage that you wont find anywhere else.

FROM OVER THE CURVE OF THE EARTH

Southern stared down the St. Mary's Gaels 66-61 Saturday in Moraga, CA.
St. Marys remained close throughout , trailing just 32-26 at half. Then they seized a 42-41 lead with 10 min. remaining. The Dawgs, however, proved worthy of their pedigree, and racked up the win with stellar play in the waning minutes. Randal Falker exploded for 23 points plus 11 boards and was backed by Jamaal Tatum's 17 and 4. Wesley Clemmons got 25 min. of court time and made Coach Lowery beam with pride. Clemmons burned for 11 points , including 3 threes. He also picked up 5 rebounds. Tony Young and Bryan Mullins scurried about, collecting 3 steals apiece.

Two sohomores did sterling work for the Gaels, who dropped to 6 and 8 on the year. Wayne Hunter had 17 and Diamon Simpson, 13. Steady 6-5 senior Brett Collins connected for 10. St. Mary's was not able to establish the race pace offense they prefer, and the game ran according to form for Southern. The Dawgs were averaging 62 points to 58 for their opponens. Computer wizard Jeff Sagarin had SIU by 6. SIU split the difference to prevail by 5.

All this was gleaned by Greydawg who was glumly limited to terse computerized reports like "SIU 55 St. Mary's 51 - 3:28 2nd." Somewhere over the curve of the Earth great things were being done? Yes(!) and apparently by Randal Falker, in particular. Until the schedule makers send the Dawgs trotting off to Hawaii, this might be the most remote locale in which they toil. As for now they are doubtlessly somewhere high over Colorado listening to their music or enjoying a winning Dawg's " Victory Snooze". Best wishes for a Happy Holiday Season to them, and to you, Saluki hoops fans, everywhere. Southern faces Illinois State on Friday the 29th. I am going out to get some spumoni ice cream. See ya later.........

PLAYIN' FAST AND LOOSE

The Salukis rolled over rambunctious, but outgunned Central Michigan 74-61 at the Arena Wednesday. The win boosted the Dawgs to 8-2 and elevated their eyebrow- raising home record to 70-3 since 2001. SIU was relaxed and energetic from the outset. 7100 fans out came to howl and Dawgs exhibited a free-wheeling style that gave them every opportunity. CMU responded with physical play, and outrebounded SIU 27-23.The Chippewas even made a number of impressive shots amidst extremely tight pressure. Southern's passing was crisp and decisive. Their ball rotation seemed to constantly beat the zone's recovery, resulting in good looks which have been so hard to find of late.

Matt Shaw gave the delighted throng cause to bellow their throats raw by nailing 4 of 5 threes, slamming, finishing a drive with a finger roll, hitting 7 times from the line and making 25 pts. for the game. Coach Lowery told Mike Reese on the WUEZ post game that Jamaal Tatum played his best game of his career. JT was simply tornadic. He was a blur going by. If you squinted you could make out the number 3 and some braided hair sizzling along, persued in vain by frantic, hulking CMU troops. He tallied 18, including coming from way downcourt to send the crowd into delirium with a "dribble drive" slashing slam .

The Dawgs breezed downcourt in defiance of sporadic CMU efforts to press. The "swimming " and shoving down low could have moved parked cars off a lot, but the Dawgs seemed serenely undisturbed. By halftime the Salukis were up 33-18. Lowery pronounced that 20 minutes excellent. Things got shaky in the second half, although by no means a fiasco. Central Michigan somehow tacked up a commendable 43 points. Props to their leaders: Guard Giordan Watson is first rate. He had 18 and earned them all. Marka Spica added 13 off the bench, and O'Fallon's Chris Kellerman put up 11.

Lowery , with time ticking toward the Conference season, contined to look for points off the bench. Nobody rang up big numbers. Tony Boyle, who had been knocked cold in practice recently, and was still woozy, played tough. Keep an eye on Tyrone Green. He's explosive and can get quick release passes into the post. He needs to finish drives to contribute. Josh Bone, back from injury, was agressive and has promise.

The Dawgs are off to St. Mary's of California. Coach plans a little side trip to check out Alcatraz, too. After the Holidays it's Illinois State at Normal, then back home to collide with the #8 Wichita St. Shockers. That's tonight's VIEW FROM ROW TWO.

THE FUR WAS FLYING

In a pitched-battle, with bodies crashing and whistles shrieking , the Indiana Hoosiers outlasted the Salukis 57-47 Sunday night. SIU's Jamaal Tatum led all scorers with 17, and spent most of the evening driving to the rack like a guy skateboarding across an 8-lane expressway. Regretably, he was about the only Dawg who got across. Facing an Indiana defense which was efficient and relentless, SIU slumped noticeably in the last ten minutes. Passes vectored off to destinations unknown. Southern's offense collapsed. Meanwhile, Indiana drove the lane time and time again.

The repeated shrilling of the officials' whistles sounded like a riot on the docks. Hoosiers trod to the foul stripe for 31 free tosses, although for most of the game their efforts resembled men trying to throw a cow through a keyhole. Indiana's A.J. Ratliff put up 14 points, followed by Armon Bassett with 11. Coach Kelvin Sampson's halftime rant to his troops electrified them and they bounded out of the locker room and took charge. For his part, the Indiana sideline commander perfected the art of the 40 inch vertical bound from a sitting position and dashed up and down the sidelines working the refs to exhaustion. His counterpart, Chris Lowrey of SIU, was serious and squared away in a tailored suit.

The Dawgs maintained their characteristic unemotional demeanor despite the hystrionic atmosphere and the gesticulations of their pumped up opponents. If should be noted that Tony Boyle's chilling glare is matchless in televised sports. We dig it , Dawg. Losing stinks, but the Hoosiers earned the victory. ESPN's announcing crew was pretty impressed by the manic intensity. They pronounced the Dawgs "Cut, like middleweight boxers".. the game a "streetfight" and "a Toughman Contest". Southern's squad was cited as one of the most physically fit teams in the nation...each man capable of completing a triathlon, etc. etc. All this was commendable, and perhaps accurate, but have you ever seen a college basketball player who was just a big slug? I thought not.

It was noted that Indiana had played their best game of the year and even better than in a 3 point road loss at Duke. If SIU had not come unglued down the stretch the game was winnable. Certainly Coach Lowrey will take chalk in hand to continue teaching. There's plenty of snarl left in these Dawgs. Central Michigan will call at the Arena on Wednesday night.

Indiana here we come

Finals are over and all the exams are in the books. Now it’s back to the hardwood for the Men’s Basketball team.

Before we look forward lets look back for a second. Chris Lowery answered questions about the season up to this point at pinch penny this week. Here were some of his thoughts.

-If you can’t be 9-0 you’d like to be 8-1. C-Low feels like the team is starting to come together and fire on all cylinders.

-Turns out that the MVC is pretty good. C-Low has been answering all kinds of questions about the other teams in the conference. During a recent interview with Sirius satellite radio C-Low had to tell the interviewer that while the other teams in the conference are good and all, he was there to talk about SIU. He’s ready to stop rooting for the other teams to do well (in non-conference play) and start banging some heads in the valley.

-Redshirt for Josh Bone? C-low said that Josh Bone (Broken Foot) has begun to practice with the team but is far away from getting into a game. Lowery reiterated that no one on the team is “given” playing time- in this program you have to earn it. It is possible that Bone will be given a Redshirt this season.

Without further ado- here is your preview for the Indiana Hoosiers

-No size advantage for Indiana. IU’s tallest player, 6-11 Ben Allen, will miss the game with mono. There next tallest player (DJ White) is 6-9.

-Speaking of DJ White, this kid does it all. DJ leads the team in Scoring, Rebounding, and Blocked Shots (14 ppg, 8 rpg, 2.6 blks). He is a mismatch for any team. Our suggestion? Put Matt Shaw on him.

-Indiana is a well rounded team with some similarities to SIU. They have three guys that average double figures. Besides the aforementioned White, IU features 6-4 Senior Roderick Wilmont who averages 11.8 ppg and should see a steady dose of Tony Young. 6-8 Junior Lance Stemler averages 10 points and 5 boards.

-One thing that sticks out about Indiana is that they do not have one single player averaging over 28 minutes per game. SIU had 3 players averaging over 30 mpg (Shaw, Mullins, and Tatum). That might tell you that they have some depth, but it could also tell you that head coach Kelvin Sampson doesn’t trust his starters.

SIU matches up with Indiana really well and you can expect the boys to roll into Bloomington and play their usual brand of lock down D. We are going to need some contributions from our bench to pull out a win on the road. Wesley Clemmons stepped up big against Western Kentucky and he’ll need to do it again in Hoosierville. This could be a classic “grind it out” win for SIU. The official Salukihoops prediction is SIU over IU 64-61.

Field Trip! Salukihoops is going on the road to Indiana for the game. Check back for a wrap after the game and we’ll have some continued coverage on Monday. Lets hope we bring home a winner!

C-Low at Pinch tonight

Coach Chris Lowery will be at Pinch Penny Pub in Carbondale tonight from 7pm-8pm to answer questions from fans. The show will be broadcast on Magic 95.1 so if you cant make it up there be sure to check it out.

No Saluki basketball until Sunday night due to this being finals week on campus. If you haven't heard SIU is playing a team from Indiana on Sunday night. The game will be broadcast on a little station known as ESPN and Salukihoops will be in Indiana for the action.

Check back tomorrow for a full preview of SIU v Indiana

Here are a couple other SIU basketball sites you might enjoy.

The Southerns "Dawg Blog"- http://www.thesouthern.com/dawgblog/

www.salukitalk.com is a great place to talk about SIU basketball

Also, if you want to ask a question or speak you mind about SIU hoops you get do so in the comments section below.

SIU wins a shootout 75-70

Welcome to the first live game blog at Saluki Hoops

SIU looks good early on offense. Early on Southern looks like the team that averages 80 points a game and not the other way around. Western KY is trapping on defense and they have forced the Salukis to take a few bad shots but we are also getting wide open looks generated from the double teams.

Brian Mullins got 2 quick fouls and had to go to the bench. Wesley Clemmons came in and immediately provided a spark. Clemmons got a quick steal and cashed in the layup at the other end. SIU cant do much wrong at this point, and if the bench guys continue to play at a high level this is going to be a blowout.

Tony Young appears to have awoken. He has 4 three pointers already in this game with 3 minutes to go in the first half. With Tony Young stepping up and scoring its going to be hard to beat SIU today.

WOW- Western Kentucky really put together a nice 10-0 run at the end of the first half to make this a game. This looks more like the sharp shooting team that we all heard about.

Early in the second half Tony Young knocks down another 3 ball to take back some of the momentum.

Courtney Lee is on fire now in the second half. He just about cut the lead to 2 points with a big three but it rattled out of the hoop. SIU dodged a bullet there.

SIU is stuck on 42 points. There is 11 minutes to go and Southern is not going to be able to rely on their defense forever.

Wesley Clemmons makes a nice athletic drive for bucket to put SIU up 44-38 with 10 minutes to go.

SIU looks helpless against the WKY press. Mullins made one nice pass for an easy basket but other than that the WKY pressure has been very effective.

Now this game is getting ugly and both teams are already in the bonus with 8:43 remaining. SIU really needs to hit free throws in order to win.

Courtney Lee has gone cold from the floor, but he is a pure scorer and I dont expect him to stop shooting. The kid has some serious talent. There he goes- a MONSTER dunk.

SIU big men are WIDE OPEN down low. Falker and Shaw are going to have a chance to win this thing for SIU if we can get the ball. SIU has a one point lead but WKY can put up points in a hurry.

Western Ky has tied this game at 53-53 this going to be a heck of a finish.

Its weird seeing SIU with a size advantage. We HAVE TO get the ball down low.

Both teams are now in double bonus with WKY taking their first lead of the game after trailing by 15 in the first half.

There we go! It looks like Lowery has instructed the guys to go get the ball down low, and Falker takes the lead back for SIU.

Tony Young hits a big three to put SIU up by 4. However, he probably should have passed with Shaw and Falker wide open.

Now its a free throw contest- Tony Young hits two free throws to push the lead to 6.

SIU hit 12 free throws in a row down the stretch. Thats a good way to hold a lead. WKY just would not go away at the end of this game and they put up a heck of a fight. SIU just outscored them. What a great win for SIU.

Western Kentucky deserves a lot of credit; they have a nice program and a nice gym. This is mid-major basketball at its best.

What a fun game to watch. Was this really SIU playing? 75 points? Wow. Tony Young is the Saluki Hoops player of the game with a 22 point effort. Good to have you back Tony.

Western Kentucky is for real

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers are another them “off the beaten path” of NCAA cities but this is a top 10 mid-major program and WKY is not to be taken lightly.

Western Kentucky rolls into this game with SIU with a 7-1 record- their only loss coming to defending national champion Florida.

The Hilltoppers are in the same boat as SIU when it comes to scheduling- none of the big boys want to play. So the Hilltoppers went on the road to Georgia and hung a 70-67 loss on the Bulldogs.

One other thing about WKY- They LOVE to shoot the 3 ball. These guys can hit the three, and are very good on the free throw line as well. A dangerous combination.

Head Coach Darren Horn after WKY’s win against rival Eastern Kentucky-”You have a chance to play pretty well when you make 15 threes, but what I’m most proud of and pleased with is that we did it by following our game plan and staying in an attacking mentality, which is tough to do”

SIU has the second best defense in the nation allowing opponents only 49.1 points per game. On the other end of the spectrum, Western Kentucky is averaging 81.8 points per game at home this year. Something’s got to give. Southern should actually have a slight size advantage over WKY something that we're not used to having.

It should be a little higher scoring game than usual for Southern. This game could easily go right down to the wire. Hopefully I'm wrong but SIU might not have the firepower to win this one. Official Saluki Hoops prediction SIU 68 - WKY 72.

Saluki hoops will be live blogging during the game (Sat 7pm, MediaCom channel 22). Check back right after the game for the wrap up and your Saluki Hoops player of the game.

The Hazardous Road

The road to March takes many curious bends and twists. The Valley Highway, in particular, is a hazardous route, indeed. This nebulous cow-path, quite apart from the brightly lit highways in the Big East, et. al., leads past obscure and ominous places like Springfield, MO... an odious locale, home to a particulary angry species of Bears who sharpen their claws and feast on Badgers for amusement.

The map shows other dubious destinations... Peoria, Cedar Falls, Omaha, Wichita, Carbondale.......places no sane coach would lead a bus-load of callow, self-important youngsters without intense indoctrination in how to ignore leather-lunged partisans, crazed student cheering sections, ear-searing profane tirades, erratic officiating, dim shooting backgrounds, toxic truckstop tacos, cramped locker rooms, drizzling showers and damp, cold concrete floors . Sometimes IPODS even get misplaced (!) which could be the most unsettling fate of all.

Yes, it's easy to cruise in to these seemingly innocuous places , get off the bus, and get slapped silly in short order. Barry Hinson and his colleagues are not dallying away their time tutoring unskilled walk-ons. Nobody is suiting up student managers in the MVC. Talent trickles down here with amazing regularity. Perennial top-25 programs are finding themselves shoved aside by lantern-jawed mugs with bowling ball shoulders wearing MVC jerseys. Publicity and praise accrued in the early going of a D-I campaign can evaporate unless a team can slug it's way in and out of these and other ambuscades with dignity and RPI intact. Beware the bumpy road through The Valley.

Balanced attack leads SIU to 65-56 victory

SIU can beat you with defense but they also have a lot of weapons on offense and it showed in the game today. The salukis put four starters in double figures (Falker, Shaw, Tatum, and Mullins). Falker led the way with 17 points down low, including 5-6 from the free throw line earning him salukihoops player of the game honors. Falker’s free throw shooting has greatly improved from last season when he shot 55% from the stripe.

Shaw continues to stroke 3’s hitting 3 of 4 and letting his defender know about it, prompting his second technical foul of his college career. Tatum was quiet early but busted some big shots when it mattered and Brian Mullins must read this blog because he did a great job taking the ball to the hoop today.

Falker got in foul trouble early and was sent to the bench prompting a Jamaal Foster sighting. Foster did a very adequate job in his 6 minutes of play. He defended SLU big man Ian Vouyoukas, hit two free throws, and registered an assist. Good for him.

Tommie Liddell and Kevin Lisch both scored 14 points but combined to go 3-9 from the free throw stripe hurting SLU’s chances of making a second half comeback.

SIU (6-1) endured one first half run from SLU (5-2) and bounced back to take a 6 point lead into the locker room. Early second half baskets by Falker and Mullins stretched the lead to 10 and SIU never looked back in route to a 65-56 victory.

Random Notes-

• Tony Young has not played well lately and it’s begun to cost him minutes. Young started the game but only played 15 minutes and registered 4 personal fouls.

• Even with the loss today SLU still leads SIU 24-23 in the all-time series that started in 1920.

• SIU has held 14 straight opponents under 65 points dating back to last season

• Opponents are averaging just 49 points per game against SIU this season

• With the win today SIU improves to 69-3 at home since 2001

Rivalry Game

SIU has had a number of different rivals over the years. In the present landscape of college basketball the Billikens of St. Louis University are our number one competition in the area.

What makes a rivalry in college hoops?

Geographic proximity is a factor but you would not call University of Illinois and Northwestern a huge rivalry, would you? Of course not, so it must go deeper then that. The two teams must be equal in status. Two years ago SIU hung a lopsided victory on St. Louis U and last year the Billikens returned the favor in STL.

Another factor is recruiting. Both of these schools are fighting for the same recruits. SIU and St. Louis U can give local players a chance to play big time DI ball and stay close to home. A win in this series gives Chris Lowery or Brad Soderberg bragging rights for the year when they speak with potential players. How important is the Illinois/Missouri battle ground? 9 of the 10 starters in Saturday’s game are from one of the two states. The only exception- 6-10 Center Ian Vouyoukas who hails from Athens, Greece.

Last but not least the fans play a major factor. Many SIU fans make the trip to St. Louis when SIU plays there and I’m sure many SLU fans will make the trip tomorrow. When your fan base spends time, money, and emotional energy cheering for you on the road you really want to reward them with a win.

The good folks in Las Vegas are calling SIU a nine point favorite. That seems a little optimistic for my taste. SIU has not been able to put big points on the board yet this year prompting the ESPN commentator at the Old Spice Classic to call SIU “A Sweet 16 team on defense and an NIT team on offense”.

The Billikens have a nice guard combo of Kevin Lisch (Belleville Althoff) and Tommie Liddell (East St. Louis). Those two have combined to average 32 points a game so far, albeit playing against teams with inferior defense. NBA prospect Ian Vouyoukas has averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds a game so far helping SLU to a 5-1 record. Falker and Shaw have gone up against big men of this caliber before and came out on top. I expect them to do the same tomorrow.

The official Salukihoops prediction- SIU over SLU 57-51. Check back after the game for a full recap and your Salukihoops player of the game.

Defensive leads SIU to 50-36 victory

That’s not a typo. SIU really held Louisiana Tech to 36 points. It’s hard to imagine a DI team not breaking 45 points but it shows how well SIU defends the basketball.

While La Tech only put 36 points on the scoreboard that wasn’t their only problem. They only drew 1,800 fans for this game. In contrast, Salukihoops player of the game Matt Shaw (15 points, 9 rebounds, 6-6 FT) routinely played in front of 2000+ in high school at Trout Gym in Centralia.

Southern was just grinding it out on offense in this game, feeding Falker and Shaw down low. Falker was 6 of 11 for 12 points but the alarming stat is that he did not register a rebound in the entire game. I am sure this is an aberration but it deserves a mention.

Jamaal Foster and Jordan Armstrong did not play in this game and that is especially bad news for Foster. SIU is playing a stretch of 5 games in 10 days including 4 road games- a grueling stretch for this early in the season. We could really use some solid minutes off the bench to keep everyone fresh. As of right now it looks like all of the bench minutes will come from Tony Boyle down low, Wesley Clemens will spell Tatum and Young, and Tyrone Green will play about 10 minutes a game while Bryan Mullins in on the bench.

Most of the box scores will look something like this

Player	Minutes
Mullins	30
Tatum	30
Young	30
Shaw	30
Falker	30
Clemmons	20
Boyle	20
Green	10

That lineup looks good to me; let’s just hope we can stay healthy.

That’s all for now, check back Friday afternoon for a preview of the SIU-SLU rivalry game.

Bracket Buster Part II

The good folks at ESPN have really helped Mid-Major teams with this Bracket Buster deal. For those of you who forgot, we played Louisiana Tech in the Bracket Buster here at Carbondale last season. Per Bracket Buster rules we will head out to La Tech for a rematch this season. This is a cool format because it helps mid major teams round out their pre-conference schedules.

Only this year Louisiana Tech is not quite as good as last year and I doubt they will be anything close to an RPI top 100 team. La Tech limps into this matchup with a 1-3 record- their only win was a 59-50 outlasting of McNeese St. However, this game is on the road and there is no such thing as an easy win on the road in DI basketball. The Salukis won't look past La Tech so here at salukihoops- we won't either.

La Tech will feature a pair of 6-7 Senior Forwards Disy Harry (that’s his real name) and Chad McKinzie. Both players are JUCO transfers and they are the tallest players on the team. I don’t expect them to be a threat to the increasingly dynamic Shaw/Falker combo.

Calling Jamaal Foster- If you want to step up in a game this season, this is your chance. Foster seems to have fallen out of favor with Coach Lowery, but he is 6-10 and the tallest player on La Tech is 6-7, so if he can't put in some quality minutes here, it would be hard to see him playing a significant role this season.

On a brighter note, I never get tired of watching Tony Boyle nail 15 footers. His improvement from last season still impresses me. Lowery really found a diamond in the rough with this kid. A big man with a jump shot, gotta love it. Boyle’s solid play at the PF will allow Shaw to play more minutes at SF giving us more size, rebounding, and an extra 3 point threat.

Check back after the game for a wrap-up of the action, and we’ll be back later this week with a preview of the SIU-SLU rivalry game.

Mid Major? SIU knocks off ACC team

SIU outlasted the Va. Tech Hokies 69-64 Sunday to take 2 0f 3 in the Old Spice Classsic. With 2 wins and a narrow loss to Arkansas it might seem that the Sunshine State Swing was profitable to Southern. To those of us, however, who spent Sunday afternoon sweating in front our TV's and alarming our kinfolk by firing baseball caps off the paneling while yelling, "What are they DOING?" it was a puzzling contest indeed. SIU spent most of the game alternately making hard-nosed baskets on one possession, then throwing the ball wherever on the next. They went sleeping-walking along for minutes at a time, then played brilliantly and ran off points in bunches. Meanwhile a wary Va. Tech unit was starting to exercise their considerable "athleticism"....driven onward by their phenomenally intense, (read: apoplectic) coach Seth Greenberg. Big Leaguers Deron Washington and Zabian Dowdell combined for 34 points and their jaguar-quick sidekick Cheick Diakite (almost literally from Timbuktoo), kept slamming the ball to the alarm of the occasionally dozing Dawgs.

The real game began at 60-all with 3:55 to play. Two dunks by Diakite matched Tatum's two FTs and a layup by Mullins for a tie at 64. The Mercurial Tatum nailed a beautiful three, but followed with two clanked free throws to give VT an opportunity. The Hokies chance went awry, though, when they threw deep, caught it and lost it out of bounds. Matt Shaw's two free throws settled the issue at 69-64. Blood pressures in the Land Between the Rivers gradually began to ebb toward normal ranges as ESPN-U went to College Hockey. Chris Lowrey grinned. Shaw's 17 and Tatum's 16 led the Dawgs and Falker and Mullins had stellar outings as well. SIU can and will get better. Hang on for the ride.

Big Ten Beat Down

Defensive consistency has been a trademark for SIU over the last five years. From Bruce Webber’s sharp shooting guards, Matt Painter’s heart stopping second half comebacks, and now Chris Lowery’s take no prisoners defense. The smothering man to man defense handed down the line from Gene Keady to Webber to Painter to Lowery is anything but watered down.

Minnesota had a tough time making an entry pass and at times struggled to get the ball up the floor. As many times as I see SIU play these types of games it never gets old. Every team has cold stretches shooting the basketball, but with the slow down grind it out style Southern plays they are never out of the game. Its early in the year but I think we have already seen SIU’s recipe for success- limit possessions, work the shot clock, score over 55 points, and win the game. If southern sticks to the recipe Chef Lowery should have all the ingredients to cook up another 20 win season.

Matt Shaw is the SalukiHoops player of the game with a career high 26 points off an impressive 11 of 12 from the stripe including 3 three pointers. There are still a few things for this club to work on but not much to complain about today. Brian Mullins HAS to shoot the ball when he is open. Coach Lowery was all over him when he passed up an open three pointer for a shot clock violation. He’s a smart kid with a good shot so I’m sure that he will improve in that aspect. Tony Young was quiet again today but hopefully he will break out with a big game on Sunday.

SIU will play for fifth place on Sunday at noon on ESPNU.

No Pointing Fingers

Alright, so my projection of a 10 point win was a touch ambitious, but didn't you think that it was time to start carving the turkey when the score was 52-47 with about two minutes to play? I'm sure that most of you probably caught the game on ESPN and I think we can all agree that Arkansas was very beatable.

This was the first I've time I've seen the Salukis this season and I think that they looked a lot like last year. They still lack a dependable #1 option on offense and they don't have the height to match-up with teams from BCS conferences.

On the positive side of the equation, the defense is possibly more suffocating than last year and ... it's early. I would have liked to get a big win for the resume, the program and the fans, but I loved the effort and there's no reason to point fingers. On to Minnesota...

The Golden Gophers are projected as a middle of the pack Big Ten squad looking to build a tournament resume. They are led by Lawrence McKenzie, a 6'1" junior transfer from Oklahoma and a noted perimeter threat. Also, watch out for Dan Coleman, a 6'9" junior who can put it on the floor and take it off the boards. Both, Coleman and McKenzie are double digit producers.

This is a winnable game. No predictions. All business. Tip-off at 11:30 AM on ESPN 2. Go Dawgs.

Update: Charter Cable in Centralia and the old spice website are saying that this game will be at 9:30 am CST. The SIU website is saying 11:30 CST. Tune in early tomorrow just in case.

Meet the Razorbacks

Since this game is going to be on national television lets get as much background as possible in order to better impress our relatives.

First of all... these guys lost their top 3 scorers from a year ago and do not boast of a single senior on this year's squad.

Second... mostly in counter to the previous point, they did manage to pull a Top 25 recruiting class, including two prize prospects by any standard (Sonny Weems and Patrick Beverley). Weems, last season's JUCO "player of the year," was named #1 "impact transfer" by collegehoops.net and Beverley was #3 in the Illinois Mr. Basketball voting last season. Weems is the 'Backs leading scorer and Beverley tallied 29 against SEMO in his first collegiate game.

Third... they've got a lot of height. The one thing that separates teams from the Missouri Valley and other mid-major conferences from the heavyweights is overall height. Arkansas has three players at 6'10" and above. Steven Hill leads the way at 7'0." He's not much of a scorer, but he does block a lot of shots. In fact, over the course of his career he has compiled one fewer blocked shot than field goal attempt.

Overall... these guys don't have proven scorers and lack senior leadership, but they do have talent and are physically imposing. They wiped SEMO by 40 points, but only pulled away from Stephen F. Austin mid-way through the second half. I wouldn't want to play these guys in March, but here in November.... in a trap game of sorts... I project a 10 point victory for the Dawgs.

Playing Favorites?

Playing Favorites?

Southern has always forced respect from its opponents but Arkansas Coach Stan Heath sounds like he’s scouted SIU pretty well, and he knows he’s in for a battle. Heath goes as far as calling SIU a possible favorite to win the whole tourney… Like I said in the last post- It’s a huge week.

Following is a partial transcript of head coach Stan Heath’s press conference:

“This is our first trip on the road and I want to make sure we have the right attitude. We need to be business-like. With the team we’re facing, we can’t look ahead.

“Southern Illinois is highly regarded nationally. They return all five starters and they won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship last year. They’ve had tremendous success over the years.

“They play a very deliberate style. They run a ball control offense. It will not be a pretty game, but my concern is winning. For us, we can’t get concerned with the way they play. We may have to guard them through the shot clock.

“In two games, we’re averaging around 62 or 63 possessions a game. In SIU’s last game, they allowed 46 possessions. The number of possessions goes down. They wind down the clock and play for the shot in the last four or five seconds.

“We will make adjustments, but we have to be good enough to guard in the half court.”


The tournament field:

“I think every team in the tournament except for Western Michigan and Virginia Tech was in the post-season last year. The teams that are considered mid-majors are very good. It’s a good field. We should find out a lot about ourselves.

“I don’t get caught up in rankings, but I know SIU is very good and they could be the favorite to win the tournament, but we want to win it.”

A huge week ahead

SIU destroyed the first DI school they played this season with 62-46 win over Murray St. Southern played smothering defense throughout the game. Chris Lowery was vocal in the first half barking defensive orders to his players and they responded by holding Murray to 14 points in the first 14 minutes of the game. Murray never threatened Southern in this game.

He’s Back!

SIU Arena witnessed the return of Jamaal Tatum on Sunday and he did not disappoint. Tatum busted Murray State for 20 points including 4 of 5 from three point range in just 29 minutes. Obviously there was no rust for JT after missing the first three games. Jamaal is one of the most exciting players I have ever seen at SIU. Everyone did a good job in his absence but there is no substitute for a guy with his speed and shooting ability.

On to bigger things-

Next time we see SIU we’ll be eating turkey and watching them play their first of (at least) 5 nationally televised games this year. ESPN 2 will cover SIU v Arkansas at 11am on Turkey Day. This is a huge week for the program. Winning on national television really brings in the recruits and if we win this Tournament we’ll undoubtedly crack the top 25. More importantly, winning this tournament could lead many to believe that we are the best team in the STATE.

Hog Wild-

Before we can win the tourney we have to beat Arkansas. Not an easy task. Give thanks that super stud Ronnie Brewer left the razorbacks for the NBA, and Arkansas will probably not start any seniors in this game. However SEC teams don’t rebuild they reload. Head Coach Stan Heath will start four juniors and one freshman. It’s good that we are playing this team early in the season because this group hasn’t played together much giving us a great chance to beat them on a neutral court.

Arkansas will have a height advantage with 7 foot center Steven Hill and 6-10 forward Vincent Hunter. The scouting report on these guys is that their talent level does not quite meet there size so hopefully Shaw, Falker, and Co can keep them in check the same way they kept bigger players in check most of last season.

Official Salukihoops prediction- SIU over Arkansas 59-57.

Check back after the game on Turkey Day for a full recap and a preview of our Black Friday match up against Marist or Minnesota.

Breaking News: Murray State isn't very good

The Murray State Racers come to town this week. Sticking with a familiar theme so far- I don’t expect Murray St to be much of a threat. So far this season the Racers are 0-3 including a loss to DII Seattle Pacific. Never heard of Seattle Pacific? Me either. Since this is college basketball and upsets happen every night (see Oral Roberts over #3 Kansas) were going to take a look at what Murray State has to offer.

The Guard combo of Bruce Carter and Tyler Holloway have combined for nearly 30 points a game so far this year. I expect to see our best defender Tony Young match up with Bruce Carter. Carter is 6-4 and is not only leading the Racers in scoring but is also leading the club in rebounding with 5.3 boards a game so far.

This Murray St team is far cry from the team that won the OVC last season and I will be surprised if they give us a run. The Offical Salukihoops prediction is SIU over Murray State 69-47.

When I heard SIU got a 7 foot transfer student I was excited as anyone else, but let me just get it out in the open. Kobby Acquah is not going to help this team. Barring multiple injuries don’t expect to see Kobby play at all unless were up by 20 points or more. Nothing against the guy, I’m sure he’s a good fella but the jump to DI hoops was just a little too much for him this year. No big deal.

UPDATE: Bellhaven (who?) leads Murray State 60-52 with 11:01 remaining in the game. The last time Murray St lost its home opener was 1989 when SIU beat them 114-108 in Triple Overtime.

We’ll be back this week end with a recap and the salukihoops player of the game.

The new definition of a "barn burner"

Anyone who has ever been to a good high school holiday tournament knows who I’m talking about. That undersized scrappy player who has just enough talent to be the second best player for his high school team. He’s not flashy and none of the scouts are there to see him, but when he scores 14 points and grabs 10 rebounds in the 3^rd place game a DIII coach decides to bring him on board to play college basketball. Ladies and gentleman- meet the entire roster for Wash U.

These guys were over matched at every position but they played as hard as they could and I felt good for them when they played SIU to a 6-6 tie after 7 minutes.

Just at that time, the REMAX blimp that flies around SIU arena during the game floated into a hanging wire on the east side of the arena during one of the first timeouts. It looked like a desperate moment for the pilot of the blimp until he was finally able to shake the blimp free of the cord just in time for play resume.

Maybe the blimp getting stuck was a sign of things to come for Wash U whose offence was stuck on 12 points at the end of the first half. The saluki defense locked down Wash U holding them scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half as well. By the time they were able to “rock free of the wire” SIU lead the game 35-12 in route to a 59-28 victory.

Tony Young hit some big shots and tallied 21 points. Tony Boyle continues to look good on offence, hitting some mid-range jumpers and showing finesse that was sorely absent in his freshman year.

Jamaal Tatum will be back next game and SIU will benefit from his offence. Tatum can create points on offence and his scoring separates us from being just another mid-major who plays tough defense to a team that can put you away with a 14-4 run if you fall asleep for 5 minutes.

Check back this week to see how our favorite 7 footer Kobby Acquah did in junk time, look ahead to the Murray St. game, and if you’re lucky you might even get a guest post or two. Stay Tuned.

Fun with numbers: 87

Total Number of points scored in SIU’s victory on Friday night

Temperature (in degrees) in the “The Barn” SIU Arena on Friday night

Lets get it started

Now it’s for real… kind of. Friday night SIU will play D III Wash U from St. Louis. First off some background on why we are playing Wash U at all. The NCAA lengthened its schedule by two games this year so Southern had to get two more teams on its schedule quick. It’s very hard to get good teams to come to SIU Arena since we have beaten just about any club that’s came to town over the last five years. However, Wash U agreed to play us on short notice and this game will serve as a third exhibition allowing us to get to full strength (Tatum will sit out the final game of his suspension) before Murray St comes to town Sunday the 19^th.

Tony Boyle will be back from suspension on Friday night which will mean our big men will be at full strength for the first time this year. We will have plenty of fouls to give and the minutes should get spread around to everyone. I expect to see Randle Falker or Matt Shaw to play about 30 minutes a game. Boyle, Foster, and Armstrong should be able to come in and provide some solid minutes off the bench.

So far Boyle looks much more composed than last season, and Foster looks like he hit the weight bench in the off-season (he is still slender but it’s a noticeable improvement) The player that I would like to see get a chance is Jordan Armstrong. Armstrong has long arms and is very athletic for a player of his size. If any of these three players can play quality minutes at the “4” position Coach Lowery has mentioned playing Matt Shaw at the “3”. This is exciting to say the least. Shaw will provide serious match up problems for any small forward in the conference.

The official Salukihoops prediction for Friday nights game is 68-46 SIU victory. This means there will be some junk minutes and we should see 7 footer Kobby Acquah. In the last exhibition game Kobby got in and missed a free throw so bad that the ball barley hit the side of the backboard. Ugly. It’s hard to see him playing any meaningful minutes for this team unless we have some kind of injury/suspension. But hey, its college hoops and anything can happen.

If you haven’t had a chance to watch this team play yet come on out on Friday night and check ‘em out. You’ll be guaranteed to see some lock down saluki style defense and they should be able to give us a monster dunk or two. We’ll be back right here after the game to give you a recap, and next week we’ll look ahead to our showdown with rival Murray St.

Defense powers Southern to 61-44 victory

The Salukis played 40 minutes of high energy basketball tonight holding Henderson State to 44 points (13 for 41, 32%) including just 1 for 10 from 3 point range. The intensity showed in the foul column as well with SIU committing 28 personal fouls in the game. The referees called the game pretty tight and a few of those fouls would have never been called in a MVC game but you can’t fault the salukis for being aggressive and it was a big improvement from the last game.

Brian Mullins put a lot of pressure on the Henderson St guards and forced quite a few turnovers and bad decisions. Early on Mullins set the tone by tipping a ball away to Tony Young, then ran the floor as Young passed the ball back to him on the fast break. One defender got back to cover and Mullins threw a no look pass from his hip to a wide open Wesley Clemmons for the finish.

Southern played good man to man defense all night long and I don’t think they will play very much (if any) zone defense this season. It took Henderson St almost 10 minutes to score their first points of the evening and they really never threatened to take the lead all night long.

Tyrone Green got the start in the place of Wesley Clemmons but neither player stepped up to play significantly well. Matt Shaw, Tony Young, and Brian Mullins were the leaders for SIU tonight. Young and Mullins did a good job of feeding the down low to Falker and Shaw. Shaw, who rebounded extremely well, put up 16 points and 14 boards to earn Saluki Hoops Player of the Game honors.

Southern broke the game open late in the second half with a full court press that was way too much for Henderson St to handle. It was good to see Coach Lowery test out the press in a game type situation. It was also good to see Brian Mullins find his stroke from three point land, knocking down 3 of 4 from downtown in the second half. Mullins struggled with his outside shot last year and if he can pop some open three balls that’s just one more weapon for SIU this year.

Check back later this week and we’ll look ahead to Friday nights home opener, tell you about 7 foot 1 Kobby Acquah’s free throw stroke, and we’ll tell you why Jordan Armstrong has a chance to help this team win. Until then feel free to comment below (you don’t have to sign up for an account or anything) and let us know your thoughts on the Salukis!

Rotation and Playing time

First off let’s clear up a few items. For those of you who don’t already know- Christian Cornelius is out for the season with a knee injury. He redshirted last year after going to prep school the year before so when he finally gets on the court for the first time next year it will be his 4^th year out of high school. Cornelius is going to contribute to this program but were going to have to wait another year to see it.

Josh Bone is also expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a broken bone in his foot. It going to be tough for the freshman to crack the rotation after missing time to start the season but we should get a chance to see him before conference play begins in late December. Bone's injury presents an opportunity for Tyrone Green to show he can contribute.

Jamaal Tatum is suspended for the next 2 games, Jamaal Foster will be back tomorrow after sitting out vs Quincy and Tony Boyle will sit out Sundays contest vs Henderson St. with a one game suspension.

With all the injuries/suspensions SIU went 8 deep vs Quincy. Wesley Clemmons struggled replacing Tatum in the starting lineup. Tyrone Green, Jordan Armstrong and Tony Boyle did a good job spelling the starters who all played big minutes with the exception of Clemmons.

Tomorrow vs Henderson State look for Foster to take the place of Boyle in the rotation and everything else should stay about the same. When Tatum's suspension is over we will be 10 deep and when Bone gets back we will have 11 guys competing for minutes. All five starters look to play 30+ minutes a game so the remaining guys on the bench are going to have to earn their playing time, that’s a good problem to have and these things usually have a way of working their self out. The competition for these minutes is what makes these preseason games interesting.

We’ll check back in tomorrow with a recap of the game. However if you would like to actually PLAY in the game just head over to Henderson States website and sign up to play for the men’s basketball team.

http://www.hsu.edu/athcontent.aspx?ekfrm=7028

Southern takes preseason opener

It wasn’t pretty but we got our first look the Salukis. Here are a few quick notes from SIU’s 70-64 win over Quincy and then we’ll be back this weekend with a full recap.

Tony Young teamed up with Matt Shaw and Randle Falker to do most of the damage for the Salukis. SIU played very tentatively against the Quincy zone really had a problem getting into a rhythm in the first half. Eventually the Salukis got what they wanted from the undersized Quincy D.

Note to all teams- if your playing zone you better guard Matt Shaw. Shaw busted the Eagles for two wide open 3-pointers in the first half. Tony Boyle also impressed with a 16 foot jump shot that he probably would have bricked off the backboard last season.

On the defensive side we struggled in man to man and got beat for quite a few open shots throughout the ballgame. Tony Young had four fouls and the entire defense made mental mistakes and put forth a lack luster effort all night long.

Jordan Armstrong made his Saluki debut with a two handed dunk in traffic early in the first half. He looks like a true small forward, something SIU hasn’t had in a few seasons. When we start playing some big lineups in conference play Armstrong has a chance to play some crucial minutes.

The most hilarious moment of the night occurred when 7 foot 1 Kobby Acquah got the call to enter the game late in the second half. Kobby must have been all pumped up from the student section chanting his name because he tried to go straight onto the floor before the official waived him in. Ahh, this crazy game of basketball with its complicated check in rules. When Kobby finally did get into the game he looked like Shawn Bradley on diet pills. At least it was good for a laugh.

Southern pulled out a win, missing some key players which we will blog about tomorrow… check back and we’ll talk more about our 8 man rotation and look ahead to Sundays showdown with Henderson State.

MVC - PAC 10 Challenge

MVC – PAC 10 Challenge?

The MVC is currently the 7th ranked conference in college basketball. The #6 conference… the PAC 10. Wouldn’t it be fun if these two conferences played a Big Ten - ACC style showdown? It will probably never happen but hey- its the preseason we need something to talk about. If it ever did happen heres how we would match up.

SIU v Arizona

Creighton v UCLA

Wichita St v Washington

Missouri St v Stanford

UNI v California

We would probably be a little out gunned at the top but it would be fun to see none the less. If the games were all on the MVC teams home court I think we could have a chance to pull of 3 of the 5 games. The depth of the MVC becomes important because UNI and Missouri State would probably be favorites at the bottom.

Overall, this quick comparison shows that while the MVC has become very competitive we probably still have some work to do to be considered one of the top conferences in the nation.

Welcome to the Dawg Pound

Welcome to the Dawg Pound- Your source for everything that is SIU basketball. Here you will get information on SIU Basketball that you won’t find other places on the web. Game reports, scouting reports, information and opinions that you won’t find in any newspaper or any other site on the web. Let’s get started.

SIU Basketball begins the '06-'07 season as favorite to win the MVC and a potential to become a national powerhouse. Collegehoopsnet.com gives the MVC much love- ranking SIU #19 overall and picks them to win the conference. Creighton is ranked second, Missouri State third, and Wichita State fourth, and all four are expected to make the big dance. Seems about right for a conference that is coming up and beating the big boys every March.

If any mid-major team in America has a chance to pull a "George Mason" and make the final four the Salukis have to be the team. Southern not only returns all five starters but also gained some depth in the off-season. Freshmen Christian Cornelius and Jordan Armstrong will provide depth at the forward position after redshirting last year. True Freshman Josh Bone and JuCo transfer Tyrone Green will come off the bench at the guard spots. Bone and Green should get a chance at some minutes if they play well considering Head Coach Chris Lowery’s preference to use a 3 guard offence for most of the year last year. Down low Kobby Acquah is a 7 foot 1 transfer but I am going to need to see him box somebody out before I am a believer. If your 7 foot 1 and can rebound every DI Coach in the county is going be camping outside your house with a national letter of intent, so I hope this guy can play but we will find out soon enough.

We will get a chance to see these guys in action in an exhibition game v. Quincy on Thursday. We already know what a great job our top guys can do but the bench play was a bit of a question mark last year and some of the young guys will need to provide quality minutes off the bench for this team to make a deep run in March. Check back this weekend for a wrap up of the game.

Sound off on your opinions about the 2006-2007 Saluki club in the comment sections below