I'm psyched already. Saturdays game against Wichita State presents a big opportunity for SIU. First off all it is an opportunity to showcase our team on national television and secondly if the Salukis pull out a win it could mean a spot in the top 25.
Before I start hyping up the Salukis top 25 chances we have to go out there and get a win. Easier said than done. Wichita has been tough at home (just like everybody else in the conference) beating Creighton 62-59. The Shockers just went on the road and beat UNI this week, a tough task, just ask the Salukis.
Southern played a poor first half and an impressive second half against Illinois State. In Wednesdays game vs Indiana State, SIU game out on fire but had trouble keeping the offense going in the second half. In order to win this game on Saturday SIU will have to play 40 minutes of smart, fundamental, aggressive basketball or Wichita will put this game out of reach.
No need to dig deep into stats for this one. We have already seen the Shockers once this year and we know what they bring. They go 9 players deep and are lead by Kyle Wilson and PJ Couisnard. Beyond those two guys Sean Ogirri loves to shoot the deep ball hitting 57 of 140 (40%) this year. The Shockers can put up 70 points on a good day but the SIU defense will need to keep them under 60 to get a win.
Southern is having a great year so far at 9-3 we are in a position to win the league once again. The Shockers sit at 6-6 in the valley and desperately need this home win to get back into the "at large bid" picture. Expect SIU to keep this one close but unless Southern can take the offense up a notch (calling Matt Shaw) they will not have the firepower to knock off Wichita. Official Salukihoops prediction- Shockers over Salukis 64-62.
Check back here Saturday for a live blog of the Salukis Saturday showdown with the Shockers. Then on Sunday tune into the Sunday Sports Review on 91.1 WDBX for analysis of this weeks action.
