This is the same starting five that went to Alaska and lost to a DII school last year, but pulled it together and won the MVC tournament. It was tough to stick up for these guys at times last year but I felt that this team was something special. Even this year the critics said this team could not score against a zone, win on the road, or boast a #1 type scorer. All those questions have been answered and Southern's string of Valley titles continues.Creighton's loss to Illinois State ends the conference race and sends the Bluejays in the opposite direction... possibly on the wrong side of the bubble. The loss drops Creighton to 18-10 and they are just 1-3 in their last four games. They play Wichita State at home on Saturday and will need to win that game and their first round MVC tourney game to get to 20 wins. Dont look now but if Creighton and Missouri State get knocked off in the first round of the tourney the MVC could be a (gasp) one bid league. I doubt that will happen but after the poor Bracketbuster results its time for MVC fans to temper their expectations.
This is where College Basketball differs from professional sports. SIU cant just sit their starters now that the title is wrapped up. Now its time to put the icing on the cake and play for a protected seed in the NCAA tournament. The Salukis will travel down I70 to play the Sycamores of Indiana State in a game that would be difficult for most teams to get hyped up for. However, this team has such blue collar attitude that I would expect nothing short of an outstanding performance Wednesday night in Terre Haute.
The keys victory for Southern will be the same as they were last time. Get the ball to Randal and allow him to wear out the inside defense, then let JT and Tony bust shots from the outside. Easy right?
Lets take it a step further. The Salukis need to get the bench going in this game. To go deep in the tournament we are going to need Boyle and Foster to come along for the ride. Lets see Boyle get the ball in the post and score. Boyle works hard for the ball when he is in the post and its time that the guards start giving him the rock down there. Mabee they dont trust him based on what they have seen him do in practice but the guy has good hands so its time to give him a chance on game day. As far a Foster goes I could devote an entire page to what he needs to do in order to improve but I will save that rant for another day. For now he needs to do a good job on defense and be active on the boards.
Clemmons, Bone, and Green all played well at Butler and it would be great if they can all keep it going. That would complete SIU's 10 man rotation, protect us against foul trouble and keep the starters fresh. The way things are going for SIU there is no way I can predict a loss. Official salukihoops prediction- SIU over Indiana St 68-58. Tune into Fox Sports Midwest to hear the announcers refer to SIU as "the Egyptian dogs" 30 or 40 times. If your around the computer check back here at 6pm CST as we live blog the action between the Salukis and the Sycamores.
