Slow Start Dooms the Salukis

It was a long 16 minutes for the Salukis. Finally with 4 minutes left in the first half Wesley Clemmons hit a field goal for SIU, their first of the game. By then Illinois State had already built a 25-5 lead and had established a stranglehold on the game.

Indecision, turnovers, and downright poor shooting plagued the Salukis in this contest. It was a struggle for Southern from the jump, as they failed to even attempt a field goal in the first 4 minutes.

The Saluki offense is stuck in neutral, and it's going to take a team effort to get things back in order. Falker has to get it started by working for more buckets in the post. Bryan Mullins must limit turnovers; he had more turnovers (5) than assists (4) on Saturday night. Matt Shaw has to work to become more consistent. Clemmons and Bone must carry more of the scoring load; they combined for just 9 points on Saturday and that's not enough.

It's possible that Chris Lowery could look to his bench for scoring help. Tony Boyle only played 10 minutes in this game and he could take on a bigger role. Carlton Fay chipped in 6 points in 12 minutes but he also committed four fouls. Fay really can't be considered for more minutes until he learns to play without fouling.

Whatever happens Lowery must find a way to make his players more comfortable in the offense. A return to SIU Arena could help in the short term. Southern has shot the ball pretty well at home this year and their next game is in Carbondale. A long term solution will be necessary because the Salukis have to go right back on the road where they are 0-5 this season. Lowery is faced with the difficult task of getting his players to be more confident shooting the ball in a hostile environment.

Give Illinois State some credit, they have made it clear that they are no longer bottom feeders in the MVC. With a 3-0 record in the conference the Redbirds are poised to make a run at the conference championship and with an RPI of 43 some might argue that they are the best team in the state this season.

With the loss the Salukis fall to 6-8 and 1-2 in conference play. Their #7 Strength of Schedule makes the sub .500 record look a little better but Strength of Schedule alone doesn't get you into the dance.

The Salukis will have a chance to get their second win of Valley play vs Bradley on Tuesday. Bradley is a disappointing 0-3 in conference play, they are missing their All-MVC point guard Daniel Ruffin, and the game is at SIU Arena. The Salukis desperately need to take advantage of these factors to get their season back on track.

Dawgs Caught Napping at the Knapp Center

For the first time since February of 1999, the Salukis were defeated by the Drake Bulldogs. The Dawgs trailed by 5 at the half, but failed to close the gap after intermission and the final margin was 10... 61-51.

The Salukis were led by Wesley Clemmons who finished with 13. Matt Shaw and Randal Falker were limited by early foul trouble and combined for 12 points. As a team, the Dawgs shot just 39% from the field and were 6 of 13 from the free throw line. Too many empty possessions and not enough trips to the foul line continue to plague the Salukis.

The Bulldogs hit 20 of 30 from the charity stripe and Josh Young finished with 24. At this point, I have to admit that Drake is a Valley title contender. They can outshoot a zone and outquick a man-to-man. Since the jerseys still say "Drake," they will have to prove themselves every step of the way, but they certainly looked strong in this contest.

The Salukis are in action again this Saturday at Illinois State. The Redbirds have knocked off Creighton and Wichita State, both on the road, to start Valley play.

Carbondale Holiday Tournmant Highlights

McCluer North, featuring SIU commits Torres Roundtree and Anthony Booker, took on Gateway Tech in the championship game of the Carbondale Holiday Tournament.

McCluer won the game 69-60 but Gateway Tech's Jesse Perry had an outstanding game and put up 23 points in the loss.

Foul trouble plagued Roundtree and Booker so they had limited playing time in the first half. Both players still made an impact on the game, Roundtree scored 10 points with 5 rebounds and Booker added 11 points and 7 boards.

Booker seemed to make the biggest impact of any player in the game. Gateway was able to make huge runs when Booker was on the bench but McCluer was in control when Booker was back on the floor.

Below are some video highlights of the game. First you'll see Anthony Booker highlights beginning with a nice baseline jumper.

Next you'll see a Jesse Perry dunk then the Torres Roundtree highlights. Enjoy.

Salukis Kick Off Valley Play With Win

SIU put five players in double figures on their way to a 79-71 win over Missouri State. Getting to 79 points was impressive considering it was mostly a half court game. The Dawgs worked for high percentage shots and went 47% from the field and 54% from 3 point land.

Things are coming together for the Salukis just in time for the start of conference play. The Salukis are playing good hard basketball right now and things are starting to click on offense.

Joshua Bone is a big reason for the Salukis' resurgence. Bone followed up his career high 19 point performance on Friday with 17 points on Sunday. It was an efficient 17 point game for Bone, he went 7 of 10 from the floor including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. A long time salukihoops.com favorite, Bone IS the shooter that many said this team was lacking.

Bryan Mullins had a nice bounce back game on Sunday. After missing some clutch free throws against Butler, Mullins hit 9 of 11 free throws and his performance from the line in the game's final minutes launched SIU to a 1-0 record in MVC play.

Tony Boyle, Wesley Clemmons, and Randal Falker also went for double figures in this game going a combined 13 of 16 from the foul line. Boyle has impressive shooting touch for a big man and he was a perfect 5 of 5 from the line.

Randal Falker continues his quest to shoot 70% from the stripe with a 5 of 7 performance that puts him at a much improved 67% for the season.

Now the Salukis hit the road for their next two games, heading to Drake on Wednesday (Mediacom) and to Illinois State next Saturday (WSIU). Both Drake (8-1, RPI 20) and Illinois State (8-3, RPI 61) are much improved from last season. Southern is yet to win a true road game this season so these next two games will be an important test for the Salukis. Stay Tuned.

Salukis beaten at the foul line, not at the buzzer

Technically speaking, the Salukis lost at the buzzer but really this game was lost at the foul stripe.

Butler hit 21 of 30 foul shots while SIU made only 3 of 12 at the stripe. It's hard to beat a top 20 team when you're outscored by 18 at the foul line. If the Salukis hit just half of their foul shots the game would have been in hand and the buzzer beater by A.J. Graves would have been a footnote in the SIU victory.

Despite the free throw discrepancy SIU still had a great chance to win. Joshua Bone hit 5 of 7 shots from three point range and finished with 19 points. Bone's clutch shooting was a huge bright spot for the Salukis.

Even though the Salukis lost the game they were able to dictate the tempo for most of the contest. Southern played hard and they won the battle of the boards, pulling down 12 more rebounds than the Bulldogs in a losing effort.

Coach Chris Lowery noted in the post game that he thinks the program is "on the right track" but acknowledged his team has to do a better job of finishing things off. The Salukis will have to figure it out soon, Valley play starts on Sunday and even though the Dawgs are under .500 a conference championship is still within reach.