The Salukis looked sleepy at times in a lackluster performance, falling behind by 17 points, and they were never able to get all the way back in this game.
The big men did not play well at all. Boyle was limited to 15 minutes due to foul trouble (I'm thinking of copying that phrase to my clipboard so I don't have to re-type it in every post). Booker looked completely lost on offense, which is puzzling considering his level of ability.
Carlton Fay went quiet in the second half, scoring just one field goal, and that came when the contest was already out of reach. Fay could get away with tentative play last season, but this year the Salukis are actually running plays for him, and he has to be willing to shoot the ball at all times.
Speaking of disappearing acts, where was Wesley Clemmons in this game? Ryan Hare could very well take his spot in the starting lineup when the Salukis play St. Louis next Tuesday.
Still, the Saluki put up 70 points behind Ryan Hare's career and team high 16. Outside of Hare, there was not a lot of bright spots in the guard play, either. Western Kentucky basically got whatever kind of shot they wanted, shooting nearly 50% from the field.
Bottom line - the Salukis are way too talented to fall behind by 17 at any point vs. a rebuilding Western Ky squad. Defensive breakdowns are the reason for the loss. Scoring 70 points should be enough to get a win, but that was not the case tonight.
This will probably not be the last tough road loss these young Salukis suffer, but they have to understand that playing a fairly close game against Duke and UCLA doesn't mean you're going to automatically dominate less talented teams.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Key Facts - SIU vs Western Kentucky
- The Hilltoppers graduated three seniors that accounted for 60% of their scoring a year ago, including Courtney Lee, the 22nd pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.
- Western Kentucky is fresh off of a 28-point loss to Murray State.
- Southern Illinois has won each of the last 3 meetings against WKU and 6 of the last 7, overall.
- Head coach Ken McDonald is in his first year, after former head coach Darrin Horn took the 2007-2008 squad to the Sweet 16 and then left for South Carolina.
- A.J. Slaughter leads the Hilltoppers in scoring at 15.0 ppg. Last year, he tallied 16 against the Salukis at the Arena.
The Hilltoppers are one of the top mid-major programs in the Midwest, partially because they
have the facilities and fan base to be successful. Renovated in 2003, E.A. Diddle Arena has seating for 7,500 including 16 luxury suites. Toss in brand new locker rooms, two practice courts, an academic advisement center, and state of the art video replay screens and you can see how they can attract top level talent to their program. While this may be a down year for the Hilltoppers, they'll still be hyped for the Salukis, so don't expect anything to come easy for the Dawgs.
You can catch the action from Carbondale on the MediaCom broadcast, Wednesday night at 7pm.
- Western Kentucky is fresh off of a 28-point loss to Murray State.
- Southern Illinois has won each of the last 3 meetings against WKU and 6 of the last 7, overall.
- Head coach Ken McDonald is in his first year, after former head coach Darrin Horn took the 2007-2008 squad to the Sweet 16 and then left for South Carolina.
- A.J. Slaughter leads the Hilltoppers in scoring at 15.0 ppg. Last year, he tallied 16 against the Salukis at the Arena.
The Hilltoppers are one of the top mid-major programs in the Midwest, partially because they
have the facilities and fan base to be successful. Renovated in 2003, E.A. Diddle Arena has seating for 7,500 including 16 luxury suites. Toss in brand new locker rooms, two practice courts, an academic advisement center, and state of the art video replay screens and you can see how they can attract top level talent to their program. While this may be a down year for the Hilltoppers, they'll still be hyped for the Salukis, so don't expect anything to come easy for the Dawgs.You can catch the action from Carbondale on the MediaCom broadcast, Wednesday night at 7pm.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Nick Evans out 4-6 weeks with broken wrist
Saluki center Nick Evans will likely miss the rest of the non-conference season with a broken wrist suffered in Friday's loss to UCLA.
Evans, who was a bit of a question mark coming into the season, has played well so far and his inside presence will be missed. The 6'11'' big man from Carbondale was pulling down lots of rebounds and showed some basic scoring ability in his short tenure with the Dawgs.
Tony Boyle could see increased minutes, except his playing time will still be dictated by his ability to stay out of foul trouble. As a result, Anthony Booker and Christian Cornelius will have to take on an increased role in the post until Evans can return.
Taking a look at the calendar, it would be nice to have Evans back when conference play begins on the road vs Bradley on Dec 28th. While the loss of Evans is disappointing, it's encouraging to see that he's played so well, that the Salukis will actually miss him while he out.
Photo Credit- SIU Sports Information Dept
Evans, who was a bit of a question mark coming into the season, has played well so far and his inside presence will be missed. The 6'11'' big man from Carbondale was pulling down lots of rebounds and showed some basic scoring ability in his short tenure with the Dawgs.
Tony Boyle could see increased minutes, except his playing time will still be dictated by his ability to stay out of foul trouble. As a result, Anthony Booker and Christian Cornelius will have to take on an increased role in the post until Evans can return.
Taking a look at the calendar, it would be nice to have Evans back when conference play begins on the road vs Bradley on Dec 28th. While the loss of Evans is disappointing, it's encouraging to see that he's played so well, that the Salukis will actually miss him while he out.
Photo Credit- SIU Sports Information Dept
Friday, November 21, 2008
Notes on the Saluki loss to UCLA
For the second day in a row the Salukis stayed close with their opponent until late in the second half when the game got out of hand. UCLA had too much talent and an inexperienced SIU club couldn't stop the bleeding during a 20-2 run that sealed the deal for the Bruins.
This 0-2 outcome in NYC doesn't really hurt the Salukis in the RPI, but it does show the Dawgs have a long way to go to be considered a top 25 caliber team.
Post play will need to improve for the Salukis. Tony Boyle didn't have a good trip and Nick Evans fouled out in just 14 minutes against the Bruins. These two players will have to step up against teams with really good big men.
This team has loads of talent, but the 6 newcomers have to grow up quick. Kevin Dillard had 6 turnovers and only 2 assists. His creativity is impressive, but the Bruins had loads of points off turnovers... so valuing the ball will continue to be a point of emphasis.
On a brighter note Ryan Hare showed some good things in this game and he'll continue to get big playing time (25 mins vs UCLA) as long as he is giving the team a boost the way he did vs the Bruins.
After watching the Duke/Michigan game it's clear that the Salukis would have matched up much better against the Wolverines. Unfortunately the Salukis didn't get a chance to prove it and ended up leaving New York with two lopsided losses. There's no shame in losing to Duke and UCLA especially away from home, but they'll need to shake the hangover quick and get a win at Western Kentucky in order to get their season back on track.
This 0-2 outcome in NYC doesn't really hurt the Salukis in the RPI, but it does show the Dawgs have a long way to go to be considered a top 25 caliber team.
Post play will need to improve for the Salukis. Tony Boyle didn't have a good trip and Nick Evans fouled out in just 14 minutes against the Bruins. These two players will have to step up against teams with really good big men.
This team has loads of talent, but the 6 newcomers have to grow up quick. Kevin Dillard had 6 turnovers and only 2 assists. His creativity is impressive, but the Bruins had loads of points off turnovers... so valuing the ball will continue to be a point of emphasis.
On a brighter note Ryan Hare showed some good things in this game and he'll continue to get big playing time (25 mins vs UCLA) as long as he is giving the team a boost the way he did vs the Bruins.
After watching the Duke/Michigan game it's clear that the Salukis would have matched up much better against the Wolverines. Unfortunately the Salukis didn't get a chance to prove it and ended up leaving New York with two lopsided losses. There's no shame in losing to Duke and UCLA especially away from home, but they'll need to shake the hangover quick and get a win at Western Kentucky in order to get their season back on track.
Losing to Duke is like a 40 degree day
Sure they're ranked #5 in the country, and yes it was a good game for 32 minutes. That's good... That's like a 40 degree day.
Nobody has anything good to say about a 40 degree day. Fifty? Fifty will bring a smile to your face. Sixty? It's time to break out the barbecue grill. Go down to 20? Everyone's complaining. But 40, nobody cares about 4o, nobody remembers 40. Losing to Duke by 25 is like a 40 degree day.
The Salukis shot a lackluster 12 of 19 (63%) from the line in this game but they were outscored at the stripe by 28 points which was the difference in this game. The Blue Devils hit 40 of 47 (85%) from the line. It would not be accurate to say that the Blue Devils shot more foul shots because of the officiating either. The Devils took the ball to the hoop and drew fouls, that's why they got to the line, and that's why they won the game.
The Salukis lack of experience in these types of games was evident in the second half. Once the battle tested Duke squad took control with 8 minutes remaining, they never looked back.
The Salukis can still come home happy with a win on Friday. Tony Boyle will need to regroup and pull down some rebounds on Friday. Clemmons and the rest of the guards will need to make a bigger contribution.
Before the UMass game Chris Lowery said his team had to get better in less than 24 hours and they were up to the task. Friday in New York we'll see if the Salukis can do it again.
Nobody has anything good to say about a 40 degree day. Fifty? Fifty will bring a smile to your face. Sixty? It's time to break out the barbecue grill. Go down to 20? Everyone's complaining. But 40, nobody cares about 4o, nobody remembers 40. Losing to Duke by 25 is like a 40 degree day.
The Salukis shot a lackluster 12 of 19 (63%) from the line in this game but they were outscored at the stripe by 28 points which was the difference in this game. The Blue Devils hit 40 of 47 (85%) from the line. It would not be accurate to say that the Blue Devils shot more foul shots because of the officiating either. The Devils took the ball to the hoop and drew fouls, that's why they got to the line, and that's why they won the game.
The Salukis lack of experience in these types of games was evident in the second half. Once the battle tested Duke squad took control with 8 minutes remaining, they never looked back.
The Salukis can still come home happy with a win on Friday. Tony Boyle will need to regroup and pull down some rebounds on Friday. Clemmons and the rest of the guards will need to make a bigger contribution.
Before the UMass game Chris Lowery said his team had to get better in less than 24 hours and they were up to the task. Friday in New York we'll see if the Salukis can do it again.
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