SIU lands top available recruit in Illinois

Chris Lowery can recruit. C-Low had already nailed down the best recruiting class in MVC this off season bringing in Carlton Fay, Nick Evans, and Brandon Wood. Now Lowery adds to his stellar '07 Class by getting a verbal commitment from Justin Bocot, an electric 6-3 guard from Bloomington, IL.

Bocot was in attendance Saturday night to watch the nationally ranked Salukis defeat the Evansville Aces and apparently liked what he saw. Randy Kindred from the Bloomington Pantagraph reports that "when Southern Illinois offered Justin Bocot a scholarship this past weekend, the Bloomington High School basketball star was quick to say yes." Bocot is considered by many to be one of the top scorers in the Midwest and has canceled a trip to Iowa after making his decision to come to SIU late Sunday night. Other schools that Bocot considered included Illinois, Kansas State, DePaul, and a host of MVC schools.

Per NCAA rules Lowery cannot comment on Bocot until he signs on the dotted line in April but he has to be pleased with his new recruit. There are still a few things that have to happen to get Bocot in uniform for SIU next season.

First he needs to score a qualifying mark on the ACT. According to the Bloomington Pantagraph report Bocot is taking classes to prepare for the ACT and he is confident he will post a qualifying score.

Another consideration is how Justin Bocot fits into the Scholarship picture. Midstatehoops.com indicates that he is a pure scorer, backed up by the fact he has averaged 20 points a game the last two seasons, he can handle the ball, he has a natural feel for the game, and can get to the rack for the dunk. Despite all of these skills Bocot himself is considering taking a redshirt to add some strength to his 6-3 frame. Nick Evans could be a candidate to take that redshirt as well. A redshirt from one of these two players might be the only way to fit all four recruits into the picture next season unless a player on the current team transfers; as some rumors have suggested. If Bocot does indeed redshirt he will join a deadly '08 class that includes Torres Roundtree, Chris Parrish, and 6-8 big man Anthony Booker.

Sunday Sports Review

This morning I had the opportunity to host the Sunday Sports Review on WDBX 91.1 FM in Carbondale. We talked quite a bit of SIU basketball with Steven Holt, Mike Huss, and Matt Loomis. Thanks to Mark Bausch for providing the audio from www.stlsports.com

Steven Holt and I discussing SIU Basketball


Mike Huss and I talk about the MVC Touney, the Blues trade, and the Cardinals.


Matt Loomis and I talk about the Cubs, NL Central Projections, and the Salukis

SENIOR NIGHT SLUGFEST

Converted to kilowatts, the intensity of the SIU-Evansville battle Saturday could have lit up half of North America. No quarter was asked or given by either side. It was senior night at the Arena, and an there was an emotional blast-furnace quality to the atmosphere in the Arena all night.

The 14-15 Aces appeared confident and swaggered out to center court, intent on matching their previous 75-68 home win over the Dawgs. The Salukis, led by senior starters Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young, weren't having it. SIU snared the opening tip and seconds later Matt Shaw slammed one down. Game on.

Immediately, an electrified version of Randal Falker began to dominate the proceedings. Left undoubled by some crafty ball rotation schemes, he rolled up 18 first half points. Slick entry passes sailed in from all over. Tatum and Young were on their way to a combined 32 points and 11 assists with no turnovers. Here was Falker playing at a speed no one could match. Left hand, right hand, finger roll, drop step, off the glass... the whole package was there.

Not that Evansville didn't show up. Led by burly 6-8 senior Matt Webster, they bounced Salukis off every surface in sight. Tyrone Green tried to drive and was jolted so hard the ball sailed over 20 feet higher than the backboard. In one moment of memorable "mayhem," Shaw, Falker, and a couple of Evansville men went hurtling into, under, and over press row. Suddenly stats sheets, pencils, scorebooks, and computers erupted into the air and two middle-aged gents got starfished on the concrete... tongues lolling and eyes bugged. Somehow everybody got untangled.

Brian Mullins, Young, and Tyrone Green all endeavored to catch the Aces' talented 5-11 sophomore guard Jason Holsinger. By the half they were kind of getting the hang of it. The Dawgs had a little daylight at 39-33. Holsinger would finish with 11.

A real stomping in the MVC is 10 points. The Aces would not be so rudely dispatched, and muscled up for a 44-43 lead. Chris Lowery glowered. He stomped and waved his arms like a man trying to chase off a gorilla. He became hoarse.

A series of somewhat bizarre calls were made during the game... one of which led to a prolonged, nearly deafening level of spasmodic, insensate shrieking from the crowd. It was a game with several jarring 4 man pile-ups (no call), followed seconds later by brush-touch contacts (WHISTLE!).

In the end Southern was too much on this night. Falker shook off a painful cramp, got back out there and closed with 30 points. The Dawgs hung on, 76-69, to finish at 15-3, 25-5 going into the MVC tournament.

Now everybody gets a reset. Not since Illinois State, in 1998, has a Valley team won both the league and tournament titles. The Dawgs want a prime NCAA seed. Several teams are playing to get in to the field of 65.

One of the best features is the league's degree of parity. Get cocky and you get smacked around. The Salukis are wise to that. The key is to play hard and win. Next stop, St. Louis.
THAT'S TONIGHT'S VIEW FROM ROW TWO.

Smokin' Aces

Ask anybody around town who is going to win Saturday's game and they will tell you the Purple Aces of Evansville have no chance. It's gotta be the Salukis in a blowout, right? Not so fast there buddy. Isn't this the same Evansville team that knocked off the mighty Salukis just one month ago? Indeed it is.

The Purple Aces defended their home court against SIU by throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Southern on the defensive end. Evansville used a matchup zone, and man to man, and several different versions of the traditional zone defense to confuse the visiting Salukis. And it worked to perfection.

This time around things are going to be a little bit different. First of all this game is already sold out and some (if not all) of the Evansville players will be playing in front of the biggest crowd of their lives. Another factor is that SIU knows what to expect this time and is playing much better basketball than the last time they met. If that's not enough, oh yeah... A couple of guys are going to be playing their last game at the Arena on Saturday night.

The emotion of JT and Tony is going to be a factor. For some reason I feel that this is more of a factor with Jamaal Tatum who has used his years at SIU (just as many other people have) to make mistakes, learn from his mistakes, and grow up. He also played a little basketball while he was here and when he looks back at all he has accomplished you can't blame him for not wanting it to end. There will be a surge of adrenaline to start this game but don't be surprised if there is something of a drop off late in the first half when that adrenaline rush starts to wear off.

For Tony Young it's a little bit of a different story. He's all business all the time. Make no mistake, Tony has developed quite a bit in his years here and with a few more wins he will hold the most wins for any player in SIU history. But Tony has a warrior mentality, a killer instinct, a cold heart towards his opponent. When he sees the Purple Aces standing on his home court he sees blood it the water. I get the feeling Tony views the Senior night ceremony as a way for his opponent to wait an extra 30 minutes in the Arena before leaving with a loss.

Let me just say this. These guys are two of my favorite players of all time and it's been one hell of a ride. The good news is... it's not over yet.

Look for SIU to pay extra attention to Evansville big man Matt Webster. He killed us last time around. Keeping Shaw and Falker out of foul trouble will be key because we really don't want Foster or Boyle having to guard this guy. Boyle will do his best if he is asked to take the assignment but I can picture him getting 5 fouls in about 10 minutes if he has to stay on Webster too long.

The bottom line is that this SIU team is too good to be denied. Southern will win this game and send the Seniors out on a high note. Don't believe me? Just go around town and ask someone. Official Salukihoops prediction- SIU over Evansville 66-55.

Check back here after the game for a complete wrap up and tune in to 91.1 WDBX or www.wdbx.org on Sunday morning at 10am as we discuss SIU basketball and more!

Southern pulls out a win 58-50

Senior night came one game early for SIU with Tony Young and Jamaal Tatum leading Southern with 15 points each. Tony played with foul trouble tonight but came off the bench in the second half and hit two quick threes at a time when no one else on the squad could buy a bucket.

It was "one of those games" early for SIU who came out firing... and missing. The Sycamores hung tough and actually lead by 2 at the half. Marico Stinson was the shooting star for Indiana State and he was the game's leading scorer dropping 17. The Saluki "D" was fully intact from the opening minute keeping all other Sycamores in single digits. Want more proof that the SIU defense was strong? Check out Indiana State's shooting percentage- 36%.

What stuck out to me as the major separation between these two teams was that SIU can come in with their B game, play hard defense, and win anyway. Indiana State doesn't have that margin for error. It was Senior night for Indiana State and they had some emotions going. Unfortunately for them it did not carry over into the crowd as the gym appeared to be quiet and empty.

The SIU reserve big men did not get going in this contest and you have to wonder if it is going to happen at all this season. Tony Boyle put up a stat line of all zeros except for a "1" in the foul column. He appears to be nursing a sore ankle. Jamaal Foster joined Kobby Acquah on the bench to form a one two punch that could threaten to compete against the big men of John A Logan.

There is no such thing as an ugly win. Clemmons, Bone, and Green continued their solid play of late. This starting five will be rested heading into tournament play so they should be able to handle the load of additional minutes. We've said it before on this site but it's worth repeating- this starting five is as good as any five around. They'll get a chance to prove it yet again on Saturday night as SIU Arena bids farewell to two great Seniors.

Valley Champs!

The SIU Salukis are Missouri Valley Conference Champions. It feels great to say it. This is not a title that was won overnight. 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.

Sunday Sports Review

Sunday I joined Sunday Sports Review host Mark Bausch on 91.1 FM in Carbondale. We talked about historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Salukis trip to Indy, and how this win could effect NCAA seeding for both teams. Click the play button below and listen for yourself.

Bold Salukis Prevail at Butler

The SIU Salukis belted Butler 68-64 Saturday, to post a key Bracketbuster win. The victory snapped the Bulldogs 22 game home winning streak, and bolstered Southern's claim to a prime NCAA seeding.

ESPN announcer Rick Majerus pronounced the tussle "more physical than any Big Ten game I've seen this season," and "the floor burn game of the year." Physical, it certainly was, with 48 fouls assessed.... 26 on Butler.

Jamaal Tatum nailed 20 points , including 8 crucial free throws. Matt Shaw was perfect from the field, including 3 threes and played smart and tough all afternoon. Tony Young was stellar and had 11. The entire SIU cast of characters was clutch. Randal Falker was able to chip in just 5 points, all from the line, but if you'd isolate his game on video and run it fast- forward it would look like a year of wrestling practice. Ditto for Shaw. The cheers of the raucous 1000 SIU fans who somehow wangled their way into the field house rained down on the sturdy Salukis. Coach Lowery said he really appreciates it. The fans who were there made their presence count.

The Salukis were up 30-25 at the half despite having made zero transition buckets, created no steals and scored on no put-backs.. a nearly statistically impossible trifecta. The astonished Majerus attributed it to defense. The Bulldogs' Mike Green was visably drained, and the Butler star, A.J. Graves, fighting illness, was scoreless in the first 20 min.

Southern nearly had Butler on the canvass in the second , but Pete Campbell's four three kept reeling SIU back in. Coach Lowery used his roster expertly. He had just enough cards to play to win it. Free throws told the tale in the waning minutes.

The 12th ranked Bulldogs were paced by Green, who had 18 , Pete Campbell with 17 , and Brandon Crone with 11.

Tonight let's spotlight Wesley Clemmons, Tyrone Green, and Josh Bone. They scored 7, 4 and 2 , respectively, hit the glass hard, and hustled like mad. Green blocked a shot with authority.

As the Dawgs head home tonight well-deserved applause is echoing loudly. Wednesday night Southern will go up against Indiana State in Terre Haute with the outright MVC title in reach. Nothing will be conceded by the Sycamores. It's The Valley, after all. THAT'S TONIGHT'S VIEW FROM ROW TWO.

On the Horizon

In the marquee match-up of the ESPN Bracket Buster Challenge, your Southern Illinois Salukis are preparing to square-off with the Bulldogs of Butler University. Tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 CST, these two mid-majors from middle-America will be playing in front of a few thousand at Hinkle Fieldhouse, while thousands more will be gathering in living rooms and corner bars nationwide with eyes glued to the tube for this clash between ranked opponents.

The Salukis are playing their best basketball of the season. Winners of eight straight in one of the nation's toughest conferences, the magic number has been lowered to one and we are all looking forward to the final pair of Mo. Valley contests against Evansville and Indiana State. However, those games will be played next week, not tomorrow. So let's take a break from talk of a regular season title and focus on how the Dawgs stack up against another tournament bound line-up.

Forget the fact that the Butler Bulldogs play in the Horizon League, a very mediocre conference. Forget the fact that they recently dropped a game to Wright State. Just don't forget that these guys are ranked 12th in the latest poll and defeated Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue, Gonzaga, and Tennessee to garner such national recognition. At 24-3, these guys are legit.

A.J. Graves leads the way. He's a pure shooter (17 ppg) whose court sense and game management skills elevate the rest of players on the floor. His supporting cast is undersized and they don't rebound particularly well, yet they do excel at spreading the floor and beating you with quickness and sharp passing. Expect to see a lot of perimeter action and don't be surprised when they look to push the tempo.

Besides staying out of foul trouble and shooting well at the line, the Salukis will have to set the pace in order to win this game. Falker and Shaw should have the advantage down low. If the Salukis can pound it inside and limit possessions, the outcome should be favorable. Official prediction 63-58..... SIU.

Butler has won 22 straight games at home and they are a team that plays rugged defense just like SIU. This game should be fun to watch and might go down to the wire. Salukihoops will be there in person covering the game and we will tell you all about it on the Sunday Sports Review on 91.1 FM. For those of you not attending check out the game at 3pm CST on ESPN2 and check afterwards for greydogs thought on the biggest game in Bracketbuster history.

Friday Reading

Robert Crow of The Southern wonders how do you beat Butler? and points out that SIU has not beat a ranked team on the road since 1975. He also discusses the pros and cons of the Bracket Buster


Scott Mieszala of the DE looks ahead to Brackebuster Saturday by pointing out that this is the first time two ranked teams have played each other in the Bracketbuster's history

Also in the DE Sean McGahan points on that many SIU fans will make the trip to Butler.

Lowery snags another '08 recruit

6-8 Junior Anthony Booker has given Chris Lowery a verbal commitment and looks to join his McClure North teammate Torres Roundtree at SIU.

With Booker's addition Lowery has added a another recruit in what is shaping up to be an excellent '08 recruiting class. Lowery is turning into quite the recruiter beating out Missouri, Purdue, and Missouri State for Bookers services. SLU probably wanted him but SLU isn't even in the ballgame with SIU right now. If you'll remember we put a lot of weight into the impact of the SIU vs SLU game earlier this year and it turns out that beating SLU combined with our recent rankings have given us quite an advantage getting top recruits. These recruits might be tied to Lowery just as much as they are tied to SIU but these are the types of players that keep a team in the top 25 every year.

In a recent edition of the Post Dispatch Booker had this to say about Lowery and SIU.
"I've been thinking about it for a while, even before Torres committed," Booker said. "I thought now would be the right time to do it. I'm looking forward to playing for coach (Chris) Lowery. I really like what he does. I love their defensive style."

McClure North is the top ranked team in the St. Louis area. Booker is out right now with a knee injury but is expected to be back by the time districts start. Roundtree and Booker still have another year of high school and they should have the chance to accomplish great things together for years to come.

SIU at Missouri State- Live Game Blog

For those of you watching this game on Mediacom in cdale you will notice that the audio is out. Good news- you can listen to the magic 95.1 broadcast at

http://www.stretchinternet.com/mrr/magic2.html

SIU is off to a 3-0 lead and Missouri State has had a hard time getting Ahearn going early. Tony Young absolutely STUFFED Ahearn under the hoop.

13:40 SIU leads 6-5 and makes a stout defensive stand. Falker goes to the bench with foul trouble and Boyle comes and does a good job on defense.

11:34- JT gets a good look outside and splashes a three. SIU leads 11-7

10:19- Mullins answerers a Mo State three with a nice dribble drive dish to Falker 13-10 Southern. Falker comes back the very next possession with a baby hook to give SIU a 5 point lead.



9:02- Ahearn misses a wide open shot- that doesn't happen very often. This could be our night.


Tatum stretches the lead to 17-10 with a nice dribble drive.

19-12 SIU leads and Falker draws a charge. Unfortunately, Jamaal Tatum hit the deck pretty hard- he might be hurt.

5:35 Tony Young comes out of the game with 2 fouls, he did not even TOUCH the player on either play. That is not a figure of speech. Clemmons comes in to replace him. Wesley look good in his first stretch of play.

Fair and balanced coverage- Tyrone Green makes a good hustle play and calls timeout. This is the type of play Green HAS to make to get playing time. good for him.

After an SMS run (Yes I still call them SMS- You cant just change your name) the SIU lead is cut to 2. 22-20.

The Dawgs look bad on offense but Mullins bails them out with a nice three.

SMS's Dale Lambirth comes down and leans into Green and draws the three shot foul. Lamberth misses the first two and we catch another break.

JT comes down at the other end and Tatum releases a shot at the buzzer. It misses and he appears to have been fouled but no call. SIU leads 27-22 at halftime.

Three thoughts on the first half- 1) Ahearn did not hurt us at all that half, thats great news but its bound to change. He had only 2 points in the first half. Give our defense big time credit. 2)JT is one tough kid, he is playing through the pain. 3) Lowery said on the coaches show that this might be the prettiest 39-37 ballgame of all time, in reference to the good
defense. He was right.

Second Half
True to form- Ahearn comes out of the locker room and cans a three.

SMS goes on a 6-0 run... quick. Lowery takes a time out, shew.

Jamaal Tatum will play professional basketball. He is a pro. Give me Tatum over Ahearn any day. Tatum goes down low, smokes his defender, and hits an acrobatic reverse layup. Top notch. SIU leads 31-30.

15:45 Tony Young makes a nice play in transition defense. Tony covered his defender and when Ahearn looked to pass he threw it away.

14:11- The SIU offense is stagnate but Big Falker turns around and hits a jumper. 33-30 SIU.

11:04- The Salukis cannot score- finally Falker puts in a bucket, he has 15 points now. 35-33 SIU. Falkers play is huge with Matt Shaw on the bench with 4 fouls.

Now Tony Young comes back into the game to play with 3 fouls. Right away he gets #4 as I am typing... WOW. He goes to the bench to be replaced by a gimpy Tatum.

Finally Josh Bone gets a chance. After a bonehead foul by Tyrone Green Josh Bone comes in to be a zone buster.

8:42 SMS is already in the bonus. They miss the front end- the game stays tied at 35 each.

7:49- Ahearn gets to the rack and gives SMS a 2 point lead. Please get the ball to Bone to bust the zone.

Finally Matt Shaw and Wesley Clemmons come back into the game. We really need a boost from those two guys.

4:52- JT!!!! Tatum is the man! With the shot clock winding down JT beats a double team and scores. huge.

After two free throws Young hits Falker for two, now we are trading baskets. 41-40 SMS. Shaw has fouled out.

Tyler Chaney hit a baseline jumper and SIU trails by 3.

Tyrone Green draws a charge to get SIU the ball with 2:18 to play, down 3.

Falker Scores! He has 20!!! down 1 with 1:38 to play we get the ball back after Falker gets the board.

1:01- Tatum again! This guy does not stop. He is visibly hurt but he drains an NBA three to put SIU on top 45-43.

AHEARN misses an open three!!! We can win this!

At the other end SIU milks the shot clock and JT gets fouled with 21 seconds to go. He can put us up by 4 here. He hits both.

15.5- Tyler Chaney beat the SIU defense back and gets a quick 2. Ouch. Now we are going to have to hit some free throws to win. Up 2 with the ball we need to get it into Tony or JT. Thank goodness that Tony has not fouled out.

14.7- Clemmons gets the ball and is fouled. These are big. The first is good (his 100th career point). HE HITS BOTH! UP 4!

4.5- After a lucky basket by SMS, JT goes to the line to ice it. He hits both! SIU WINS! 51-47.

Incredible victory! SIU played lock down defense. Falker was the man in this game, a rock down low. This is 8 straight wins by SIU and we are headed for a number 1 seed in the MVC Tourney.

Salukihoops on the Radio

Salukihoops hit the airwaves once again yesterday on the Sunday Sports Review. We talked about Saluki basketball, Creighton, Recruiting, and our remaining schedule. Click the play button below and listen for yourself. Make sure and check back with us Tuesday night for a live game blog of SIU vs Missouri State.

SALUKIS STARE DOWN JAYS 72-68

You couldn't have jammed five more guys in the SIU Arena with a crowbar Saturday night. The fans who managed to squeeze through the door were treated to a stand-up-and-scream thriller of the first order. Southern 's 72-68 win over Creighton vaulted the Dawgs into the outright Valley lead at 12-3 with three games remaining in the conference chase.

The volcanic din ceaselessly gushing forth from a sellout mob certainly bolstered SIU's confidence, but the victory was won by a new, more mature SIU team.

The dauntless Dawgs reached back for whatever it took to win. Seeing teammate Randal Falker harried and bloodied by the aggressive Jays, Matt Shaw rose up and delivered a 25 point classic of a game. Senior Jamaal Tatum shrugged off a thigh injury and the flu to notch 18.

Tony Young had a key 11 points and five assists, and Wesley Clemmons added 7 points in 19 minutes to demonstrate why his stock is rising fast once again.

Southern opened with a 5-0 rush and later was up 8. This launched non- stop delirium among assembled masses, and the cacophany resounded off the roof like somebody blasting a bugle into a galvanized trash can. The fifteen lonesome CU rooters behind the visiting bench looked glum, indeed. Nonetheless, the Jays rapidly recovered their composure and pulled to within 37-35 at the break by parading to the stripe for 20 tosses and netting 13. The disparity in fouls led to some heated woofing from the crowd all half long, but particularly in the final seconds when Tatum was clambering around on the deck at midcourt with numerous Jays harrying him diligently. (Read that: "Poundin' on him pretty good"). Outside the mercury was well below freezing. Inside it felt 110.

Undeterred by the aural shockwaves cast forth by the wild-eyed madmen assembled, the Jays plotted their comeback somewhere off in the concrete recesses of the building...Gatorades in hand. Dana Altman had information to confer to his troops . Meanwhile, down the hall, Chris Lowery was bellowing and cajoling his men, seeking 1 per cent more effort.

The Jays hotfooted it back on the boards and went into overdrive. They snagged their first lead at 43-41. Suddenly, you could hear clocks tick two blocks away. It seemed CU's turn to shine. Dane Watts is a buster. He had 17 including three threes. Nate Funk, possibly the best player in the MVC, got his average with 17 of his own. The colossal ( 6-9, 245) Anthony Tolliver pitched in 15, and Nick Porter scored 13 while leading all rebounders with 7. Soon Creighton's lead inched to six.

The battle-hardened Dawgs then reignited the audience by going up 67-63. Creighton tied it at 67 with 73 clicks left on the board. Tony Young's cold-steady 12 footer with 49 seconds to play was huge. Frantically, Funk drove the lane late, but Shaw ended up with the ball, was fouled, and sealed the game moments later at the line. Steam rose off the court. Both teams exited the premises. Perhaps these two will meet again ...at Arch Madness. You wouldn't want to miss it. THAT'S TONIGHT'S VIEW FROM ROW TWO.

Believe the Hype

This week I have received personal requests, phone calls, and emails from about every SIU Basketball fan that I know. Everyone had the same question- "Got an extra ticket?".

This IS Rivalry Week. This IS College Basketball. SIU vs Creighton is the MVC's version of Yankees-Red Sox. Bitter rivals duking it out for the top spot. It doesn't get any better than this.

ESPN has begun to take notice. SIU is in the middle of a stretch where it plays on ESPN three weeks in a row. I don't have any official information on this but I would be willing to say that this is the first time it has ever happened.

Saturday's game will feature two teams who are presently locks for the NCAA Tournament. I'm also going to go out on a limb here and say the winner of this game will win the MVC title. If SIU wins they will have a 1 game lead with 3 games to play. The Salukis would also hold a tiebreaker advantage over Creighton if they finished with identical records. SIU still has to go on the road to Mo State and Indiana State (not easy) and they finish the MVC schedule at home against an Evansville squad that has already beat us this year. Nobody said it was going to be easy.

Creighton just about took one on the chin at home against Evansville on Wednesday night. They used a 25-4 run to overcome a 14 point halftime deficit to beat the Purple Aces. One thing that Creighton does is pass the ball well. They had 23 assists on 26 baskets on Wednesday night. It was the usual suspects getting it done for the Bluejays as Nate Funk put down 19 points and 7 dimes.

The Salukis are hot, winning 6 straight games and sitting at #20 in the poll. Creighton has won 5 in a row and can take a step towards a national ranking with a win on Saturday. Southern could push their ranking up around 15 and leapfrog over teams like Duke, USC, and Oklahoma State.

We all know that SIU does a great job at limiting possessions and making their possessions count on offense. As it turns out, Creighton is pretty good in that department as well. They are second in the Valley in points per possession as illustrated in this chart.

The number one key to this game for SIU will be the play of #3 Jamaal Tatum. JT left Wednesday's game against Bradley because of a touch of the flu combined with a deep thigh bruise. I dont have any inside information on JT's condition and I am not a medical professional but I will tell you one thing- Jamaal Tatum will play on Saturday. JT could have bird flu and still play in this game. Jamaal has had some serious ups and downs in his four years here but he has done a lot of growing up and is a better man because of all he has been through. Tatum is a senior, and playing through injury to lead us to victory could be the defining moment of his SIU career.

If you're going to the game WEAR MAROON. If you don't have a ticket tune into ESPN2 at 5pm CST. If you want to talk SIU basketball and interact with other fans head over to SalukiTalk.com for some lively discussion. Listen to the Sunday Sports Review on 91.1 FM at 10AM for a recap of the action. Official Salukihoops projection- SIU over Creighton 66-64.

Tony Young leads SIU to victory

SIU won a basketball game with Jamaal Tatum playing only 6 minutes. Earlier in the season this never could have happened. JT has a bruised thigh and was rested by C-Low. A few weeks ago that would have spelled a loss for Southern. Not today and not at home. Tony Young stepped up once again and carried the team on his back, scoring 25 points on 9 of 17 shooting and only turned the ball over twice in 33 minutes. It was vintage Tony Young and it was all SIU needed to hold off Bradley with its leading scorer on the bench.

Matt Shaw set a career high with 14 rebounds. Shaw had an off night shooting (1 for 5) but still found a way to pitch in. Thats a hallmark of a winning basketball player.

Falker chipped in 13 points while hitting 5 of 7 from the free throw line. Falker drew double teams all night long but still contributed 12 rebounds to go along with his 13 points.

The bench players were each given additional opportunities with Tatum on the sidelines. The biggest bench contribution came from Wesley Clemmons. It was great to see some signs of life from Clemmons, who had been doing his best audition for the lead role in "The Invisible Man" in recent weeks. Clemmons came off the bench and played 22 minutes, scoring 7 points and collecting 3 rebounds. More importantly, he showed a lot of confidence even after taking some good shots that just did not fall into the basket. If SIU is going to make a run in March they will need Clemmons to come in and play like a starter. Clemmons took a step in the right direction tonight.

Southern let Bradley back into this game in the second half but Bradley could not hit the three point shot to save their life and their comeback fell short. SIU will have to play better on Saturday to beat Creighton and I expect that they will. Tatum has a few days to recover and he will be rested and ready to go when the Bluejays land in Carbondale on Saturday afternoon with the MVC title hanging in the balance.

Bradley rematch and SIU lands a recruit

Bradley rolls into Carbondale tonight looking to sweep the season series after edging the Salukis 48-46 on January 10th at Bradley. The Bradley game was a low point for SIU and lately they have not shown much resemblance to the club that lost that day. At that time Tony Young was struggling to find a groove and Randal Falker was still nursing a bum ankle. That's no excuse to get beat, but the current state of the #20 Salukis is much better than the team that was defeated in Peoria earlier this year.

Home court advantage seems to be more important in college basketball. Maybe it's the lighting in the arenas, the bounce of the floor, the tightness of the rim, or the rowdy student sections. What ever it is the Salukis know how to benefit. Southern Illinois is 76-3 (.962) at home since the start of the 2001-02 season and the Salukis have won 50 of their last 51 Valley home games at SIU Arena.

Bradley is 45-88 all-time versus nationally-ranked opponents, including a 9-43 record in road games.

Bradley has a chance to come in and win tonight because they can score the basketball. The Braves lead the MVC with 76.5 PPG and they rarely turn the ball over (only 11.5 turnovers a game). On the other hand they will be going against an immovable object- a Saluki defense that only allows 55 points a game (sixth in the nation).

Official Salukihoops prediction- SIU 66- Bradley 59.

SIU Lands '08 Shooting Guard

C-Low landed a big time recuit in 6-4 Shooting Guard Torres Roundtree. Roundtree had interest from Mo State, Illinois State, Purdue, and SLU, but chose to come to Carbondale instead. Roundtree is a perfect fit for Lowery's preferred 3 guard offense because of his size and defensive skills. Roundtree is a three star recruit and a great pickup for Chris Lowery and the Salukis.

Here is one scout's take after watching him recently- A well built 6-4 junior guard, Roundtree wears many hats for Florissant (MO) McCluer North. He’ll play the point half the time, he’ll post up and he plays some terrific defense. He had a whopping nine steals on the day and most of them came from his keen ability to read passing lanes and sense for when to sneak up from behind as a ball hawking help side defender. A tough driver and good rebounder, his jumper still needs more work but he’s got a chance to be a high major player.

Top 25 AP poll "rant" on #20 Salukis and more

Today's post comes to you from goroshnik at salukitalk.com. Every Monday Goro does some great research and then gives a "rant" on the week's rankings. Here are some excerpts from today's edition in which our Salukis come in at #20.

I must admit, it'll be a little more difficult to put down a serious rant this week, due in large part to SIU's big emergence into the AP Top 25 Poll. Here's the happy poll list for ya


I was more than pleased to see a good four teams enter the Top 25 this week - that's the first time this year that as many as four teams have debuted in the same week. I'm also very pleased to see that those four new teams (SIU, USC, Kentucky, and Georgetown) were able to jump up quite a few places and take the #19-#22 spots.

With SIU's ranking, we've now got 5 non-BCS teams ranked at the same time, and a big congrats goes out to Butler for entering the Top 10. Should SIU and Butler continue to roll and remain ranked, their matchup in two weeks should garner much more national exposure, and that's always a good thing.

Even with SIU's breakthrough, I was still able to find my usual assortment of odds and ends to rant about. We've still got a few teams that are noticeably absent, along with a conference or two that's simply hogging too many votes.

BARRY'S BOYS ON THE SHORT END YET AGAIN

I knew I could still find an MVC team to rally around. Missouri State currently sits in third place in the #5 rated conference, but they failed to get a single vote tossed their way. The Bears have the unfortunate distinction this week of being the highest-rated RPI team to get shut out - they're at #31.

Missouri State and Arkansas are the only two top-40 RPI teams to have nary a vote. The Razorbacks aren't there because they're currently eighth overall in the SEC, at 3-5, and have lost 5 of their last 7 games. Missouri State's righted the ship a bit, with a three-game win streak, including the last two on the road. Now before you simply say that I'm arguing about this because of my MVC ties, let me toss a few teams your way that are under .500 in their conference, but still managed to grab votes this week.

NC STATE - ONE WEEK OVERSHADOWS AN ENTIRE YEAR

The Wolfpack had a terrific week, knocking off Virginia Tech on the road before taking down North Carolina at home. That's one tremendous week, but does it deserve to get these guys 15 votes? Before this week, NC State was 1-7 against the RPI top 100, near the bottom of the ACC at 1-5, and had no less than FIVE home losses this year! Oh, their RPI you say? How about #106. Wow, that's one ugly number.

One great week does not deserve to outshine an entire year's body of work. Some voters fall into this trap when they see a team get hot against a couple of ranked teams, and they fail to see the big picture. NC State can prove me wrong by winning a few road games this week and working on that triple-digit RPI ranking.

I should also mention that Maryland also sits at 3-5 in the ACC, in a tie for 8th along with NC State, yet they still were able to hold on to 9 votes. That makes NINE teams in the ACC this week grabbing votes, but not one single vote for Barry's Bunch. There's simply no way that the ACC's getting a ludricrous 9 teams into the Dance, so give this another week or two, and we can hope that the ACC mess can start to clear up.

The league, in a way, is a little screwed up itself regarding the Top 25, as neither Boston College or Virginia are ranked, despite leading the conference. That's what having Duke ranked so highly every year, deservedly or not, does to a league. Did you know that with Duke at #16, it's their worst ranking in seven years?


SPARTANS HEADING IN WRONG DIRECTION

If someone could do a little homework and find where Michigan State's vote came from this week, we could find out who still thinks the Spartans, currently sitting in 7th place in a mediocre Big Ten, are good enough to be considered a Top 25 team. After a game at Purdue this week, MSU gets to recover with a four-game home stand. At least they're done with Ohio State - that'll help ANY team recover.

IS THE PAC-10 REALLY THIS GOOD?

I agree that the Pac-10 is very good this year. I also agree that it'll very likely get 6 teams into the dance (sorry, Mr. Lavin... your suggestion of the Pac-10 getting 7 teams in won't happen, as Cal and Washington aren't tourney at-large material right now). I do wonder, though, if the Pac-10's really deserving of having all six of those teams ranked in the Top 25 at the same time... but there are definite cases for and against a team like Arizona (only 6-5, but #1 SOS).

I was hoping somewhat that the MVC could have turned out this way, with 5 or 6 teams pulling away from the rest of the pack. The big difference is that the MVC doesn't have two bottom-feeders like Arizona State and Oregon State to keel over and give all the other teams easy conference wins.

Tell me what's better - is a conference better for having 6 good teams and two awful ones, or is it better to have 2 teams pull away from a very tight group of 10 teams? It'll be a shame if the selection committee fails to grab a fourth MVC team just because it couldn't get more wins in conference, while it rewards six Pac-10 teams who get to pile up an extra four easy in-conference wins.


THE RPI CONNECTION'S HEATING UP

With SIU and Kentucky making the Top 25, for the first time this year, every team in the top 10 of the RPI is ranked. Here's more stuff to ponder:

14 of the top 15 teams in the RPI are ranked. (UNLV's blowout loss at BYU killed their solid chance this week).

Every team in the Top 25 is also in the RPI top 50. Vandy just made the cut, as they're sitting at #50 today.

38 of the top 40 RPI teams had votes this week - I mentioned this earlier in the post, but it bears repeating again.

For all this blather from some media outlets about the decreased significance of the RPI (Ken Pomeroy, why the RPI hate lately?), the Top 25 and RPI numbers are getting more similiar with each passing week. You'll still get teams well down the RPI pecking order popping up from time to time (NC State, Akron, #78 Winthrop, and #76 New Mexico State are your lowest four teams to get votes this week) - but more often than not, by the end of the year, the RPI numbers and the AP Polls will compare more favorably than the media bigwigs care to admit.

Sunday Sports Review

Salukihoops hit the airwaves again this week on 91.1 WDBX in Carbondale. Sunday Sports Review host Mark Bausch and I talked about Super Sunday, Wichita State, and the Salukis chances at making the top 25.

Click on the link below and listen for yourself.





Don Ford


Mark Bausch

SIU at Witchita State Live Blog

One play and one basket by Randal Falker. Falker is playing with a touch of the flu today so hopefully he'll be able to play big minutes.

Tony Young gets a steal off of Kyle Wilson and converts it for two.

16:37- SIU has been plagued with turnovers early but still lead 4-3. Clemmons checks into the game and he needs to get going early.

15:32- Tony Young gets the feed down low to Falker and he hits the lay-in. 6-3 SIU. If Falker can keep getting the ball down low we can win this game. Looks good so far...

13:15- Falker shows some range hitting a 12 footer and has knocked down his first 3 shots.

This game is being controlled by the officials so far. They seem to be calling it very tight. Hopefully they will loosen up a bit as things progress.

11:01- Foster is in the game and has fouled the guy with the giant afro. This afro is four times the size of his head. 12-8 SIU.

10:35- JT comes off a screen and is fouled. JT is hot again, and this game is being played at Southerns pace. I think we are going to get this win.

8:38- Matt Shaw gets the ball down low and dumps in the bucket. Wichita State is doubling down on the post, and SIU is STILL getting points down there. 17-10 SIU

On the next possession Falker draws a charge on Kyle Wilson. Everything is going our way. This is a game that SIU can play in the high 50's and win.

7:30- Matt Shaw is stepping up! Big time three ball! Credit Tatum with a nice assist. Mullins gets a five second call on the other end then Tatum comes back and his a (lucky) three. SIU is owning! 23-10 SIU

4:11- Jamaal Foster gets in on the action with a tip in. 27-16 SIU

2:03- Tyrone Green shoots a wide open shot... clank. I understand Green plays good defense but please give these minutes to Josh Bone... Please.

1:24- Tatum hits another jumper- 12 point SIU lead

1:07- The SIU defense is smothering! Wichita State cant even get a shot off. We will win this game.

JT nails ANOTHER jumper at the buzzer!!! 13 point lead at the break. Matt Shaw is 3 for 3 and Tatum cant miss. Combine that with great defense and you have the best half of basketball SIU has played all year.

Second half- The defense is not relenting and SIU is taking long patient possessions. Things are looking good.

16:01- SIU is clearing off the rebounds and not giving the Shockers any looks. Time to start grinding out a win.

13:04- Tyrone Green is still in the game... can we see Josh Bone please?

11:28- Note to opponents- you cant give JT an open shot. The shockers just forgot about him and JT nails a three to give Southern a 40-25 lead. Nice.

8:23- SIU is milking the clock every possesion. Its a great strategy for a team that plays good D and is holding a 12 point lead. JT makes it all come together by beating defenders and knocking down shots with less than five second on the shot clock.

6:43 Clemmons travels with the ball. The shockers cut it to 10 points. Clemmons has to start playing better he is really hurting Southern lately.

5:30- The shockers cut the 17 point lead all the way down to 7. SIU will need to get the offense started.

4:48- Matt Shaw does the honers with a three point ball. That pushes the lead back to ten.

Disaster- Tatum throws the ball away an it turn into an opportunity for three point play for the Shockers. The lead is down to 6.

JT does it again, with the shot clock winding down he hits a huge jumper. Falker SWATS a shot at the other end. The tide has turned in the favor of SIU once again. 49-42 Southern with 3:14 remaining.

Tony Yong must be hurt- Bone is playing clutch minutes here and I'm glad to see it.

:49- Tatum misses the first end of a 1 and 1. Ouch.

:33 Wichita state goes to the line and hits one. 49-45 SIU

:31 Matt Shaw goes to the line. Matt hits one. 5 point lead

:17 Falker rebounds a missed three by Kyle Wilson. A free throw will ice it- and he hits it. 52-45 SIU. Ballgame.

Its in the books 54-46 SIU. The Salukis are top 25 bound and a conference title is within reach.

Saturday Showdown

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.

Payback- SIU beats Indiana St 61-48

Bringing back all five starters from last years team is nice. You get players who know their roles. They are battle tested with knowledge and game experience. Tonights same starting five "experienced" an unexpected loss to the Sycamores last year. Tonight the team came out of the gate with a bad taste in their mouth- and it wasn't going to happen again.

Jamaal Tatum made sure of that. Tatum could not miss in the first half. He poured in an effortless 15 points. Using Midas's touch everything JT touched turned to gold. Need a three pointer with the shot clock winding down? Give it to JT. Need a dribble drive for two? Let JT break the defense down. Tatum did it all for SIU in the first half and ISU had no answer.

In the second half SIU came out cold. Finally, after a five minute drought Matt Shaw hit a layup and a three to extend Southerns lead to 40-25. Thats all the help that Randal Falker would need. Falker took the torch and finished the race for a Saluki team winning its 4th straight game. Randal caught the ball in the post and finished. Any time the ball went into Falker he attacked the bucket- Scoring, drawing fouls, and forcing Indiana St big men Jay Tunnell and Mick Yelovich out of the game with 5 fouls each.

Other random notes from the win-

Josh Bone stuck an NBA distance 3 point shot while Tyrone Green missed every shot he took from the field.

Jamaal Foster played 9 minutes and recorded three rebounds. Good enough.

Wesley Clemmons came off the bench first but made no impact in the game. Clemmons has fallen out a favor and is now fighting Tyrone Green for minutes. Ouch.

Tony Boyle stopped and popped a 12 foot jump shot tonight and it looked good. Hopefully we'll see Boyle hit these shots anytime he is left open.

Southern pulled out a nice win tonight and the quest for a conference title continues. The next stop is Wichita State, Saturday at 1pm. We'll have a full preview here at Salukihoops and we'll be back right here on Saturday to live blog the showdown between the Salukis and the Shockers.