The Missouri Valley and the Mountain West conference will matchup in a Big Ten/ACC challenge style showdown starting next year. This match up is basically a no-brainier for two leagues that have problems scheduling games against quality opponents.
Too bad it didn't start this year for the Salukis, who have an open spot on their schedule for the upcoming season. But what if it did start this season? What sort of games would we see? Using last seasons conference standings as a baseline here's what the match ups would have looked like this season, with last years RPI in parenthesis.
BYU (25) vs Drake (10)
UNLV (26) vs Illinois State (33)
New Mexico (59) vs SIU (62)
San Diego St (81) vs Creighton (46)
Air Force (173) vs Bradley (105)
Utah (96) vs Northern Iowa (131)
Texas Christian (198) vs Missouri State (123)
Wyoming (219) vs Indiana State (128)
Colorado St (265) vs Wichita State (199)
As you can see by looking at the RPI, these teams are pretty even at the top. Towards the bottom, the MVC shows more depth than the MWC, so I'd have to say the Missouri Valley will be the favorites.
Will the Valley dominate the way the ACC has owned the Big Ten? It's to soon to tell if that will happen, but for now the Salukis can add one more quality non-conference opponent to their slate for next season.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Saluki basketball tickets remain in high demand
Saluki Athletics issued a press release this week saying that season tickets sales have reached and all-time high of 4,744 tickets.
This is good news for a program that is coming off an 18-15 campaign, which resulted in an NIT bid. Fans seem to be excited by the talented recruiting class and that's no doubt one of the reasons behind the increase. Also, "Big Dawg" seating, which offers two additional inches of space in the bleachers, has been a big draw.
The #1 complaint I hear about seating at SIU Arena is how uncomfortable the bleachers are. If the comfort level of the bleachers are improved when the Arena is renovated (padded bleachers w/seat backs) I could see season tickets sales crushing the current record.
SIU Athletic Director Mario Moccia address this question in one of his past "Ask the AD" mailbags.
Here are some sketches of what the Arena would look like after the renovation. If these sketches are accurate, the old barn is in for quite an improvement.
Speaking of mailbags, if you have questions for the staff at salukihoops.com, send them in. Our email address is salukihoops@gmail.com.
This is good news for a program that is coming off an 18-15 campaign, which resulted in an NIT bid. Fans seem to be excited by the talented recruiting class and that's no doubt one of the reasons behind the increase. Also, "Big Dawg" seating, which offers two additional inches of space in the bleachers, has been a big draw.
The #1 complaint I hear about seating at SIU Arena is how uncomfortable the bleachers are. If the comfort level of the bleachers are improved when the Arena is renovated (padded bleachers w/seat backs) I could see season tickets sales crushing the current record.
SIU Athletic Director Mario Moccia address this question in one of his past "Ask the AD" mailbags.
Will the bleacher seating in the renovated arena at least be padded and have back rests? Also, will we get the bleachers that have the "walk ways" to the seats enclosed, so we don't have to worry about children falling through the gaps as we do today?
We are not to the point to finalizing this yet. We are attempting to get as many seats into the arena as possible, and this is why the upper level will have some bleachers seats. Chairbacks reduce the seating capacity of the arena. We will try to make the bleacher seats as comfortable possible, and I know they will be much better than what currently exists. The upper level will be a continuous permanent seating area, so there will be no gaps for anyone to fall through. I know exactly what you are referring to, and it is a bit unnerving.
Here are some sketches of what the Arena would look like after the renovation. If these sketches are accurate, the old barn is in for quite an improvement.
Speaking of mailbags, if you have questions for the staff at salukihoops.com, send them in. Our email address is salukihoops@gmail.com.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Notes from Saluki interviews
The Salukis talked with the media on Monday, answering questions about the upcoming season. Below are some notes from those conversations. Check back later this week to listen to audio interviews with Bryan Mullins, Torres Roundtree, and Kevin Dillard.
Justin Bocot- When I asked Bocot about why he chose SIU, he said the Saluki coaches were in on him early and that was a major factor in his decision. This was a common answer from first year players, and shows that Lowery and his staff are doing a great job of identifying talented players early.
Bocot said he worked on getting physically stronger over the last year. He's confident in his jump shot and ability to get to the hole; while listing defense and boxing out bigger players as areas that he is working to improve.
Ryan Hare- Decided to come to SIU because he felt the Salukis played the type of physical basketball that he wanted to play, and he also wanted to stay fairly close to home. Hare says he is comfortable playing anywhere on the court but sees himself playing mostly the "2" or "3" positions at SIU.
Wesley Clemmons- Admitted the Salukis were short on guard depth last season, but said that will not be an excuse this season. Clemmons says that if players are tired they'll come out of the game and there will be another talented player ready to come in and play hard. Clemmons feels that all everyone is getting along well, and that the team will be able to do a good job playing together early, even with all new additions.
Anthony Booker- When asked about why he chose SIU, Booker said he was a "late bloomer" but Lowery was in on him before he was recruited by others and that was a big reason why he became a Saluki. Booker admitted that other schools tried to coax him away from Southern, but he was already confident that he had made a good decision.
Booker was glad to have the experience of matching up with bigger players inCanada
Check back later this week to listen to Bryan Mullins talk about his new role on the team, and hear Kevin Dillard and Torres Roundtree talk about their first impressions of Saluki basketball.
Justin Bocot- When I asked Bocot about why he chose SIU, he said the Saluki coaches were in on him early and that was a major factor in his decision. This was a common answer from first year players, and shows that Lowery and his staff are doing a great job of identifying talented players early.
Bocot said he worked on getting physically stronger over the last year. He's confident in his jump shot and ability to get to the hole; while listing defense and boxing out bigger players as areas that he is working to improve.
Ryan Hare- Decided to come to SIU because he felt the Salukis played the type of physical basketball that he wanted to play, and he also wanted to stay fairly close to home. Hare says he is comfortable playing anywhere on the court but sees himself playing mostly the "2" or "3" positions at SIU.
Wesley Clemmons- Admitted the Salukis were short on guard depth last season, but said that will not be an excuse this season. Clemmons says that if players are tired they'll come out of the game and there will be another talented player ready to come in and play hard. Clemmons feels that all everyone is getting along well, and that the team will be able to do a good job playing together early, even with all new additions.
Anthony Booker- When asked about why he chose SIU, Booker said he was a "late bloomer" but Lowery was in on him before he was recruited by others and that was a big reason why he became a Saluki. Booker admitted that other schools tried to coax him away from Southern, but he was already confident that he had made a good decision.
Booker was glad to have the experience of matching up with bigger players in
Check back later this week to listen to Bryan Mullins talk about his new role on the team, and hear Kevin Dillard and Torres Roundtree talk about their first impressions of Saluki basketball.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
The '08 Saluki schedule and the 2k Sports Classic
Finally, the Coaches vs. Cancer 2k Sports Classic teams have been announced. Per Dawg Tracker SIU will play Division II California (Pa.) at home in the opening round on November 11th. After winning that game (yes, I'm already predicting a blowout) they'll play UMass with a trip to semi-finals at Madison Square Garden on the line. All games in New York will be televised on ESPN2.
Getting to play a home game against a quality program like UMass is a major benefit of playing in
the 2K Sports Classic. The Minutemen come in at #57 on the college hoops net pre-season rankings.
On the flip side, the Salukis had previously scheduled California (Pa.) on Nov. 16th but apparently the 2k Sports people could not find another team to come play in Carbondale. So to accommodate the tournament organizers the game was changed to a first round tournament game. I get the feeling the 2k Sports folks ran into the same problem that the Salukis have every year- teams don't want to come to SIU Arena because they know they'll probably get beat.
Now the Salukis are a short a home game, and it's getting pretty late in the year to get something else setup. Maybe the coaching staff has a trick up their sleeve, but I'd be surprised if the Salukis can get a quality opponent to come to SIU Arena on this late of notice.
The process of creating a schedule in NCAA basketball is no easy task and is often misunderstood. Here are a few of the basic guidelines as I understand them.
NCAA rules allow teams to play up to 33 games, not including conference tournament or NCAA tournament games. Teams can schedule less than 33 games but it's obviously advantageous to play as many games as possible.
Teams can play two exhibition games. The Salukis will use these games as home game tune-ups against DII competition.
Teams can play up to 4 games in an exempt tournament. That's the 2k sports classic this year. As long as they make it to New York they'll play the max total of 4 games. Evan if they fall in the semis, there is a 3rd place game in this tournament.
That puts the number of remaining regular season games at 27.
18 of those 27 games are conference games leaving SIU with 9 non-conference games to play this season. It's important to get high quality teams in these games to build a high RPI but it's also important to get some home games to generate revenue.
Two of these remaining 9 games are the Bracket Buster, the Wooden Classic (vs St. Mary's).
That left SIU with the flexibility to schedule 7 more games against opponents of their choice. So far 6 of those spots are filled. There are 3 homes games against St. Louis, Charlotte, and Western Michigan; and 3 road games at Western Kentucky, Northern Illinois, and Nevada.
The California (Pa.) game was originally scheduled for Nov. 16th but is now an empty space. If this game isn't replaced and the dawgs were to (gasp) get beat by UMass on Nov. 12th they would have a two week stretch in the middle of November where they would not play a basketball game. So while this game doesn't have to be replaced it would be nice to give this young team another home game, as well as additional game experience before potentially taking on Duke, UCLA, or Michigan at MSG.
Getting to play a home game against a quality program like UMass is a major benefit of playing in
the 2K Sports Classic. The Minutemen come in at #57 on the college hoops net pre-season rankings.On the flip side, the Salukis had previously scheduled California (Pa.) on Nov. 16th but apparently the 2k Sports people could not find another team to come play in Carbondale. So to accommodate the tournament organizers the game was changed to a first round tournament game. I get the feeling the 2k Sports folks ran into the same problem that the Salukis have every year- teams don't want to come to SIU Arena because they know they'll probably get beat.
Now the Salukis are a short a home game, and it's getting pretty late in the year to get something else setup. Maybe the coaching staff has a trick up their sleeve, but I'd be surprised if the Salukis can get a quality opponent to come to SIU Arena on this late of notice.
The process of creating a schedule in NCAA basketball is no easy task and is often misunderstood. Here are a few of the basic guidelines as I understand them.
NCAA rules allow teams to play up to 33 games, not including conference tournament or NCAA tournament games. Teams can schedule less than 33 games but it's obviously advantageous to play as many games as possible.
Teams can play two exhibition games. The Salukis will use these games as home game tune-ups against DII competition.
Teams can play up to 4 games in an exempt tournament. That's the 2k sports classic this year. As long as they make it to New York they'll play the max total of 4 games. Evan if they fall in the semis, there is a 3rd place game in this tournament.
That puts the number of remaining regular season games at 27.
18 of those 27 games are conference games leaving SIU with 9 non-conference games to play this season. It's important to get high quality teams in these games to build a high RPI but it's also important to get some home games to generate revenue.
Two of these remaining 9 games are the Bracket Buster, the Wooden Classic (vs St. Mary's).
That left SIU with the flexibility to schedule 7 more games against opponents of their choice. So far 6 of those spots are filled. There are 3 homes games against St. Louis, Charlotte, and Western Michigan; and 3 road games at Western Kentucky, Northern Illinois, and Nevada.
The California (Pa.) game was originally scheduled for Nov. 16th but is now an empty space. If this game isn't replaced and the dawgs were to (gasp) get beat by UMass on Nov. 12th they would have a two week stretch in the middle of November where they would not play a basketball game. So while this game doesn't have to be replaced it would be nice to give this young team another home game, as well as additional game experience before potentially taking on Duke, UCLA, or Michigan at MSG.
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