Defensive leads SIU to 50-36 victory

That’s not a typo. SIU really held Louisiana Tech to 36 points. It’s hard to imagine a DI team not breaking 45 points but it shows how well SIU defends the basketball.

While La Tech only put 36 points on the scoreboard that wasn’t their only problem. They only drew 1,800 fans for this game. In contrast, Salukihoops player of the game Matt Shaw (15 points, 9 rebounds, 6-6 FT) routinely played in front of 2000+ in high school at Trout Gym in Centralia.

Southern was just grinding it out on offense in this game, feeding Falker and Shaw down low. Falker was 6 of 11 for 12 points but the alarming stat is that he did not register a rebound in the entire game. I am sure this is an aberration but it deserves a mention.

Jamaal Foster and Jordan Armstrong did not play in this game and that is especially bad news for Foster. SIU is playing a stretch of 5 games in 10 days including 4 road games- a grueling stretch for this early in the season. We could really use some solid minutes off the bench to keep everyone fresh. As of right now it looks like all of the bench minutes will come from Tony Boyle down low, Wesley Clemens will spell Tatum and Young, and Tyrone Green will play about 10 minutes a game while Bryan Mullins in on the bench.

Most of the box scores will look something like this

Player	Minutes
Mullins	30
Tatum	30
Young	30
Shaw	30
Falker	30
Clemmons	20
Boyle	20
Green	10

That lineup looks good to me; let’s just hope we can stay healthy.

That’s all for now, check back Friday afternoon for a preview of the SIU-SLU rivalry game.

Bracket Buster Part II

The good folks at ESPN have really helped Mid-Major teams with this Bracket Buster deal. For those of you who forgot, we played Louisiana Tech in the Bracket Buster here at Carbondale last season. Per Bracket Buster rules we will head out to La Tech for a rematch this season. This is a cool format because it helps mid major teams round out their pre-conference schedules.

Only this year Louisiana Tech is not quite as good as last year and I doubt they will be anything close to an RPI top 100 team. La Tech limps into this matchup with a 1-3 record- their only win was a 59-50 outlasting of McNeese St. However, this game is on the road and there is no such thing as an easy win on the road in DI basketball. The Salukis won't look past La Tech so here at salukihoops- we won't either.

La Tech will feature a pair of 6-7 Senior Forwards Disy Harry (that’s his real name) and Chad McKinzie. Both players are JUCO transfers and they are the tallest players on the team. I don’t expect them to be a threat to the increasingly dynamic Shaw/Falker combo.

Calling Jamaal Foster- If you want to step up in a game this season, this is your chance. Foster seems to have fallen out of favor with Coach Lowery, but he is 6-10 and the tallest player on La Tech is 6-7, so if he can't put in some quality minutes here, it would be hard to see him playing a significant role this season.

On a brighter note, I never get tired of watching Tony Boyle nail 15 footers. His improvement from last season still impresses me. Lowery really found a diamond in the rough with this kid. A big man with a jump shot, gotta love it. Boyle’s solid play at the PF will allow Shaw to play more minutes at SF giving us more size, rebounding, and an extra 3 point threat.

Check back after the game for a wrap-up of the action, and we’ll be back later this week with a preview of the SIU-SLU rivalry game.

Mid Major? SIU knocks off ACC team

SIU outlasted the Va. Tech Hokies 69-64 Sunday to take 2 0f 3 in the Old Spice Classsic. With 2 wins and a narrow loss to Arkansas it might seem that the Sunshine State Swing was profitable to Southern. To those of us, however, who spent Sunday afternoon sweating in front our TV's and alarming our kinfolk by firing baseball caps off the paneling while yelling, "What are they DOING?" it was a puzzling contest indeed. SIU spent most of the game alternately making hard-nosed baskets on one possession, then throwing the ball wherever on the next. They went sleeping-walking along for minutes at a time, then played brilliantly and ran off points in bunches. Meanwhile a wary Va. Tech unit was starting to exercise their considerable "athleticism"....driven onward by their phenomenally intense, (read: apoplectic) coach Seth Greenberg. Big Leaguers Deron Washington and Zabian Dowdell combined for 34 points and their jaguar-quick sidekick Cheick Diakite (almost literally from Timbuktoo), kept slamming the ball to the alarm of the occasionally dozing Dawgs.

The real game began at 60-all with 3:55 to play. Two dunks by Diakite matched Tatum's two FTs and a layup by Mullins for a tie at 64. The Mercurial Tatum nailed a beautiful three, but followed with two clanked free throws to give VT an opportunity. The Hokies chance went awry, though, when they threw deep, caught it and lost it out of bounds. Matt Shaw's two free throws settled the issue at 69-64. Blood pressures in the Land Between the Rivers gradually began to ebb toward normal ranges as ESPN-U went to College Hockey. Chris Lowrey grinned. Shaw's 17 and Tatum's 16 led the Dawgs and Falker and Mullins had stellar outings as well. SIU can and will get better. Hang on for the ride.

Big Ten Beat Down

Defensive consistency has been a trademark for SIU over the last five years. From Bruce Webber’s sharp shooting guards, Matt Painter’s heart stopping second half comebacks, and now Chris Lowery’s take no prisoners defense. The smothering man to man defense handed down the line from Gene Keady to Webber to Painter to Lowery is anything but watered down.

Minnesota had a tough time making an entry pass and at times struggled to get the ball up the floor. As many times as I see SIU play these types of games it never gets old. Every team has cold stretches shooting the basketball, but with the slow down grind it out style Southern plays they are never out of the game. Its early in the year but I think we have already seen SIU’s recipe for success- limit possessions, work the shot clock, score over 55 points, and win the game. If southern sticks to the recipe Chef Lowery should have all the ingredients to cook up another 20 win season.

Matt Shaw is the SalukiHoops player of the game with a career high 26 points off an impressive 11 of 12 from the stripe including 3 three pointers. There are still a few things for this club to work on but not much to complain about today. Brian Mullins HAS to shoot the ball when he is open. Coach Lowery was all over him when he passed up an open three pointer for a shot clock violation. He’s a smart kid with a good shot so I’m sure that he will improve in that aspect. Tony Young was quiet again today but hopefully he will break out with a big game on Sunday.

SIU will play for fifth place on Sunday at noon on ESPNU.

No Pointing Fingers

Alright, so my projection of a 10 point win was a touch ambitious, but didn't you think that it was time to start carving the turkey when the score was 52-47 with about two minutes to play? I'm sure that most of you probably caught the game on ESPN and I think we can all agree that Arkansas was very beatable.

This was the first I've time I've seen the Salukis this season and I think that they looked a lot like last year. They still lack a dependable #1 option on offense and they don't have the height to match-up with teams from BCS conferences.

On the positive side of the equation, the defense is possibly more suffocating than last year and ... it's early. I would have liked to get a big win for the resume, the program and the fans, but I loved the effort and there's no reason to point fingers. On to Minnesota...

The Golden Gophers are projected as a middle of the pack Big Ten squad looking to build a tournament resume. They are led by Lawrence McKenzie, a 6'1" junior transfer from Oklahoma and a noted perimeter threat. Also, watch out for Dan Coleman, a 6'9" junior who can put it on the floor and take it off the boards. Both, Coleman and McKenzie are double digit producers.

This is a winnable game. No predictions. All business. Tip-off at 11:30 AM on ESPN 2. Go Dawgs.

Update: Charter Cable in Centralia and the old spice website are saying that this game will be at 9:30 am CST. The SIU website is saying 11:30 CST. Tune in early tomorrow just in case.