SIU faces San Diego and San Francisco in Sin City weekend
By Jason Maholy
Seven games into the Southern Illinois Salukis’ 2009-10 season, just how good – or not good – this team is remains unknown.
SIU (5-2) is in Las Vegas this weekend, the team’s second trip to Sin City this season, for games against San Diego (5-6) and San Francisco (3-7) of the West Coast Conference. Both teams are under .500, like all four Division I teams the Dawgs have beaten with relative ease, yet should provide more of a challenge than the likes of Tennesee-Martin or Southeast Missouri State – both of which may be among this season’s worst 20 of the NCAA’s 300 DI programs .
The lack of quality opponents is the reason these Salukis are difficult to assess. We know they can dominate lesser competition: In their four wins against DI teams – which have a combined record of 7-25 – SIU is scoring 83.2 points per game while holding opponents to 63.7. Sophomore forward Anthony Booker and sophomore center Nick Evans have looked like studs against these smaller, less athletic and generally overmatched teams; however, have looked very ordinary in the Salukis two losses to UNLV (8-1) and Saint Louis (6-3).
Then again, the team as a whole has looked rather ordinary against the better competition. In contrast to their nearly wire-to-wire dominance of weaker teams, the Salukis struggled to play a solid 40 minutes in both of their road losses to the Runnin’ Rebels and Billikins. SIU led both games at halftime and played encouragingly well for stretches, including beginning the UNLV game with an 18-6 run that undoubtedly had Saluki fans salivating and having visions of the days of Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young, but this relatively young squad that started three sophomores in each of those contests fell apart both times in the second halves. The Dawgs were woeful offensively in both games, averaging just 65 points and shooting 34.7 percent from the field and a miserable 18.4 percent (9-49) from 3-point range.
It is understandable why SIU head coach Chris Lowery put together a rather cupcake-ish non-conference schedule. Last season’s squad finished 13-18 while turning in the program’s first losing season since 1998-99 and ending a string of seven consecutive postseason appearances. Lowery wasn’t about to overschedule again and risk damaging his players’ psyches.
The Dawgs may not have been challenged much in their victories this season, although Illinois-Chicago did play them close for 30 minutes, but the contests have provided a valuable means for this team to confront and overcome its own challenges. The overmatched competition should help build Southern’s confidence and give the players time to improve, gel as a unit and settle into their roles before the start of the Missouri Valley slate. That’s what this team is preparing for, and where they will have to excel if they are to win an outright conference crown, or better yet take the title at Arch Madness and earn a bid to the Big Dance for the first time in three seasons.
This team has shown flashes that it may, come spring, contend with the likes of Northern Iowa, Illinois State and Creighton for that automatic NCAA berth. Sophomore guard Kevin Dillard is averaging 15.4 points per game, good for fifth in the conference, and 5.3 assists to lead all MVC players. His shooting hasn’t been as good as expected, but he has excelled at running the offense and improved at all other aspects of his game, and has already recorded two points-assists double-doubles. Coming into this season that feat had been accomplished just six times in the program’s history.
Tony Freeman, the team’s lone senior, also appears to be settling into his role as a go-to scorer and leader on and off the floor. After an inauspicious start to the season and suffering an injury that sidelined him for the Saint Louis game, Freeman has come on strong, hitting 10-of-17 shots from 3-point range and scoring 38 points in the past two games combined. He is averaging 13.4 points on the season, good for second on the team. His steadiness at both ends of the floor will be essential for this team to pull out tight games during the conference slate.
The team’s front-court play is also a reason for optimism. Junior forward Carlton Fay is averaging 11.9 points and 4.6 boards per game, and though inconsistent at times has shown he can be a game-changing shooter who can carry a team. He started the season coming off the bench but has started the past two games, giving the Salukis four starters averaging double figures in points. Evans has provided a big boost as well. The 6-11 redshirt sophomore who plays with a frenetic energy is averaging 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 65 percent from the field. In his past two games he is averaging 14.5 points and if he can continue to improve as a low-post threat will help open up the perimeter for guys like Dillard, Freeman and Fay. He has also matured as a defender and has for the most part avoided the foul trouble that plagued him during his freshman campaign.
The wild card of this group is Booker, who was unimpressive the first five games but has looked like a different player since being replaced by Fay in the starting lineup. He scored just seven points combined against UNLV, Saint Louis and UIC, in part because of a hip injury that limited his minutes and effectiveness, but he followed those games with a 10-point, 11-rebound, four-block performance against SEMO and 12 points and seven boards versus Alabama State. His development as the team's top front court reserve will be a key to this team succeeding in the grueling 18-game MVC schedule, but he has yet to prove he can be an impact player against quality opponents.
Showing posts with label UNLV Runnin' Rebels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UNLV Runnin' Rebels. Show all posts
Friday, December 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
It's tough to win in Vegas
Salukis show mettle in loss to Rebels
By Jason Maholy
Southern Illinois suffered its first defeat of the season Saturday night in Las Vegas, but rest assured this version of the Salukis is a legitimate contender for the Missouri Valley title and has as good a chance as any team of representing the conference in the NCAA Tournament.
The Dawgs shot 35 percent (21-60) and 19.2 percent (5-26) from 3-point range, while UNLV shot 56.3 percent for the game and 77 percent in the second half, yet were down just five points with a minute and a half left. Kevin Dillard, Tony Freeman and Carlton Fay, the team's three best players and the guys being counted on to carry this team offensively, were a combined 9-for-33 from the field and 2-for-19 -- no kidding -- from the arc. But sophomore center Nick Evans, who really appears to be coming into his own and may be dominant by season's end, scored 12 points and reserve swing man John Freeman dropped 11 to at least make up a bit of the difference. That is indicative Southern has other scoring options other than the Big Three, and it will probably be rare that Dillard, Fay and Tony Freeman all have such poor-shooting nights.
How were the Salukis even in this game? Last year's team -- the one led by tough-as-nails point guard Bryan Mullins -- would have wilted and lost by 20 or more, a la the demoralizing losses to Duke, UCLA and Nevada, but these Salukis played smart, fundamentally sound basketball the majority of the game and never caved despite the adversity of playing what appears to be a pretty good team in a hostile environment. They committed just eight turnovers and contributed to The Rebels' 15, and were just two or three shots away and a defensive stop from stealing a tough game on the road.
Don't doubt this team's heart or its desire to play inspired basketball for 40 minutes. These guys came out pumped up, perhaps a little too pumped, and jumped out to an 18-6 lead in the first six minutes of the game. Maybe the adrenaline wore off, or maybe SIU actually played too hard the first six minutes, but that lead deteriorated courtesy of an 18-2 Rebel run during a five-minute stretch in the middle of the first period that gave the hosts a 24-20 lead. Still, no one can accuse the Dawgs of not being ready for what was likely their biggest game of the non-conference schedule. Eighteen-to-6 runs to start games on the road aren't produced by mediocre teams; these guys are tough, talented and ambitious, and understand what it means to be a Saluki. They proved their resiliency when, despite losing that early big lead, they managed to regain their composure and take a 37-34 lead into halftime.
But good first halves do not a game make, and the Rebels turned it on in the second half, scoring 44 points and sending the Salukis back to Carbondale, though I doubt with their tails between their legs. This team has much room for improvement, particularly with defense and being patient on offense, but the UNLV game was just the sort of competition this relatively young squad needed early in the season. Their flaws were exposed, which will hopefully serve as motivation for them to continue to improve; but their strengths -- taking care of the ball, maintaining their composure, making their free throws -- were also made evident, giving them something to be proud of and build on. Players like Dillard, Evans, Bocot and forward Anthony Booker are still developing, and thier ceilings appear to be quite high -- particularly Dillard and Evans, who could be very scary together for the next three seasons. Freshmen Kendal Brown-Surles and Eugene Teague, meanwhile, already seem capable of providing solid minutes off the bench and will only get better as the season progresses.
Southern's teams have in the past rarely been dominant in the non-conference portion of the schedule, and have used losses early in the season as learning experiences to prepare them for a run at the MVC crown. The talent coach Chris Lowery has assembled on this squad may be the best and deepest in the program's history, if they can improve just a little bit each game and correct the flaws that lead to a few missed scoring opportunities or an easy basket or two for the opposition, the Salukis will once again be at or very close to the top of the Valley.
By Jason Maholy
Southern Illinois suffered its first defeat of the season Saturday night in Las Vegas, but rest assured this version of the Salukis is a legitimate contender for the Missouri Valley title and has as good a chance as any team of representing the conference in the NCAA Tournament.
The Dawgs shot 35 percent (21-60) and 19.2 percent (5-26) from 3-point range, while UNLV shot 56.3 percent for the game and 77 percent in the second half, yet were down just five points with a minute and a half left. Kevin Dillard, Tony Freeman and Carlton Fay, the team's three best players and the guys being counted on to carry this team offensively, were a combined 9-for-33 from the field and 2-for-19 -- no kidding -- from the arc. But sophomore center Nick Evans, who really appears to be coming into his own and may be dominant by season's end, scored 12 points and reserve swing man John Freeman dropped 11 to at least make up a bit of the difference. That is indicative Southern has other scoring options other than the Big Three, and it will probably be rare that Dillard, Fay and Tony Freeman all have such poor-shooting nights.
How were the Salukis even in this game? Last year's team -- the one led by tough-as-nails point guard Bryan Mullins -- would have wilted and lost by 20 or more, a la the demoralizing losses to Duke, UCLA and Nevada, but these Salukis played smart, fundamentally sound basketball the majority of the game and never caved despite the adversity of playing what appears to be a pretty good team in a hostile environment. They committed just eight turnovers and contributed to The Rebels' 15, and were just two or three shots away and a defensive stop from stealing a tough game on the road.
Don't doubt this team's heart or its desire to play inspired basketball for 40 minutes. These guys came out pumped up, perhaps a little too pumped, and jumped out to an 18-6 lead in the first six minutes of the game. Maybe the adrenaline wore off, or maybe SIU actually played too hard the first six minutes, but that lead deteriorated courtesy of an 18-2 Rebel run during a five-minute stretch in the middle of the first period that gave the hosts a 24-20 lead. Still, no one can accuse the Dawgs of not being ready for what was likely their biggest game of the non-conference schedule. Eighteen-to-6 runs to start games on the road aren't produced by mediocre teams; these guys are tough, talented and ambitious, and understand what it means to be a Saluki. They proved their resiliency when, despite losing that early big lead, they managed to regain their composure and take a 37-34 lead into halftime.
But good first halves do not a game make, and the Rebels turned it on in the second half, scoring 44 points and sending the Salukis back to Carbondale, though I doubt with their tails between their legs. This team has much room for improvement, particularly with defense and being patient on offense, but the UNLV game was just the sort of competition this relatively young squad needed early in the season. Their flaws were exposed, which will hopefully serve as motivation for them to continue to improve; but their strengths -- taking care of the ball, maintaining their composure, making their free throws -- were also made evident, giving them something to be proud of and build on. Players like Dillard, Evans, Bocot and forward Anthony Booker are still developing, and thier ceilings appear to be quite high -- particularly Dillard and Evans, who could be very scary together for the next three seasons. Freshmen Kendal Brown-Surles and Eugene Teague, meanwhile, already seem capable of providing solid minutes off the bench and will only get better as the season progresses.
Southern's teams have in the past rarely been dominant in the non-conference portion of the schedule, and have used losses early in the season as learning experiences to prepare them for a run at the MVC crown. The talent coach Chris Lowery has assembled on this squad may be the best and deepest in the program's history, if they can improve just a little bit each game and correct the flaws that lead to a few missed scoring opportunities or an easy basket or two for the opposition, the Salukis will once again be at or very close to the top of the Valley.
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