SLU vs. SIU (The Preview)

The Billikens return home after a tough three-game road stretch to face another tough opponent in Chris Lowery's Salukis in the annual renewal of this regional rivalry.
The home team has pretty much dominated this rivalry in recent years. The last road team to win was Southern Illinois, which came into the Scottrade Center to win in 2001. The Salukis were outstanding that year as they went on to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Last year, the Salukis struggled through a 13-17 season, which was very uncharacteristic of a program that has known nothing but success this decade. However, the Salukis were very young last year with several freshmen logging big minutes.
SIU was at a place last year where we are this year, playing lots of young guys. The job got even tougher when senior guard Bryan Mullins went down with a season-ending injury, forcing the youngsters to fend for themselves. Lowery is hoping that the year of growing pains will pay of this year.
He is hoping that his team will get back that defensive identity that made Southern Illinois one of the most feared teams to play in the region. They guarded each possession as if their lives depended on it and it led to incredible success and a lot of championships. They were also unbeatable at home. Now, they are trying to regain that snarling defensive intensity, at home and on the road.
For the Bills, the good news for SLU fans is that sophomore center Willie Reed should be good to go for tonight. Reed sprained his ankle at the end of Wednesday night's loss to Georgia and left the game on crutches. He practiced with the team on Friday and should be available tonight.
Reed's presence is vital tonight because the Salukis have some pretty good size on the front line. Their leading scorer is 6'8" junior Carlton Fay, who averages nearly 15 points a game despite not being a starter. Fay is a versatile big who can post up, but he can step out and shoot it from deep. He shoots 39 percent from the three.
The Salukis also have 6'8" sophomore Anthony Booker from McCluer North, 6'11" sophomore Nick Evans and beefy 6'9" 285-pound freshman Gene Teague to throw at us. If you remember last year, the Salukis used their size to punish us inside in Carbondale. We were in all kinds of foul trouble as SIU made it a point to jam the ball in the post, much like Georgia did the other night.
Obviously, it's impearative for Willie and Brian Conklin to stay out of foul trouble, plus we need some positive minutes from either Corey Remekun or Jon Smith tonight as Coach Lowery has already stated that he will employ all of his bigs to try to wear our two bigs down, especially Willie.
The Salukis have an excellent group of perimeter players. Sophomore Kevin Dillard was as good as advertised as a freshman in making the All MVC Rookie Team. He is averaging 13.8 points and five assists a game. He and fellow sophomore Kwamain should be an excellent matchup.
The other guard is senior Tony Freeman, a transfer from Iowa who provides more scoring. He was Iowa's leading scorer two seasons ago. He is averaging 10 points a game. The third guard is 6'4" sophomore Justin Bocot, who can shoot the long ball.
Lowery can also bring in 5'10" freshman point guard Kendal Brown Surles off the bench to create some more tempo. He averages seven points and three assists a game. Also coming off the bench are 6'5" freshman John Freeman and 6'4" junior Jack Crowder.
The Salukis are getting great production from the bench to the tune of 32 points a game. Fay and Brown Surles are largely responsible for the excellent production, but the others aren't chopped liver.
It is good to be back home, but it doesn't guarantee a victory against a tough opponent such as SLU. The Bills must defend well like they did in their four home victories where they limited opponents to a shooting percentage in the 30s. That must continue.
Offensively, they must limit the long drought that has plagued them throughout the season, even in the victories. One positive sign from the Georgia game was the ability to get out on the break and create some easy scoring opportunities. When you struggle in the halfcourt, you must get out and run when you have the chance.
Obviously, keeping Kwamain on the floor in the first half is key. In two of the three losses, he missed much of the first half with foul trouble. The offense is so much better with your point guard on the floor.
We need more production from the wing. We saw Femi John come through with nine points in his first start and Kyle Cassity break out of his little slump with two consecutive 3-pointers in Georgia. Justin Jordan also hit a couple of shots as the team hit seven 3-pointers in Georgia after hitting a combined four in two games in Chicago. I would also love to see Christian Salecich bust out in the Chaifetz Arena once again. Just think what it would do for his confidence to knock home that first jump shot.
It should be a big and lively crowd tonight at the Chaifetz. Look forward to seeing you all there.
If you can't make it, you can always catch the action on 101-ESPN with myself and my SLU Hall of Fame play-by-play parter Bob Ramsey on the call.
See you there.
Go Bills!