DawgBlog

One down, one to go for SIU’s two major sports teams today. The football team topped Southeast Missouri State, and in about an hour, the men’s basketball team hopes to hold serve here at the beautiful Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The Salukis (2-0) come off kind of a horrid defensive performance, but, nonetheless, one good enough to topple Division II Indianapolis 84-69. SIU has put up a Chris Lowery-best 175 points in its first two games, bolstered by the bench it was hoping to have last season. The bench, led by former starter Carlton Fay, has put up 71 in two games, and should have some success tonight.
UNLV (2-0) is expected to throw out a three-guard lineup, just like the Salukis’ first two opponents, but present SIU with two new obstacles. Starting Rebels center Brice Massamba becomes the first major post threat the Salukis have faced this season, and he’s large. He’s 6-foot-10 and the size of my refrigerator, as I watch him warm up over here. SIU center Nick Evans is taller, but will be giving away 50-60 pounds. Forward Chace Stanback is a 6-8 guy who averages almost as many points (7.5) as rebounds (6.5), and could be a factor in the board battle.
The Rebels, of course, are also at home, where they’ve won 52 of their last 58 games. Against Nevada, UNLV shot less than 37 percent in the first half and more than 52 percent in the second to win 88-75.
Tonight we’ll get to find out if SIU can handle a big man in the middle, and do enough to rebound with the big boys on the road. The Salukis played well in spurts a lot on the road last season, but never seemed to put an entire game together from the start. Tonight they start anew, with a whole new group, and a 10-man rotation that gives Lowery some options.
“I’m really encouraged, because they are a good group,” Lowery said. “They listen, and they understand the things when we watch film. We try to go and incorporate into practice and take it to the game. We just have to have a healthy dose of our inside game and good defense to go on the road and win at UNLV.”

I know I’m a day late and a dollar short on this, but it’s been busy with high school basketball starting up again.

After an off day Thursday, SIU returned to the court for its first practice following the loss to No. 18 Vanderbilt and had all 12 available players for the first time this season. There’s 14 players on the roster but Renee Reed and Adrianne Griffith have already been ruled done for the season with ACL injuries.

This practice started bad but ended well for SIU. Definitely the most productive half hour at the end of practice that the Salukis have had in awhile.

The early word on Northern Illinois is that the Huskies are very athletic and very tall. With just two days to go before attempting to break a 11-game road losing streak, SIU struggled to run its plays and forced head coach Missy Tiber to put the team through its 17 drill, which means the players have 1 minute and 7 seconds to sprint from one side of the court (width-wise) to the other 17 times.

SIU continued to work on its cuts to the basket, and added rebounding and half-court drills to its practice regiment, but a lack of effort caused Tiber to threaten to have the team run for an hour and a half straight.

That seemed to do the trick as the Salukis ended practice with a 3-point contest pitting Teri Oliver and Eboni Crayton against Graduate Assistant coach Nicole Woods and Assistant Coach Adrianne Harlow. Staff beat students in that one.

SIU left Carbondale at 1 p.m. today for DeKalb after having a 10 a.m. to Noon practice at SIU Arena. Game time Sunday is set for 1 p.m.

Overheard: “It’s no fair! She’s the same age as Stephany!” - Sophomore forward LaToya Hambrick referring to Woods after Woods and Harlow won the 3-point contest.

The Good:

SIU came out with good intensity and for all purposes was in the game against a much more prominent opponent for nearly the entire first half. Katie Wagner’s reverse underhanded layup –which brought out some oohs and aahs from the crowd of 787 — cut the Commodores’ lead to 39-34 with 3:10 left before halftime.

The Salukis also shot much better overall against Vandy than in their 71-45 road loss to SLU on Friday. SIU shot an even 40 percent against the Commodores compared to 26.4 percent against the Billikens.

SIU freshman point guard Katerina Garcia also returned to the court after missing four weeks with a leg injury. She played a team-high 33 points against Vandy. With Christine Presswood returning from an eye injury to play against Northern Illinois on Sunday, SIU will get as healthy as it will ever get this season.

The Bad:

SIU had a season-high 28 turnovers against Vanderbilt and has had more turnovers than its opponent in every game the Salukis have played this season (including the exhibition contests). Taking care of the ball has been one of the running problems SIU has had over the years, along with the inability to put two good halves together.

The Salukis continue to shoot poorly from 3-point range and are averaging 27.2 percent (15-for-55) from beyond the arc in the four games combined.

The Ugly:

SIU opens the season 0-2 for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when the Salukis lost their first five games in former coach Dana Eikenberg’s first year. SIU finished 3-24 that season.

6-2 junior forward Nikki Howe has played just two minutes in four games and did not appear in the game against Vanderbilt. She’s been pratcicing and appears to be healthy, so this is something to keep an eye on in the days and weeks ahead.

Up Next:

SIU will try to snap an 11-game road losing streak Sunday when it vists Northern Illinois. The Huskies beat MVC foe Bradley 86-73 in the season opener, but then lost to Western Illinois 50-48 on Tuesday. NIU travels to IUPUI Thursday before hosting SIU.

In the final dust-up before facing No. 18 Vanderbilt at SIU Arena, the Salukis got down to the basics in practice before the SIU men hosted D-II Indianapolis.

SIU went through ball-handling drills and worked on its cuts to the basket, motion offense, press breaker and transition defense Wednesday, all things the Salukis will need to do well against the Commodores. Head coach Missy Tiber interrupted practice at one point to give a lecture about personal responsibility and “doing things yourself.”

Who’s In: Oliva Lett, Eboni Crayton, LaToya Hambrick, Katrina Swingler, Stephany Neptune, Ashley Giritharan, Nneka Nwani, Teri Oliver, Katie Wagner, Nikki Howe.

Who’s Out: Renee Reed (knee), Adrianne Griffith (knee), Christine Presswood (eye), Katerina Garcia (leg).

Garcia returning soon? Garcia practiced with the team and ran through drills and plays Wednesday, but opted out of sprints. It’s nice to see her out there, but her shooting is definitely off and it will take some time before she gets that back. My guess is that it will probably be a week or two before she sees game time.

Hambrick earns starting role: I asked assistant coach Michelle Smith who was deserving of a feature this week and her choice was Hambrick, who apparently has earned a starting spot according to Smith.

Indianapolis can’t keep up with Kevin Dillard, but the Salukis only lead the Division II Greyhounds by five at the break.
SIU led UI 41-36 behind Dillard’s seven points and five assists. The sophomore point guard still hasn’t turned it over in two games. Tony Freeman had eight points to lead SIU in the first half. Anthony Booker, Dillard and Carlton Fay added seven apiece.
UI (1-0) got 11 from Darius Adams off the bench and hit 6-of-8 3-pointers in coach Stan Gouard’s return to the area. Gouard is in the John A. Logan College Hall of Fame. It also marked the return of assistant coaches Aundrey Wright (former SIU director of basketball operations) and former graduate manager Collin Lanam.

While SIU’s men’s basketball team put up the most points in the Chris Lowery era against Tennessee-Martin, the Salukis will try to repeat their defensive efforts at SIU Arena.
Division II Indianapolis (1-0) gets its game of the year tonight in Carbondale, as the Greyhounds take on the Salukis (1-0) in a few seconds here.
SIU forced UTM into 37 percent shooting Saturday night, and really got out onto the Skyhawks’ shooters. Inside, the Salukis allowed 15 offensive rebounds, but still won the board battle 36-34. SIU is deeper, more athletic, and a little better shooting team, overall, with its new depth.
Look for SIU to press a little bit tonight, and get out in transition with the basketball. The Salukis did a great job of controlling the tempo against the Skyhawks, and have the depth to play full-court if they want to.

I will host a live chat about everything Salukis Wednesday afternoon for anyone who wants to check it out.
The chat will be on our Web site (www.thesouthern.com) between noon-1 p.m. Wednesday. Bring your questions.

SIU quarterback Chris Dieker is expected to get the sling on his left arm/shoulder off Wednesday or Thursday this week. He has not given up on playing again this season for the top-ranked team in the nation.
The Salukis (9-1, 8-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) rose to the top of The Sports Network poll two weeks ago and moved up to second in the Football Championship Subdivision coaches poll. With a win at Southeast Missouri State (2-8) Saturday, SIU would almost guarantee itself a top-four seed and a home playoff game or two.
SIU coach Dale Lennon said Dieker, a 6-foot-5 junior, was ahead of schedule. He is due back in the second week of the playoffs, if his condition stays to the typical 4-6 week recovery schedule.

“Chris is coming along very well. What the doctors are telling him is that he’s probably ahead of schedule,” Lennon said after Saturday’s 44-24 win over Missouri State. “I don’t know if that means anything, as far as him getting back on the field sooner, but, I know it makes him a little less grumpy trying to recover from that. He can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.”
Dieker could start throwing this week, he told me last week. He has been riding the stationary bicycle and other conditioning drills to try to stay in shape. He certainly hasn’t lost his command of the offense, chances are.
Then the question comes around - do you just insert him back into the offense? Or do you stick with Paul McIntosh, who gives you a great running threat you don’t have with Dieker, but is, nonetheless, a redshirt freshman instead of a junior? Tough call. Especially if it’s in the playoffs, and the second round, potentially. Last week I was telling people I would stick with McIntosh. He’s led the Salukis to big wins against YSU, MSU and South Dakota State on the road. He makes the offense more dangerous, no doubt about it. But now, after watching other teams play this weekend, think maybe Lennon will go with experience and put the quarterback that led him to the playoffs last year back in.
SIU is in the position it’s in only halfway because of the offense. The defense has had a bigger hand, and neither McIntosh or Dieker play on defense. Maybe you go with Dieker and throw in McIntosh for a few plays. Maybe you just throw it up to Dieker, who has a stronger arm and is a better decision maker in the pocket.
Either way, SIU may go a long way in the playoffs.

And Dieker wants to be in there.
“I’m not giving up on playing until we play our last football game,” he told me.

ESPN’s 24-hour hoops marathon kicked off a few hours ago in California, as Cal State Fullerton is playing UCLA right now.
Great idea. I love the idea of throwing all these games together in a row, early, with various opponents and conferences (even two women’s games, and two potentially good women’s games) at all hours of the day. I told my wife about the event. Then I asked her to see if she wanted to wake up with the baby at 6:30 in the morning, so I could get another hour of sleep. “Well, I guess that gives you a great reason to wake up at 6:30, then, doesn’t it?”
I’m afraid it does. At that time, I can catch the end of Northern Colorado and Hawaii, and the beginning of Monmouth and St. Peter’s. I think Drexel is on a few hours later.
Tuesday is not the day for me to watch a ton of television, however. Football has interviews at around 2:45 p.m., then there’s a walk-thru for the men’s basketball team, some pregame blogging, and a 7 p.m. SIU-Indianapolis hoops contest at SIU Arena. I should be able to catch a few of the late games, which are impressive.
Here’s a quick look at the schedule, which includes a possible victory by my Hawkeyes. I saw possible because we just lost to Texas-San Antonio, at home, by 12.
7 p.m. ESPNU Tennessee vs. Texas Tech (women)
7:30 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN360.com Hall of Fame Showcase: Arkansas vs. Louisville (St. Louis)
8 p.m. ESPN/ESPN360.com Gonzaga vs. Michigan State
8 p.m. ESPN360.com Northern Illinois vs. Illinois
9 p.m. ESPNU Duquesne vs. Iowa
9:30 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN360.com UConn vs. Texas (women)
10 p.m. ESPN/ESPN360.com Hall of Fame Showcase: Memphis vs. Kansas (St. Louis)
11:30 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN360.com Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT (from Arizona State)
Hope they’re all as good as UCLA-Fullerton. With 18 seconds left, UCLA leads by one, Fullerton ball.

Well, that didn’t take long.
Two days after Creighton lost to the first ranked opponent for the Missouri Valley Conference’s men’s basketball teams, Missouri State earned the league’s first marquee victory in its battle to redeem its reputation. The Bears clipped Auburn 73-62 at JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo., while LSU got by Indiana State in a real low-scoring game.
The Tigers won 56-45 in the preseason NIT down in Baton Rouge, La.
The league gets another chance tonight to make some national noise, as Iowa State visits Drake.
SIU also returns to the court tonight, but will take on a Division II squad, Indianapolis, which is coached by former John A. Logan College standout Stan Gouard.