Northern Iowa is my upset of the day play. SIU clinched Saturday at home the Missouri Valley and at large imo bid to tournament. I question how motivated they will be . They have not been playing as well as they let a subpar Bradley team make up over a 20+ deficit in the 2nd half Saturday at home. They held the lead with 2 seconds left and took a last second shot to win. They played poorly against Hawaii and even let Creighton come back from big deficit to make it respectable. All of these were at home. This one is on the road and Northern Iowa played them tight earlier in year when they were rolling. No. Iowa wins this one su imo.
kojak, they are playing for an undefeated season in the MVC, not to mention the fact they are ranked.
Enough motiviation right there, why woudl you play this far and piss away a perfect season in conference??
This team is the class of the MVC, if they can win at Creighton, they win here...
Enough motiviation right there, why woudl you play this far and piss away a perfect season in conference??
This team is the class of the MVC, if they can win at Creighton, they win here...
Brock Landers,
I understand your point but if you look at the way they have actually been playing at home vs Creighton,Hawaii, and Bradley, hasn't exactly been stellar. I agree they are the best team in this league, but if they are so far above everyone else, why is this line only 3 and going down? Just food for thought as line should have been more like 7. GL>
I understand your point but if you look at the way they have actually been playing at home vs Creighton,Hawaii, and Bradley, hasn't exactly been stellar. I agree they are the best team in this league, but if they are so far above everyone else, why is this line only 3 and going down? Just food for thought as line should have been more like 7. GL>
HISTORY NOW UP FOR GRABS AT UNI-DOME
BY LES WINKELER
THE SOUTHERN
[Sun Feb 29 2004]
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Win the regular season Missouri Valley Conference championship -- check.
Beat Hawaii on ESPN to garner national exposure -- check.
Defeat Creighton because the Bluejays have been a thorn in your side -- check.
Knock off Bradley because it's Senior Night -- check.
Make history -- that's the next item on the Southern Illinois University basketball team's to-do list. The Salukis will have the opportunity to do just that tonight when they meet the University of Northern Iowa in the regular season finale for both teams.
SIU (24-2, 17-0 in MVC play) can become the first team to run the table since the Missouri Valley went to an 18-game schedule. The last two teams to go undefeated in Valley play were Indiana State (1978-79) and Bradley (1985-86). Both teams were 16-0.
"The main thing for this team the last two weeks, after winning the league outright, is to keep giving them challenges," said SIU coach Matt Painter.
As noted earlier, the Salukis have risen to every challenge Painter and the schedule maker have thrown their way. Now, the team stands on the cusp of history.
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"We've had motivation for each of the games ever since we won the league, to not only be the best team in SIU history in MVC play, but also to be arguably the best team in MVC history if they can accomplish this feat," Painter said.
Painter said he began to take the possibility of an undefeated season seriously after SIU defeated Creighton 61-60 in Omaha Feb. 7.
"We still had some big games to play," he said. "That's when it first entered my mind."
The Saluki players are well-versed in MVC history.
"There's no reason for us not to be ready," said senior center Sylvester Willis. "That's something to play for. There have been a lot of great people in this league. It would be a great accomplishment."
"They understand how big a game this is for them later in their lives, maybe not right now, but they understand the history of the MVC," Painter said. "When you think of Oscar Robertson, Wes Unseld, Larry Bird, Mo Cheeks and Hersey Hawkins, it's just a very special league. We have the opportunity to be not only with those names, but above those names as a unit."
UNI presents a formidable stumbling block. The Panthers are currently tied with Creighton for the third spot in the Valley standings at 11-6. And, the UNI-Dome has historically been a hostile environment for visiting teams.
"There's no doubt it's a tough place to play," Painter said. "You have to keep your focus on the little things they do so we can get them out of their rhythm with their sets. They've already beaten two nationally-ranked teams at home."
The Panthers struggled to beat Indiana State at Terre Haute this weekend. UNI's second leading scorer David Gruber (11.8 ppg) has played the last two weeks with an injury to his non-shooting hand.
"I haven't seen the tapes of the games with his bad hand," Painter said. "If you look at the scoring and shot attempts, it's clear he's not the same player. He does a lot of things for that team. He's still a factor."
UNI is a balanced team. Sophomore guard Ben Jacobson is the team's leading scorer at 13.4. Senior forward Matt Schneiderman is also among the league's top scorers at 11.0 ppg.
"We have to take them out of their sets, push them out and still contain the dribble," Painter said. "Offensively, we have to have better movement."
The Salukis defeated the Panthers 63-53 at Carbondale Jan. 31. Darren Brooks scored 13 points to lead SIU in the first game with UNI. LaMar Owen had 12. Gruber led UNI with 16 points.
Tip-off tonight is at 7:05.
les.winkeler@thesouthern.com 618-529-5454 x15805
BY LES WINKELER
THE SOUTHERN
[Sun Feb 29 2004]
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Win the regular season Missouri Valley Conference championship -- check.
Beat Hawaii on ESPN to garner national exposure -- check.
Defeat Creighton because the Bluejays have been a thorn in your side -- check.
Knock off Bradley because it's Senior Night -- check.
Make history -- that's the next item on the Southern Illinois University basketball team's to-do list. The Salukis will have the opportunity to do just that tonight when they meet the University of Northern Iowa in the regular season finale for both teams.
SIU (24-2, 17-0 in MVC play) can become the first team to run the table since the Missouri Valley went to an 18-game schedule. The last two teams to go undefeated in Valley play were Indiana State (1978-79) and Bradley (1985-86). Both teams were 16-0.
"The main thing for this team the last two weeks, after winning the league outright, is to keep giving them challenges," said SIU coach Matt Painter.
As noted earlier, the Salukis have risen to every challenge Painter and the schedule maker have thrown their way. Now, the team stands on the cusp of history.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISING INFO
"We've had motivation for each of the games ever since we won the league, to not only be the best team in SIU history in MVC play, but also to be arguably the best team in MVC history if they can accomplish this feat," Painter said.
Painter said he began to take the possibility of an undefeated season seriously after SIU defeated Creighton 61-60 in Omaha Feb. 7.
"We still had some big games to play," he said. "That's when it first entered my mind."
The Saluki players are well-versed in MVC history.
"There's no reason for us not to be ready," said senior center Sylvester Willis. "That's something to play for. There have been a lot of great people in this league. It would be a great accomplishment."
"They understand how big a game this is for them later in their lives, maybe not right now, but they understand the history of the MVC," Painter said. "When you think of Oscar Robertson, Wes Unseld, Larry Bird, Mo Cheeks and Hersey Hawkins, it's just a very special league. We have the opportunity to be not only with those names, but above those names as a unit."
UNI presents a formidable stumbling block. The Panthers are currently tied with Creighton for the third spot in the Valley standings at 11-6. And, the UNI-Dome has historically been a hostile environment for visiting teams.
"There's no doubt it's a tough place to play," Painter said. "You have to keep your focus on the little things they do so we can get them out of their rhythm with their sets. They've already beaten two nationally-ranked teams at home."
The Panthers struggled to beat Indiana State at Terre Haute this weekend. UNI's second leading scorer David Gruber (11.8 ppg) has played the last two weeks with an injury to his non-shooting hand.
"I haven't seen the tapes of the games with his bad hand," Painter said. "If you look at the scoring and shot attempts, it's clear he's not the same player. He does a lot of things for that team. He's still a factor."
UNI is a balanced team. Sophomore guard Ben Jacobson is the team's leading scorer at 13.4. Senior forward Matt Schneiderman is also among the league's top scorers at 11.0 ppg.
"We have to take them out of their sets, push them out and still contain the dribble," Painter said. "Offensively, we have to have better movement."
The Salukis defeated the Panthers 63-53 at Carbondale Jan. 31. Darren Brooks scored 13 points to lead SIU in the first game with UNI. LaMar Owen had 12. Gruber led UNI with 16 points.
Tip-off tonight is at 7:05.
les.winkeler@thesouthern.com 618-529-5454 x15805
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by al watts:
_Dante,_ This will be the only game for me today. I'm going to take Southern Illinois ML @-170. Spread @-2.5 looks good and now it's up to -3.5. Good Luck!!!!!
al watts<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
good luck with your bet, al - but laying -170 is a DUMB BET! in the long run you will lose a great amount of money on this play. also - don't bother posting it as a play on this site - for NO ONE will be dumb enough to lay that much wood one 1 play (currently it is -2.5/-150). this is awful money management and in the long run you will get burned. if anything you would be better off buying 1.5 points to make it SIU -1 -140 (with it at -150) since an SIU win gets you a push at worst. as i said - i wish you luck and hope you win your bet - but laying that much wood on the M/L is flat out DUMB!
_Dante,_ This will be the only game for me today. I'm going to take Southern Illinois ML @-170. Spread @-2.5 looks good and now it's up to -3.5. Good Luck!!!!!
good luck with your bet, al - but laying -170 is a DUMB BET! in the long run you will lose a great amount of money on this play. also - don't bother posting it as a play on this site - for NO ONE will be dumb enough to lay that much wood one 1 play (currently it is -2.5/-150). this is awful money management and in the long run you will get burned. if anything you would be better off buying 1.5 points to make it SIU -1 -140 (with it at -150) since an SIU win gets you a push at worst. as i said - i wish you luck and hope you win your bet - but laying that much wood on the M/L is flat out DUMB!
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Northern Iowa is my upset of the day play. SIU clinched Saturday at home the Missouri Valley and at large imo bid to tournament. I question how motivated they will be . They have not been playing as well as they let a subpar Bradley team make up over a 20+ deficit in the 2nd half Saturday at home. They held the lead with 2 seconds left and took a last second shot to win. They played poorly against Hawaii and even let Creighton come back from big deficit to make it respectable. All of these were at home. This one is on the road and Northern Iowa played them tight earlier in year when they were rolling. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
With all due respect SIU has played better on the road throughout the season, with stats near equal or in FG%/FT% and PPG actually better.
A key element would be a team that has equal Assists traveling along with a lesser number of TO's!!! An amazing stat and often overlooked. Both teams shot poorly at Carbondale esp. the Salukis from beyond the arc. Salukis look to be the play here versus slowish
Northern. Best of luck with your choice!
With all due respect SIU has played better on the road throughout the season, with stats near equal or in FG%/FT% and PPG actually better.
A key element would be a team that has equal Assists traveling along with a lesser number of TO's!!! An amazing stat and often overlooked. Both teams shot poorly at Carbondale esp. the Salukis from beyond the arc. Salukis look to be the play here versus slowish
Northern. Best of luck with your choice!
as i said before the game, laying -170 is DUMB! now we see why. al watts now has to hit TWO bets to make up for this one - instead of only 1 (to make it only minus the juice).
i hope you learned your "lesson" al - but know you haven't. all i can say is - thank goodness it's not my money!
i hope you learned your "lesson" al - but know you haven't. all i can say is - thank goodness it's not my money!
