Drake @ Southern Illinois Game Thread

[Mecha_Bulldog]

Drake wants a win streak after a horrible start to the MVC season. SIU wants to keep rolling after a huge win over MSU.

I say SIU wins by 35. I made a similar prediction for the DU-IlSt game, and was pleasantly surprised.

[Aceman96]

I think Dr. Tom and Co. will come ready and prepared. I'm sure Dr. Tom has been studying film of the close loss at home, and has found some holes. I am sayin it's gonna be SIU by 9... few more or less. It won't be a blow out. Excited to get my first look at Drake and their improved squad this year.

[DoubleJayAlum]

I think Dr. Tom and Co. will come ready and prepared. I'm sure Dr. Tom has been studying film of the close loss at home, and has found some holes. I am sayin it's gonna be SIU by 9... few more or less. It won't be a blow out. Excited to get my first look at Drake and their improved squad this year.

Aceman -

What's up with your screen name? It makes you sound like an alum/fan of Evansville. What's the story?

[Aceman96]

Aceman -

What's up with your screen name? It makes you sound like an alum/fan of Evansville. What's the story?

Good Call, never thought of it like that. I've had the sn since I was in HS for different sites and such. I am a Tennis Coach now... hence the "Ace" Was a tennis player when it all started. Lame, I know....whatever. I coach Basketball, too. maybe someday I'll change it...

[DawgieStyle]

Good Call, never thought of it like that. I've had the sn since I was in HS for different sites and such. I am a Tennis Coach now... hence the "Ace" Was a tennis player when it all started. Lame, I know....whatever. I coach Basketball, too. maybe someday I'll change it...

at least ad an SIU Avatar or something so we know...well we know now, but for others in the future.

[Aceman96]

I'd rather be known as an informed poster, rather than an SIU fan. Therefore, the Cards pic is pretty smart. Only an informed fan would favor the Cards... they are the greatest.

[Dawg_tired]

SIU in a walk.:bulldogs:

[getreal4]

Drake is not playing very well. SIU is playing well.

SIU 68
Drake 52

[DawgieStyle]

I'm not gonna pick Drake to win, but I think SIU wins this one by the skin of their teeth. Drake is a classic case of an average or bad team, average in this case, who matches up extremely well with SIU, making the contest much closer than it should be.

They will play strictly zone, which will bother us, they will run waves of subs, which will hit us in our depth weakness, as will the press, and they will scrap at us just like we will at them. Add in Dr. Tom, who always finds a way to match up with us, you've got a chance for a better game in person, than what appears to be on paper.

I hate playing Drake for this reason. Its not that they ever have a better over all season than SIU, but dang it, they match up well with us, and it drives me nuts.

[Aargh]

Drake's scouting report:

"This looks like a good place to cross the Little Bighorn, General".

[txsaluki05]

SIU 73
DU 58

:salukis:

[Drakey]

The Bulldogs have a choice here. they can play their butts off and probably lose by single digits, or loaf around and lose by 20+. I'd go for the moral victory with a 1 in 10 chance of winning.

[MSNSaluki]

SIU 62, Drake 48.
Falker gets a run-out dunk at the buzzer to cover the SIU/DU spread in the same fashion as at Des Moines.

[Dawg_tired]

Come on karma.

[bcrawf]

Drake 76
SIU 75

I might be crazy, but I am hoping the Drake team from December shows up...

[DawgieStyle]

Drake 76
SIU 75

I might be crazy, but I am hoping the Drake team from December shows up...

your crazy...the game is at SIU....although Indiana State did win here...doh.

[siudog]

Drake 76
SIU 75

I might be crazy, but I am hoping the Drake team from December shows up...

Except this is the middle of Jan.. It will be a close game thruout... Saturdays game was not your normal Saluki BB game....

:salukis:

[Mecha_Bulldog]

Drake 76
SIU 75

I might be crazy, but I am hoping the Drake team from December shows up...

I'm hoping the Iowa team from December shows up to play the Bulldogs tonight :lol:

[getreal4]

I'm just hoping that our Bulldogs get home healthy after tonight's debacle and beat the Trees on Thursday. Still hoping for a 7th or 8th place finish. Dead last is not much fun. :bulldogs:

[getreal4]

opening tip to the Uglies Drake zoning of course...

[Dawg_tired]

Could it be that the Dogs have come to play?:bulldogs:

[salukibob]

Very sluggish start by the mean and lean Dawgs. Not good...........

[getreal4]

Drake leads :bulldogs::bulldogs::bulldogs:

[getreal4]

Six fouls on the the Uglies Drake Zone much more active than usual

concern 2-4 from the FT line make those FT guys

[Mecha_Bulldog]

Drake up 12-7, 12:30 left in the 1st.

Drake already in the bonus. SIU sounds like they're running with Drake.

[getreal4]

Drake leads 12-10

[getreal4]

SIU starting to play D Calvin TO SIU ball, media timeout

[getreal4]

SIU leads 13-12 Drake ball Grant turnover SIU D :no:

[Mecha_Bulldog]

SIU leads 17-12.

SIU on a 10-0 run. Drake has 4 straight TO's.

[getreal4]

SIU defense on the ball is too tough for the bulldogs Too many guys can't dribble.

[RiseUp]

Is there a link in which the game can be streamed?

[getreal4]

SIU tearing us up under 8 in the half. SIU 18-12 SIU ball

[Mecha_Bulldog]

SIU up 18-12, 7:51 left in the 1st.

Drake sounds lost.

[getreal4]

21-15 Korver stops the bleeding

[getreal4]

Stewart gets his 3rd foul

[getreal4]

this is SIU's game. Drake does not have the talent to match the Uglies.

[getreal4]

Rise Up yes, salukivision.com am not sure if you can join mid game

[getreal4]

SIU leads 29-20

No open looks for Drake SIU can play D

[getreal4]

Halftime

SIU leads 29-25

[Dawg_tired]

Way to go Jason. Maybe you should breath oxygen.

[getreal4]

Drake had a nice run to end the half after putting Stewart back in with 3 fouls

[Mecha_Bulldog]

SIU leads 29-25 at half.

Baryenbruch hit his first 3 of the season as the half wound down. Drake played well to start and end the half, and very badly in the middle.

[getreal4]

And a Drake guard made a 3 :original:

[getreal4]

Need Stewart to stay in the game, no chance without Al

[Mecha_Bulldog]

And a Drake guard made a 3 :original:

Young had a 3 earlier, but your point is taken.

Totally agree that Stewart needs to avoid the fouls for Drake to have a chance. Drake also needs to hit their free throws.

[txsaluki05]

Josh Bone is the future star guard at SIU; he'll be taking the reigns from Tatum next season. Although, next year is gonna be focused around Falker, Shaw, and Fay mainly.

Good game so far. We need to go on a run to start the 2nd half!

:salukis:

[getreal4]

SIU leading by 7

[getreal4]

SIU defense too much for the Bulldogs

SIU leading by 11 46 to 35

[getreal4]

huge dunk by Foster Argh

[getreal4]

54 to 43 8 plus to go 13th turnover for drake

[pbutler]

I can't decide who to root for in CU/WSU. On one hand I want CU to rejoin the pack-but then again another home loss would just about stick a fork in the self proclaimed savior of the valley.

[getreal4]

SIU up by 15 All but over under 6 to go

[getreal4]

63 to 49 only question is whether SIU covers

[getreal4]

SIU 72 Drake 62 Congrats Uglies

[salukibob]

Southern wins 72-62; something like 27 FT's for the Bulldogs. I know, I know.....should have been like 47!

[tennis08tarheels]

I can't decide who to root for in CU/WSU. On one hand I want CU to rejoin the pack-but then again another home loss would just about stick a fork in the self proclaimed savior of the valley.

CU wouldn't "rejoin" the pack with a loss, they would distance themselves further away from it. CU was in first place until tonight, with a 5-1 conference record. And why is this on the DU-SIU thread?

[getreal4]

Drake did not lose this game due to the refs. If anything, I think the refs helped the bulldogs tonight.

[MVC 4 Life]

Good game Drake. You guys always play hard.

:bulldogs: :salukis: :valley:

[getreal4]

Hard to be too excited as a Drake fan with a 1-6 Valley record, but thanks for the kind words. :bulldogs:

[SalukiProf]

- This was a good solid win for the Salukis, with the final scoreline generous to the BullPuppies as a result of a bit of garbage time silliness by the bench players. We took a while to get started in both halves, but stifling defense shut down Drake, good ball movement, driving and dishing, and reasonable 3-pt percentages meant the outcome was not in doubt after the first few minutes of the 2nd half.

- The main storyline is the continuing emergence of Josh Bone as the go-to man off the bench (and good contributions from the bench as a whole). It remains to be seen whether he can keep this up in hostile arenas, but should he continue to play this well, he will probably end up replacing Wesley Clemmons as the first guard off the bench.

- The most interesting thing which occurred is that CLO went to a 4-guard offense for a few minutes in the 2nd half. With a six guard rotation, we may see more of this, especially against zone offenses and the smaller teams (in size) in the MVC. The experiment, if that is what it was, ended when Drake subbed in a line-up with about a 4 inch advantage all round, creating some obvious mismatches.

- This is the first time in a long time that, in back to back games, SIU has scored more than 70 points, was able to clear its bench, AND the zebras had a good game as well.

- Little Korver has a REALLY sweet looking shot, but needs to improve in all other areas of his game if he is going to increase his minutes.

Until next year - should we not meet in the tournaments!

:salukis:

[Aceman96]

"I am sayin it's gonna be SIU by 9... few more or less. It won't be a blow out. Excited to get my first look at Drake and their improved squad this year."

I said this earlier... I must pat my own back. I'm good. But, Prof hit the whole thing on the head. Bone is Bone-afide. like the kid a lot. Makes next year not look so dreary.

Played well against the zone, but as Lowery said after the game... still room for improvement. We forced them to go back to M2M.

Is it me? or does SIU finally have some offense to it? May not be consistent, but it's def better than the last couple years!!

And, Drake always gives us fits... just like UE... here we come!!!

GO Dawgs!!

[Mecha_Bulldog]

CU wouldn't "rejoin" the pack with a loss, they would distance themselves further away from it. CU was in first place until tonight, with a 5-1 conference record. And why is this on the DU-SIU thread?

Probably for the same reason there's a response to it on the DU-SIU thread :grin:

[Mecha_Bulldog]

- The main storyline is the continuing emergence of Josh Bone as the go-to man off the bench (and good contributions from the bench as a whole). It remains to be seen whether he can keep this up in hostile arenas, but should he continue to play this well, he will probably end up replacing Wesley Clemmons as the first guard off the bench.

Don't get your hopes up too high based on this one game. I'm not saying Bone won't be a great player, but Drake has a habit of making opposing outside shooter look very good, especially freshmen.

[SalukiProf]

Don't get your hopes up too high based on this one game. I'm not saying Bone won't be a great player, but Drake has a habit of making opposing outside shooter look very good, especially freshmen.

The hopes are not based on this one game - check the box score for the Missouri State game.

[Mc Bulldog]

Check your record with Baywatch as the ref.

[dogdays]

So you think Higgins has ref'd all of the past 77 games at SIU arena? SIU's record is 74-3 in the past six years. And you really thought Drake had a realistic chance to win the game in Carbondale. Come on. With 4 min to go it was an 18pt game...

[DawgieStyle]

Check your record with Baywatch as the ref.

refs do not decide games. If you want to know why you lost, check the box score. Ask Dr. Tom why he got a technical. Ask Klayton Korver why he failed to get off the bus. Ask you defense how you let the worst offensive team in the valley hang 72 points on you.

There are always 100's of other things way more important than refs that caused you to lose a game.

Refs make bad calls, but they make bad calls for both teams, its only your blue tinted glasses that only allow you to see the bad calls against Drake, but ignore the ones against SIU. In the end it balances out.

I'm even of the opinion that the game Mo. state loss to SLU wasn't the refs fault, because all Mo. state had to do to win was make a few less mistakes through out the entire game, yes the ref blew the last call on the shot clock, but im sure he blew some other call against SLU earlier in the game. It was only magnified because it was the last call. But the last call is no more important than the first call.

If you come prepared, and make minimal mistakes, you will win. end of story. A ref, unless they are paid off, will not keep you from winning. The only people who lose are the coaches and players, and they need no help from the stinking refs to do that.

[DUBulldog]

refs do not decide games. If you want to know why you lost, check the box score. Ask Dr. Tom why he got a technical.

He explained after the game that he had been on this official for missing several calls, and then the official missed a couple right in front of the Drake bench. He alluded to the fact that the official had been in an automobile accident recently, and this might have interfered with his ability to officiate.....just as an FYI, Higgins was in an automobile accident last week. Before you jump all over me.....I am not blaming the refs, just pointing out what Dr Tom said.

Ask Klayton Korver why he failed to get off the bus.

This was actually one of Korver's better games.

Ask you defense how you let the worst offensive team in the valley hang 72 points on you.

Being able to score only 72 points against Drake's defense certainly doesn't say much for SIU's offense. :lol: 72 is actually great for DU's defense, which has been horrible all year.

[DawgieStyle]

that was one of korvers better games? Wow....that's dissapointing. No offense, I think Drake fans were expecting more out of this guy, maybe im wrong.

[Dawg_tired]

i'm glad Dr. Tom got a T. About time he got mad. Refs didn't cost Drake the game, a five minute span of ineptness cost Drake the game. Prior to that and after that, I thought we actually played with SIU. While I couldn't exactly see on the web cast, it looked like those turnovers were virtually unforced and that defense at the other end was lazy.

[Mecha_Bulldog]

I thought that was actually one of Drake's better defensive efforts in MVC play. I think that was the first time an MVC opponent shot under 40% from 3 against them. SIU scored so many points because it was an uncharacteristically uptempo game.

[dogdays]

Dr Tom cries more than any coach in the league.Watch every game. Same stuff...and of course they only missed the calls on SIU not on Drake...give me a break. IT was an 18 pt game until DU hit a couple of threes near the end . It wasnt DU's defense, it was the pace of the game that SIU dictated. DU scored 62 and it would have been 54 or 56 without the desperation threes.

[Aceman96]

I sat up high on the DU bench end of the floor. In the first half, I did think that the refs missed a few calls. However, they got the fouls right. I think i counted 3 times in the first half when SIU tipped the ball out and was still given the ball out. But, those 2nd chances are trivial. DU should just play better D in those situations and not worry about their fans whining about the officials. By the way... the Drake cheering section failed to show up in the end bleachers, so I'm not sure exactly how they had a better view of the court than the officials did. And, I didn't see anyone on the DU sideline complaining other than Dr. Tom and one of his assts. Game over. Go Dawgs.