It was a Saturday unlike any seen before in this town. In the afternoon at Southern Illinois’ McAndrew Stadium, the Salukis topped Massachusetts in the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Then, minutes after that game’s conclusion, the city’s Lights Fantastic Parade snaked down the road running just outside the stadium. Finally, at 8:30 p.m., the closing act of this special day began when the basketball team tipped off against Indiana at the SIU Arena.
This was the crown jewel of the day’s events, a game that sold out in 30 minutes, and the reasons for its popularity were obvious. The Hoosiers were ranked No. 15, and the Salukis had just slipped out of the Top 25.Both were blessed with special talents, the Hoosiers featuring freshman guard Eric Gordon and the Salukis featuring senior forward Randal Falker. Both teams were among the favorites to win their conferences. And most significantly, both favored the kind of belly-to-belly defense that promised to make their meeting memorable.
Make no mistake. This game was not just another home visit for Indiana, no matter that it eventually ran away to a 64-51 victory. For not only had the Hoosiers already fallen to Xavier, another tough nut from a midmajor conference. The Salukis also started this year with the nation’s best home-court winning percentage (.963) over the last six seasons.
Clearly, then, the Salukis were no mere team on the make, nor was there anything middling about them. They have appeared in six straight NCAA tournaments, a streak they are expected to extend come March, and in two of them advanced to the round of 16. They have launched Saluki Way, an $80 million facilities project that includes the renovation of the arena, and last spring they handed coach Chris Lowery a seven-year extension at a reported $750,000 per year.
But it was on the court that they truly wished to prove just how major they were and that they could compete with the biggest names. They had failed to do that Sunday against USC, when they fell by 25. And they again failed to do that against Indiana, whom Gordon led with an efficient display.
SIU’s star, Falker, did lead his team with 12 points. But he was an average 5 of 11 from the field and a poverty-stricken 2 of 7 from the line. Second-leading scorer Matt Shaw missed four of his five three-point attempts and was 3 of 7 overall while managing just nine points. Joshua Bone, SIU’s most accomplished three-point shooter, was a miserable 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.
And as a team the Salukis shot just 37.5 percent, were 1 of 14 on their threes and were an anemic 8-for-15 from the line.
Down six at halftime, they did close quickly to within four on a dunk by Shaw. But never did they get any closer as they constantly missed open shots and failed to convert little bunnies and even tossed the ball away on two-on-one breaks.
They trailed by eight with just under 12 minutes left, by a dozen less than three minutes later, and by 15 at the last TV timeout at 3:28.
This was an uninspired performance by the Salukis, who never mounted any kind of charge. It stood in contrast to that of the Hoosiers, who wandered into a snake pit and escaped unscathed.
Gordon, as expected, was controlled and imperturbable, ending his evening with 22 points while going 7 of 14 overall and 4 of 7 on his threes.
But he got ample aid from any number of sources. Point guard Armon Bassett (12 points), swingman Jamarcus Ellis (11) and forward D.J. White (10) ended in double figures, and White collected a dozen rebounds.
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Then, always, there was their defense, which throttled the Salukis into such inefficiency.
And for those Salukis, it was a disappointing end to a Saturday unlike any seen before in this town.
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