Ill. St. +3.5
Drake -4 valley play of the day
Evansville -1
SMS -7.5
All home teams. As in most conferences, it's tough to get a Valley road win.
Illinois State has been played some good ball lately. Winning 8 of their last 10. They have momentum. They were embarrassed last month by S. Ill. Revenge is fine if you have the ability to exact it. I believe Ill. St. does. Here's a story from the local fishwrap:
Redbirds want a little revenge
Back to winning ways, ISU looking to turn tables on Southern Illinois
By Bryan Bloodworth
Sports Editor
NORMAL -- After winning seven of their last eight games, Illinois State basketball coach Tom Richardson believes the Redbirds can be taken off life support.
"Things were so bleak early," said Richardson, whose team has rebounded from a 4-9 start to its current 13-12 record. "We were just treading water, trying to keep our heads above water.
"I think we're a pretty solid team now, not great but solid. We can pretty much beat anybody and anybody can pretty much beat us. Our margin for error isn't great. That's why we have to do things for 40 minutes."
The Redbirds hit the low-water mark of the season in a 21-point loss at Southern Illinois in early January. Since that time, ISU has posted a 9-3 record.
"They are playing with as much confidence as anyone in the league," said Southern Illinois coach Bruce Weber, whose team invades Redbird Arena at 2:05 p.m. today for a key league game for both teams.
Southern Illinois, which has won eight of its last 10 games, needs a victory to stay in the title chase. The Salukis lost Wednesday at Southwest Missouri State to fall to 11-3 in the Valley, one game behind Creighton.
"We had a lead in the second half and didn't execute and finish like we're supposed to," said Weber, whose team was hit with a 19-2 run by the Bears. "We can't hang our heads. We have to learn from it and get better."
Weber, whose team has a 21-5 overall record, admits he is concerned about the Salukis' performance on the road where they have a 6-5 record.
"One of the few disappointments we've had this season has been our play on the road," said Weber. "We have been very dominating at home.
"But, for some reason, we don't play with the same energy and intensity. We have to do a better job of getting after people from the start and setting the tone."
The Salukis haven't lost back-to-back games all season and own a home victory over nationally ranked Indiana.
"Defense has carried us in games and given us a chance to win," added Weber. "Our size and strength were factors the first time we played ISU."
Junior Kent Williams continues to lead the Salukis with a 15.8 scoring average, which ranks third in the conference. He also leads the team in assists with 85 and has only 40 turnovers.
Senior forward Rolan Roberts is second on the team with a 13.6 average. He also averages 7.2 rebounds and leads the team with 64 blocked shots.
Jermaine Dearman tops the Salukis in rebounding with 7.8. He also scores 11.4 points per game. The Salukis average 13.5 offensive rebounds and 6.2 baskets from 3-point range. The Salukis shoot 3-pointers 29 percent of the time.
"We have to take away the 3-ball," said Richardson, whose team needs a win to remain alone in third place. "We also have to have good transition defense, limit their penetration and rebound.
"Southern is very aggressive offensively. They are solid in all phases of the game. Physically and athletically, they are certainly more impressive than we are, but we don't match up too badly with them."
Richardson said ISU played one of its poorer games against the Salukis in their first meeting.
"We were in it for about 10 minutes," Richardson continued. "Then Gregg Alexander picked up his second foul and from that point on, it was all downhill.
"We were down 12 at half, then they hit us quick at the start of the second half and it got ugly from there."
The Redbirds rank first in the Valley and sixth nationally in free throw shooting. ISU is hitting 77.3 percent of its opportunities while Southern Illinois is last in the league at 61.5 percent.
Morehead State (79.6), Loyola Marymount (77.7), Brigham Young (77.5), Oregon (77.5) and Michigan State (77.5) are ahead of the Redbirds in free throw accuracy.
Maybe S. Ill wins, but I like getting the 3.5
Drake -4
drake 8-4 at home
bradley 2-10 road
bradley's conference road games:
@IN St. 66-71
@Ill. St. 51-60
@N. Iowa 67-81
@Creig. 63-76
@Evans. 55-60
Drake's last 2 games have been competitive against the two conference titans. Last three home games:
Creig. 91-95 OT
Evans. 78-67
Wich. St. 80-64
Bradley can't shoot straight. 38% on the road. Drake shoots 46% at home. Drake should take care of business here.
Evansville -1 Both teams playing better of late. Ind. ST. atrocious on the road.
SMS -7.5 One of the 2 0r 3 best Home courts in the league. N. Iowa is very vulnerable inside. Danielson can play well at home, but gets outplayed at home. Wallace should dominate the boards. N. Iowa can overcome the inside problems with their shooting at home. Their defense disappears when they travel giving up 52% fg and a scary 48% from 3pt. NIU not playing as well as early in the year. SMS should cover easily.
Drake -4 valley play of the day
Evansville -1
SMS -7.5
All home teams. As in most conferences, it's tough to get a Valley road win.
Illinois State has been played some good ball lately. Winning 8 of their last 10. They have momentum. They were embarrassed last month by S. Ill. Revenge is fine if you have the ability to exact it. I believe Ill. St. does. Here's a story from the local fishwrap:
Redbirds want a little revenge
Back to winning ways, ISU looking to turn tables on Southern Illinois
By Bryan Bloodworth
Sports Editor
NORMAL -- After winning seven of their last eight games, Illinois State basketball coach Tom Richardson believes the Redbirds can be taken off life support.
"Things were so bleak early," said Richardson, whose team has rebounded from a 4-9 start to its current 13-12 record. "We were just treading water, trying to keep our heads above water.
"I think we're a pretty solid team now, not great but solid. We can pretty much beat anybody and anybody can pretty much beat us. Our margin for error isn't great. That's why we have to do things for 40 minutes."
The Redbirds hit the low-water mark of the season in a 21-point loss at Southern Illinois in early January. Since that time, ISU has posted a 9-3 record.
"They are playing with as much confidence as anyone in the league," said Southern Illinois coach Bruce Weber, whose team invades Redbird Arena at 2:05 p.m. today for a key league game for both teams.
Southern Illinois, which has won eight of its last 10 games, needs a victory to stay in the title chase. The Salukis lost Wednesday at Southwest Missouri State to fall to 11-3 in the Valley, one game behind Creighton.
"We had a lead in the second half and didn't execute and finish like we're supposed to," said Weber, whose team was hit with a 19-2 run by the Bears. "We can't hang our heads. We have to learn from it and get better."
Weber, whose team has a 21-5 overall record, admits he is concerned about the Salukis' performance on the road where they have a 6-5 record.
"One of the few disappointments we've had this season has been our play on the road," said Weber. "We have been very dominating at home.
"But, for some reason, we don't play with the same energy and intensity. We have to do a better job of getting after people from the start and setting the tone."
The Salukis haven't lost back-to-back games all season and own a home victory over nationally ranked Indiana.
"Defense has carried us in games and given us a chance to win," added Weber. "Our size and strength were factors the first time we played ISU."
Junior Kent Williams continues to lead the Salukis with a 15.8 scoring average, which ranks third in the conference. He also leads the team in assists with 85 and has only 40 turnovers.
Senior forward Rolan Roberts is second on the team with a 13.6 average. He also averages 7.2 rebounds and leads the team with 64 blocked shots.
Jermaine Dearman tops the Salukis in rebounding with 7.8. He also scores 11.4 points per game. The Salukis average 13.5 offensive rebounds and 6.2 baskets from 3-point range. The Salukis shoot 3-pointers 29 percent of the time.
"We have to take away the 3-ball," said Richardson, whose team needs a win to remain alone in third place. "We also have to have good transition defense, limit their penetration and rebound.
"Southern is very aggressive offensively. They are solid in all phases of the game. Physically and athletically, they are certainly more impressive than we are, but we don't match up too badly with them."
Richardson said ISU played one of its poorer games against the Salukis in their first meeting.
"We were in it for about 10 minutes," Richardson continued. "Then Gregg Alexander picked up his second foul and from that point on, it was all downhill.
"We were down 12 at half, then they hit us quick at the start of the second half and it got ugly from there."
The Redbirds rank first in the Valley and sixth nationally in free throw shooting. ISU is hitting 77.3 percent of its opportunities while Southern Illinois is last in the league at 61.5 percent.
Morehead State (79.6), Loyola Marymount (77.7), Brigham Young (77.5), Oregon (77.5) and Michigan State (77.5) are ahead of the Redbirds in free throw accuracy.
Maybe S. Ill wins, but I like getting the 3.5
Drake -4
drake 8-4 at home
bradley 2-10 road
bradley's conference road games:
@IN St. 66-71
@Ill. St. 51-60
@N. Iowa 67-81
@Creig. 63-76
@Evans. 55-60
Drake's last 2 games have been competitive against the two conference titans. Last three home games:
Creig. 91-95 OT
Evans. 78-67
Wich. St. 80-64
Bradley can't shoot straight. 38% on the road. Drake shoots 46% at home. Drake should take care of business here.
Evansville -1 Both teams playing better of late. Ind. ST. atrocious on the road.
SMS -7.5 One of the 2 0r 3 best Home courts in the league. N. Iowa is very vulnerable inside. Danielson can play well at home, but gets outplayed at home. Wallace should dominate the boards. N. Iowa can overcome the inside problems with their shooting at home. Their defense disappears when they travel giving up 52% fg and a scary 48% from 3pt. NIU not playing as well as early in the year. SMS should cover easily.