In the last stretch of the season, where have the Salukis and Panthers gone?William FordDaily Egyptian
Early this season, many predicted Saturday's game between SIU men's basketball team and Northern Iowa would be a match of two powerhouses that could decide the Missouri Valley Conference championship.
What they got was a game featuring two floundering teams grasping for any NCAA Tournament chances that may remain.
In the last stretch of the season, the two teams have played themselves out of the Valley championship. Their match-up at the SIU Arena is a face-saving battle that will only affect the MVC in terms of seeding for the conference tournament.
Despite this, the Salukis' assistant coach Rodney Watson said the game is huge for both teams.
"You're playing for everything," Watson said. "You're playing to play well. We want to play good basketball at this time of year."
Both teams enter the game coming off embarrassing losses that ended any hopes of the Valley championship. The Salukis (18-10, 11-6) lost to last-place Evansville Tuesday, and Northern Iowa (22-7, 11-6 MVC) suffered a 22-point defeat Wednesday at the hands of a Bradley team that has become a dark horse for the NCAA Tournament.
Before the losses, both teams had a chance to stay in the MVC title picture but have since moved into a three-way tie for third place. Even with a win, the best either team can hope for is second place.
Early in the season, the Salukis appeared to be a strong contender for the conference crown after ripping off 11 consecutive victories, including six straight to start Valley play. Since then, SIU has been inconsistent, showing glimpses of a great team but often playing with no urgency at all.
During the past seven games, the Salukis have struggled to a 2-5 record and are carrying their first three-game losing streak of the season. Watson said a big problem that has hovered over the team is too much concentration on streaks.
"Streaks are a distraction whether they are winning streaks or losing streaks," Watson said. "It's the big picture of what you do."
Among other distractions the team has faced is constant speculation about the postseason. Instead, Watson said, the Salukis should be only focused on Northern Iowa.
"What has really been good for our program the last seven or eight years is we have been able to focus on the next thing that's ahead of us. Not the thing beyond what's ahead of us and not the thing that's beyond that," Watson said. "If anything that's been a distraction out there that was unnecessary."
Heading into the match-up with the Panthers, Watson pointed out several areas in which the Salukis need to improve in order to be where they want to be as a team, including better shooting and ball handling.
If they do those and concentrate solely on Northern Iowa, the glimpses of that great team could become closer to reality.
"You can't worry about what Creighton does and what Bradley does," Watson said. "At this stage you think about Northern Iowa."
