SIU men's basketball scheduled for two games against traditional power IndianaWilliam FordDaily Egyptian
An early announcement of a game slated on the 2006-07 SIU men's basketball season caught a few Saluki players off guard.
When freshman guard Wesley Clemmons was asked his feelings about the Salukis' match-up with the Hoosiers of Indiana, the Indianapolis native could hardly believe it.
"We're playing Indiana next year?" Clemmons said. "IU?"
Clemmons' surprise reflected the sentiments of several SIU players who didn't even know the match-up had been made. The team isn't used to playing teams from the most prestigious conferences in the nation because teams are leery of losing to the Salukis, which could hurt an NCAA Tournament resume.
"It's one of those things I have been wanting to do since I've been here," junior SIU guard Tony Young said. "Since I been here, we haven't really been able, except in a tournament, to get any regular season games against any big teams."
The basketball program can thank the football team for the good fortune.
The SIU athletic department announced it had scheduled a football game against Indiana, which was scheduled for Sept. 2 this upcoming season. Later, though, Indiana requested the date be changed to Sept. 16 and for agreeing with the request, the Saluki men's basketball program was awarded a home-and-home series with the Hoosiers.
SIU basketball will play at Bloomington, Ind. on Dec. 17, 2006, and the Hoosiers will come to Carbondale Dec. 1, 2007.
SIU has not played a regular season game against a Big Ten team since it faced the Hoosiers in the 2001-02 season, when the Salukis defeated them 72-60 at the SIU Arena.
SIU head coach Chris Lowery said if it weren't for the deal with the football team, the series likely wouldn't have happened.
"We were able to piggyback on that and get a home and home out of it," Lowery said. "If not, we would have never got a game with anybody in the Big Ten."
Considering what happened the last time the two teams met, Lowery said it would be hard to conceive an Indiana coach would have agreed to play the Salukis. Hoosiers head coach Mike Davis has announced he will step down after this season.
"I don't think the coaches were involved. It was the (athletic directors)," Lowery said. "Whenever that happens, obviously it doesn't come into play what happened in history."
After a strong start to the season, the Hoosiers have struggled in the second half of the year and stand in the middle of the Big Ten with a .500 record in conference play. Former SIU head coach Matt Painter, who coaches the Hoosiers' conference rival Purdue, expressed earlier in the season that a team that struggles in the Big Ten can't afford to schedule a non-conference game against a team like SIU.
"Right now we need to win games," Painter said of his team in a January interview. "A game against SIU isn't a guaranteed win."
For some players, the news may have been a surprise, but a good one.
For freshman forward Jordan Armstrong, the game will provide a short trip for his family in Muncie, Ind., to travel to watch.
"That's very exciting the closer I get to home," Armstrong said. "My parents will be able to see me play next year."
