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Zack Creglow

Daily Egyptian


ST. LOUIS -  On this historic occasion, it's probably best to let Tony Young sum up why the SIU men's basketball team defeated Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship.

"When you smack us in the mouth, we punch them in it right back," Young said of the Salukis' 59-46 victory Sunday at the Savvis Center in St. Louis.

All weekend, the media talked about this Bradley team, a mean bunch of musclemen who would probably punish the Salukis into tenderized meat. In so many ways, the Braves should have: they were older, stronger, taller and were intimidating figures. They appeared to be on a mission and damn all who stand in their way, as Creighton and Wichita State learned in the previous rounds.

Heading into the game, they had the Salukis beat in just about every category save for one - toughness.

So when Young says they'll punch you in the mouth, he is being fairly honest. Or when you bloody Matt Shaw's nose, he'll tear your heart out with clutch shooting. Or when you embarrass Randal Falker in the first half, he'll just dunk over you the next half.

So much has been written about this SIU squad being inexperienced, at-times immature, inconsistent and maybe a year away. But what we overlooked was this team's guts, that key component that is perhaps the most important aspect of a college player.

Over the weekend, the Salukis became the little team that could. At the tournament, the Salukis were small and scrappy and without knowledge of the word "quit." They were the little dog that thought they were a pit bull and just as long as they believed that, they battled with abandon.

"They played tough, too, but I think our toughness overcame that and we imposed our will on them," Jamaal Tatum said of the match with Bradley.

A team has to learn to play tough. The work is rigorous and often teams lose sight of why they practice as hard as they do. The teams that understand the run-'till-you-puke practices have a purpose to win championships.

But toughness can't be planned out accordingly. How a team reacts to the many obstacles they encounter in a season plays a huge role in the development of mental toughness. Frankly, this team has battled enough adversity to fill a college career, not just a season.

At the conference tournament the last decade, the bounces have not gone in favor of SIU. The Salukis have been stellar, the top program in the conference, but the Valley tournament title has eluded them since 1995.

Before the championship bout with Bradley, there was a sense of that. Was Bradley playing too well? And were the Braves way too good with SIU's Bryan Mullins hobbling about on a sprained ankle?

The battle of mental toughness between the teams started when the freshman Mullins gimped onto the court to start. Then the battle continued when Tatum nailed clutch shots to withstand the Bradley onslaught inside.

And once Falker threw down a strong dunk in the first minute of the second half, it was over. The slam started a 17-2 run that busted the game wide open.

"I talked about to them having no excuses today," SIU head coach Chris Lowery said.

And instead of any excuses, they are leaving with a reason for why they won.