Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
0-1
Illinois
3-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 30 | 33 | 63 |
| Illinois | 41 | 44 | 85 |
Men's Basketball can't keep pace with speedy Illinois
11/13/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2010
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Too much size and too much speed. Illinois used its superiority in both areas to pull away from Southern Illinois in the second half of Saturday night's in-state matchup and post an 85-63 win.
The battle between Illini head coach Bruce Weber and and his close friend and former assistant, Chris Lowery, was overshadowed by the track meet on the court. SIU wanted a half-court game, but Illinois wouldn't allow it.
"In transition, they're like the Lakers," Lowery said. "They're as good as anybody getting up and down the floor."
The Salukis (0-1) played stride-for-stride with the Fighting Illini (3-0) through much of the first half. They never led in the game, but came as close as 27-25 on a 3-pointer by Carlton Fay at the 6:40 mark.
Problem was, Illinois seemed to answer every basket with an instant bucket of their own. In this case, D.J. Richardson drained a 3-pointer just seconds later as the Illini consistently forced the tempo of the game.
Part of SIU's strategy was to establish 6-foot-9, 290 center Gene Teague in the blocks. Southern's guards had difficulty making the entry pass, however, and when Teague did get touches, he was often stripped, committing five turnovers.
"We didn't get our big guy involved, and then they just ran past him in transition," Lowery said. "We had to take him out."
Illinois features a pair of 7-foot centers in Mike Tisdale and Meyers Leonard, and the duo played behind Teague, allowing teammates to swoop in for steals.
"I think our length really bothered Teague," Weber said. "He might see one big guy like that, but not two."
Illinois led by 11 at halftime and kicked into overdrive in the second half, outscoring SIU, 25-8, in the first nine minutes. The Illini threw down four dunks during the spurt, whipping the sold-out crowd of 16, 618 to a fever pitch.
"Quick shots against these guys are going to turn into dunks, lay ups and wide open threes," Lowery noted. "We had some execution flaws that allowed them to get into transition right away."
Illinois point guard Demetrius McCamey played a nearly perfect game with 18 points, nine assists and only one turnover.
The Salukis made a late rally trimming the Illinois lead to 18 points on a conventional three-point play by Justin Bocot with 4:04 remaining and forcing Weber to put his starters back in to finish the game.
Bocot led Southern with 14 points, while Fay chipped in 13.
"Their older guys, Bocot and Fay, really carried them," Weber said. "Once they wore down, then it made it tough. I think they have a chance to be pretty good. They have a lot of new guys."
Weber, who guided SIU to NCAA Tournament berths in 2002 and 2003, said he was relieved to have the game behind him.
"I woke at 4:15 this morning with a knot in my stomach," he said. "Now I'll cheer for them like crazy. I'll get on the phone and talk to Chris about our team, their team. Those are my guys. We have lots of people from (Carbondale) who we have a great relationship and stayed in contact."
Lowery said it was clear from the onset that Weber had his team ready.
"They could have come in here and laid an egg, just because he's coach's boy," Lowery said. "(Weber) didn't allow them to do that."
The Salukis return home to open the newly renovated SIU Arena on Tuesday at 9 a.m. in a game against Northeastern on ESPN.
"I told my guys we have an hour to think about this, then we have to forget it and move on," Lowery said. "We were at a disadvantage that our young guys, our new guys, had to experience these greyhounds on the first time out."
