Southern Illinois University
Missouri St.
Men's Basketball makes final preparations for MVC Tournament
02/28/2018 | 4:25:00 | Men's Basketball
- SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (19-12) vs. MISSOURI STATE (17-14) or VALPARAISO (15-16)
- TV: MVC TV
- March 2, 2018 • 6 p.m. CT
- St. Louis, Mo. • Scottrade Center (20,948)
Southern Illinois begins postseason play at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Friday night when it faces the winner of Thursday's play-in game, either Missouri State or Valparaiso. The Salukis are the No. 2 seed at the annual league tournament, known as Arch Madness.
SIU holds a seven-game winning streak versus Missouri State and split two games this season versus MVC newcomer Valparaiso. It has been 20 years since a Thursday play-in team defeated its Friday opponent. The last time it happened was in 1998 when No. 7 Bradley upset No. 2 Creighton.
The Salukis have won five MVC Tournament championships in school history (1977, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2006). As the No. 2 seed this year, this is the program's highest seed at the tournament since being the No. 1 seed in 2007. SIU has advanced to the semifinals twice in the last four years (2014 and 2017). The last time SIU advanced to the championship game was in 2007 (lost to Creighton).
TV Clearances
FOX Sports Midwest – Live at 6 p.m. Central.
>>FOX Sports Indiana Plus -- Live at 6 p.m. Central. FOX Sports Indiana Plus clearances include Auburn Essential (Channel 81 or 1081), Cinergy-Metronet (Channel 257-267 or 957-966), Clay County/Endeavor (Channel 27 or 28), Comcast Xfinity-Fort Wayne (Channel 9 or 1681), Comcast Xfinity-Indianapolis/Kokomo/Lafayette/Shelbyville (Channel 81), Daviess-Martin (Channel 31 or 32), LigTel (Channel 420), Mediacom-Auburn (Channel 126), Mulberry Cooperative (Channel 62), New Wave-Greencastle/Vincennes/Knox/Pike (Channel 80 or 1208), NineStar Connect (Channel 128), Perry Spencer (Channel 172), Smithville TelCo (Channel 50 or 650), Spectrum-Evansville/ Newburgh (Channel 2, 12.1 or 505), Spectrum-Terre Haute (Channel 13) and WOW-Evansville (Channel 103).
>>FOX Sports Kansas City -- Live at 6 p.m. Central.
>> NBC Sports Chicago -- Live at 6 p.m. Central.
>> FOX Sports GO – Live at 6 p.m. Central within FOX Sports Midwest footprint in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
>> ESPN3 – Live at 6 p.m. Central inside the state of Indiana and outside the states of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
>> DirecTV -- Live at 6 p.m. Central on channels 665 (NBC Sports Chicago) and 671 (FOX Sports Midwest).
>> Dish Network -- Live at 6 p.m. Central on channels 418 (FOX Sports Midwest) and 429 (NBC Sports Chicago).
>> AT&T U-Verse -- Live at 6 p.m. Central on channels 740 and 1740 (NBC Sports Chicago) and 748 and 1748 (FOX Sports Midwest).
Head coach Barry Hinson met with the media to preview the MVC Tournament and discuss Saluki award winners.
Barry Hinson – Press Conference | February 27th, 2018
Any comments on the team awards?
Yeah, I think the first comment is that it's an incredible compliment to these young men to finish second in the conference and you don't have a single one down on the (MVC) first team. I don't say that in a negative way, I say that in a positive way for what these guys have done and what they've accomplished. Although we've faltered in our last two games, we're not going to let that diminish anything these men have done and what they've accomplished. We sit here in almost the exact spot that we were in almost eight weeks ago trying to figure out if we're going to be in the play-in game. I'm proud of all those guys. I'm really proud of Tyler (Smithpeters). I think to culminate his five years and to be the Sixth Man of the Year and to join a guy like Tony Young and Lamar Owen. Especially what Tyler has meant to this program and this university and this region. I was really happy about that. I'm always happy to have a guy on the all-defensive team. I was proud of Armon (Fletcher) and I was proud of Kavion (Pippen). I'm excited for all of them. You know as well as I do that they all want one award, and that's the one where you win the conference championship. We'll continue that trend if we can.
What's the most important thing you're going to focus on coming into the tournament?
We have two large opponents right now, one of them is between our ears and the other is the condition of our bodies. I think I can control both of those avenues and that's what we've done. It specifically started when we got off the bus from Evansville. We met as a group for over an hour. My father always told me that healthy families always talk, and we talked. We had a great open forum. I mean, there wasn't any reason to argue. We had had our butt handed to us twice in a row so it was a time for us to get together and talk a little bit. We've also done an enormous amount of therapy and treatment. We've cut our practice down, now today we'll go hard and long but after today that's it. This is the hardest day. Yesterday we went for 45 minutes. Wednesday we'll go for 45 minutes and Thursday we'll only going for 30 minutes at the Scottrade Center.
How do you explain one of your most athletic players, in the last game only getting one shot?
(Sean) Lloyd? Well one he didn't play a lot, I limited his minutes. I think there's a lot of explanations. I think we were selfish. I think we took shots quick. I don't think we moved the basketball. We didn't play inside-outside. Sean Lloyd is always the guy who plays inside-outside and we didn't do that. I think the other thing, in Sean Lloyd's defense, the past three out of four games went to overtime where he played 42, 43, and 44 minutes. That begins to take its toll. We've ridden him really hard and his body's worn down. That's why I didn't play him much in Evansville. He'll be ready on Friday. He'll be fresher.
Talk about the team's versatility?
I think it speaks to their versatility, but I think more so than anything, it speaks to their character. I really do. Kavion was recruited to be a backup but here he is on the third team of a really good conference. Probably should've been on the second team in my opinion. I would think the expectations for Armon should be at least second team or higher were fair. And I don't think Tyler going into the game, we probably all thought Tyler would've been a starter but, how he did and accepted his role, I think it's a great compliment for him.
Armon seems to have growing confidence.
I think maturation has a lot to do with that. Let's not forget that Armon was a redshirt, so that helps as the bi-product of that. I think anytime you get to your four or fifth year, specifically at the mid major level, you have an opportunity to kind of weather the storms like these other guys haven't. I think that really plays a big part of Armon. Armon won an award this year because of the sacrifice he made his freshman year when he redshirted. I truly believe that, we always talk to parents about that. You won't see the rewards until the later parts of his career. I've given you guys this stat before and I love this stat. One hundred percent of the young men and their families that redshirt, don't want to. One hundred percent of the young men and their families that do, at the end of their career, say it's the best decision they could've made. So, it's an oxymoron, but it's the truth. And I think that's played a valuable part of Armon's journey.
Talk about importance of ball movement.
We have to enter the floor and when we touch the wood we have to start thinking defense. That's what we have to start thinking. Last two games, two teams have shot over 50 percent against us. It wasn't our offense against Loyola, we scored, it was our offense in Evansville. And when you have the offensive numbers that we had that were so catastrophic, then I look back and I know that legs were a part of that. I have no problem making that statement. That's not an excuse, that's a fact. You've asked me over the last three weeks, when will these minutes take the tolls on these players, but they never did. But you know as well as I do that that was coming. So, it came, it came about last week, and we'll get through it. So now, we're combating that by knowing and understanding what we have to do. And the other side of that coin is our focus will be so much easier. When you focus on defense and rebounding, you take the pressure off the score. Instead of guys coming up to the plate trying to hit a home run every single time the ball is in their hand, if they'll just get to the point where they trust each other, we have all year long, and we make sure we move the ball and play unselfish, I think we'll see the offensive numbers go way up.
How does the chemistry of the team change during the tournament?
I think the chemistry changes for a positive, I don't think it ever gets to a negative. I've always handled the tournament different than the regular season, I am much more relaxed when we hit the MVC tournament than the regular season and I can't even tell you why. When I get to the Valley tournament my teams have always played relaxed, I'm relaxed as a head coach. I mean, there's stressful moments sure, but I always feel good going into a Valley tournament. And I try like the dickens to get our guys to feel the same way. You know a coaching friend texted me this week and said you have their attention. I think that's probably the byproduct of the last two games, is that we do have everybody's attention. Not just the players but the staff and the managers as well.
