Thursday, March 4
St. Louis, Mo.
5:05 PM
Southern Illinois University
12-13,5-13MVC
73
vs
63
Bradley
12-16,6-12MVC
1
2
F
Southern Ill.
38
35
73
Bradley
32
31
63
Salukis advance in Arch Madness with 73-63 win over Bradley
03/04/2021 | 8:12:00 | Men's Basketball
ST. LOUIS - The SIU men's basketball team beat eighth-seeded Bradley 73-63 on Thursday evening in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center. The Salukis advanced to Friday's 11 a.m. quarterfinal game against top-seeded and nationally ranked Loyola.
"For the program, it's great to have postseason success," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "We expected to win, and we're going to go into tomorrow expecting to win. That's been our mindset all year. This is a championship program that we're building. We want to playing on Sundays in St. Louis when it comes March. Our kids have been through a tremendous amount of adversity throughout the year, things outside of their control. They've responded with high character in every situation that they've been put in. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's opportunity."
Already without star forward Marcus Domask, the Salukis (12-13 ) were dealt another tough blow early in the game. Lance Jones, who earned All-MVC Third Team honors this season, appeared to turn an ankle within the first six minutes of the game and did not return. Mullins said in the postgame press conference that he was undergoing x-rays and his status for Friday's game against Loyola was uncertain.Â
When Jones went down, the game became a battle between the two most shorthanded teams in the MVC. Bradley (12-16) came into the game with only eight scholarship players due to injuries and suspensions. SIU was already without Domask and J.D. Muila, who have season-ending injuries, and then lost Jones during the game. Anthony D'Avanzo also appeared to turn an ankle but returned to the game, although he was limited to 19 minutes.Â
"It shows the character of the group and it shows that they have put in the work this year," Mullins said. "A light didn't just flip on in Ben or Dalton. You can't fake it. Basketball is always going to tell you where you're at. For them to step up with poise and composure and make big plays, and play the minutes they did, it shows that they were ready when their number was called. They've done that throughout the season. Tonight, in the postseason, it was great opportunity for both of them to prove what type of players they are."
Despite all the adversity, the Salukis persevered. Ben Harvey picked up the slack, scoring a season best 24 points off the bench, but it wasn't a one-man show. Southern's ball movement was incredible throughout the game and the team finished with 17 points against just five turnovers. Dalton Banks had a career high five assists and eight rebounds. Kyler Filewich scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Steven Verplancken Jr. (10 points, 4 assists) and Trent Brown (13 points) also scored in double figures.Â
"Ben was aggressive," Mullins said. "When he's aggressive and he's playing downhill like that, with really good pace on both sides of the ball, that's when he's had his best games this year. He has the ability to score the ball. He saw the first couple go in, and he stayed aggressive throughout the night. Obviously, losing Lance's scoring, we needed someone to step up throughout the game."
SIU's reward? An Arch Madness quarterfinal matchup against the nation's No. 20 ranked team, Loyola. The two teams played the final weekend of the regular season. In both games, Loyola built up 16-point leads, but SIU fought back in both to make it a game late. In the second game of the back-to-back, SIU actually took a lead late in the game and forced overtime, but Loyola won the overtime period to earn the MVC title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Ramblers are a lock for the NCAA Tournament and have the nation's No. 2 ranked defense, according to KenPom.Â
"It's a great opportunity for our program," Mullins said. "They're going to be ready to go. Obviously, I know that program and know what Coach (Porter Moser) does with the guys. They have a ton of pride. They probably want to come here and win the championship. For us, it's a great opportunity to see where we're at. Our guys have responded every time there's been a challenge this year, and I have no doubt that they will be ready to go tomorrow."
Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be broadcast on the MVC TV Network*
*MVC TV Network = FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports Indiana, FOX Sports Kansas City and NBC Sports Chicago. Game will be blacked out in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska on ESPN+ and shown on tape-delay.
Â
"For the program, it's great to have postseason success," SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. "We expected to win, and we're going to go into tomorrow expecting to win. That's been our mindset all year. This is a championship program that we're building. We want to playing on Sundays in St. Louis when it comes March. Our kids have been through a tremendous amount of adversity throughout the year, things outside of their control. They've responded with high character in every situation that they've been put in. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's opportunity."
Already without star forward Marcus Domask, the Salukis (12-13 ) were dealt another tough blow early in the game. Lance Jones, who earned All-MVC Third Team honors this season, appeared to turn an ankle within the first six minutes of the game and did not return. Mullins said in the postgame press conference that he was undergoing x-rays and his status for Friday's game against Loyola was uncertain.Â
When Jones went down, the game became a battle between the two most shorthanded teams in the MVC. Bradley (12-16) came into the game with only eight scholarship players due to injuries and suspensions. SIU was already without Domask and J.D. Muila, who have season-ending injuries, and then lost Jones during the game. Anthony D'Avanzo also appeared to turn an ankle but returned to the game, although he was limited to 19 minutes.Â
"It shows the character of the group and it shows that they have put in the work this year," Mullins said. "A light didn't just flip on in Ben or Dalton. You can't fake it. Basketball is always going to tell you where you're at. For them to step up with poise and composure and make big plays, and play the minutes they did, it shows that they were ready when their number was called. They've done that throughout the season. Tonight, in the postseason, it was great opportunity for both of them to prove what type of players they are."
Despite all the adversity, the Salukis persevered. Ben Harvey picked up the slack, scoring a season best 24 points off the bench, but it wasn't a one-man show. Southern's ball movement was incredible throughout the game and the team finished with 17 points against just five turnovers. Dalton Banks had a career high five assists and eight rebounds. Kyler Filewich scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Steven Verplancken Jr. (10 points, 4 assists) and Trent Brown (13 points) also scored in double figures.Â
"Ben was aggressive," Mullins said. "When he's aggressive and he's playing downhill like that, with really good pace on both sides of the ball, that's when he's had his best games this year. He has the ability to score the ball. He saw the first couple go in, and he stayed aggressive throughout the night. Obviously, losing Lance's scoring, we needed someone to step up throughout the game."
SIU's reward? An Arch Madness quarterfinal matchup against the nation's No. 20 ranked team, Loyola. The two teams played the final weekend of the regular season. In both games, Loyola built up 16-point leads, but SIU fought back in both to make it a game late. In the second game of the back-to-back, SIU actually took a lead late in the game and forced overtime, but Loyola won the overtime period to earn the MVC title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Ramblers are a lock for the NCAA Tournament and have the nation's No. 2 ranked defense, according to KenPom.Â
"It's a great opportunity for our program," Mullins said. "They're going to be ready to go. Obviously, I know that program and know what Coach (Porter Moser) does with the guys. They have a ton of pride. They probably want to come here and win the championship. For us, it's a great opportunity to see where we're at. Our guys have responded every time there's been a challenge this year, and I have no doubt that they will be ready to go tomorrow."
Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be broadcast on the MVC TV Network*
*MVC TV Network = FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports Indiana, FOX Sports Kansas City and NBC Sports Chicago. Game will be blacked out in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska on ESPN+ and shown on tape-delay.
Â
Team Stats
SIU
Brad
FG%
.500
.474
3FG%
.370
.333
FT%
.900
.500
RB
27
32
TO
5
11
STL
7
2
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
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