The End of an ERA

[chitown fanatic]

Well, that'll do it.... SIU is officially done. Oh how the mighty have fallen. H@ll will freeze over before SIU wins the VAlley crown this year. 41 points??? Are you kidding me? They are now in the play-in game on Thursday night. What an embarrassment.

[Da Coach]

Nice thinking, Chi-Town. I wish I could say I agree with it, but I still think they will be tough in the MVC.

[chitown fanatic]

they will be tough at home, but if they can't score...8-10 is a very likely outcome and a 7-10 date with the Aces. I now predict:
1)BU
2)CU
3)ISU
4)MSU
5)DU
6)UNI
7)SIU
8 )WSU
9)IN St
10)Aces

[bert notorius]

they will be tough at home, but if they can't score...8-10 is a very likely outcome and a 7-10 date with the Aces. I now predict:
1)BU
2)CU
3)ISU
4)MSU
5)DU
6)UNI
7)SIU
8 )WSU
9)IN St
10)Aces

I can't believe you put ISU in 3rd...

[MacabreMob]

I thought SIU (along with the Memphis and Gonzaga's) were a "major"....

so Chitown, you shoulda ranked them more like this....

1 Mich St
2 Indy
3 Wisky
4 UIUC
5 Purdue
6 OSU
7 Minn
8 Mich
9 Penn St
10 Iowa
11 NW'rn
12 SIU

[DUBrave5]

As great as it is to see SIU doing so poorly so far this season (and believe me it is nice for all the chatter I caught from a H.S. Coach who went to SIU after he found out I was going to Bradley), this team has been very very very good for a bunch of years now. I don't want to start thinking that they are completely out of it this year before conference play starts. Funny things happen when teams don't do so well during non-conference play and then have a little time off, even if it is a couple of days only, and realize that they are about to play teams that they have had success against for many years now. As much as I don't like to say it, I don't think that we will see the same SIU team that is playing now. I think that they will figure it out in time for MVC play and we will need to bring our A game when we play them. Can we take them? Heck yes. Look at how we played against MSU and we know that we can run with just about anybody. But we cannot write them off yet.

Now I may be wrong. SIU may be in such a bad transition year that they just cannot bounce back from this horrible non-conference record. I don't think we will be able to tell that until we get at least a quarter of the way into conference play and see how they do.

[chitown fanatic]

As for ISU being 3rd ranking, I know what you mean. I was shocked as I wrote it...I think that they will surprise some teams this year and will beat us at their gym. I'm not a believer in the Drake, the Shuckers are terrible(home losss to UMKC- awful!), SIU is awful, MSU is decent but not great, and CU has Dana so they'll always be good. I think what's most satisfying about SIU's problems is that I've never been a believer in Lowery. I think he's ridden his predecessors coattails and is being exposed once his true guards are gone.

[it's boogie time]

One of the more interesting games in the Valley will be the second conference game when SIU travels to Drake. It should be a changing of the guard with all the success SIU has had the past five or six years and all the misery Drake has had through the decades. I'm sure their crowd will be out in force in Des Moines.

I've only seen SIU play a few times. It looked like Mullins set the table for the other guys, but they just couldn't knock down the shots.

[shockerfan13]

As for ISU being 3rd ranking, I know what you mean. I was shocked as I wrote it...I think that they will surprise some teams this year and will beat us at their gym. I'm not a believer in the Drake, the Shuckers are terrible(home losss to UMKC- awful!), SIU is awful, MSU is decent but not great, and CU has Dana so they'll always be good. I think what's most satisfying about SIU's problems is that I've never been a believer in Lowery. I think he's ridden his predecessors coattails and is being exposed once his true guards are gone.

Not disagreeing that we are awful, cause right now we pretty much are. But just to correct the UMKC loss was on the road.

I'm just hoping we can find a way to at least split this week with games at home against LSU and UAB. LSU isn't great, but if we play like we did against UMKC and Tex-Arlington then we will get slaughtered. This team has some talent, they just have to realize it and play like it.

[BUBraves06]

I think everyone is blowing this way out of proportion. I know they are struggling to score right now, but come. SIU will be in the top three for sure. They will get their act together, I totally disagree with this changing of the guard talk and stuff. Just like the every other year recently, SIU will be contender for the MVC title. And remember there was a team a few years ago from the MVC that at one point in the season was 8-6 before they finally started clicking and played their way to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tourney ...

[shaunguth]

I thought SIU (along with the Memphis and Gonzaga's) were a "major"....

Let's not forget SIU doesn't have "down" years either!

[houstontxbrave]

A few years ago we had a game at home versus WSU that turned the corner for JL and our program. JL took inventory of his program and decided to both open his mind and his teams ability, the transformation has been evident since that game.

SIU is right in the middle of their first adversity in the Lowery era. And I would imagine the Western Michigan game is there tipping point. Do they come together or do they point fingers and fall apart in a big way .. ie WSU last year?

Lowery is showing very little confidence in his bench players and I think he might need to take a step back and decide what he wants and how he wants to approach the rest of their season... essentiall open his mind to his team or stay the course and do the same ole same ole because it has always worked.

The next few weeks down in Cdale will be very interesting.

[BradleyBrave]

A few years ago we had a game at home versus WSU that turned the corner for JL and our program. JL took inventory of his program and decided to both open his mind and his teams ability, the transformation has been evident since that game.

SIU is right in the middle of their first adversity in the Lowery era. And I would imagine the Western Michigan game is there tipping point. Do they come together or do they point fingers and fall apart in a big way .. ie WSU last year?

Lowery is showing very little confidence in his bench players and I think he might need to take a step back and decide what he wants and how he wants to approach the rest of their season... essentiall open his mind to his team or stay the course and do the same ole same ole because it has always worked.

The next few weeks down in Cdale will be very interesting.

Great post. If he decides to only go 5-6 deep all year, not only is he going to do them in this year, but next year's team will be very green as well. He may need to start going deep and live with the results. Lowery may be surprised at what he has by year's end.

[bigdaddystuck]

Yeah, I think the reports of SIU's demise are a bit premature. They have played a pretty tough non-con schedule. I think we will see what kind of coach CLO is, because their schedule could toughen them up for conference play or completely demoralize them...how the coach handles it is going to go a long way to how or if they can turn it around.

[BradleyBrave]

Yeah, I think the reports of SIU's demise are a bit premature. They have played a pretty tough non-con schedule. I think we will see what kind of coach CLO is, because their schedule could toughen them up for conference play or completely demoralize them...how the coach handles it is going to go a long way to how or if they can turn it around.

The road losses (in embarrassing fashion no less) are what's most alarming. I don't think anyone expected this SIU team to go 27-6, but I also don't think anyone expected them to have embarrassing losses to SLU and Western Michigan either.