I actually like what SIU did. They could've been better on the cupcake portion of the schedule, but they did a good job filling the schedule with medium-tier opponents who will bolster the SoS.
Illinois St is supposed to be in the Cancun tournament next year, right? If so, here's this year's field as a comparison:
Northeastern vs. Saint Louis
Southern Miss vs. East Tennessee State
Ole Miss vs. Texas State
Colorado State vs. Appalachian State
If that's the caliber of opponent you're PEAKING for, that's a problem. That's a tournament that should be supplamental for the SoS, not the dominating force of the SoS.