SIU Arena might be my favorite road gym in the Valley. It’s just that – a gym. It’s a basketball place, not a multi-purpose ice hockey/concert/tractor pull place. No luxury boxes or boosters sipping wine coolers at courtside. It does desperately need an update, and one is scheduled. SIU built it in 1962 and the school’s deferred maintenance plan immediately kicked in. I like it because it’s the kind of place you walk into and immediately feel all the great games of the past. Walt Frazier. Dick Garrett. Mike Glenn. Basketball fans have been cramming into this same gym and these same seats for over 40 years to watch basketball. It’s a lot like Koch Arena.
I think there should be two rules in the Valley.
- No voting in mid-major polls or recognizing mid-major rankings, awards or honors.
- Every MVC gym needs to display banners for all 10 schools at men’s basketball arenas. I am keeping score as I travel this season. So far, WSU and SIU have banners. Bradley, Illinois State and Missouri State do not. Let’s get on the same page. Write your local Valley administrator and get this put on the agenda for the next conference meeting.
It’s clear, as I study Valley banners, that Southwest Missouri State’s name change to Missouri State caused chaos. At WSU, Missouri State hangs out of alphabetical order. At SIU, the Missouri State banner was remade in a different font and spacing from the other nine. It looks bad. At Bradley’s Robertson Field House (where the BU women and volleyball team play), the Missouri State flag is also a different font from the rest.
As for today’s game, WSU’s mission is to play well and get through it with some confidence and good feelings regardless of the outcome. Losing is one thing. Losing without hope, as they did against Illinois State, is another. WSU’s schedule has been tough to this point in the MVC. The Shockers played four of their six games against the MVC’s top three teams (ISU, Drake, Creighton), plus a road game at Missouri State. Today, they play the preseason favorite.
Starting Wednesday, WSU plays three straight at home. The remaining schedule is not easy, but it is easier.