Final in OT: SIU 74, WSU 67
It was a 59-foul game, but that’s more the type of game it was than an indictment of the officiating.
Braeuer ended with 23, five in the second half, and will be the Kansas.com Player of the Game.
That’s it from the Roundhouse. Paul will steer you through the Evansville game on Feb. 26.
0:02.1, overtime: SIU 72, WSU 67
Green makes 1 of 2, SIU’s up six. Braeuer misses a long three, but Cooz is there for the follow and foul with 20.8 to play. Four-point game. Cooz misses the FT, foul with 18.8 to play.
Boyle makes one, it’s 73-67. That’ll do it after two WSU misses. Cooz fouls out with 17 points and 2.1 seconds to play.
0:33.8, overtime: SIU 70, WSU 65
Clemente misses the first in a hushed arena. Seriously, I heard Clemente breathing. He makes the second.
Harris and Preadom enter to foul, but it takes them 13 seconds. Braeuer and Mekel re-enter as Green makes both, it’s 70-64 with 45.5 to play.
Cooz is fouled driving with 37.8 to play. Some fans are starting to head out, including one of my best friends. Shame on you.
Cooz makes the first, misses the second and WSU fouls with 33.8 to go.
0:54.5, overtime: SIU 68, WSU 63
Braeuer fouls Bone with 1:28 to play. Bone — great name for a Saluki, eh? — misses the first, misses the second. A reprieve?
Mekel misses a 15-footer and WSU gets a tie-up alternate possession. Down five with 1:10 to go.
Mekel misses a forced shot, but Clemente is fouled putting up a rebound. Shaw fouls out with six points.
1:32, overtime: SIU 68, WSU 63
Falker gets his fourth foul on what he thought was a good block of a Cooz shot. Cooz misses the first, misses the second, WSU is still 0-for-overtime.
Mullins, with great court awareness, hits Bone in the corner for a three that rattles in, it’s 66-60. WSU has to score here. Clemente, not the guy you think would be the go-to man for a basket here, makes a driving shot and gets a free throw with 2:03 to play. It’s good, 66-63.
Fans wanted a charge on Mullins, who barreled into Clemente after dishing to Falker for a layup and five-point lead. WSU turned it over with 1:35 to go.
3:24, overtime: SIU 63, WSU 60
Attrition and foul trouble could be the keys here. Clemente and Thomasson won’t come out until they foul out. Falker starts the OT period with an inside basket.
Falker makes a big play by tipping Braeuer’s three, a big-time play, SIU gets the rebound.
Thomasson threw an off-balance Falker to the ground and Phil will leave with 3:56 to play. Ellis re-enters.
SIU, by the way, had not led the entire second half before near the end of regulation. Its last lead was 29-26 in the first half.
Falker hits 1 of 2, it’s a three-point Dog lead.
Ellis’ pass is taken away, SIU has it and calls a time-out when Falker is trapped on the baseline.
Let’s go to overtime: SIU 60, WSU 60
It’s Couisnard, Thomasson, Mekel, Braeuer and Clemente for WSU. Cooz gets it and drives, missing the shot but getting the foul with 9.6 to play. The first one bounces out, the second one is perfect. Tie game.
Mullins threw a cross-court pass that was tipped by Clemente and into the hands of Shaw, who was tangled up but still got a shot off at the buzzer that hit the rim. Overtime.
An entertaining night.
0:16.7, 2nd half: SIU 60, WSU 59
WSU will go man defense here, Braeuer on Mullins. Mullins drives inside and finds Falker, but Cooz blocks his first try, his second try misses, then Cooz fouls him on the third try. The guy is just tough. He makes the first FT to tie it, then makes the second for the lead with 36.3 to go.
Will WSU hold for the last shot? Nothing was happening, so Marshall called a timeout with 16.7 to play.
0:48.4, 2nd half: WSU 59, SIU 58
Shaw hit 1 of 2 FTs for SIU, then Mekel missed a three that was probably too early in the possession. Salukis got the rebound and called a timeout. Watch Mullins!!!!!
1:19, 2nd half: WSU 59, SIU 57
A TV viewer notes I was ready to take the charge from Green when he leaped the table. In all honesty, I was thinking, “Should I grab my laptop?”
Mullins won’t go away. He’s got 13 now after another three, WSU’s up three with 3 to play.
Thomasson hasn’t done much tonight, but his tip of a Mekel miss puts WSU up five again. Now he gets to try to avoid No. 5 with Falker inside. Falker comes out, though, sets a screen and Mullins nails another three.
Now Falker gets a steal of a Cooz pass, SIU has it with 1 1/2 to play down two. WSU is in a man and Braeuer is whistled with an inadvertant block trying to follow his man through the lane. SIU will have FTs after the WSU timeout.
3:43, 2nd half: WSU 55, SIU 51
SIU hasn’t made a run yet, but WSU seems ready to answer anything at this point.
Fans are going nuts. SIU is average this year, but this would still be a great win for Marshall and a struggling team.
Bone hits a three, though, seven-point game.
Beat Writer Paul points out Braeuer’s 23 is a career high. Something tells me he could be at the line later, too.
They’re leaving Mullins open in the corner, and he busted another three to make it 53-48. He’s got 10.
Clemente gets his fourth foul after battling Falker. SIU’s going four out, one in to isolate Falker. Falker only makes two-thirds of his FTs, though, hitting 1 of 2 here.
Durley fouls out at the 4:35 mark, trying to keep Falker from grabbing a rebound. He had three points and did an OK job battling Falker. Thomasson will replace him, though he has four himself. Marshall may bring Dave the Rave out of the crowd if Phil gets No. 5.
Falker makes two, it’s 55-51. SIU gets it back when Ellis travels trying to corral a bad pass.
7:27, 2nd half: WSU 52, SIU 42
I started shaking my head when Lance Harris pulled up for a three-pointer. Of course he made it. 44-39. SIU gets one back on a FT.
Cooz re-entered at the timeout. Looks fine. Clemente’s FTs makes it 46-40.
After an SIU basket, Falker picks up his third foul. Mekel replaces Harris after a long rest. Clemente makes 1 of 2, 47-42.
The SIU radio analyst next to me just took SIU’s Green head-on as Green tried to save a ball from going out. His notes are toast. Meanwhile, Mekel hits a three and WSU is charged with two fouls, but Falker misses a front end, 50-42.
The analyst is verklempt.
Braeuer drives for a basket and does a backward roll afterward. Checks his headband, he’s fine.
After a quick SIU three miss, Durley throws a baseball pass into row 7. Close.
11:46, 2nd half: WSU 41, SIU 39
We welcome those of you who saw Kansas State defeat Missouri 100-63 on “K-Stated.” This is Kirk Seminoff and Kirk Seminoff at Koch Arena, where WSU leads Southern Illinois 37-31.
A nice time-out moment, when Dave Stallworth was recognized for scoring 46 points in the Shockers’ upset of No. 1 Cincinnati on this date 45 years ago. My mom used to talk about that one all the time. Story got better each time. Standing ovation for the Rave. The man oughta get one of those every time he walks into Dillons.
Thomasson just had some mutterances for Gerry Pollard after being whistled for a third foul. Pollard didn’t let it go, had some words back at Phil.
Phil goes out, Durley in with two fouls.
I think Pollard’s getting tired of the comments. He said something to Mekel, who just drew his second, and it wasn’t about tucking in his jersey.
SIU misses 1 of 2 but gets the rebound . . . but Mekel draws a charge. Good moving of the feet. Then he moves his feet at the offensive end for traveling.
Mullins’ three from the corner makes it a 37-35 WSU lead. Braeuer is out, probably not until the under-12 timeout (as Jim Nantz likes to say).
Durley picks up No. 3 trying to stop Falker. That’s an experience mismatch. Clemente and Braeuer come in for Cooz (he’s cramping behind the bench) and Mekel.
Falker makes two FTs to close the lead to one. WSU’s Ellis misses the front end.
Durley has four fouls. Either that fact or the call itself led Marshall to throw his coat behind the bench. Not in a technical foul way.
This one could get away if WSU doesn’t watch out. Green scores inside, is fouled, misses and SIU leads 39-38. Cooz is back on the bench but not in the game after cramps.
But then there’s Braeuer for a huge three. He’s got 21. WSU by two.
Media TO when play stops when Mullins hits the deck. Methinks he got hit where it hurts most.
15:46, 2nd half: WSU 37, SIU 31
Well, let’s see if the theory about WSU playing better first-half defense in front of its bench comes to fruition. WSU catches a break when Green misses a chippie and fouls Couisnard on the rebound.
Falker scores over Thomasson, and they’re having a heckuva battle. Falker appears much stronger, Thomasson a bit quicker. They’re getting tangled at both ends.
Cooz hits a three off a Clemente pass for a 34-31 lead. WSU rebounds and gets an SIU block when Mekel drives — somewhat uncontrolled — into the lane. He makes two to make it a 36-31 game.
WSU’s in a three-quarter court press, then backs into a zone, with Thomasson trying to body up Falker inside. But Falker really isn’t working for the ball all that hard, and Cooz blocks Shaw’s three out of bounds. Then Falker pushes off for a second foul on the inbounds pass. Falker goes out.
Team fouls, second half: SIU 4, WSU 0.
Couisnard gets his second foul on a charge to the basket.
Halftime: Y, M, C, whoa
“Christopher” is the halftime entertainment. He’s dressed as all five Village People — he’s the Indian Chief with two dummies in front, two behind. Wow . . . I’m speechless.
SIU scoring: Bone 6, Green 5, Shaw 5, Boyle 5, Clemmons 3, Mullins 3, Fay 2, Falker a big ol’ goose egg. Salukis are hitting 40.0 from the field, 5 of 10 threes, 4 of 8 at the line.
WSU scoring: Braeuer 18, Couisnard 6, Durley 3, Ellis 2, Thomasson 2. WSU’s hitting 48.1 percent from the field, 2 of 12 threes, 3 of 5 from the line.
Christopher, by the way, got a standing ovation. I’m still speechless, however.
WSU has forced nine turnovers and committed six. Other than some opportune threes, SIU has been off-kilter offensively.
Halftime: WSU 31, SIU 29
A word about cheerleaders throwing freebies into the crowd. Usually we here on press row take cover because we’re liable to get plunked in the head. Tonight, though, I watched one of the cheerleaders take one of the game-sized basketballs all the way into the stands, past at least 100 fans asking for it, and gave it to a particular person — maybe her dad — who then hugged and kissed her. I ASK YOU, GREG: Is that fair? This is the United States of America!
SIU has scored seven straight for the lead, though Durley ties it with a three-point play with 55 seconds to go. WSU’s in a zone for this late possession, they double-team Falker and get the rebound.
Braeuer in transition makes a layup, goes to the ground and again keeps his head far from the floor. 31-29.
SIU travels, which has Chris Lowery so mad at his guys, he can be seen yelling, “Pass the . . . ball.” (You can insert what the . . . held.)
Marshall takes his 30-second timeout for the half. Cooz almost gets a three off but there’s great defense. He passes to Durley, and if he was listening to the student clock-countoff, he thought the buzzer was coming. But the students were a half-second ahead and he rushed and missed a 15-footer.
Great first half.
2:22, 1st half: WSU 26, SIU 22
Falker’s back in for the first time since about the 15-minute mark.
We go to the media TO with Marshall jawing with Gerry Pollard. Or “at” Gerry Pollard. Pollard nods, slaps him on the shoulder, then walks away.
3:04, 1st half: WSU 26, SIU 20
Really Loud Whistling Guy is back in the Roundhouse, this time in the front row of the student section. Bob Lutz may go kill him at halftime. Or sooner.
Big faces in the crowd tonight include Bob Lutz, Gregg Marshall, Matt Braeuer (with headband) and Gene Stephenson. Baseball’s six days away . . .
Tonight’s halftime entertainment is The Puppet Master. Hmm.
Clemente gets an offensive foul and goes to the bench with two. Durley is back in the game with two himself.
It’s Matt Braeuer 16, SIU 15. And WSU Others 4.
Cooz hits two FTs for a 22-17 lead. WSU’s defense — and Braeuer — has been the difference so far. They’re not giving SIU many easy opportunities (otherwise known as “looks”).
Braeuer gets a breather at the 4 1/2-minute mark. Mullins’ three makes is 22-20.
Ellis makes a nice baseline drive for a four-point lead. Next time down, Cooz makes a nifty drive (avoids the flop from Boyle) and scores. Then SIU is forced to call a 30 at midcourt. WSU’s up 26-20.
6:45, 1st half: WSU 18, SIU 15
Every Shocker coach — EVERY ONE — checked the team fouls on the scoreboard. A look of amazement from every one. WSU has seven team fouls, SIU 3. I’m sure the word “reputation” is going through their heads — SIU is known as a great defensive team, not a fouling one.
We have a Wendell Preadom sighting. He’s in at the 10:44 mark.
Clemente has a foul now, Durley two, Thomasson one.
Braeuer already has nine points after his three ties it at 13. WSU didn’t get the ball inside the arc that time. Boyle scores on the SIU end.
Braeuer drives and puts it up for two, crashing into the defender but nobody’s hurt. No foul, either. Tied at 15.
Clemente misses two foul shots, something you can’t do in a low-scoring game like SIU will force you into. Well, SIU missed two, too.
Braeuer might be the only Shocker — except for the student in row 23 — that doesn’t have a foul yet. Double bonus on the next one.
Wow, Braeuer’s feeling it. His three gives WSU an 18-15 lead, he’s got 14 of the 18 points. Padded headbands for everyone!
In transition, Braeuer tried one from 25 feet. He missed but it got the crowd buzzing.
10:44, 1st half: SIU 11, WSU 10
Foul trouble already for Durley, who gets an offensive foul with 14:35 to go. He’s out, Thomasson in. SIU’s playing without Falker, so they’re challenged inside. Green gets a second foul trying to tip the ball his way.
Braeuer has hit the floor twice the past two minutes, and each time, he’s made a concerted effort to keep his head far from the floor. Lance Harris and Brett Burley make their first appearances. Burley just created a turnover — well, the SIU guy traveled.
WSU has two scorers (Cooz, Mekel), three non-scorers (Harris, Burley, Aaron Ellis) in there. Ellis gets an over-the-back call and the first thing Marshall does is check the team foul count — WSU 6, SIU 2.
Bone makes it 10-8 with an SIU 3. Next time down he gets a kick-out from Mullins for another three and the lead.
14:55, 1st half: WSU 8, SIU 4
Phil Thomasson gets WSU going with a putback off a Couisnard double-teamed miss. Tyrone Green finds a cutting Shaw to tie it up for SIU.
Watching on TV? Focus on how SIU guards. It’s just 30-percent harder and more intense than anything we’ve seen in the arena this season. You won’t score 70 on them, and if you get 60, you’ll earn every single point.
J.T. Durley is the first sub, replacing Thomasson after a bad screen out front resulted in a foul.
Falker has committed two turnovers already. But he’s a bear inside. So strong, so sound fundamentally.
Couisnard is called for a charge. Crowd didn’t like it, but he bulled in there just a bit. Marshall is already lobbying Don Daily for help later on.
Couisnard makes a steal of a cross-court pass and feeds Braeuer, who takes it not like a guy with four concussions for a layup. Chris Lowery calls a quick 30. The WSU cheerleaders take the floor and the officials shoo them off quickly, like sheep in a pasture.
Great move by Couisnard on Mullins for a layup. SIU got no help inside.
Tony Boyle scores inside for SIU and gets a Durley foul. FTs after the media TO. This is shaping up like a great one.
6:05 p.m.: And we’re off
Something about this one . . . I’m calling my shot: WSU wins by four.
6 p.m.: Your starters
For SIU: F Matt Shaw, F Randal Falker, G Tyrone Green, G Wesley Clemmons, G Bryan Mullins.
For WSU: F Ramon Clemente, F Phil Thomasson, G P.J. Couisnard, G Gal Mekel, G Matt Braeuer.
5:40 p.m.: How to avoid 20 losses
Look ahead at WSU’s schedule and a 20-loss season is a real possibility. At 15 heading into tonight’s game, and with at least five games remaining . . .
WSU will be favored in just one more regular-season game (Evansville here on Feb. 26), and maybe the play-in game against Indiana State or Missouri State.
Could the Shockers hand Barry Hinson the final nail for his MSU coffin?
Tonight’s officials: Gerry Polland (57th game of the season), Verne Harris (59th), Don Daily (34th). Harris is a Final Four veteran, Pollard has become one of the better refs in the MVC and Big 12.
5:30 p.m.: America’s Renaissance Conference!
Mitch Holthus is in the house! He and Charlie Spoonhour are calling tonight’s telecast on FSN, Cox Ch. 34 around here. As you remember, Mitch called the MVC America’s Renaissance Conference a decade ago, and I can’t think of anything else whenever I see or hear him.
Mitch is a wonderful voice for the Valley. He sings its praises at every opportunity, but not to the point of going too far and being a homer for the league. A great advocate for the conference.
A note about Shocker fans as they continue to fill the Roundhouse tonight: You folks are amazing. This has been a season when many of you have wanted to fast forward straight to Oct. 15, 2008, and the opening of practice for next season. But the way you continue to support the team at home games, with purchases of apparel, and in many other ways continue to speak to how much this city loves its team. Wichita’s a melting pot for many Big 12 alumni and fans, but this is still a Shocker town. You should be proud.
5:15 p.m.: Time to rate the Salukis
As always during the conference season, we’ll rate the incoming opponent to start the blogging night. We rate the school and its importance to the Missouri Valley Conference. We’ll use the following for criteria, giving a maximum of 10 points for each and a minimum of 1. Here’s our look at the Salukis.
1. Its national reputation in college basketball. For recent history, all you have to know about SIU nationally is that ESPN’s “College GameDay” was in Carbondale a couple Saturdays ago. Yes, the Salukis have stunk it up this year — for them — but the Salukis are the national face of the conference right now. They were also making consistent NCAA appearances in the mid-1990s under Rich Herrin, and don’t forget the pre-Valley days of the 1960s, when SIU (with Walt Frazier at guard and Jack Hartman on the sideline) won the NIT in 1967. 8 points.
2. Where its best players rate historically among the conference’s best. SIU joined the Valley in the mid-1970s, so Frazier doesn’t count. When I was a kid, I thought SIU’s Mike Glenn was the best shooter I’d ever see. Ashraf Amaya was a game changer a decade ago, so was Troy Hudson. In this decade, SIU has won with a team more than individuals. 6 points.
3. Its home arena. SIU Arena is as bland as the name suggests. A facelift, much like what Koch Arena went through, is on the horizon. That’s a good thing, because the Salukis deserve to play in a better facility than this close-to-50 year-old gym. Just nothing that stands out positively about it. 3 points.
4. Its home fans. SIU has always seemed like the only true big-time college campus in the Valley. There’s something like 25,000 students and the kids at games are as good as anyone in the league. Other fans aren’t as great and tend to perform similarly to their team. 5 points.
5. Its home city. Visiting beat writers usually spend less time in Carbondale than other MVC cities because it’s a couple hours from St. Louis, so you trek from StL for the game, then drive back to StL afterward. But Carbondale has the definite small-town, big-campus feel. A dozen years ago, a new Applebee’s was a big deal. But there are a lot of good college joints in the middle of town. 6 points.
6. Its mascot and school colors. Salukis, maroon and white. Kids in 10 Valley cities know that a Saluki is an Egyptian racing dog only because of SIU, so that’s a plus. It’s one of the more original nicknames around, too. 7 points.
7. Most colorful players and coaches from the school. I’ve told the story before about Randy House, a Class of ‘89 Saluki who shook my hand in the stands after a 1989 game at the Roundhouse when I had heckled him with the Commodores’ “Brick House” the entire game. Good dude. Rich Herrin is my other favorite Saluki. I’ve sat in some interviews with him where I left wondering, “What the heck did he just say?” The tape didn’t help a second time, either. 5 points.
8. And, finally, a chance to earn 10 bonus points based on none of the above. The Salukis get bonus points for always having the best fan turnout — well, not always, just most years — at the Valley Tournament. The tournament wouldn’t sustain itself in St. Louis without them. They also get points for a great radio guy, Mike Reis (check him out online if you get a chance tonight), who’s been VOTS as long as Mike Kennedy’s been VOTS. 5 points.
The Salukis check in at . . . 45 points. That puts them in third with Evansville and WSU to go. I won’t be courtside for the home finale on Feb. 26, but I’ll rate both schools beforehand and have Paul post it at the start of the night.
The current standings
Creighton 55
Bradley 54
Southern Illinois 45
Illinois State 43
Missouri State 39
Northern Iowa 33
Indiana State 32
Drake 29
5:05 p.m.: And a pleasant good evening, everyone
I‘ve got my two Diet Dr. Peppers, I’ve shaken hands with Jack Watkins of the Missouri Valley Conference and the Missouri State banner is still out of order alphabetically at the top of the arena. Let’s blog.
Obviously a bigger game for the Salukis tonight than the Shockers. SIU is tied for third in the conference with four games remaining, and WSU is by far the easiest opponent. SIU’s schedule from here: Northern Iowa, Nevada (BracketBusters), at Bradley, Illinois State. I’m sure the Salukis feel like they need this one to have any chance of finishing third. Then again, beating Drake the other night probably gives the Salukis enough confidence that they don’t care who they face in the semifinals, the No. 1 seed (Drake) or No. 2 seed (Illinois State).
We’ll rate the Salukis in a little bit and throw in some other pregame thoughts. If you’re checking the blog before you head to the arena . . . why? Anyway, drive safely, it’s still not ice out there, but anytime now . . . .