SIUe loses to DIII Illinois College-thoughts

So, SIUE lost its second exhibition game to Illinois College, a DIII school with less than 1,000 students.
Last season, SIUE lost to a DIII school, (Millikin) and now they do it again.
I do not know what the deal was last night.
SIUE came out flat. IC raced out to an 8-0 lead early and built some confidence and momentum. The crowd was not in the game at all until the very end of regulation when the Cougars were walking the tight line of defeat. The Cougars should have never been in that situation with Mark Yelovich in the lineup, but that was the case.
A career game by Stephen Jones was not enough for SIUE either.
IC outworked, out-hustled, and outplayed SIUE from the word go.
This is not just disappointing, this is flat out embarrassing, and SIUE could be in for a very rude awakening if they haven't received one already, Friday when they head up to Champagne to open the regular season against Illinois.
Even if SIUE pulled out a victory last night it was not earned. This game should not have went to overtime, this game shouldn't have been close to begin with.
After the game Aamir McCleary said the Cougars were expecting a win, and that could have contributed to their lackluster performance.
Syracuse lost to LaMoyne last week and your team lost to Millikin last season. There should never be a game, exhibition, regular season or post-season where a team expects to win. You can be okay with being the favorites but you still have to battle, especially given IC had a size advantage on the Cougars, who are built more for quickness than post-play.
Lesson be learned, Cougars. Be thankful ESPN isn't covering this, because it was the worst loss by any D-I team in the country so far this November.

Posted in: Archives,Champagne,Exhibition,Illinois College,LeMoyne,Millikin,SIUE,Stephen Jones,Syracuse