The morning after (sort of) SIUE at Illinois State

 I needed a few days off before posting on this one.

 I love solo road trips. It gives me an opportunity to escape, and then when I arrive to at my destination there should always be something fulfilling waiting for me. In this case, it was supposed to be SIUE competing and hopefully winning a basketball game. SIUE did not win the game, but competing is another thing.

For some strange reason, Illinois State pummeled the Cougars for the second consecutive year Thursday at Redbird Arena. It was never  really close. The Redbirds jumped out to an 11-0 lead and convincingly won this "round" of the Cancun Challenge. It was not a challenge for them.

I was not alone in my optimism for the team following Monday's 20-point loss at Illinois. That was a strange game, because SIUE dominated in the turnover category and still got "blown out," by traditional basketball standards. In hindsight, that game was close enough. Thursday night was an embarrassment and I needed to get the hell out of Normal as fast as I could.

I made it back to Edwardsville before midnight. Pretty good?

On paper, I love what this team has become. Thursday, I hated them on printed out pieces of paper distributed during media timeouts.

College Basketball

The box score doesn't lie. The Cougars have a laundry list of things to work on and a game like this really came at the worst possible time: right before our trip to Cancun. This tournament was never supposed to be a vacation. It's about going down there and getting two wins. Still, if I was the coach of this team I would blindfold them the second the plane lands, black out the windows in the hotel and take them straight to the gym. Maybe that's a little extreme.

The Cougars shot 25 percent in this game. Illinois State wasn't playing their best either, and if they were rolling on all cylinders we are talking about an Iowa 2010 loss to a team that is worse than Iowa could ever be. Illinois State has some nice players. Carmichael in particular is one of the guys still around from the failed wonder years of Osiris Eldridge and I like Jon Ekey as an athletic white dude big man. John Wilkins is a damn good freshman too. It came down to execution. Against Illinois, SIUE didn't make their shots but they did pretty much everything else right. Thursday, SIUE was just out-rebounded 38-35. They are a much better team on the glass than a year ago, and the effort against Illinois Monday was not indicative of that just because they have three players who were 10 foot tall. They were -2 in the turnover battle. That really is not enough of a difference to affect the game. They had four blocks. That's pretty good too.

It came down to the offense and the offense alone.

13-51 from the field, 7-17 from the free-throw line. Those are horrible numbers. The 5-18 from 3-point range is something I can live with. Six assists isn't going to get it done either. Jerome Jones had eight points but was 3-18 from the field. He took the worst shots out of anyone.

This team is ice cold. Hopefully that changes in Cancun, and if nothing else, Robbie Morris the third out of Springfield opens up the VC a week from tomorrow.

Off-topic:

I liked Redbird Arena. They know how to put on a game, and I think you would have a harder time finding a better fan experience in the Missouri Valley Conference. The player introductions were fantastic, and they really tried to make it a fun, interactive atmosphere. I don't know if it can compete with the Eddie at the dentist ads on the "VCtron" but it's pretty good. Redbird Arena is older, and is probably no longer compliant with ADA requirements. The upper deck is steep, meaning fans are right on top of the players from high above. It is a rare arena, in that it is intimate, while making use of two decks. Absolutely love it.

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