It has finally hit me. My alma-mater is hosting ESPNU and the 10th best team in the country, 19-0 Murray State at 8 p.m.
Hopefully, we see something special here today. SIUE is 5-11 and 3-4 in the OVC. The Cougars are 17 point underdogs in Las Vegas, but this is college basketball. This is a sport where anything can happen. You really can't count anyone out, especially when it's their super bowl in a packed house, as we will have in just a few hours. Who had Virginia Commonwealth in the Final Four? Who had Butler playing for two consecutive national championship games? Who had Murray State at 19-0 and SIUE getting a home game on national television this season? I alluded to it in the pre-season but never imagined what the stakes would be. For SIUE, this is more than a chance to showcase themselves on national television. This is an opportunity to make some serious noise. We could lose out and nothing else matters.
Murray State has their own incentives. The Racers are chasing perfection. Perfection is uncommon in our game. St. Josephs did it during the 2004 regular season but fell in the A-10 tournament and failed to make it to the Final Four. The Racers run is valuable to the OVC in more ways than one. This is a conference that fails to get any credit. What Murray State is doing benefits everyone in the conference, SIUE included.
As we know, this game has been sold out for weeks. Loyal SIUE fans are getting turned away because there simply isn't enough room in the VC. It's a small gym with charm. Tonight, it is going to be one of the loudest gyms in the country. Sure, Duke is playing Florida State as we speak and Baylor took on Missouri in a match-up of two top five teams, but they are used to this type of atmosphere. We had 1,300 fans in the building Thursday. This doesn't happen every day.
Thursday, SIUE lost 80-67 to Austin Peay. You might as well throw that game out the window. The Cougars came prepared and lost. Tonight, they are even more prepared. They know the Racers. They played them twice last season and not much has changed on their front except for the fact that they are a year older, more experienced and taking care of business. They played in front of 5,000 plus in a hostile road environment Wednesday and narrowly escaped Morehead State, and even trailed in the second half. That Morehead team isn't the same one that knocked off Louisville in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season. The Racers are vulnerable, and I think everyone, including themselves knows it.
The Racers are missing forward Ivan Aska, their leading rebounder and only big interior threat. In their last few games, they have been outrebounded by an average of 3.6 without him. With him, they were +3.6. Their points per game and margin of victory is down. They are not the same team.
That is not to say they don't have weapons. You look at guys like Isiah Canaan. He has been around and is putting together a phenomenal year averaging 18 points per game. Donte Pool is averaging 14. Aska is their other player in double figures at 12. Missing him is huge not only on the rebounding front. Guys like JeWaun Long and Ed Daniel also pull some weight.
Murray State is without guard Stacy Wilson as well tonight. He is a key player off the bench, so his absence may force the Racers to go a little deeper than they are comfortable with.
For the Cougars to be successful tonight they have to do what has made them successful on occasion throughout the year. They have to shoot the three well and play like there is no tomorrow, because there really isn't.
Mark Yelovich, Jerome Jones and Kris Davis all have to step up. Feed off the energy.
This is the biggest game in program history. Let's make some history happen right here.
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