Catching up...again

Good afternoon Cougar nation. I apologize for my unforeseen absence as of late keeping up the blog. We have missed a ton.

Quick update: I am a "professionally unemployed journalist" washing dishes at a local restaurant to pay my rent. It's a blast.

The job has me working on Saturday nights and that has caused me to miss a few games. I won't be able to make the finale and bracketbuster game against Northern Illinois Saturday because of it. Have to do what I have to do I guess.

The Cougars have probably exceeded our expectations, as if there were expectations to begin with. After the opener at Illinois I was adamant in thinking this was a 12 win team. Right now, SIUE is 7-15 with five games to play. We probably won't get to 12, but 10? Maybe.

SIUE is not a terrible basketball team. There have been moments where they have definitely looked like one, but on the other hand they are playing respectable basketball. Kris Davis has been a bright spot and possibly the Steph Curry we desperately need. Guys are fitting into their roles, and it's obvious that the team is becoming more talented as time progresses. Last year, David Boarden was a starter. This year he is the last guy off the bench. Kevin Stineman started the year as the team's starting point guard but the emergence of Davis has limited his minutes and put him into a more fitting role off the bench.

Kevin isn't flashy and doesn't score much, but he doesn't make careless mistakes either, so he is a nice guy to have in a limited capacity. Davis is one of the best 3-point shooters in the country. That's a great pickup.

So, how many games has eCougarzone.com missed? six, to be exact. How many have I seen in person? two.


Murray State 82, SIUE 65

When we last left you we were preparing to take on the No. 10 team in the country and the final unbeaten in the world of college basketball. To top it off, the game was televised on ESPNU, a first for SIUE. Courtside, stringing a story for the Edwardsville Intelligencer, I was visibly nervous, as the Vadalabene Center filled up an hour before tip off with alternating chants of SI and UE beckoning from the student section. I had never been prouder of my school.

The Cougars put up a fight. Never mind ESPN missed the good part, cutting into the game at the first media timeout with SIUE ahead 12-10. The Racers went on to show their superiority, going on a ridiculous 16-0 run in under 3 minutes to take a commanding 26-12 lead. The short stretch may as well have been the basketball game.

Jacksonville State 76, SIUE 65

SIUE's slide continued. This was their fifth straight loss and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it but helplessly watch the ESPN Gamecast on my iPhone. It was a frustrating night for me.

The Cougars had 19 turnovers and the Gamecocks scored 26 points off of them. SIUE kept it close through a 15-6 run, but the turnovers made the game.


Tennessee Tech 98, SIUE 80

SIUE held Kevin Murphy to 1-16 from the field and defeated the Golden Eagles earlier this year. On this day, he dropped an NCAA-season-high FIFTY (50) 5-0 points on SIUE.

It was the Kevin Murphy show, a performance worthy of praise. He was nominated for, and won the Capital One performance of the week, earning his pixelated highlights some airtime on SportsCenter.

There was no stopping him despite scoring 80 points for the third time this year. The other two came in the earlier game against Tennessee Tech (83) and a win over Robert Morris-Springfield (That doesn't really count.)

Any time on SportsCenter with the Cougars in it is a plus. One of these days we will turn the table.

SIUE 61, Morehead State 53

Morehead State is down this year because of the departure of Kenneth Faried to graduation and the NBA. That's life in college athletics. You can't sign these guys to long-term contracts. Faried was the backbone to this team. During shootaround, they were noticeably smaller and lacked that unmistakable force. This turned out to be a good thing.

Morehead State, despite being a completely different team is still the same Morehead State that defeated Louisville in the first  second round of the NCAA tournament last year. They still have Demonte Harper who lit up the Cougars in their game at the Vadalabene Center last season. Donnie Tyndall is still their head coach. The Eagles are still dangerous.

This was a defensive battle and Morehead State really never got going. It was one of those games where you slowly build up a decent lead but expect the other team to eventually make some kind of run and make everyone completely uncomfortable.

Thankfully, that never happened.

SIUE 80, Eastern Kentucky 74

ESPN Gamecast is probably the most nerve-wracking way to watch a basketball game you should be at and limits productivity. That's fine with me. I hate my job.

Southeast Missouri State 85, SIUE 72

Help me out with this one in the comments section. Another game I missed and probably the outcome we should have expected. It seems to me this one was very similar to the first game in Cape Girardeau. The Cougars kept it close into the second half but fell short to a better team. I am a believer in SEMO. They are much improved and Dickie Nutt has a few valuable pieces. Murray State may be an insurmountable hurdle for them to overcome even past this season, but SEMO is going to only get better, as will SIUE.



Here's a stat I tweeted out courtesy of the awesome statbot @SIUEball.


The Cougars have lost 100% of the time this season (0-7) after shooting a three point percentage of 39.1% or worse....

Chew on that.

Up next: Eastern Illinois and Northern Illinois

Wednesday, SIUE travels to Charleston for another shot at the struggling Panthers. At the VC, SIUE put forth a very uninspiring performance in a 73-59 loss. Joey Miller, the son of the coach with the hottest seat in the conference put together a surprising 24 point performance while the Cougars shot just 27 percent of their shots in the first half and couldn't dig out of a 34-21 halftime hole.

I think this was just an off-night and EIU is beatable if SIUE plays their game and makes some shots. It will be difficult though traveling into Lantz Arena.

I am skeptical when it comes to Bracketbusters. I didn't want ESPN to send Towson, Liberty or a school 85 percent of the student body hasn't heard of into the VC. Thankfully, they used their head and gave us Northern Illinois, a team everyone is familiar with from a conference everyone should be familiar with (the MAC).

The Huskies are just bad. NIU is 3-20. They beat Roosevelt (whoever that is) and have two wins in the MAC over Miami (Ohio) and Central Michigan. They lost by 13 to Carbondale, which may be better than we did down there but hey, we didn't lose to Purdue 96-34 in front of 14,000 fans.

The NIU offense isn't deep. Tim Toler and Abdel Nader average 10 points per game but after that there is a huge drop off. I can see a victory here, but won't guarantee anything at all.

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If you don't hear from me the tweetline is open @AllanjLewis. I feel like it's my duty to keep this blog going and that I have let you all down. We have five games left. Let's try to get to 10 wins.

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Previewing SIUe vs. No. 10 Murray State

Tonight is the night. I have arrived at the Vadalabene Center four hours early and am taking in the calm before the storm.

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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The Aftermath: SIUE vs. Austin Peay

The Cougars OVC skid continued Thursday night at the Vadalabene Center with an 80-67 loss to Austin Peay.

It wasn't a particularly bad loss, but definitely raises a few concerns heading into tonight's game against Murray State. It was, however, Austin Peay's first road victory of the season.

It looked really good early. After a 4-0 start for Austin Peay, the Cougars rattled off an 8-0 run. 

SIUE's offense was clicking. They shot more than 50 percent on the night and held a 18-16 rebounding edge in the first half while trailing 37-36. The Cougars were outscored by 12 in the second half, much because of their inability to get the rebounds they had in the first half, especially on the offensive end where Austin Peay was getting easy looks and second chances. The Cougars were out-rebounded 36-27, so 20-11 in the second half.

The offensive numbers looked outstanding. 53 percent shooting in the first half and 47 in the second half. As a team, you were 4-9 (44 percent) from behind the 3-point line and you had 14 assists. What the shooting percentage doesn't take into account is your number of possessions, and Austin Peay,  while shooting particularly well themselves (54 percent) had 13 more of them and shot absolutely lights out in the second half (61 percent.) That's a pretty big number.

The offensive rebounds and Cougar turnovers (18) with 11 of them caused by Austin Peay steals pretty much sealed the deal.

Those steals helped result in 14 fast-break points to just two for the Cougars. 

SIUE made a bit of a push late in the second half, but it was just too much Peay.

Mark Yelovich scored his 1,000th career point on the team's first basket. Afterwards, Zeke Schneider tweeted to congratulate him and joked that he would soon be joining the 10 point club. Zeke, you already have 31 my friend....seems more like 9 though.

Kris Davis was 2-5 from 3-point range, and now ranks second in 3 point field goal percentage in the nation.

Charles Joy had one of his better offensive performances of the year, scoring six points, but still, the shot needs some work.

With 0.7 seconds left on the clock, Corey Wickware was whistled for a foul following the in-bounds pass. The Cougars were not looking for the foul, and it was pretty soft. Either way, not a good call with Austin Peay in the double bonus. Just inflated the score a little bit.

SIUE had just 10 bench points and none in the second half. Depth seems to be a bit of an issue, and the Cougars without Michael Messer need to find some kind of offensive output from their bench. Unfortunately, there really isn't anyone I can point to as an answer. 

Four Gov's scored in double-figures and Edwardsville native Will Triggs was first off the bench with eight points. He certainly had his own contingent of fans.

Another post coming shortly on the big one tonight.

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SIUE vs. No. 10 Murray State officially sold out

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Looking back and the week ahead: SEMO, Tennessee State and Austin Peay

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Approx. 40 general admission tickets remain for the game Saturday against No. 10 Murray State (18-0) at the Vadalabene Center. Student vouchers became available today and the lower bowl is gone. Get there fast or miss out on the best night of your life.

While the Cougars try to avoid looking ahead to the biggest basketball game arguably in the history of the Vadalabene Center Saturday, we look back on a disappointing week to say the least. SIUE is now 5-10 overall after a fantastic start to their first season competing in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars started out fast against Southeast Missouri State and came back from an 11 point deficit only to see it resurface and to fade down the stretch in an 85-68 loss at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. A few days later, they fell behind and managed to score just one point in the first five minutes of play at Tennessee State, but made a run to take what seemed to be a commanding 14 point second lead just to see it disappear in a 52-49 loss.

SIUE 68, SEMO 85

Through the early portion of the OVC schedule we keep hearing from our friends across the league about how balanced it is...outside of Murray State. On any given night, anyone in the OVC can beat anyone else...except Murray State. This game and the Cougars game against Eastern Illinois are prime examples of this. In each game, we see similarities, and each time when the Cougars fail to show up the end result is not pretty. We look at the scoreboard and see SIUE lost by 17 points. Meanwhile, SEMO improved to 4-1 in the OVC, showing just how far that program has come. The fact is, SIUE isn't too far behind anyone...which the exception of Murray State.

This was a game until late in the second half. The Cougars had the lead for a large chunk of the first half, and the halftime score of 46-39 probably should have been a little closer if SIUE executed correctly. The shot clock was turned off and the Cougars had one final possession to cut into a 43-39 lead. Lennox Forrester called a timeout with 15 seconds left after an offensive rebound and a missed shot attempt by Michael Birts. Mark Yelovich got the shot with five seconds left but rushed it a bit and the Redhawks rushed down the court, giving Logan Nutt an opportunity to burry a wide open three, his first of the season.

That play right before the half really made the game, even though SIUE was able to take a one point 53-52 lead eight minutes into the second half. Down the stretch, SIUE was outscored 33-15. That's not going to get it done folks.

We did see a balanced effort offensively from the Cougars, as four of the five starters finished in double-figures. Jerome Jones took some bad shots, but finished with 19 points. Still, 1-8 from 3-point range and 7-20 from the field isn't anything to brag about. Kris Davis had 15, including a 3-5 effort from beyond the arc, Yelovich had 13 and Derian Shaffer had 12.

SIUE 49, Tennessee State 52

It's about learning how to win games. SIUE has been competitive all season long with the exception of their games against Illinois State and SIU Carbondale. You can argue they were competitive against Illinois and Eastern Illinois just because they played horrible against the Panthers. It has been rare for the Cougars to come out completely over-matched this season. 

This one was hard to watch, especially since I was relegated to watching the score on my iPhone.

SIUE does not know how to finish off games and win. This was the second big lead the team has lost this season, the other being against Hampton in the Cancun Challenge. If those two games went any bit differently, we are 7-8, which is a ton better than 5-10.

It came down to rebounding. Tennessee State collected 40, the Cougars 27. SIUE is 0-6 when they get 27 or less rebounds. (Thanks for the memo, @SIUEbot).

In such a low scoring game, it is hard to imagine it is even possible to lose a 14 point lead. That's nearly a third of your points in the game. It happened.

As a result, TSU shut the Cougars out on second-chance points (10-0) and they had just three offensive rebounds. SIUE shot 41 percent from behind the arc: Corey Wickware was 3-4 and Kris Davis was 2-5. Mark struggled, and as a result the team shot just 33 percent total.

Despite shooting 30 percent in the first half, SIUE had a 24-17 lead at the break. It has to get better than that, and while it did so did the Tigers after a slow start. They shot 52 percent in the second half and SIUE shot 36.

Learning to win is like learning to fly when you aint' got wings.

Up next: Austin Peay

Before the big game against Murray we have to deal with the Gov's from Austin Peay. If there is such a thing as a trap game at home this would be the one. You don't want to get caught looking ahead whatsoever, and human nature will probably run its course. Austin Peay was picked to finish first in the OVC, but they have struggled consistently throughout the year and at one point were 0-8.

They are also coming off a game against Tennessee State, but they won their match-up 69-63 and are trying to right the ship, standing at 6-13. They still have a long way to go and are still underachieving but have started to show signs of life.

This is a special game for Austin Peay, which concerns me even more. They have two Edwardsville natives on their roster, and although Anthony Campbell, who was supposed to lead the Gov's to the promised land is out for the season (again) with a knee injury, he will be happy to be back, as will Will Triggs, who averages 7.3 points and 5.1 rebounds for APSU.

The Govs' front court is led by TyShaun Edmonson, who is a 33 percent 3-point shooter and averages 12.7 per game. Josh Terry isn't far behind at 12.6.

Austin Peay is a good team although their record fails to show it. SIUE can't overlook anybody on the schedule, especially a Division I team. There is no margin for error. A winning conference record on the ESPN graphic Saturday should be enough motivation.

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Student ticket instructions for Murray State game

Listen up folks! Next Saturday is pretty much already a sell out. This means more than 4,000 people are expected to be at the Vadalabene Center for the Cougars first ever home game against a D-I top-25 opponent and first nationally televised home game. You can't purchase lower bowl tickets anymore and nearly 2,000 general admission tickets have been printed. It's going to be a freaking zoo.

I was just forwarded information from Mason Glick in the marketing department about student tickets for the game and will share it here. You don't want to miss this!

This information is a bit complicated, so I have posted it verbatim.  There will be two student sections, the normal ones and some in the upper deck. Ticket vouchers, which can eventually become tickets will become available for pickup beginning Tuesday at the Vadalabene Center. No tents necessary!

GENERAL ADMISSION STUDENT SEATING: For the men’s basketball vs. Murray State game on January 21^st 8pm, you will have the ability to pick up a SIUE Athletics issued ticket voucher for seating in the student section. You must present this voucher and your Student ID on game day at the Vadalabene Center East or West ticket gate to receive a seat on a first-come, first served basis in the following seating priority 1) bleachers (red voucher), 2) upper level seating (white voucher). Students must enter the Vadalabene Center after receiving your ticket and sit in the designated voucher areas. 

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR VOUCHER: Due to an increased student ticket demand for the men’s basketball game vs. Murray State on January 21^st, SIUE Athletics is allowing students the ability to claim a voucher that guarantees a ticket to the game in the following priority 1) bleachers (red voucher) and 2) upper level seating (white voucher). Student seating vouchers will be available for pickup starting on Tuesday January 17^th until Friday January 20^th from 10 am to 7 pm those specific days. The east gate concession stand in the Vadalabene Center is the only place to claim your voucher and students must present their student ID upon pickup. Only one voucher per student ID will be allowed.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR TICKET: The SIUE Athletics ticket voucher must be REDEEMED ON GAME DAY for the men’s basketball vs. Murray State game on January 21^st 8pm. Students must enter in person the east or west gate in the Vadalabene Center with their voucher and Student ID to claim their ticket and a wrist band (red voucher only), one ticket per student ID. Based on the first-come, first serve voucher system students that claim a red voucher will be allowed seating priority in the bleachers and students holding a white voucher will reserve upper level seating.

*Student tickets will still be obtainable the day of the game based on availability.

Voucher Pick up

Why: Due to an increased student demand the SIUE athletic department is allowing students to claim a voucher that guarantees a student section seat at the January 21^st basketball game vs. Murray State.

Where: Pick up student vouchers for student section tickets will be at the east gate concession stand in the Vadalabene Center.

When: Vouchers will be available starting Tues, January 17^th to Friday, Jan. 20^th from 10 am to 7 pm.

How: Students will have to show a valid SIUE student ID to claim a voucher. Only one voucher per student ID card.

Please direct questions to 855-SIUE-TIX.

 Ticket Pick up

Where: Students can redeem their vouchers in the East or West ticket gate of the Vadalabene Center the day of the game only.

When: Students will be able to start redeeming their vouchers at 7 pm on Sat. January 21. Tip-off time is set for 8 pm.

How: Students must be in person and have a valid SIUE student ID to claim a ticket. One ticket per student ID.  Red vouchers and wrist band will be for the lower level student section seats and the white vouchers will be for the upper level student section seats.

Please direct questions to 855-SIUE-TIX.

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A week in review and what lies ahead: EIU, UTM and SEMO

The Cougars continue to be a conundrum. They are hot and cold, yes and no. This week, SIUE split a pair of Ohio Valley Conference games, falling to Eastern Illinois at home while picking up their first road victory since 2010 and first in the OVC. Still, 3-1 is looking pretty damn good. SIUE's RPI is 292, the first time in a while I remember them being in the top 300 this late in the season. Thanks to Jonathan for pointing that one out.


SIUE 59, Eastern Illinois 73

After winning consecutive games to start the conference season and turning some heads in the OVC the Cougars fell back into bad habits and lost a game that was a whole lot worse than the final score indicates. In the end, we made it just a little bit prettier for the ticker. Too little, too late.

I never count this team out at halftime. There is always some reason to hold out hope. At the same time, you can never count the opposition out at halftime when the Cougars have a lead. They are just that inconsistent of a team. This was one of those games.

Trailing 34-21 at the break, the Cougars needed to figure things out and fast. They didn't adjust fast enough, because just 2:05 into the second half the team found itself in a 20-point hole at 43-23. A 5-0 run made it a 43-28 game, giving us a slim glimmer of hope that just maybe things could turn out a bit differently. EIU led by as many as 21 with 6:05 remaining in the game, but the Cougars to a point finished strong instead of curling into the fetal position and making the embarrassment at home even worse.

This was a sloppy game on both accounts. Neither team looked good early and EIU never really looked to be that dominating. The Cougars played soft, and you can blame foul trouble for that. Mark Yelovich was playing for much of the second half with four fouls after three in the first half and another quick one to start the second. SIUE lost six potential points because of charging fouls in the paint, neither of which really appeared to fully evident. The charging calls on both ends seemed to affect the Cougars more. EIU was getting tons of easy buckets in transition and SIUE seemed to back off a bit on defense trying to avoid the block rather than take the charge, which probably would have been called anyways. They weren't holding their ground at all in the zone defense and EIU capitalized on a weak effort, one Lennox Forrester called his team's worst of the season. That's a bold statement, considering the Cougars scored just 38 points in a 30 point loss at Redbird Arena in November.

The three point shooting was off, and when that happens it often times means a long night for the Cougars. Kris Davis led the team with 14 points split evenly between the two halfs. He was 1-2 on his 3-point attempts, and EIU did a good job eliminating the Cougars best outside shooter, which was surprising given they entered the game with the worst 3-point defense in the OVC, allowing 39 percent shooting from beyond the arc. All 7 of Davis' team-leading points in the first half came from the free-throw line, while the team shot just 27 percent. That won't get anything accomplished. In the end, Yelovich (12) and Jerome Jones (11) also finished in double-figures, but questionable shot selection, soft defense and an overall lackluster effort proved enough to hand SIUE their first OVC loss.

EIU was led by the coach's son, Joey Miller. He poured in 24 points. 

SIUE 69, UT Martin 65

The road is a cruel place in Division I basketball. After watching its women's team get absolutely thumped by the Skyhawks it was SIUE's turn to pick up the pieces. The Cougars came out firing, and unexpectedly so they led by as many as 11 in the first half. A 7-0 run gave UT Martin an edge heading into halftime down just four on their home floor. It was an uneasy halftime for Cougars fans to say the least. Instead of backing down to the challenge, SIUE embraced it, putting together a 15-2 run of their own to open up a 50-33 advantage.

Was it over? of course not. The Skyhawks went on a 10-0 run to get within seven. The Cougars stretched their lead back to 14 and won by four. This was not a game for the faint of heart.

Mike Liabo was the reason this was a game to begin with. The UT Martin start scored 26 points and was 9-16 from the field including four 3-point buckets. SIUE countered with the duo of Corey Wickware (19 points) and Mark Yelovich (18 points).

The 3-point basket once again played a major part in the Cougars success. While they struggled against EIU, they were 6-14 (42 percent) at Martin. Keeping the Skyhawks away from the free throw line (7-9) didn't hurt either.

Yelovich was one rebound (9) away from a double-double.

Just an impressive road effort given the circumstances. Martin isn't going to be an NCAA tournament anytime soon, but the Cougars are displaying the ability to win in the conference, and anything but an 0-4 record at this point is really exceeding expectations, given SIUE was picked to finish dead last in the league. A lot of people may have felt three OVC wins would probably have been a ceiling for the season, and could have also argued three was probably too high. At this rate, there is no reason not to believe SIUE can keep winning and win in the future against these teams.

It's a matter of consistency, and while it has been rough, I have said for a long time SIUE can compete in this league and for an NCAA tournament birth in the future because of a few factors. We don't have football and are located in a large metropolitan area that is not already littered with conference teams like Nashville. Of course, it gets tougher next year with the addition of Belmont, but they just suffered a bad home loss to Lipscomb. Anything is possible.

Next up: Southeast Missouri

I am still undecided on whether or not I will be making the trip to Cape. On one hand the Cougars are 0-6 all-time when I travel to see them play (0-3 against the Big Ten and 0-3 against the Missouri Valley) and on the other, I kind of want to get out of the house and it's not like I have anything better to do.

The Redhawks are also 3-1 in the OVC and boast an 8-8 record overall. The only time I saw them play this season was their 83-68 loss at Missouri, and I was impressed with their effort against the unbeaten Tigers in Columbia. They were right in the game at halftime, but Mizzou was just too strong down the stretch.

Like the Cougars, you can write off two games on their schedule. A 95-60 win over Harris Stowe and an 82-72 win over Hannibal LaGrange, but being a similar opponent you can't help but think of the whipping SIUE put on the Trojans.

SEMO has improved over the last few years and isn't the perennial doormat they were when SIUE topped them on New Year's Eve in 2008. The last few times these schools have met was not pretty. The Redhawks beat SIUE 83-63 at the Vadalabene Center last year and in 2010 walked away with an easy 68-49 win at home. I have a feeling this could be a lot like the game we just saw against Eastern. SEMO is a team we should be able to play close, but just something about it troubles me. Maybe it's the recent history.

In the OVC, SEMO has beat Morehead State, a team running around with its head cut off over the loss of Kenneth Faried by 16 points, routed Jacksonville State and edged Martin by two. Their OOC schedule included a road loss and a paycheck courtesy of Oregon and a few bad looking losses to UMKC, Arkansas State and Central Arkansas. Write it off if you must, but they did lose an exhibition game to Division II Harding University at the Show Me Center. In the regular season, SEMO is 6-2 at home.

Anthony Allison, a senior who killed the Cougars the last few years is gone, but the Redhawks do have guys who can hurt you. Tyler Stone (15 ppg) Leon Powell (11.3 ppg) and Marland Smith (10.8 ppg) can provide offense in a lot of different ways. Smith can really shoot the three (not at a Kris Davis level, but 42 percent is pretty good) Stone averages more than seven rebounds per game and Stone and Powell have combined for 35 blocks on the season. The Redhawks bench isn't a slouch either.

As always, I won't make a prediction, but this game will be a true test for both schools. SEMO is trying to stay out of the bottom of the conference where it has been for too long and SIUE is trying to never find itself there in the first place. At 3-1, both of these teams are a surprise, but only one will come out 4-1. Hopefully we get a close game and these two schools of relative geographic proximity can develop some sort of inter-conference rivalry, because it has been something SEMO has been missing out on for a long time in the OVC and something SIUE has yet to develop.

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Previewing SIUE vs. Eastern Illinois

It's almost time for another conference bout. This time, the Cougars (4-7, 2-0 OVC) take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers (6-6, 0-1) for the first time since the 80s at the Vadalabene Center. EIU owns the all-time series lead 2-1, and took down SIUE 80-57 when the teams last met in 1983.

What to watch for: Eastern is coming off a big loss to No. 18 Murray State at Lantz Arena, and that loss will do one of two things to the Panthers, who were previously 5-0 at home. It can energize them and help to easily put away the Cougars and their frustrations or it can derail them tonight and for quite a while. It all depends on how mentally tough of a team they are. It's an interesting dynamic. On the other hand, the Cougars are hot. They have won two straight in the conference and are at home again. It's hard to bet against the Cougars, and Vegas has the Panthers as a two-point favorite on the road.

Who to watch for: For SIUE, it's Kris Davis. Davis leads the nation in 3-point field goal percentage and Eastern Illinois is an OVC-worst in opponent 3-point percentage. It seems a little cliche at this point to say the Cougars live and die with the three, but in this match-up it very well could be. For EIU, Jeremy Granger averages 16.9 points per game.

 RPI: SIUE (322) Eastern Illinois (190)

Two of the Cougars wins do not figure into the RPI numbers, because they came against Hannibal LaGrange and RMU-S. Eastern gets a little bit of love at 4-6 with a strength-of-schedule rating of 174. The Cougars SOS is 248. That will go up when the Cougars take on Murray. Keep in mind, Illinois was unranked when the Cougars played in Champaign.

In state this year: The Cougars are 0-3 against teams from Illinois...well, 1-3 if you count Robert Morris-Springfield. 

What worries me: Eastern averages more assists, blocks and rebounds per game than the Cougars. Granger is a handful, and the Panthers certainly have other guys who can score.

- From EIU Panthers.com:

Eastern Illinois was limited to a season low four assists as a team on Friday against Murray State.  Jeremy Granger was held without an assist ending a streak of 16 straight games with at least one assist.  The last time EIU was held to five assists or less was last season at Morehead State when EIU had four assists.

• The Panthers played their sixth straight game without James Hollowell who has now missed half of the regular season games.  On Friday against Murray State, Malcolm Herron missed the game giving EIU seven missed games due to injury this year.

• Sophomore Alex Lubsey came off the bench on Friday against Murray State and responded with a season high five rebounds in ten minutes of action.  Three of Lubsey's five rebounds were on the offensive glass.  He now has nine rebounds on the year.

• Sophomore Morris Woods earned his first start on Friday against Murray State.  He opened the game making his first two baskets giving him a streak of seven straight made field goals.  Woods has only missed three shots on the year with his minutes increasing to double digits in the last two contests.

• Zavier Sanders led the Panthers with seven rebounds against Murray State marking the first time this season the senior has led EIU in a game.  It snapped a streak of six straight games in which Alfonzo McKinnie had led EIU in rebounds.  Sanders is third on the team with 4.0 rebounds per game.  McKinnie leads EIU and is fourth in the OVC at 7.4 rebounds per contest.

• After hitting 46 percent from 3-point range at Northwestern, Eastern Illinois has cooled off from beyond the arc in the last two games hitting 5-of-25.  EIU's top 3-pointer shooters on the season have also cooled off as L.C. Doss has hit two of his last ten 3-pointers over four games.  Joey Miller has hit five of his last 19 3-pointers over four games and Taylor Jones has hit two 3-pointers in the last seven games.

• EIU's bench was outscored by Murray State 32-6 on Friday.  It ended a four game streak in which EIU's bench had outscored its opponents.  On the season EIU holds a 50 point advantage over its opponents in terms of bench production 284-to-234.

What gives us hope:  Three point shooting, defense and momentum.

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Cougars/Murray State game on ESPNU

The Ohio Valley Conference officially announced today that the SIUE/Murray State game Jan. 21 at the Vadalabene Center will be televised on ESPNU as a "Wild Card Game" in the conference's television package.

The No. 18 Racers (14-0, 2-0 OVC) and the Cougars (4-7, 2-0 OVC) are two of four teams unbeaten in the OVC early.

While Murray State is clearly the class of the league and has the talent to go far in the NCAA tournament, SIUE has been playing great as of late (knock on wood, we will see more tonight) and will have the fans on their side.

People from other schools in the conference I think underestimate the Cougar's fanbase because they have yet to see it firsthand. While we are not the most enthusiastic bunch night in, night out, the Cougars have people show up to their games. We haven't been under 1,000, and that includes games against non-Division I teams and games during Christmas break.

Remember the game against Murray last year? It was loud, and the students were into the whole white out thing. It got the Racers off of their game a little bit, and they came away with a narrow victory. I wouldn't expect SIUE to be the first team to beat Murray State this season and wouldn't be surprised with a 20-30 point blowout loss at home. Still, the ESPN cameras should be enough to make the VC a hostile environment since it's a new thing for us. People will get excited, that's a guarantee.

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Catching up...

It's been a while. Since we last left you, SIUE has been on a little bit of a roll. After a disappointing journey to Carbondale, the Cougars have won their first two conference games against Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State.

Just a quick recap of the past few weeks.


Dec. 19: SIUE at SIUC

This was a game we were all very excited for. The Cougars, up to this point in the season had been bad, entering with a 2-6 record and two wins against non-Division I programs. The Salukis were not much better. They had wins over Chicago State and Northern Illinois, neither of which had won a game yet. Carbondale lost a home game to Division II Ohio Dominican earlier in the year, so the first Division I battle of the sister schools seemed to be a match-up of two of the worst teams Division I has to offer.

What happened there was embarrassing. SIUE lost 80-57 and everyone wanted to fire Lennox Forrester. The Cougars got a slight pass in this one because they were playing shorthanded. Michael Messer was out because of his aggravated wrist and Kevin Stineman out because of the flu. Mark Yelovich played minimal time and missed the second half because of issues with his right foot.

Freshman Kris Davis was a bright spot, putting in 21 points,  while Jerome Jones gave the Cougars something they had been missing out on all year: a double-digit rebounding game with 11.

Key stats: Just 5 assists for the Cougars to 16 for the Salukis, and SIUC put four players in double-figures, scoring well above their season average, which was in the 50s entering play. SIUE shot 36 percent to 50 percent for the Salukis.

While the Cougars were playing without three of their regulars, the Salukis, who were headed to Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic immediately following the game had recently gained more depth with the addition of previously suspended players Kendall Brown-Surles (2 points) and Davonte Drinkard (10 points).

For at least a year, bragging rights go to the C.


Dec. 29, SIUE vs. Tennessee Tech

My girlfriend wanted to know what all the fuss was about with me and SIUE basketball. She knows I love Cougar basketball and isn't really sure why, considering I usually come home and complain about how poorly they did anyways. I was going to go and "cover" the game for this blog and bring the live chat with me. She was off of work and bugged me to let her tag along. So, I drank two Sam Adams Winter Lagers, got in her car and arrived fashionably late at the Vadalabene Center during the first media timeout. We frequently arrive at Cardinals games in the bottom of the first because she takes 20 hours to get ready, and I liken this to that. Needless to say I was angry.

For once, the fans at the VC had something to cheer about, and I was able to cheer as well, using my student ID to attend my third game as a "fan." I would say all of those student fees I paid should allow me to do this at least a few more times.

The Cougars won. The Cougars did not just win, the Cougars dominated Tennessee Tech 83-68. It was one of those games where I really couldn't get comfortable until there was a minute left in the second half. I actually didn't think we were capable of beating the Golden Eagles, a team I picked to finish 1st in the OVC. I was wrong, but not as wrong as everyone who picked Austin Peay.

Kris Davis was once again the story, reclaiming his position as the nation's best 3-point shooter percentage-wise with 19 points and Jerome Jones had 20 of his own. Mark Yelovich had a great bounce-back effort with 16 points 10 days after we were unsure of his status after he left the game against SIUC early.

SIUE was 8-14 from 3-point range, shot 51 percent and held the Eagles to 34 percent, and more importantly stopped Kevin Murphy, who was 1-16 from the field in a very uncharacteristic performance.

Even more impressive, the Cougars got 40 rebounds for the first time this season.


Dec. 31 SIUE vs. Jacksonville State

The job market in the journalism industry is not my best friend right now. I still have bills to pay and graduation cost me my job at the Alestle and my internship at a PR firm downtown. I took a job washing dishes for pennies on the dollar just to make ends meet. The downside of this is I have little control over my schedule, especially since I just started. Because of this, I rang in the New Year by drinking an entire bottle of champagne by myself on my couch with my girlfriend and cat on California time and missed the Cougars second win in as many conference games. I needed a little bit of help from Alex.

 

The Cougars came back though, after trailing by more than 13 and put it away. Consider this one compensation for the game we blew against Hampton in Cancun. It doesn't make up for it completely, because 5-6 or 6-5 sounds a lot better than 4-7, but SIUE is figuring it out. 

And that's how I enjoyed this game. 

I'll take the win I guess. 

Sorry for my absence over the past few weeks. Stay tuned for more.

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Live chat: SIUE at SIUC

SIUE (2-6) at SIUC (2-5)
(Loser gets fourth letter in abbreviation) 

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Previewing SIUe vs SIUc. The battle for SIU

Founded in 1869, Southern Illinois University Carbondale is the flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. During the post-depression period following World War II, the Metro-St. Louis area was growing, and coincidentally, the area lacked a public institution of higher learning. Dr. Alonzo Meyers, the Chairman of the Department of Higher Education at New York University was assigned to perform a study on the needs of education in the Metro-East. Meyers concluded the area needed a four-year college, because many companies in the region needed skilled employees, but were unable to obtain them locally. SIU acted on the report, and bought a former high school in East St. Louis and Shurtleff College in Alton, which at the time was the oldest Baptist College west of the Appalachian Mountains. In 1957, Shurtleff College became what we know now as SIUe.

As a public college absorbed by SIU, enrollment increased to 1,200 that year. The need to expand was evident, and the opportunity, in this case 2,600 acres of farmland came in 1960. In 1963, construction began on the Edwardsville campus. Classes began at SIUe's permanent home in 1965.

In 1971, because of an increasing sense of self-identity, we officially became the 'e.' The name Southern Illinois University Edwardsville became official.

It is understandable, given the history between the two institutions and their upbringing as one-in-the same that meeting on the basketball floor is something unusual and special in a sense. For one, the Carbondale campus has been around for a much longer period of time. They started competing in Athletics during the 1913-1914 school year. On March 19, 1951, right around the same time the Edwardsville campus was coming to fruition, a student vote prompted them to change their nickname from the Maroons to the Salukis, the royal dog of ancient Egypt. Why? Because Salukis are fast and hunt. Also, because Southern Illinois is nicknamed "Little Egypt." That's putting education to good use.

In 1962, SIU got out of the now defunct Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Association to pursue NCAA Division I, where nine former members, (including SIUE, which competed in the conference from 1910-1937 as Shurtleff College) find themselves today.

Turns out, there is a bit more of a history here than meets the eye. 

1914: SIU 34, Shurtleff 18
1915: SIU 44, Shurtleff 14
1916: SIU 47, Shurtleff 19
1922: SIU 37, Shurtleff 24
1922: SIU 33, Shurtleff 11
1924: SIU 24, Shurtleff 6

You get the idea.

SIU started the series with Shurtleff a perfect 8-0. In 1926, the Maroons went 0-5 in the IIC. Shurtleff beat them for the first the first time by a score of 26-25. Shurtleff came up empty the next five times but won again in 1929, this time 40-27. Basketball is starting to score a bit more like basketball at this time. Shurtleff won the next two as well, and the series record was 13-4 in favor of SIU.

SIU met Shurtleff for the final time in 1948, and the Marroons won 64-59, and took the historic series 21-8.

Under the name SIUe, the Cougars have met the Salukis four times during the regular season, and each time, much like it was in the very different days of Shurtleff College, big brother has won each meeting.

The last time this happened was in 1987, when Rich Herrin's 12-16 Salukis beat the Cougars 82-73 in Carbondale. The year prior, the only time SIUC came to the Vadalabene Center, the Salukis won 84-83 in overtime.

The Carbondale program has had its glory years. They have been to the NCAA tournament nine times, and made it every year from 2002 until 2007. That run included two trips to the Sweet 16. Chris Lowery took the team to the NIT in his first season as head coach in 2008. You can thank Bruce Weber for those.

Just as I had hopped on the Saluki bandwagon in 2002, i jumped off in 2007 when I enrolled as a student at SIUe. Saturday, I became one of the school's 90,000 plus living alumni.

The same year I came to college, the distinction between the two campuses became a bit more apparent. SIUE Chancellor Vaughn Vandegrift announced the university would be leaving the Great Lakes Valley Conference, its NCAA Division II home since 1994 for the Ohio Valley Conference and NCAA Division I.

For all those times SIU beat Shurtleff College, we will consider this one personal. I don't want to be little brother anymore. I am thankful for everything SIU has done to put SIUe in this position, but a time comes in every schools life when it kicks its big brother in the ass. Let's hope that happens tonight.

-----

The Saluki program is having one of its worst years in recent memory. They are 2-5, and their schedule includes a glaring blemish, losing at home to Division II Ohio-Domincan, a program just recently removed from the NAIA. They were blown out by Saint Louis early in the season at home, but given how good the Billikens have been, that loss doesn't look so bad after all.

SIUC is coming off a 62-49 win on the road at Northern Illinois, which is good for their psyche, although the Huskies, also a former member of the IIC are now off to an 0-10 start. Carbondale's other win came against Chicago State, an Independent team that has struggled to find a conference home in Division I. We can also note they rolled through their exhibition games against Illinois-Springfield and Missouri S&T. Take it for what it is worth.

SIUe has been struggling in its own right. The Cougars are 2-6, but really, neither of those wins mean much, and they mean absolutely zero in terms of RPI. SIUE beat Robert Morris-Springfield and Hannibal LaGrange at home, but probably should have two more wins if they were able to close out Lipscomb and Hampton in the Cancun Challenge.

Unlike SIUC, which played Saturday, the Cougars have had nine days off to prepare for this game. We will likely see in the first five minutes of the game if that means absolutely anything at all.

It is very interesting when you compare the numbers between these two teams. Vegas has Carbondale as 15 point favorites. It is safe to take the under, but that doesn't mean SIUe is going to win. The Salukis are built on defense. It is hard to believe with a 2-6 record they have successfully held their opponents under 65 points in every game they have played.

The Cougars average 62 points, and at times this season have been unable to score at all, or though it seems. SIUE lost 68-38 at Illinois State, and that was a game we thought we had a real chance to take. Carbondale, meanwhile averages 56 points per game and shoots just 36 percent. The Cougars aren't the best defensive team out there, but Carbondale's offense is pretty inept, outside of Mamadou Seck who is averaging 14 points and nine rebounds per game. Seck could present some problem to the Cougars, who are not the best rebounding team out there. They have yet to get someone over 10 boards in a game this year. SIUC as a team though, averages just two more rebounds than the Cougars. Carbondale definitely has some things to figure out. They have rolled out five different starting lineups in seven games.

Here's what sticks out to me in this game. The Cougars are a better shooting team than Carbondale. The Cougars have 96 assists so far this season, which to me watching them play doesn't seem like enough. Carbondale has just 59 assists in seven games. That's not going to get it done.

From what I am hearing, the Cougars starting five tonight looks like this:

(JR) Derian Shaffer          5.9 points, 4.9 rebounds
(JR) Jerome Jones            12.1 points, 6.9 rebounds
(JR) Mark Yelovich          13.4 points, 4.6 rebounds
(SO) Michael Messer        7.3 points, 3 rebounds
(FR) Kris Davis               10.6 points, 2.1 rebounds

This leads us to the keys to the game

1. Carbondale will slow the pace of the game. Push them and force them to make mistakes.
2. Don't foul. The Salukis are 69 percent from the free throw line and have gotten there 39 more times than the Cougars. This also brings up the issue of getting to the foul line. Be aggressive, but not overly aggressive.
3. Fast start!!!!!!! - We talk about it every game. We will have a good idea of what is going to happen as a result of the first five minutes.
4. Rebounding! - (Obvious)
5. Stop Seck. (Also, obvious.)

This is the first meeting of four between the Cougars and Salukis to take place over the course of the next four years. They come to Edwardsville next year.

The game is broadcast live on ESPN3.com. Watch it there if you aren't going.

Catch the live chat from the Dirty D at about 6:30. I'll be there.

College Basketball

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Live chat: SIUE vs. Hannial La-Grange

SIUE (1-6) vs. Hannibal LaGrange (6-6)

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Previewing SIUE vs. Hannibal LaGrange

Hannibal LaGrange has been the Cougars opponent on senior night the past two seasons. Tonight, the Cougars meet the Trojans on my senior night.

I am graduating from SIUE in exactly one week. I have been the sports editor at the Alestle covering this team since 2009, and have been a reporter at the paper since August 2007 when I started college.

Somehow, I made it in four and a half years.

While eCougarzone.com is scheduled to last through the end of this season, tonight is my senior night.

Monday is my final day of production at the Alestle before I clean out my desk and enter the "real world," some place I am increasingly becoming scared of, given this thing called the economy.

The Cougars have been great to me. I consider myself lucky to be at SIUE during this important time in our history. We have been losing and we have been losing bad. I always wanted to write about a Division I basketball team on a continuous basis, and I am grateful for this opportunity and the decision made back in 2007 to transition to NCAA Division I.

No, I won't be recognized at all, and that is perfectly fine with me. My dash for cash against UMKC a few years back makes up for that. All I ask for tonight is a win, something the Cougars have gotten against the Trojans on their senior nights the past two seasons.

Tonight, for the team is about gaining some confidence. SIUE has had a hard time these past two games. They were blown out by Cal State Fullerton and Ball State in back-to-back contests. The team showed moments of brilliance in each game, but they got off to starts that were way to slow to even have a chance at digging out of. In the end, both looked really bad, and they were bad. There's not enough sugar in the world to coat those games with and make them look better. We set the bar high in our first game against Illinois for this garbage to continue.

Hannibal LaGrange is an NAIA school founded in 1858 with an enrollment of 1,110 in Hannibal, Missouri. They compete in the American Midwest Conference along with schools like Harris Stowe, Columbia College, Benedictine University, Missouri Baptist and William Woods. The Cougars are the second Division I team and Ohio Valley team on their schedule. The day before thanksgiving, they went down to Cape and lost 82-72 to Southeast Missouri. This is not going to be a cakewalk by any means, as SEMO found out last month. the Trojans come in at 6-6 on the season and on a two-game winning streak. Two days ago, they beat Lindenwood-Belleville by 18.

SIUE leads the all-time series 2-0. They won 84-55 last year, in a game that was delayed nearly an hour because Hannibal LaGrange's bus was stuck in snow and traffic. Two seasons ago, SIUE won 76-66.

In case you are interested, here are my game stories from those last two meetings.

Seniors end careers with win  (2010)

Men's basketball ends with a win against Hannibal LaGrange (2011)

 It should be a win, but we will see what happens. We need this one. It could be a trap.

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The aftermath: Ball State 76, SIUE 55

SIUE had the same problems Tuesday they have had throughout the season.

The Cougars were out-rebounded 38-28, fouled too much, shot 35 percent from the field and were outmatched from the start in a 76-55 loss to Ball State in front of 1,708 spectators at the Vadalabene Center.

SIUE (1-6) got off to a sluggish start, trailing 13-2 early and 38-24 at halftime.

Head Coach Lennox Forrester said the Cougars were not ready from the outset.

“I think slow starts come from how hard we are playing,” Forrester said. “A couple of shots didn’t fall for us, and then we made some mental mistakes, but I thought our guys picked it up and played pretty hard.”

Matt Kamieniecki scored his only two points on Ball State’s first possession, and a pair of free throws by SIUE junior Mark Yelovich tied the game at two. That was as close as SIUE was going to get. The Cougars missed their next four shots from the field while Ball State made their next four and got a three-point play from potential NBA Draft pick Jarrod Jones.

Jones scored seven points in the first half, and Forrester said his team did a good job eliminating Jones from an offensive standpoint. Still, the 6-foot-9 center ended the game with 22 points.

“Our goal going in was to eliminate their best player in points and I thought our guys did a good job with that,” Forrester said. “We gave him some easy baskets because we made some mistakes helping on defense.”

Jones is a dual-threat. Aside from his ability to be a dynamic presence in the post, he can step back and hit the three. Jones was 1-1 from beyond the arc, and is a perfect 5-5 on the season.

“We knew he could shoot and he is great on the block,” Forrester said. “So, our game plan was to double him whenever he got the basketball. I thought our big guys did a good job of not letting him get the ball so easily in the post, but [Ball State] did a good job ball screening and popping him to where we can step out and shoot the basketball.”

Because the Cougars keyed so much on Jones, it allowed Jesse Berry to find looks and give SIUE even more problems. Berry led all scorers with a season-high 25 points. Berry was 4-8 from beyond the arc, going 2-4 in each half.

“Whether we were in the zone or man [defense], they made some tough shots,” Forrester said. “Sometimes, that’s how it goes.”

While Ball State was hitting their shots at a 47 percent clip, the Cougars struggled, shooting below 40 percent for the fourth time this season.  SIUE was 4-24 on their 3-point attempts, and started the game 1-10.

Kris Davis, who entered the game leading the nation in 3-point percentage, was just 1-5 in his first collegiate start, scoring seven points on 3-8 shooting. Corey Wickware was 0-5, Charles Joy was 0-4 and Jerome Jones was 0-3.

“I think we missed some shots tonight because we weren’t ready to shoot the basketball yet ,and we were shooting it. I always tell the guys those are considered bad shots. If you aren’t ready to shoot it, don’t shoot it,” Forrester said. “I thought we missed some open shots, but also, our threes were not falling, but we continued to take them.”

Yelovich scored in double-figures, as he has in each game this season with 10 points, but Forrester said he was unable to get into a rhythm because of foul trouble early on.

“I thought Mark took himself out of the game because of fouls,” Forrester said. “He wasn’t ready to play defense and that’s one thing he has to learn. You have to be ready all the time and he wasn’t ready. They made him pay by fouling and he couldn’t get into the flow of the game because he was on the bench.”

Jones and Michael Messer were the other Cougars in double-figures, each with 12 points. Derian Shaffer, Davis and Joy had seven.

Fouling has been an issue all season, and it’s not just Yelovich. The Cougars committed 22 personal fouls, and have fouled more than 20 times in all but one game this season. They sent Ball State to the free-throw line 29 times, where they converted 22 shots into points. Jarrod Jones was 9-11.
Forrester said defense is the root of the problem.

“We have to do a better job playing defense without fouling,” Forrester said. “We are trying to be aggressive and pick guys up and not just let them come down and run whatever they want to run.”

The Cougars play their fourth consecutive home game at 7 p.m. Saturday and look to get back on track when they host Hannibal LaGrange of the NAIA.

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Live chat: SIUE vs. Ball State

SIUE (1-5) vs. Ball State (4-2)

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Previewing SIUE vs. Ball State

A little late on the preview today, but we will get it in Jersey Shore style before the women's game begins. We are live at the VC, and will be throughout this evening's game with the Cover It Live chat.

The 4-2 Ball State Cardinals are here for the nightcap, while the Cougars enter the game 1-5, fresh off a crushing defeat to Cal State Fullerton Saturday.

Tonight has the potential to be bad.

Ball State comes into this one a few days after they blew out a fellow Ohio Valley Conference school on the road. Saturday, They defeated UT Martin 71-48.

The Cardinals two loses came on the road at good schools. They lost by 10 to No. 16 Arizona and just three at the defending Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion Indiana State Sycamores.

They also own wins over IUPUI, Texas Southern and some school named Calumet College. They beat them 74-38 though.

Ball State boasts a potential NBA Draft pick in 6'9 senior Jarrod Jones.

Jones is going to probably kill the Cougars. I'll come out and say that. He averages 19.5 points a game and leads the team with 8.7 rebounds per game. He is a 61 percent shooter and while he doesn't take the three very often, he can hit them. He is 4-4 on the year. He has taken the most free throws on his team and is not the guy you want to foul. He is 25-30 on the year. It's hard to take him out of the game too. He is averaging 31 minutes and has committed just 12 fouls in six games. He is a smart player who can shoot better than anyone else in this gym tonight. His height at 6'9 makes him bigger than anyone on the Cougars. I just don't see him being stopped.


The obvious key for SIUE is to shut down Jones, but that probably isn't possible.

Jauwan Scaife (10 points per game) Jesse Berry (9.3 ppg) and Randy Davis (8.7 ppg) are all impact role players, and on any given day if for whatever reason Jones doesn't have it, they can turn to someone else.

Indiana State was really the only team able to contain Jones. Scaife scored 15 for the Cardinals, while Jones had seven.

This is the fourth meeting between the Cougars and Cardinals and Ball State has won the previous three. Last season, Ball State beat the Cougars by 30 in Muncie. They are very capable of making that happen again. This is a team that I think has a legitimate chance of winning the MAC. They won 19 games last year, and having Jones as a senior and so much around him may be enough to push them over to the top.

Mark Yelovich has been the big gun for the Cougars all season long. He has done it quietly, and hasn't had that incredible break out game scoring. Tonight would be a good night for Mark to do it.

Keys to the game:

Stop Jones - While it is not going to happen, you have to focus on him. He is a beast.

Defensive intensity - Ball State shot 70 percent against UT Martin. You can't let them do that again under any circumstances. The defense broke down against Cal State Fullerton and allowed too many open looks. A team like this will punish you for that.

Move the ball around and take smart shots - 7 assists was not enough against Fullerton.

If Kris Davis is in the game, let him shoot.

Currently, Bradley leads the SIUE women 10-9 at the first media timeout. We will be back for the live chat in between games. I'll tweet some updates from the women's action. Shout out to this group of the Cougars for downing Carbondale in overtime. Who is little sister now?

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The aftermath: SIUE 57, Cal State Fullerton 79

A game that started out ugly began to show promise, but in the end it's just another blowout to add to the list of defeats the SIUE men's basketball team has suffered over the past four years.

This one had its moments despite being a worse loss than we suffered at Illinois. This team lost to Cal State Bakersfield and Houston Baptist of all teams.

SIUE trailed 20-5 early. Cal State Fullerton had 12 rebounds before the Cougars got one. They were crashing the offensive boards and scoring on second chance opportunities while anything the Cougars did was pretty much useless.

Out of nowhere, the Cougars suddenly appeared. They were the athletic, hot handed team of talented players we knew we had.

Then, after Kris Davis dunked off of a steal with 15:30 remaining in the second half, Bob Burton called a timeout and his Titans responded, and suddenly the four point deficit that seemed to be something we could rid ourselves of in a minute or two became an insurmountable mountain of defeat.

I didn't even know Kris could dunk.

The momentum in this game shifted gears faster than I could imagine on more than one occasion. It was an exciting game for about 20 minutes, the last 10 of the first half and the first 10 of the second. The bread in this game's sandwich, however was stale.

Head Coach Lennox Forrester noted after the game that the Cougars allowed too many wide open looks. D.J. Seeley, a transfer from Cal made them pay. He was 4-6 from 3-point distance and scored 24 points to lead the Titans. Forrester said the Cougars were struggling to get settled into their offensive system, evidenced by all of the bad looks they took. They were sloppy on the glass, while Burton said his team played its best basketball of the year and for the first time in a long while looked like a cohesive team, which is believable because four of his starting five are transfers from other Division I schools and many of his players were redshirted last year.

If Cal State Fullerton plays like they did Saturday, they will have a winning record. If the Cougars play like they did though, they probably won't win a game.

No Candy Land here.

Kevin Stineman tweeted that he "played like a $%@$*." I like that the guys feel bad about this one and love Kevin taking some blame. He scored three points, but I really couldn't point out anything he did wrong.

The Cougars did not make the extra pass. They had seven assists in this one, and I feel as though this team is so much more successful when they share the basketball and make plays. They were tentative, and sometimes looked confused. Forrester blamed the team's lack of execution, but I know these guys and you can draw your own conclusions.

Jerome Jones was 0-4 shooting the three. I don't like Jones shooting the three and will say it again. I think Jones is incredibly dynamic and can be a presence in the paint, working inside out. There are better options to shoot the three. Kris Davis leads the freaking nation in 3-point percentage and was 2-3. The Titans did a good job defensively closing the gaps preventing Davis from getting open looks, and they learned their lesson from facing Mark Yelovich last time when he dropped 34 on them in Fullerton. Mark was held to 14 points, which still led the team. I asked coach about Jones' 3-point shooting and he snapped back at me about it. Figured I would ask. He also noted Yelovich was 0-4 from 3-point range as well, which I note as well, but if I had to chose between Yelovich or Jones taking a big shot I would have to go with Mark. If it is a three, I will take Davis, Corey Wickware, Stineman and Reggie Reed all before Jones. Punish them inside young man.

A loss like this is tough to take, because it could mean we are in for a very long year if we already were not in for one.

The Cougars shot under 40 percent for the third time this season. They grabbed under 30 rebounds for the fourth time this season. I don't buy into those numbers too much at this point.

Ball State is going to be a very tough test Tuesday. They have shown thus far that they are a substantially improved team from last season. The Cougars have the potential to be a much improved team. We have seen glimpses of brilliance. I just hope it all comes out at once. This team is a 7 footer and a better set of plays away from being really good.

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Live Chat: SIUE vs. Cal State Fullerton

SIUE (1-4) vs. Cal State Fullerton (3-3) Tipoff is 2 p.m.

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