No broken bones for Bilyeu

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Missouri State senior starter suffered a severe sprain in left hand, could play Tuesday night.


Missouri State's Nathan Bilyeu does not have any broken bones in his left hand and could play ? at least in a limited role ? when 21st-ranked Southern Illinois visits the Bears on Tuesday.
That was the happy report on Sunday from Bears coach Barry Hinson regarding his senior forward, who injured his hand in the second half of Saturday night's 62-58 victory at Northern Iowa.



"They're calling it a (significant) sprain," Hinson said after X-rays taken earlier Sunday were negative. "He will be able to play to pain tolerance and everybody who knows Nate realizes that short of removal of a body part, he will want to play.

"It's great news, though it remains to be seen how much of a difference he will be able to make in games this week."

Bilyeu fell on the hand while scrambling for a rebound with just over seven minutes remaining and did not return, though he wanted to in the final minute.

"He's crazy," teammate Blake Ahearn said. "Nate would play with a broken leg if you let him."

Bilyeu's injury was the most significant ailment from a game that featured seven or eight players with blood on their jerseys during the second half. There also were some heated words exchanged between the teams. Double technicals were issued twice in the final four minutes ? to Bears Dale Lamberth and Deven Mitchell and to Northern Iowa's Jared Josten and Kwadzo Ahelegbe.

After he was part of a jump ball with seven seconds to go, Mitchell apparently got his jersey tugged near the Northern Iowa bench and took exception. He and Ahelegbe were assessed technicals.

"I can't remember an atmosphere or a game in which both teams were playing well and playing hard. I thought that was just a battle," Hinson said. "Lots of fouls and lots of anger, but for the most part in a good way.

"The one good thing about that game it provided an environment much like we'll see Tuesday night" in terms of toughness and physical contact.

Bilyeu was part of a Bears' defense that played strong against Northern Iowa's highly-regarded inside duo of Eric Coleman and Grant Stout. A combination of Bilyeu, Drew Richards, Mitchell and Lamberth held Coleman and Stout to a combined 3 of 16 shooting night and 13 points.

"I'd like to say we made them a focal point," Hinson said of Coleman and Stout, "But they've been a focal point since being in a UNI jersey.

"We just felt like we had to play solid defense all over. Not just on Grant and not just on Coleman. We told our guys, if they're gonna beat us they're gonna beat us from the perimeter and to not give up easy baskets.

"Defense and rebounding were the emphasis and we still got outrebounded (35-32), but I'll get over it with a win."

Tyler Chaney came up big on the boards, leading the Bears with eight.

The victory was the Bears' fifth on the road in conference play and left them a step closer to clinching a top-three finish in the league. They're two games behind SIU and one behind second-place Creighton with three to play, and are two games clear of Bradley and Wichita State, who are tied for fourth.

 

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Salukis not just about 'D'

Southern Illinois' defense is ranked No. 4 in the nation, but the offense is more than capable, too.




When players are recruited to play basketball at Southern Illinois, they aren't given a sales pitch about the glory of playing defense.
"We don't even talk about that," coach Chris Lowery said. "We talk about winning."



The 16th-ranked Salukis have done plenty of that, and defense is their calling card in six straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.

And this year's version, which visits Missouri State tonight, might be the best yet.

"It's hard to say," senior guard Jamaal Tatum said. "Every year I think it's our best defensive team. This year we have done a lot of good things."

Playing its usual brand of aggressive man-to-man defense, SIU is allowing an average of 56 points a game. That ranks fourth nationally behind Princeton, Butler and Air Force.

It's the major reason the Salukis lead the Missouri Valley Conference by one game over Creighton and two over Missouri State with three remaining.

While SIU's playing style is called ugly by some around the Valley, Lowery does not apologize for it.

"We preach winning, we preach rings and NCAA Tournament appearances," Lowery said.

Which is how he sells young players on the value of defense.

"I think some of the guys who played AAU ball in St. Louis for the Eagles, our coaches emphasized defense," said Tatum, the Salukis' all-Valley guard. "Then we got to college and we had to completely buy into the system. We thought, 'All right, if they are winning, obviously they must be doing something right and the coaches must know what they are doing.'

"Some guys have to buckle down and concentrate more than others. But defense wins games and that's the final goal."

Missouri State coach Barry Hinson said preparing for SIU's defensive intensity is impossible.

"We go to the police station and bring in German shepherd attack dogs and let them onto the floor and get after us," Hinson said with a laugh.

"You cannot simulate how good they are."

Hinson said he tells his players to prepare for a physical game and not to complain about bumps and bruises.

"We talk about it, sometimes at a fault we talk about it too much," he said. "Sometimes when you continue to talk about it, you paint them into Supermen."

The Bears have held their own, winning four of the past seven games against SIU. But the Salukis thumped them 76-56 on Jan. 13 in Carbondale, Ill.

Not only was SIU's defense outstanding that day, its offense was outstanding. The Salukis, led by Randal Falker's 23 points and Tatum's 19, shot 58 percent from the field.

They were even better in a Saturday victory over Creighton, shooting 65 percent, including a Valley-record 85.7 percent in making 16 of 18 shots in the second half.

"If they shoot like that," Hinson said, "they'll win a national championship."

Lowery doesn't expect that kind of shooting every night, though he does think his team's offense often is overlooked.

"That's fine because (defense) is what we're known for," he said. "But if you ask anyone in the league to chase us around on that side and guard us, too, I think it's tough to deal with."

 

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Three things to watch against SIU
- Protect the ball: SIU's man-to-man defense, especially in the half court, forces teams into turnovers or bad shots. The Bears had 14 turnovers and shot 40 percent in a 76-56 loss at SIU on Jan. 13.

- Get to the line often: Missouri State's best chance is to be aggressive with the ball and attempt to get the Salukis into foul trouble. In a victory over SIU last year at Hammons, the Bears had a 16-7 scoring edge at the foul line.

- Slow down Falker: SIU center Randal Falker is probably the most improved player in the league. When he scores (23 against the Bears last month) it opens things up for the Salukis' perimeter shooters.

 

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Salukis' next goal? Holding onto ranking


CARBONDALE - The Southern Illinois University men's basketball team has achieved one of the highest rankings in school history.

The tough part will be holding onto that lofty ranking after this week.




Updated top 25 polls were released Monday, and the Salukis climbed six spots in each of the major rankings. SIU is now No. 16 in The Associated Press poll and 15th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll.

The No. 15 ranking ties the highest in school history. The Salukis reached that spot in both major polls on March 1, 2004.

But in the first game after those rankings were released, SIU lost at Northern Iowa, and the Salukis started tumbling toward the bottom of both polls.

SIU faces a similar test this time around, with a difficult three-game road trip facing the Salukis. That stretch begins tonight, when SIU travels to Missouri State.

"We know how hard it is to win there," Young said. "They play us so good anytime we play them.

"We just need to stay focused and continue to get better."

The Salukis certainly do know how tough it is to win at Missouri State. SIU lost the last two meetings in Springfield, Mo., and has lost seven of its last 10 games there.

Still, the Bears have shown some vulnerability at home this season. Both Northern Iowa and Creighton left the Hammons Center with wins, and the Salukis could become the third team this season to accomplish the feat.

In order to do that, SIU may need the sort of well-rounded effort it received in Saturday's 72-68 win against Creighton. Despite getting just four points out of Randal Falker, the Salukis were able to surpass 70 points for the eighth time this season.

"For Randal to play as bad as he did, he was our biggest cheerleader over there when we made the run and we got it going," Lowery said. "That's a credit to our kids, losing themselves to the team.

"Last year, whenever one or two guys struggled, we couldn't win, regardless of who it was. Now, when guys struggle, we're good enough. We've got great senior leadership, so that overcomes most of the things that effect young teams."

That leadership was evident throughout Saturday's win, as Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young combined for 29 points, including several key shots in the waning minutes.

More so, it was evident during a team huddle in the second half, when Tatum got in the faces of his fellow teammates, screaming at them to pick up their games.

"I respect their decisions on the floor," Lowery said of Young and Tatum. "And I respect the fact that they don't back down from me, and they don't back down from any opposing teams."

Of course, if SIU can play tonight the way it did in its first meeting this year against Missouri State, the Salukis shouldn't have many problems extending its season-long winning streak to eight games.

During the teams' Jan. 13 meeting in Carbondale, the Salukis trounced MSU, 76-56. SIU shot 58.1 percent from the floor in that game, and got 23 points out of Falker.

It may take a similar effort from Falker in order for SIU to complete the season sweep of MSU. But, as the Salukis have now proven, even if one of their stars has an off night, they are plenty capable of pulling off a big win.

"That just shows how great a team we have," said junior forward Matt Shaw, who scored 25 points Saturday. "When somebody's not playing very well, other people are there to pick each other up. That's just a credit to our team and how hard we work."