Big game against Little Rhody
01/10/2007 9:05 am
SLU isn?t shooting well right now, but it?s the defense that has coach Brad Soderberg most concerned. In its first 13 games, SLU allowed just one opponent, shoot-first-ask-questions-later Houston, to score more than 70 points. Then St. Bonaventure scored 74 and Duquesne scored 73. That led to the increased focus on X?s and O?s this week.
One thing that isn?t coming is a big shake-?em-up move by Soderberg. He?s going to stick pretty much with the seven players he has used to now.
?The worst thing I can do is panic,?? Soderberg said. ?That would be the worst possible thing I can do. The lineup I played went 10-3 in the nonconference and played some very good basketball. They didn?t play perfectly, but they played very good basketball. We had a bad week, a real bad week of basketball, but I?m not going to throw away the baby with the bath water because we had a bad week. I believe in these kids. I think our best starting lineup is the lineup I?ve been using. We?re going to come out of it.?
He?s also satisfied with the shots his offense has produced and he sees no big changes there. But with SLU making just five of 22 3-point tries against Duquesne, if the Billikens don?t start making some outside shots, opponents will be content to play a zone, which will make life harder inside for center Ian Vouyoukas, who will have a harder time getting the ball and a harder time doing something with it once he gets it with a lot of players clogging the middle.
At practice on Tuesday at Scottrade Center, guard Kevin Lisch was shooting 3-pointers during a drill. He made 17 straight, moving around the arc. Pass, catch, shoot, swish. Pass, catch, shoot, swish. So the thought that there is something wrong with his elbow or his hand that is causing the slump doesn?t add up.
SLU?s RPI is down to 90 from the 40s. Rhode Island?s is 185. The good news is that there are now teams with better RPIs than SLU?s in the A-10, so it will be easier for them to move up if they beat those teams. Dayton was in the 30s last week before losing on Sunday.
Realistically, SLU is playing for a good seed in the conference tournament now. If they go 12-2 the rest of the way, they could still win the conference title or at least get a first-round bye. Also, a strong finish like that is the kind of thing the NCAA selection committee likes to see. But a 12-2 finish right now is a tough sell.
There will be some pressure on the Billikens in this game. If they lose, they go to 0-3 with Xavier coming to town. That?s not a good situation to be in. But I can?t rule out them winning both games this week. A year ago, they weren?t playing well when they went into Xavier and won.
Obi Ikeakor?s status remains on hold, though even if he doesn?t play again this season his days with the program aren?t over. Soderberg told me Monday that Obi needs to be back in class next Monday so he doesn?t fall behind for this semester. So it?s uncertain if he?ll be back this season, but the indications are he isn?t leaving the program.
You?ll notice something new on Wednesday at Scottrade. They have added the bright red LED lights behind the backboard that go on when the clock hits zero. They have become a fairly common officiating tool in recent years but Scottrade didn?t put them in, probably because with SLU leaving in a few years, the number of basketball games they do each year will be cut in half. (They?ll still do Mizzou-Illinois, the MVC tourney and the Shootout.) They were ordered after the confusion at the end of the Missouri State game and are linked to the clocks on top of the backboards, which are the only clocks that matter.
