for the bobber, it was georgia. to be in that building that day, see the comeback, and hear the chants of "SIU" raining down from the rafters is something i dream about most nights.
but i also give props to the 1977 tournament game against arizona. only radio for that one, but the dorms went absolutely berserk, and besides, you always remember your first time!!!!!
and although it didn't end well, the year we began the season in the preseason NIT at madison square garden. to see that marquee on the front of the building saying "duke, ucla, michigan and SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.....i mean, the world noticed.
oh, and then losing to the trees in the valley tournament, and then watching salukitalk break the national story of lowery being fired, when nobody else could confirm it. that was cool.
because we are cool.
3. Wichita State Shockers January 21, 1984. The Salukis were coached by a fellow named Allen Van Winkle, and had players such as Chris George, Cleveland Bibbins, and Nathaniel Buford. The Shockers at that particular time were ranked in the top 15, had a strong record, and were led by Aubrey Sherrod, and a future NBA star named Xavier McDaniel. The Egyptian Dawgs were quite frankly horrible. However, on this day an unknown hero emerged in 6'9" Center Harry Hunter, as he made two HUGE free throws to seal the upset. As players and fans carried Harold off the court, numerous college aged kids hurled insults to the visitors as they exited the floor. The campus and town went into a frenzy, as this was a special night indeed for THE Southern Illinois University!!!
I remember listening to that game on my radio in the car because it was the only radio I had that could pick up WCIL-FM from where I was in Belleville.
foh, and then losing to the trees in the valley tournament, and then watching salukitalk break the national story of lowery being fired, when nobody else could confirm it. that was cool.
because we are cool.
Yeah, that was REALLY cool. We got over 750,000 page views that day.
December 1, 2001. win over Indiana (who made it to the NCAA championship game that year) at the Arena. That was a magcial year.
#1 The NIT Championship game 1967 at the Garden, playing in the pep band and watching the Salukis come from 11 back to beat Marquette and Al McGuire by 15. #2 ranked Louisville and former NBA players Wes Unseld and Butch Beard at the SIU Arena. I believe the attendance was over 10,000 with standing room being sold. The Dawgs had lost to them in December at their place in double OT. SIU won the rematch 53-50 in spite of a technical foul called on the Saluki Mascot for getting on all fours and lifting a hind leg as if peeing on the referee. (Sidenote: The mascot was none other than woman gymnast Judy Wills who held 9 world records in tumbling and trampoline and was never beaten in her years as an SIU gymnast. She was amazing to watch during the games) #3 The Butler snow game. A great game against a very good Butler team. #4 The rematch with Butler at the SIU Arena where the Dawgs lost on a last second 3 pointer. Kent Williams was such a fiery competitor in both. He had that look in his eyes that he would rather take a bullet in the leg than get beat in a game of basketball.
1. The Indiana State game in 1979. We lost a heartbreaker to the Bird led, undefeated and #1 ranked Sycs in front of 10,014 screaming fans.
2. Indiana home game in 2001, complete with indoor fireworks.
3. Tied for 3rd I traveled to wins over Texas Tech (2002), St Mary's (2005) and Holy Cross (2007) in the ncaa tournament. The Missouri ncaa tourney game in 2003 where we got screwed on a terrible block call on big game Jermaine should be on this list because we should have won that game!
Win over Indiana at the arena... So many good ones though. VT and Georgia wins in the NCAAT were sweet, beating Bradley in STL. Buzzer beaters by Josh Warren and Slyvester Willis at the Arena... Domask winner against Missouri State, in recent memory... But I will go with Indiana.
07 Creighton at SIU. Packed house and the loudest it got was a shot clock violation on Creighton near the end of the game.
Too many to mention them all, and most have already been brought up, but the 2 Sweet 16 runs. The ESPN gameday vs C8ton and the Indiana home game are also up there.
As far as live game, my favorite game will likely not be shared by anyone else in this thread. It didn't make national news nor was it televised, but without a doubt the most fun and most memorable LIVE game I ever went to was Dec 9, 1989. My best friend and his roommate decided to make the road trip to Murray, Ky to see the boys play Murray St. It was a TRIPLE OT winner for the Salukis 114-108. Rich Herrin got tossed at some point, and it seemed to fire the team up. Shipley went for 27pts & 13rbs. Sterling Mahan poured in 24pts and Freddie McSwain aired for 23pts. Jerry Jones scored 19pts and grabbed 16rbs. Regulation and at least 1 OT ended with a last second shot to tie !! After the game, the SIU fans that travelled "stormed the court" and celebrated with the players. We took pictures with some of the players and I still have my picture with Sterling.
1974 Michigan.
Hey . 69 Memories get mixed (at least mine do frequently).
Yup down 11,not 9, to Marquette. I can see Fraziers critical breakaway steal,seeming to wait for defender to catch up so he could make it a 3 point play.
But Im pretty sure the Technical called by the little Napolean came against KY Wesleyan. Staff had to seriously restrain Hartman after the game.
The Louisville game was #2 vs#2. Frazier in first half foul trouble and Creston Whittaker saved the Dawgs.
