All Valley play beginning with UIC on Saturday all the way through Arch Madness.
Obviously Southern was picked ninth and is 0-1 in the MVC after being creamed in Terre Haute last month ... but, personally, I'm more optimistic about the team's chances now than I have been at pretty much any point since Domask entered the portal. Johnson has been incredible and consistent, the bigs are coming on, Brown and Davis have become quality role players in the starting 5 and the overall depth, with Hensley in the mix, Ferguson hopefully set to return soon and Sharp now able to compete with Miller for backup PG minutes, is very promising.
By no means am I saying SIU is likely to compete for the regular season title -- Indiana State has been outstanding and Drake is still quite formidable -- but I'm at least holding out hope now that SIU could play its way into the mix for a top-four spot and Thursday bye in St. Louis. That won't be easy, either -- Missouri State, UNI, Bradley, Belmont, and maybe even Evansville and Illinois State will be in that mix behind the Sycs and Bulldogs -- but it's much more realistic than I would have anticipated in October. Nice to have some hope, and it looks like it'll be a fun team to support.
