SIU has a quick turnaround after their big win at Oklahoma State.
The Screaming Eagles are playing their first season in Division 1 after spending their time in Division 2. This will be their first Division 1 home game and judging by tickets available, it'll be a packed arena.
Southern Indiana is coached by Stan Gouard, in his 3rd year with the program. Gouard coached at D2 Indianapolis for 12 seasons where he went 228-117 before coming over to USI. Gouard was the best player on Southern Indiana's 1995 Division II National Championship team, coached by Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl.
Meet the Screaming Eagles:
Southern Indiana started their season Monday with a 97-91 loss at Missouri. The Screaming Eagles were picked to finish 7th in the preseason Ohio Valley Conference media poll. Southern Indiana returned their top 3 scorers from last year's Division II team but struggled to shoot from beyond the arc, shooting just 32% as a team from 3.
The Screaming Eagles are led by 6'5 Senior guard Jelani Simmons. Simmons played his first two seasons at Youngstown State before transferring to USI. Last season, Simmons averaged 14.2 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game and was named second team all-GLVC. Before this season, Simmons was named by the media to the All-OVC Preseason team. In the loss to Missouri on Friday, Simmons led the Screaming Eagles in scoring with 23 points on 8-15 shooting and 5-8 from 3 and led the team in rebounds with 6.
One impact transfer for Southern Indiana is 6'8 graduate student Trevor Lakes coming over from Nebraska. Lakes spent two seasons at the University of Indianapolis in D2 playing for USI's head coach before transferring to Nebraska where he spent two more seasons. Lakes played 22 games in his two seasons at Nebraska and averaged 1.5 points per game last season in 8 minutes per game. Lakes is a big that can shoot from outside. He struggled at shooting from 3 at Nebraska but shot 40% from 3 when he was at Indianapolis. In Southern Indiana's loss to Missouri on Monday, Lakes scored 18 points on 6-11 shooting (all from 3).
With the loss of Ebube and Muila, a lot of focus should be spent on opposing big men and Southern Indiana had a transfer come in from the University of Houston. 6'8 Sophomore Kiyron Powell was a 3 star recruit out of Bosse High School in Evansville and chose Houston over offers from Kansas State, Cincinnati, and Creighton. Powell played in 13 games with Houston in 2020-21 and took a redshirt season last year before transferring to Southern Indiana this offseason. Powell averaged nearly 8 blocks per game in his final High School season and in Monday's game against Missouri he had 3 blocks in 26 minutes and added 6 points and 4 rebounds.
I'm pretty nervous about this game, seems like a classic trap game in a tough environment after a big win. Southern Indiana isn't a bad team at all for a team that is in it's first Division 1 season. KenPom has them at #240 and has SIU winning 74-65.
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USI was losing by 16 at half to Mizzou. Scored 60 pts in the 2nd half to make it a 6 pt. loss. If we have the same intensity and D we had at OSU, we'll be OK. Hopefully we don't come out flat.
Back in 09 when Lowry was coaching, they almost beat us here in an exhibition. A Nick Evans tip in gave us a 2pt win. Rodney Watson's 1st game as USI coach.
I know this is a bizarre take, but I think this is a key game: it will tell us what sort of team we have. If we take care of business coming off of a big(ish) win, I think we have every reason to feel good.
I just want a win--would be happy with another one-pointer.
(Inflammatory political snark)
@austinsaluki I absolutely agree. We have to treat every single game as if it's a P5 team. It's going to be interesting to see what SIU can do on such a quick turnaround. I actually prefer the fairly quick turnaround over sitting around for over a week. Need the Salukis to be locked in.
I know this is a bizarre take, but I think this is a key game: it will tell us what sort of team we have. If we take care of business coming off of a big(ish) win, I think we have every reason to feel good.
I just want a win--would be happy with another one-pointer.
im not disagreeing but name a bigger win than Ok State since 2008?
(Inflammatory political snark)
There is already a spirited discussion on their message board, good to see an engaged fan base.
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James Madison
There is already a spirited discussion on their message board, good to see an engaged fan base.
where the hell is it ?
@salukiworld had it posted at the bottom of his opening post on this subject.
Screaming Eagles Nest Message Board
USI social media is pumping this game up a lot. I wouldn't be surprised to see a sellout. Even in a 5,000 seat arena, it should be a much better atmosphere than Thursday night.
Hopefully Southern gets a decent crowd. Just a short drive.
No mental lapses after a big win against Oklahoma State. Let's see if Mullins can get more consistency out of this team. There is big room for improvement following the game against Oklahoma State. Solid defense, but the shooting percentage wasn't good. They need to get back to a more balanced scoring attack as well. Get Domask and Jones some help on the offensive end. Losing Ebube and Mulia to injuries doesn't help either, especially on the boards.
Let's Go Dawgs! Get a win against Southern Indiana.
This post stood out there 😊
“Belmont and Murray were decimated by departures and thus will struggle this year. Bradley typically is overrated every year. I watched Drake the other night and they are legit. I see the MVC as a two team race between SIU and Drake.”
