SIU Basketball: It's not over, but...

…it might be getting to that point.

The Indiana State University Sycamores 64-62 double overtime victory against the Southern Illinois University Salukis is a microcosm of the Salukis 2007-08 season. Tonight's loss puts SIU at 7-9 overall and 2-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play while putting the Salukis' six year NCAA tournament appearance streak firmly in jeopardy.

THREE UPS

• Bryan Mullins led the Salukis in scoring with 18 points, including a three-pointer that gave the Salukis a brief 62-61 lead.
• Matt Shaw added 16 points and 14 rebounds and looks to be coming out of his early season funk with solid play in recent games.
• Tyrone Green chipped in off the bench with 14 points and nine rebounds, seven of which were offensive boards.

THREE DOWNS

• The pre-season MVC player of the year Randal Falker struggled tonight, scoring only 4 points on 1-of-3 shooting.
• One game after Carlton Fay put up 11 points in 18 minutes in a victory over Bradley, Fay struggled in the loss against Indiana State, scoring 0 points in 11 minutes.
• SIU probably would have won had it shot better than 20.8% from three-point range. SIU only hit five three point shots (24 attempts)

SIU BY THE NUMBERS

• Tonight's loss keeps SIU winless in "true" road games (0-6), winless in games in which they score less than 63 points (0-9) and winless in games decided by less than 10 points (0-4)
• SIU averages 75.57 points per game in wins, but only 51 points per game in losses
• In wins, SIU beats their opponent by an average of 14.57 points
• In losses, SIU is beaten by an average of 10.78 points

Needless to say, SIU has its work cut out for them and will need to go on a lengthy winning streak to get themselves back in the hunt.

SIU is playing like a Jekyll and Hyde act with a 5-2 record at the SIU Arena and a 2-7 record away from Carbondale. SIU is 2-1 in games played on a neutral court.

To get back into NCAA tournament consideration, SIU will likely need to win out at home and find a way to finish with at least a .500 record on the road. If not, they will face the daunting task of having to win the MVC Tournament in St. Louis to punch a guaranteed ticket to the NCAA's.

The Salukis' next game will be on the road against the Purple Aces of Evansville University. Evansville sports a 0-5 record in MVC play and is 5-10 overall. If SIU can't beat the Aces on the road, they will take another significant step backwards.