Missouri Valley Conference Basketball News

Missouri State Bears vs Southern illinois Salukis Basketball Recap

Missouri State 64, Southern Illinois 51

If you were thinking that the Missouri State Bears were going to have a letdown after their emotionally exhausting and physically draining road win at Wichita State this past Sunday, you were wrong.

Loud wrong.

It’s as sign of quality that Missouri State was able to win on Wichita State’s home floor in the early-season Missouri Valley game of the year. It’s a sign of maturity and wisdom that coach Cuonzo Martin’s MSU crew was able to back up that result with a double-digit win over the team that used to rule the Valley and which made a Sweet 16 appearance as recently as 2007.

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The Salukis won the scoring battle from the field, 46-42, but were done in at the foul line. The Salukis attempted just 7 free throws, making 5. On the other hand the Bears were 22-of-28 at the stripe, which proved to be the decisive stat in a game when each team recorded 31 rebounds, 14 turnovers and 6 steals. Trailing 12-10 in the early stages, the Bears went on an 18-2 run that put them ahead for good and held off the Saluki attack for the rest of the night.

The Bears won their eighth straight game in the process and picked up their eighteenth straight home win in Springfield. The win helps the Bears, now 6-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, remain a half-game ahead of 5-1 Indiana State and Wichita State, who both won Valley games on Wednesday night as well. The Bears will have to keep going strong, though; after a bout at Bradley (who is 0-6 in the Valley), they'll be on the road against Indiana State before returning home to face Creighton (4-2), a team that will be looking for revenge after the Bears handed them a 12-point loss in Omaha on the Blue Jays’ home court. Moreover, with Wichita State and Indiana State showing no signs of slowing down in conference play, the Bears will be hard pressed to keep up their own level of performance.

The Salukis, meanwhile, are now 3-3 in conference competition. That puts them in a tie with Northern Iowa, making their next game (a Saturday night game at Northern Iowa) very important for Coach Chris Lowery, who has to be wondering how his program has not been able to stay on top of the Valley after ruling it in the middle of the past decade. Southern Illinois will have to get back on a winning track immediately and hope for a lot of help if it hopes to end the season atop the conference. It is not going to be an easy task, and for that to happen, they're going to have to find some more offense. The performance against Missouri State left a lot to be desired; they'll have three days to prepare for their next battle.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer