The contrast between the Saint Louis University Billikens and Southern Illinois-Carbondale’s Salukis couldn’t be more evident: SLU is on the rise while SIU, just three seasons removed from six consecutive NCAA berths, is on the demise.
The Billikens (2-0) held SIU to just eight field goals over 40 minutes, matching a school record, as they romped to a 61-42 victory. For SLU, the win marked the first time it had won in Carbondale since 1997, when Larry Hughes scored 35 points; it was also the first non-conference road win for Head Coach Rick Majerus in his five-season tenure at SLU.
Offensively, SLU shot 42 percent from the floor and 35 percent from 3-point range. Senior Brian Conklin led all scorers with 14 points off 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. Junior Cody Ellis scored 11, while senior Kyle Cassity chipped in 10. Junior point guard Kwamain Mitchell led the Billikens with seven rebounds.
The victory is No. 71 for Majerus at SLU. He is now just seven games away from his 500th career victory.
The game, attended by more than 4,200, including a contingent of Billikens fans, was never really contested. SLU jumped quickly to a 14-6 lead after a 3-point play by Ellis and a trey by Cassity with 10:46 to go in the first half. SIU Head Coach Chris Lowery was forced to call a timeout with 8:46 remaining in the half after the Bills took a commanding 20-8 lead.
He would only watch the Billiken lead grow.
With the score 21-9, SLU manufactured an 11-0 run, capped by Ellis’ second 3-pointer of the half, to lead 31-9 with less than four minutes remaining. The Billikens carried a 37-15 advantage into halftime while holding the Salukis to just four field goals (4-22) in the opening half. Conversely, the Bills shot 53 percent (15-28) in the first half and were 3-of-6 from the 3-point range.
In the second half, SLU’s defense remained stalwart. It took the Salukis 10:45 to hit its first field goal. SIU was assisted by the Billikens’ rough-and-tumble play. Carbondale went to the line 28 times,but they converted just 18 points out of their attempts, giving Majerus a large enough cushion to comfortably rotate through his bench.
“We defended well in first half,” Cassity said. “The second half we got a little chippy. We fouled a little bit…we’ve got to clean that up. Beyond that, we played about as well as we could. We shot it well, and we played well in offensive end.” Through the first two games, opponents are shooting just 25.6 percent against the Billikens.
But SLU’s staunch defense — and young team — is about to be battle tested like it hasn’t been in years. A whole new breed of dog is next on the schedule for the Billikens — the Huskies of the University of Washington. Washington, which is receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, tips against SLU at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20 at Chaifetz Arena.
The Huskies are coached by former SLU Head Coach Lorenzo Romar. He was the last coach to take the Billikens to the NCAA Tournament. His squad stunned Conference USA in 2000 by beating Cincinatti and DePaul to win the conference tournament and automatic bid. Two years later, he left for Seattle.
The game is not only a homecoming for Romar, but also for senior guard Scott Suggs, who hails from nearby Washington, Mo. Suggs, one of the Huskies’ top players last year, is sidelined with a stress fracture in his right foot.
But Romar has plenty of other weapons in his lineup. Guard C.J. Wilcox was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week this week after averaging 20.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg and shooting over 61 percent for 3-point range this weekend.
Washington was picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12.
