SIU men's basketball nonconference schedule is in progress
What does SIU’s men’s basketball team and their nonconference schedule have in common?
They’re both works in progress.
The Salukis know they will have Oklahoma State, Saint Louis, North Dakota State, Southern Indiana and Queens (N.C.) coming to Banterra Center this season, along with an opponent to be determined on Nov. 16 as part of the Cancun Challenge.
They also know they’re hitting the road not just for Cancun just before Thanksgiving, but likely for a “buy” game against a Power 5 or Big East opponent. It’s just a matter of piecing together the figurative crossword puzzle.
“The home schedule is great for our community,” said SIU coach Bryan Mullins on Tuesday morning during the Missouri Valley Conference coaches’ summer Zoom call. “It’s a work in progress like it is for a lot of other teams. We’re trying to finalize a couple of more games to wrap up the nonconference schedule.”
Oklahoma State’s visit will mark the first time in 15 years that a Power 5 team has visited Carbondale. Ironically, the Cowboys were the last TV league school to play in Jackson County, losing to the Salukis in the first round of the 2008 NIT.
SIU’s nonconference schedule got a bit tougher with its pairing against James Madison in Cancun. The Dukes won 22 games last year and Mullins believes they’ll be the preseason favorites to win the Sun Belt Conference. The Salukis’ other game in Cancun will be against Fresno State or New Mexico State.
The MVC schedule won’t be announced until at least late August, more likely mid-September. SIU will play 20 league games, two against nine different schools and one against two other teams. Its one-offs last year were against Belmont (home) and Valparaiso (away).
THE COMMISSIONER SPEAKS
MVC commissioner Jeff Jackson opened the call with his thoughts on how the summer is going for the league. One subject he touched on was the possibility of NCAA Tournament expansion, which has been brought up by some in the Power 5 leagues.
Jackson said he would be for it – as long as it was done in a way that didn’t favor the Power 5 conferences. Mid-major leagues have been squeezed out of at-large bids on a consistent basis for 15 years and that’s unlikely to change, even with Florida Atlantic and San Diego State earning Final Four trips last year.
“We’re never going to have the Q1 and Q2 opportunities that teams in the Big 12 will have, for instance,” Jackson said. “It would benefit us to have the opportunity to have more teams in the field. But I’m not sure we’re ready to go to 96 teams yet.”
Jackson believes it would be in the NCAA’s best interests to expand slowly instead of doing it in one fell swoop. For instance, the tourney could go from 68 to, say, 72 teams or even 80. That’s still not close to the vision that the late Billy Packer, the former CBS game analyst, had for the tournament; he suggested opening the tourney to every Division I program.
3-POINTERS
Drake won’t be quite as bereft of experience as some thought it would be. Coach Darian DeVries said Tuesday that 6-10 center Darnell Brodie won a waiver from the NCAA for one more year of eligibility. Brodie, who averaged career highs in points (9.1) and rebounds (7.3) last year, will join MVC Player of the Year Tucker DeVries in what should be one of the league’s top frontcourts. … Jackson said that the league is monitoring TV rights talks in the Pac-12 Conference – not because it will affect anything it does in that area but because it wants to be ready in case it causes more schools to change conferences. “We want to be in the best position to help the Missouri Valley,” he said. … Belmont’s nonconference schedule, which was released Monday, includes trips to Furman and Arizona. The Paladins stunned Virginia in March in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and the Wildcats have returned to their status as one of the best Pac-12 programs under third-year coach Tommy Lloyd.
