Southern IL has this one in the bag; final score 61 - 51. I expect them to beat down on Virginia Tech in the next round and move on to the Sweet 16.
I think SIU could be a surprise team that most people don't know who could come out of this region. Their defense is really good but didn't Shaw get injured late in the game?
Shaw is a HUGE loss for SIU. He has a good midrange game and really does a nice job of making plays when defenses are focused on Falker inside or Tatum on the perimeter. He's also got surprising toughness inside and can knock down the 3. Tony Boyle is not yet a starter - I've probably talked about him more than any writer in the country, because I see a little Mike Wilkinson in him - but he's not ready to be the Saluki's starting 4 in a tourney game. That 6'10" stringbean is really going to need to step up for SIU.
<div class="quote_poster">Schaddy Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Shaw is a HUGE loss for SIU. He has a good midrange game and really does a nice job of making plays when defenses are focused on Falker inside or Tatum on the perimeter. He's also got surprising toughness inside and can knock down the 3. Tony Boyle is not yet a starter - I've probably talked about him more than any writer in the country, because I see a little Mike Wilkinson in him - but he's not ready to be the Saluki's starting 4 in a tourney game. That 6'10" stringbean is really going to need to step up for SIU.</div> The biggest surprise performance of yesterday has to go to SIU's Tony Boyle. After Matt Shaw hurt his ankle shortly before half (has anyone heard anything about his injury yet?), the sophomore big man was forced into unexpected second half action. Boyle is a guy who averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds in the regular season, and who hadn't scored more than 8 points against a divsion one team all year. He put up a season-high 14 points and 4 rebounds and was a key reason the Salukis held off a hungry Holy Cross team.
