This week felt like the last stand for SLU coach Travis Ford.
With home games against Davidson and UMass, the Billikens had a chance to correct their course in Atlantic 10 play. Instead they lost both games to sink into the conference cellar.
There is still time for the Billikens to pull it together ahead of the A-10 Tournament, but nothing about their play this week suggests that will actually happen.
Meanwhile Missouri fell to 0-7 in the Southeastern Conference while losing at Texas A&M and South Carolina. The Tigers aren’t playing terribly, but they just don’t have enough to hold up against the merciless competitive depth of the SEC.
Coach Dennis Gates built lots of equity with his magical inaugural season . . . and this season he is spending every bit of it. Many things have done wrong this season, but Gates’ inability to secure a quality big man in the transfer portal might be the most glaring.
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Noah Carter is the only Tiger who can really bang SEC bodies in the paint and he is undersized for that role. Missouri had to settle for Connor Vanover as a late roster addition – and he quickly showed why Eric Musselman buried him on the bench in Arkansas.
Illinois avoided a bad week by scraping out a 70-62 victory over Indiana at home Saturday. On Wednesday the Fighting Illini suffered a 96-91 overtime loss at Northwestern that was wildly entertaining to casual fans who checked it out on TV.
But coach Brad Underwood is more concerned with making a deep NCAA Tournament this season than with putting on a show, so he appreciated the defensive improvements against the Hoosiers.
Missouri State coach Dana Ford really, really, really needed a big week. And he got it with a double overtime victory over Drake at home and a nice 81-70 victory at Valparaiso on the road. So his seat cooled a bit.
SIU Carbondale also had a big week in the Missouri Valley Conference, handling Valpo at home and earning a big 70-68 victory at Murray State. The Salukis had lost four games by four points or less this season, so they were due to get a few bounces at Murray.
Here is how the region’s Division I basketball teams stack up:
ILLINOIS (15-5): Coleman Hawkins flourished in the fast pace at Northwestern while scoring 22 points, claiming 13 rebounds and blocking two shots in the loss. The victory over Indiana was more of a slog, but Marcus Domask embraces the grind. He scored 16 points, pulled 10 rebounds and dished four assists to rally the Fighting Illini past the Hoosiers. Terrence Shannon Jr. is still trying to regain his game after returning from his suspension. He missed 8-of-10 shots from the floor against the Hoosiers, including all four tries from behind the arc. So Illinois needed Luke Goode’s 11 points off the bench.
SIU CARBONDALE (14-7): Xavier Johnson continued his all-MVC-caliber play by scoring 43 points and dishing 11 assists in the two victories. At Murray State, the Salukis (surprise!) cleared out and let Johnson score the decisive basket with a strong drive to the basket. Trent Brown knocked down some deep 3-pointers in that victory and Scottie Ebube came off the bench to grab eight rebounds and make three steals. That was huge because Clarence Rupert was limited to 10 minutes due to foul trouble.
MISSOURI (8-12): The Tigers’ 63-57 loss at Texas A&M on Tuesday was a classic Buzz Williams rock fight. The Aggies coach revels in slowball. Tamar Bates and Sean East II combined for 33 points for the Tigers and Noah Carter scored eight points in 16 minutes off the bench. But nobody else got much done in College Station. Missouri played fairly well at South Carolina Saturday but fell short in the 72-64 loss. East and Bates were strong again, combining for 37 points, but once again they got little help. Nick Honor scored just eight points in each loss as his struggles continued.
MISSOURI STATE (12-9): Alston Mason went off this week, scoring 36 points in the 83-80 victory over Drake and 22 points in the 81-70 victory at Valparaiso. Mason played all 45 minutes against Drake and had seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Mason played all 40 minutes against Valpo and had six rebounds, nine assists and a steal. So, yes, Dana Ford leaned on his takeover player hard. Forward Cesare Edwards scored 28 points and grabbed 17 rebounds coming off the bench in the two victories and Donovan Clay played his usual all-around game with 26 points. 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocked shot in those wins.
SIU EDWARDSVILLE (12-9): The Cougars have won four of their last five games in Ohio Valley Conference play. Given a week to recover from their 52-47 loss at SEMO last Saturday, they responded with 74-57 victory over Tennessee Tech at home Saturday. Circumstances forced coach Brian Barone to use a small lineup, with guard Desmond Polk stepping into the starting lineup to score 14 points. The other four starters scored in double figures, too, with Ray’Sean Taylor delivering a huge performance (18 points, eight rebounds, six assists) in the victory. With games at home this week against Little Rock and UT Martin, SIUE has a chance to build momentum.
SLU (8-12): Davidson arrived from 1963 via time travel and throttled the Billikens 84-61 on Wednesday. The Wildcats went old, old school and cut SLU to pieces with their half-court offensive precision. They also demonstrated how physical length and defensive effort can make life miserable for their opponent. The Billikens were sloppy offensively and a half-step behind on defense, so things got ugly. Then came UMass with Frank Martin’s team in attack mode during its 84-73 victory on Saturday. Sincere Parker’s return from his broken foot bone has not provided the desired lift; he scored just two free throws and shot 0-for-6 from the floor in 15 minutes against UMass. One bright spot in that game was Larry Hughes II shooting 4-for-6 from 3-point range before fouling out with 14 points.
SEMO (7-14):Â The Redhawks had another bad week, taking an 84-58 beating at UT Martin on Thursday and then falling at Little Rock 66-61 on Saturday. They missed 16-of-19 shots from 3-point range at UT Martin and got outrebounded 44-31. TJ Biel came off the bench to score 13 points, his second-highest total of the season, at Little Rock.
LINDENWOOD (7-14): The Lions also had a bad week with the inverse of the SEMO road trip in OVC play. They took an 80-66 tumble at Little Rock on Thursday before losing 76-67 at Little Rock on Saturday. But Keenon Cole continued his all-OVC-caliber play by scoring 41 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in the defeats.