WSU Versus Southern Illinois Predictions and Pregame Discussions

[Stickboy46]

I think Balentine scares me more that Beane as a coach if I'm trying to game plan for them. Doesn't mean he's better, could just be because we've all seen him go off on several occasions.

I think Balentine is more a product of the offensive gameplan than Beane. I think Beane is better at creating his own shot, but very few are as good as Balentine at finishing them.

[boltforge]

I think Balentine scares me more that Beane as a coach if I'm trying to game plan for them. Doesn't mean he's better, could just be because we've all seen him go off on several occasions.

My question about Beane tomorrow is that WSU hasn't played him in *this* system. As a shooter and not as a ball handler. Having a true point guard has changed SIU's look a lot over last year. I do like the defensive matchups at each position. WSU is either athletically matched or are better than who they will cover. AND the Shocks are bigger.

[boltforge]

Good point. I guess I kind of forgot that we're playing a quality team that has skilled enough players to play him straight up. Again, we haven't faced the likes of y'all yet.

Have any of the teams the Salukis played proven to be strong defensive teams? I know St.L and UNI are supposed to be. But they have been all over the place in terms of actually keying down each game and playing focused defense.

[oledawg]

Here's a question. I've always though Balentine was the best guard in our league (excluding WSU players) for several years. Is Beane a better guard than Balentine?

in the two games prior to Bradley, Beane scored 26 on 10 shots and 32 on 17 shots...... And every team's goal is to shut him down. He seems to get off shots with defenders in his face. At times I'm amazed at how adept he is at making shots with guys on him. At the same time I am amazed at how a guy as athletic as he is really only shows up in the scoring column. In his last game I do not think he had an assist or a rebound and in the last three games he has maybe 3 assists and 4 rebounds total. So I would say Balentine is a more complete player but Beane is as much or more of a true scorer than Balentine.

Not sure if you saw this dunk he had vs Bradley but it made sports centers top ten.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=14520132

[stldog]

Have any of the teams the Salukis played proven to be strong defensive teams? I know St.L and UNI are supposed to be. But they have been all over the place in terms of actually keying down each game and playing focused defense.

Check out the Mad Hatter's excellent post at the bottom of page 2; it's a terrific breakdown of SIU's schedule and opponents.

[ShockTalk]

The two common opponents are @St. Louis and @brad:ley. WSU beat St. Louis by 15 and SIU beat them by 13 (however that was Fred's 1st game back and he was far from 100% plus Anton was out at that time). WSU won at Bradley by 27 (although they only played so-so in the 2nd half) and SIU won by 21 in Peoria. Not sure what exactly, if anything, you can take away from that.

We also did not have Conner for St Louis. Bell and James (who combined for 30 minutes and 13 points against us) were out for Bradley's game with SIU.

[Ricardo del Rio]

I watched the first half of the SIU v. Bradley game.

Some full game stats:
SIU won by 21.
Bradley had 28 turnovers and 22 personal fouls.
SIU had 24 personal fouls and 19 turnovers.

Side Notes:
Anthony Beane scored 11 points, which included 5 at the FT line.
SIU only outscored Bradley by 3 in the second half. SIU may have played its bench for most of the second half.

If we win by 15-20 points, I will not be surprised. If we win by 1 point, I will be happy.

I am not sure that SIU's season stats mean anything because they have played a very weak schedule.

SIU's centers are 6-7, 6-7, and 7-0. The 7-0 player only played 5 minutes in the Bradley game.

I suspect that the Shockers will direct a heavy attack in the paint with Morris and Grady.

My worry. Shock's FG percentage is 41.8%. From 3, it is 33.3%. In the long haul, 41.8% is a problem regardless of the shot attempt advantage.

[boltforge]

SIU only outscored Bradley by 3 in the second half. SIU may have played its bench for most of the second half.

Beane and Smithpeters only played 22 and 19 minutes in that game. The point guard did play 36 minutes though.

[AndShock]

Wichita State -2 looks might fine. Mighty fine.

[Stickboy46]

by mtripp » Fri Jan 08, 2016 1:17 pm
No way we lose this game I actually think UNI is a better team...the energy in the arena is going to be crazy!!!

Well .... they aren't lacking in confidence after that 300+ SOS.

Couple notes while I'm browsing through.

They have 4 wins in the top 150 of the RPI(all home games to #72, 93, 135, 136) by a total of 16 points, so average margin of victory is 4.

We also have 4 Top 150 RPI wins (Home games to 27, 87, 122, 142) by 55 points. Average Margin of Victory is 13.75.

[boltforge]

Wichita State -2 looks might fine. Mighty fine.

Was: (Vegas has us at -8 and -3 now.) Opps. Can't read the odds. It is -2 and -2.5.

Watching the SIU vs UNI game now. The crowd is really into the game, UNI guards play downhill and out of control, Beane can never be played off of. Baker/Brown/MM will not have to chase him, just hand up and the bigs can help a lot because SIU doesn't really roll after picks.

[Horn28Clem30]

WSU opens up at -2.

Is this a guess, or is that the opening line?

[FlyingWheat]

Wichita State -2 looks might fine. Mighty fine.

That's what KenPom (projection, not a line) has FWIW.

[Kel Varnsen]

That's what KenPom (projection, not a line) has FWIW.

There are a lot of instances where sportsbooks use the KenPom projection and take the line from there.

[Dan]

I don't know much about SIU but I imagine we'll have Brown/McDuffie on Beane, Baker on Smithpeters and Fred on Rodriguez. Our 4/5 should be better than their 4/5, Baker may go off this gamee if he has Smithpeters guarding him.