Southern Illinois vs USC

This game showed exactly what I have been talking about when it comes to the Southern Illinois Salukis. This may be a top 25 defensive team, top 25 wrestling team, top 25 hard working team, top 25 over-achieving team, top 25 smartest team, top 25 body building team, top 25 football team, top 25 slugsketball team, but they are not a top 25 basketball team.

Let me describe the Salukis offense in simple terms: Use 20 to 30 seconds of the shot clock while pushing and shoving the opponents, throw the ball at the rim, push all the opposing players out of the way, grab the rebound, and make the layup. I'm sorry but if this is one of the best top 25 basketball teams, I'd rather watch Spelling Bee and Dog and Pony show reruns with Jimmy Dykes on ESPN Classic.

Thankfully the USC Trojans exposed them for the whole nation to see. Enough excuses for the Salukis. They are the premier team of the Missouri Valley (allegedly), they are not a low-major in the RPI #30 conference. They should be playing more basketball and less football/wrestling/slugfest. I'm sure Digger Phelps is going to have a field day with this game - unless he is busy playing ...actor.

Now imagine if half of the teams in the country adopted the Salukis style of play. That would ruin college basketball! Wake up Salukis!

On the other side of the aisle, the USC Trojans were impressive. Tim Floyd did not "Fear the Mayo" as he benched his star recruit, while spinning his decision to the media to save face for the Juice perhaps. Well, his decision apparently paid dividends, not because the two starters played better, but when Mayo and Taj Gibson got in the game, they grabbed the lead and never looked back.

As I have been saying for quite a while now, it was only a matter of time before Devon Jefferson got up to speed, both recovering from his injuries and getting accustomed to the college game. As I mentioned many times, he was a high-school all-star caliber player (he played in one or two of the big four post-season high school all star games in 2005), and he is two years older now, with presumably two years of prep school seasoning. Expect to hear a lot more from Devon Jefferson.

As Steve Lavin pointed out, the Trojans were a different (better passing) team without the Mayo. Daniel Hackett is continuing to emerge as the engine or backbone of the team. Angelo Johnson is another player that can have an impact on the game, as he can shift gears and give opposing defenses a different look.

But perhaps the big Thank You from Trojan fans should go to Charles Coles and the Miami of Ohio Red Hawks who prepared the USC Trojans for this type of a game. While the Trojans looked more jittery against Miami of Ohio, their "training' paid off when they took over the Salukis game and never looked back.

More on this at Trojan Wire, including their piece on Devon Jefferson. Also at Daily Trojan, uschoops.com, and Brendan Loy's Irish Trojan blog.

The Salukis point of view at SIUSalukis.com.

And non-denominational opinions at College Hoops Journal, ArcaMax.com.