The Salukis are hoping what happens in Vegas will not stay in Vegas.
The men’s basketball team will travel out to Las Vegas for its first road game of the season as it looks to bring a victory over University of Nevada-Las Vegas back to Carbondale.
The game is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. Saturday.
Head coach Chris Lowery said the main emphasis during practice has been on defense, which he said would be vital to win on the road.
“We are not playing at the level where we can win on the road,” Lowery said. “I think the one thing that we’re focused on is being a little more disciplined — gambling less, having more position defense and really trying to help each other a little more by making the big steals and helping each other defensively.”
The contest is part of the first Missouri Valley-Mountain West Challenge, where teams from both mid-major conferences play one game against one another.
Lowery said he enjoys the concept, but wants to see some changes if it continues.
“I would like to have UNLV here next year,” Lowery said. “It’s not going to happen, and that’s what I don’t like — where if you play somebody, you won’t necessarily play them the next season. But it’s a terrific opportunity for both leagues to make a statement before anybody else does in the country.”
Senior guard Tony Freeman said the team needs to get off to a quick start if it wants to have success against the Rebels.
“We need to come out to a quick start and establish ourselves early,” Freeman said. “If we do that, we’ll be good. If not, we could facing an uphill fight.”
SIU will look to improve on last year’s road record, where it struggled to a 5-12 record away from SIU Arena. Nevada-Las Vegas (2-0) has won both of its games at the Thomas & Mack Center this season.
“Them having played there already will make it a little tougher for us,” sophomore Justin Bocot said. “We’ll just go out there and play like we know we can.”
The Salukis should become acquainted with Las Vegas, as they will play there again starting Dec. 19 at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
Lowery said most of the players have already been to Las Vegas before, so he does not expect any distractions. However, he said he does not like having to travel there twice in a year.
“We didn’t want to do that. We had a tournament, and they rescheduled it, and then they give us UNLV before the tournament,” Lowery said. “We want to make it a business trip for our kids. Most of them have played AAU ball, so they’ve have been to Vegas for the big tournaments out there. We’re just going out there like it is another game. Obviously, our fans are looking at it differently because it is a good time, but we want to go to win.”
