The Salukis are ready to hit the court again, and this time the games count.
The men’s basketball team, fresh off its 2-0 exhibition season, will open up the regular season against the University of Tennessee-Martin at 7 p.m. Saturday at SIU Arena.
Head coach Chris Lowery said it has been tough scouting the Skyhawks’ exhibition game last week.
“They played a D-III team and scored a lot of points,” Lowery said. “They had a lot of layups and a lot of steals, but hopefully we just learn their personnel and what they can do. Plus, the other team played zone against them the whole game, so it wasn’t really a good look at them, but we’ll know personnel.”
The Salukis look to build off the success they had during the exhibition season. SIU defeated Henderson State 82-55 Oct. 31 and beat Southern Indiana 71-69 on a Nick Evan’s buzzer-beater.
And that was without junior Carlton Fay, who is expected to start at forward Saturday. Fay, who averaged 10.4 points and 4.6 rebounds last season, had been suspended during the exhibition season.
Lowery said having Fay back should help with the offense and defense down low.
“He’s another weapon offensively,” Lowery said. “We’re just glad he’s back, and the players are glad he’s back. Plus, he’s the best charge-taker in our league. He’s always in the right position to take charges, so that component has been missing, too, in our defense.”
Senior guard Tony Freeman said having Fay back would only help the team on the offensive side.
“Not having a guy like Fay hurt us during the exhibitions,” Freeman said. “He’s a good shooter and a legitimate threat down low.”
Fay gives the Salukis another big man to go along with Evans, Gene Teague and Anthony Booker, which Lowery said would help with the team’s depth.
Tennessee-Martin, out of the Ohio Valley Conference, return only one starter from last year’s 22-10 squad that lost in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament. Among those gone is current Boston Celtic Lester Hudson. Hudson, who scored the only quadruple-double in NCAA history, averaged 27.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Its top returning scorer is junior forward Benzor Simmons, who averaged 6.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. No other returning Skyhawk averaged more than 5.7 points.
Sophomore Justin Bocot said the team is confident heading into the season.
“We had a pretty good exhibition season, and we got to play against some really talented teams,” Bocot said. “I think we’re ready to head out there and start the season off the right way.”
