Maroons, blues, yellows and reds – various shades of bright colors filled the stands of the Enterprise Center and a shiny, hardwood flooring covered the ice below. The bouncing of a bright, orange ball and the squeaking of shoes were not loud enough to overpower the noise of cheers blaring from the crowd.
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What normally is home to the St. Louis Blues, now welcomed 12 college basketball teams and their cohorts to Arch Madness, the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. The weekend stretch of games had a special incentive for the team strong enough to survive to the end: a ticket to the big dance.
The No. 8 Southern Illinois Salukis kickstarted the Missouri Valley Conference tournament facing off with No. 9 Indiana State Sycamores on Thursday, March 6. A close back-and-forth game left SIU and Indiana State fighting down to the wire. The final seconds ticked away on the clock and it seemed as though the Salukis were to suffer the same fate as last season – a first round elimination to send them back to Carbondale as quickly as they arrived. However, when guard Davion Sykes gently put the ball in for a layup with only 4.1 seconds left, he sealed a close 86-85 win over the Sycamores.
The win advanced the Salukis on to Friday for the quarterfinals, but also put them into the sights of No. 1 seeded Drake Bulldogs, who were looking to punch a third-straight ticket to March Madness.
It was a similar sight on Friday morning for the Dawgs. The stands once again filled with maroons and blues and the Salukis entered looking to win just as they did the day prior. A close start to the game gave SIU fans hope for an upset but with several scoreless minutes and many turnovers by the Salukis, the wheels began to fall off. A fourth 3-pointer by Drake freshman Isaia Howard with only three minutes left on the clock buried the Salukis. The Bulldogs ran away with the game and ended SIU’s season with a final score of 70-53.
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Drake advanced to the championship game and defeated the Bradley Braves 63-48, earning their third-straight ticket to the big dance. The Bulldogs join the Salukis as the second-ever team to make this accomplishment.
To read more in-depth recaps on the games against Indiana State and Drake, visit our website.
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