SIU men’s basketball 9-2 start may be deceiving because of its schedule.

According to ESPN’s Rating Percentage Index rankings, SIU’s strength of schedule is ranked 306 of 351 Division I teams.

Junior guard Mike Rodriguez said the easier schedule has the team in a catch-22 situation with fans.

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“We’re winning, but I still don’t think we’re getting much credit” he said. “Now it’s like, ‘Who have they played?’ But we expected that.”

The Salukis have the best record in the Missouri Valley Conference, but they also have the easiest schedule. Evansville is second in the conference at 7-2 and has the second easiest schedule in the conference.

Despite the schedule’s rating, coach Barry Hinson feels the Salukis’ opponents are underrated.

“We’d have the same record as a lot of the teams we play if we played their schedule,” Hinson said.

SIU’s opponents are 44-53 this season. Seven of the Dawg’s 11 games are against teams with a losing record and they are 6-1 in those games.

The opening of SIU’s schedule was the most strenuous for the team, playing two top-150 RPI teams in its first five games. SIU split the games, beating Kent State 72-69 on Nov. 18 and losing to Texas-El Paso 71-66 on Nov. 27.

Last year, the Salukis had the 348th hardest non-conference schedule and finished 7-6.

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Junior guard Tyler Smithpeters said the games against lower-level competition have boosted the team’s confidence, but are still taken seriously.

“Whatever team we’re playing, if they’re not as good as people say they are, we still have to take them seriously,” he said. “We have to take the same attitude into each game.”

Hinson said the team didn’t have the energy needed to win in a 76-74 loss against then-1-7 SIUE on Dec. 9.

“[SIUE] deserved to win this game,” he said after the game. “Even if we would have won the ball game, we didn’t deserve it.”

SIU finishes the non-conference schedule against Murray State and St. Louis, both away games. Both teams are in the top-150 RPI. The Salukis begin conference play at Loyola on Dec. 30 and RPI top-100 Northern Iowa at home on Jan. 2.

Sean Carley can be reached at [email protected] or at 536-3304.