FanHouse Chris Lowery

In an effort to talk about something college basketball-related other than scandals in the summer, let's talk best current coaches. We'll attempt to order the top 25 current coaches in the nation. This is about the present and the future, not the distant past. What a guy did in the mid-90s doesn't matter near as much as the direction his program is currently headed. Past pedigree also matters, to an extent. For the perfect mix of past accomplishments with present achievement and a paved road for future success, look no further than the man atop the list.

Southern Illinois knew they were going to have to worry about Eric Gordon on the offensive end. The freshman was scoring 27 points per game entering play in Carbondale last night and was going to make it hard for the Salukis to extend their home winning streak to 16 games. They didn't count on him making such an impact defensively, though. Gordon had three blocks and two steals to go with 24 points, all keys in Indiana's 64-51 win.

Not that the Salukis did much to help themselves on that end of the field. They shot a brutal 37.5% and missed all but one of the 14 three-pointers they attempted. Matt Shaw and Joshua Bone, the players Chris Lowery counts on to balance his offense with Randal Falker inside, were 1-of-11 from deep which helped the Salukis to their second straight defeat. It was only the fourth loss for SIU in their last 84 home games and one that damages their effort to gain in national reputation.

Beyond Gordon, Indiana got strong games from D.J. White and Jamarcus Ellis. Each forward finished with a double-double as the Hoosiers outworked the normally tireless Salukis on the boards. In the end, though, it was Gordon who made the difference once again. He became the third man to score more than 20 points against SIU in the last two years and showed that, as good as the beginning has been, the best is probably yet to come.

The biggest strength of the Southern Illinois basketball team is their ability to slow down the game and turn it into a low-scoring slugfest. They had the ninth-best defensive efficiency in the nation last season which spurred their run to the Sweet 16 and that kind of intensity was why they were ranked in the Top 25 to start the season. It's not the most watchable or artistic brand of basketball in the world but it is a surefire way to close the gap in talent and Chris Lowery's team does it very well.
Well, usually does it very well. In Anaheim yesterday, their defense abandoned them. USC routed the Salukis 70-45 on the back of 59.5% shooting but that was only part of the reason why the result was so troubling. SIU was outrebounded, something which cannot happen if they are going to make noise this season, and they were 5-of-20 from three. Matt Shaw was a big reason for both shortcomings. He grabbed just one carom and missed four of his six attempts from deep, leaving Randal Falker to do all the heavy lifting. He did his part but SIU can't be a one man team and hope for success.