Following an 82-49 shellacking of IUPUI, Wisconsin now looks to open the season 2-0 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season with a win over Southern Illinois tonight at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers will be a clear favorite as the Salukis try to build on a disappointing 3-24 finish from a season ago. Southern Illinois’s current record stands at 0-2 after falling to Iowa 66-50 and Northern Illinois 61-43 at the Hawkeye Challenge over the weekend.
First-year Southern Illinois head coach Dana Eikenberg hopes to raise the Salukis out of the Missouri Valley Conference cellar, where they have finished in each of the last three seasons. The Salukis, who have lost 20 or more games every year for the past six seasons, were picked to finish last once again in this season’s conference preseason poll.
However, Eikenberg is no stranger to success. She led the University of Missouri-Kansas City to a 14-14 mark in her first season at the helm after the squad finished 2-25 the previous season.
Eikenberg also found success as a player at Penn State, where she playing for a nationally respected coach in Rene Portland. She played in three straight NCAA tournaments with the Nittany Lions in the early 1990s and earned a No. 1 national ranking in 1991.
The Salukis haven’t earned a spot at the conference tournament since the 1998-99 season, but will try to turn things around with two returning starters. Forward Danette Jones, who averaged 9.1 points per game last season, exploded for 22 against Iowa with five three-pointers on the day. Her performance still earned her a spot on the all-Tournament team, despite an eight-point performance against Northern Illinois.
Also returning in the backcourt will be point guard Daphney Desamours. The 5-foot-4 guard chipped in 4.7 points per game last year and netted 12 points against the Hawkeyes and the Huskies. Desamours’ play will be crucial against the Badgers’ full-court pressure.
“I think to press because it gets you into [the game] right away,” head coach Lisa Stone said. “I like the intensity and I like the fact the team is selling out on it.”
Against Iowa, the Salukis shot a frigid 23 percent in the first half. The Salukis did set a new Carver Hawkeye arena record by throwing up 29 shots from beyond the arc, but hit only seven.
Southern Illinois also averaged 20.5 turnovers in their first two games, while Wisconsin only committed 10 against IUPUI. The Salukis will also have to focus on defensive transition as the Badgers were more than willing to get out and run from the start of the IUPUI game and will continue to do so when the opportunities present themselves.
Not allowing the Salukis to key on any one player will also give the Badgers a distinct advantage as every player saw action Friday night and each were able to put the ball in the basket. With freshman guard Janese Banks starting in place of last year’s leading scorer, Ashely Josephson, in Friday’s contest, Wisconsin has proven they have many weapons who are now finding their roles on team.
“We can certainly start a lot of different people,” coach Stone said. “And I like that, that anybody can start and anybody can play and everyone is going to play. If we can come into an 11-player rotation, that’s masterful I think. And if we can do it without losing continuity, I’m all for it.”
