Saluki Sports with Fred Huff
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ With the Missouri Valley Conference basketball season now one-third -- six games -- in the books, little has changed from pre-season thoughts.
Northern Iowa is the class of the league and the only team which could possibly be considered being an "at large" entry in this year's NCAA tournament. Now 15-1 and unbeaten in the league, the Panthers could receive some support if upset in the Valley's post-season tournament March 4-7, but other members are not attracting any attention in the early predictions.
Not even Creighton, a team which had received early support, has shown any sign of developing into a contender after struggling to an 8-9 season's record and a 3-3 mark in conference play.
The Jays are a beatable team as Chris Lowery's club discovered this week before losing, 71-69.
Even though P'Allen Stinnett and Justin Carter are talented players, the Jays seemed to lack a go-to guy as the Salukis did everything but defeat Creighton without actually having one of their best games of the season.
Other than Northern Iowa doing what is expected of it as the pre-season favorite, Wichita State has been the surprise of the Valley so far. The Shockers have shocked their opponents with an overall 16-2 record which includes five wins in just six league outings.
And with three games against those two teams remaining on SIU's schedule, it's one big reason why the Salukis may have trouble in transforming their present 2-4 record into much more than a middle-of-the-league spot with a 10-8 or 9-9 mark in final standings.
After jumping off to an unreal start, Missouri State has seemingly settled down somewhat now and how tough the Bears are remains to be seen.
Illinois State is hardly in the "win" column for the Salukis in their rematch as are any of the other games on SIU's schedule. The difference is actually winning the games like at Evansville Saturday night and it's one that the Salukis can't simply take for granted despite the fact the Aces are winless.
After his strong showing against Creighton, look for Gene Teague to receive more playing time, perhaps as much as he can handle. The over-sized freshman from Brooklyn, N.Y., was impressive and most probably will receive some of Nick Evans' minutes.
Meanwhile on another SIU front, last weekend's Hall of Fame activities were positive although the pre-game reception Saturday attracted an embarrassing turnout at the Student Center. Not even cost-free invitations sent to former letter-winners helped boost the turnout. Like several activities around SIU's athletics program, the Hall of Fame is receiving some re-structuring and we're confident it'll emerge as a stronger event in the near future.
A starting point could be electing Sparta-native Harold Bardo into the now more-than-200 strong group. A solid basketball/track performer in his undergraduate days at SIU, Bardo has served in so many sports-related capacities at SIU that he should have been a unanimous choice of the selection committee years ago. We personally know of many of Bardo's accomplishments and his relationship with SIU's student-athletes is remarkable. And, too, he's presently the MVC's president.