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Thursday, March 15, 2007
A lot alike, but very different
HOOP TIME NOTEBOOK

Both teams play tremendous defense. Both do it in a different way, though.


The matchup between Holy Cross and Southern Illinois features two of the top 10 defensive teams in the nation. The Salukis allow 56.5 points per game, third best among all 300-plus Division I teams in the nation.

Holy Cross, which allows 57.1 points per contest, is just behind, ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense.

"Our defense is very similar, they try to keep everybody out of the middle. They give great weak side help. They only allow 56 points a game, we allow 57. So they play with a great deal of emotion and passion on the defensive end as we do and it's going to be a battle," said HC senior Torey Thomas, when asked to compare the two styles of play.

Holy Cross switches defenses more and plays a good deal of zone. Southern Illinois will employ mainly man-to-man.

That is not the only difference.

"They're committed to defense like we are committed to defense," said Crusaders coach Ralph Willard. "But they're so much more physical than we are."

It's a difference in philosophy..

"We do many more things on the defensive end in terms of trying to make you think, they're just trying to wear you down and keep constant pressure on you," said Willard.

"We have to guard all of them. And I think when we focus on that and are consistently focused on trying to take away stuff and trying to make their life miserable, make them feel like they don't have enough space on the court, we have a chance," said SIU coach Chris Lowery.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE: The perception among the Southern Illinois media contingent seems to be that Holy Cross junior center Tim Clifford might give the Salukis fits inside. At 6-10, 270, Clifford is both taller, and physically more imposing, than any post type Southern Illinois can deploy.

Holy Cross coach Ralph WIllard hopes those SIU beat guys are right. Getting Clifford going in the paint could make a huge difference for the Crusaders.

"We're going to try and get the ball inside. Obviously we try and do that against every opponent," said Willard "They're quicker and more athletic than we are, but one of the things they do a great job is putting tremendous pressure on the basketball much so one way to relieve that is by getting the ball to the middle of the floor and getting it inside to your big guys. So they double, they take away the post in a lot of different ways, they do a great job rotating, but it's obviously something we're going to have to try and exploit in order to -- really in order to get our guards more looks at the basket too."

One thing Clifford adds to the mix is his ability to step away from the basket to shoot the jumper, even out to three-point range. A career 40.7 percent shooter from the arc, Clifford has knocked down 13 of the 35 treys he has taken this season. That is a concern for SIU coach Chris Lowery.

"(Clifford) is huge. I mean, he's very big. He's probably better defensively than most people think and he's not a high-riser. He takes up a lot of space and he challenges a lot of shots. So our biggest thing is that we can't allow him to get his confidence on offense, because when he does that, he can step away and make shots away from the rim, and when he's doing that, that makes Simmons even better," said Lowery.

One thing SIU will look to do is to attack Clifford when it has the ball, hoping to get him in foul trouble. That has been a problem at times; Clifford has fouled out of seven games this season. It is an area where he has improved as the season wore on, though. Through the last 17 games, Clifford has fouled out just once ( at Hofstra).

Without Clifford on the floor, Holy Cross looks very different. When he plays up to his capabilities, the Crusaders have looked very good.

"Tim's play down the stretch has been incredible. He had six blocks in the first half of our championship game. And like you say, he's been plugging up the middle. He's been a force on the boards, block shots, down on the post on offense, and his play really opens up our play," SImmons said. "Tim's been playing really well."

SCOUTING SIMMONS: Here is Lowery's take on the Patriot League Player of the Year: "He could play a lot of different places in the country. I was shocked how good he was, I had no idea until you watch him more than once. When people say somebody's good, your first impression is, yeah, he's okay, but as you continue to watch him, he's very talented. He's an explosive athlete. He's obviously become a much better shooter than when he got there. His field goal percentages are high. He's a kid who's going to make money playing, so obviously he's a good player."

TOUTING TOREY: Lowery is also very high on Holy Cross point guard Torey Thomas. Here is what he has to say about the 5-9 senior: "I love the kid, he'd be great with us. He steals the ball from anybody close to them. That sets up everything that they do, because not only is he their best defender, he also is their best guy at pushing the basketball. And that's why him and Simmons really have a strong niche together as teammates. They get in transition after steals, after misshots, as well as anybody in the country."

SHOOTAROUND TIDBITS: The crowds for the shootarounds seemed much smaller in Columbus than they did two years ago in Oklahoma City or last year in Dallas. There were probably less than 100 people on hand to watch Southern Illinois -- a good number of those being Illinois fans who arrived early. Even fewer folks on hand for HC's workout.

Aside from parents, only one bit of purple was spotted in the crowd.

Both teams took a similar approach to the shootarounds, running through a series of shooting drills to get used to the lights, background and rims in Nationwide Arena.

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Published at 7:45 PM by Hoop Time.
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