Southern Illinois fans can't get too excited about the NIT -- not after six straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. With three starters back from a Sweet 16 team, they did not expect to watch the Salukis play in the NIT this season.

Those expectations turned out to be too high. SIU was overmatched early by a tough schedule and never recovered from a rough start. SIU couldn't close out close games, couldn't score and never put together a consistent stretch of good basketball.

SIU showed its potential in the NIT. The Salukis, without point guard Bryan Mullins, handled Oklahoma State 69-53 in the first game. With Mullins still out, Arizona State was too much in the next round. SIU lost 65-51 after shooting 29.3 percent from the field. SIU also played without reserve forward Tony Boyle. Mullins is out with stress fracture. Boyle missed the Arizona State game with a sprained ankle.

Things got so bad SIU played a zone. That is a rarity for a program that plays as tough a man-to-man defense as any team in the nation.

SIU's offense held it back all season. The Salukis never developed the late-in-the-shot-clock threats that carried them in past seasons. Mullins did what he could. Center Randal Falker struggled with double teams. Beyond those two, SIU lacked consistent scorers.

Falker and forward Matt Shaw are gone and serious rebuilding is in order. A team that struggled to score is without two of its better scorers.

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