Want to win your office pool when the NCAA Tournament arrives in March? You'll have to know who the best Cinderella teams are, and we've got them. Let's start with SIU.
Southern Illinois may not be the most surprising team we ever feature in our Cinderella Watch List, but the Salukis certainly won’t be expected to be a Top 20 NCAA team, which they very well may be in 2006-2007.
Winners of 22 games a year ago, the Salukis made their sixth straight NCAA tourney appearance. Even though this is a playoff-tested team, though, it always seems to be overlooked by the experts. Don’t you be fooled.
Talented guard Jamaal Tatum will begin the season on a three-game suspension, but he’ll return in plenty of time to fuel a very good backcourt, alongside Tony Young . Tatum and Young combined for better than 27 points per game last year and should get more in 2006-2007. Forward Matt Shaw adds scoring punch to a short, but athletic, front line, while Randal Falker takes care of most of the rebounding load (he averaged nearly eight boards per game in 2005-2006).
Playing in the very strong Missouri Valley Conference will only add strength to an already mentally-tough club. Look for the Salukis to improve on their 22 wins, make another trip to the Big Dance in March and, depending on seeding, knock off a team or two.
Our pre-season top Cinderella may soon be ready to step out of the slippers and into the glow of big-time NCAA college basketball.
