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Southern Illinois takes highest seed into Holy Cross game

Mar 16, 2007 - 1:56 PM Holy Cross (25-8) at (27-6) Southern Illinois 9:40 pm EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Southern Illinois is becoming a regular in the NCAA Tournament.

The fourth-seeded Salukis (27-6) will square off in a West Region first-round game against 13th-seeded Holy Cross on Friday.

Making its sixth straight NCAA appearance, Southern Illinois earned an at-large bid out of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Much of the Salukis' success is built around senior guard Jamaal Tatum, who is the fifth player to be named conference Player of the Year in the school's 32-year affiliation with the league.

Tatum has improved his 3-point shooting from 29.2 percent last season to 41.6 percent this season. He leads the team and ranks fifth in the MVC in scoring at 15.0 points per game.

Junior forward Randal Falker, who was named the MVC's Defensive Player of the Year, leads the league in blocked shots (2.12). A 60.1 percent shooter, he also averages 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.

The Salukis were the conference regular-season champs for the fifth time in the last six seasons and can tie the school record for most victories in a season (28) - set by the 2001-02 team - with a victory over the Crusaders.

A loss to Creighton in the MVC tournament final snapped a 13-game winning streak for Southern Illinois, which allows just 56.5 points per game to rank fourth nationally.

The Salukis have earned their highest seed in 10 NCAA appearances, surpassing the previous best of No. 7 in 2005.

Holy Cross earned an automatic bid by beating Bucknell in the Patriot league tournament final.

The senior backcourt duo of Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas combined for 51 of the Crusaders' 74 points in the title game.

The Patriot League player of the year, Simmons averages 17.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals. He has scored in double figures in 44 straight games dating back to last season.

Thomas, who was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, averages 13.6 points, 4.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals.

Holy Cross is making its 12th NCAA appearance and first since 2003. It is their fourth trip in Ralph Willard's eight-year tenure as head coach.

Holy Cross has been a tough out in its previous three first-round games. In 2001, the 15th-seeded Crusaders dropped a 72-68 decision to second-seeded Kentucky. A year later, it led No. 1 seed Kansas by a point with under nine minutes to play before falling, 70-59. Yet another close call came in 2003, when 14th-seeded Holy Cross fell to third-seeded Marquette, 72-68.

The Crusaders are also strong defensively, ranking sixth in the nation in scoring defense at 57.1 points per game.

The winner will face either fifth-seeded Virginia Tech or 12th-seeded Illinois in Sunday's second round.