Salukies soar

Southern Illinois knocks out Knight, Texas Tech

Bobby Knight-coached teams have lost five times in the first round of the NCAA tournament since 1995. AP

CHICAGO (AP) -- Bob Knight's first NCAA tournament appearance with Texas Tech went pretty much like his recent ones at Indiana.

The only difference after this first-round loss is that he's headed back to Lubbock, Texas, not Bloomington, Ind.

Jermaine Dearman had 17 points and 11 rebounds Friday night as 11th-seeded Southern Illinois beat Knight's Texas Tech 76-68 in an Eastern Regional opener.

"I'd have been disappointed eventually if we'd gotten beat in the championship game," said Knight, who won three national titles at Indiana before being fired in September 2000 for a "pattern of unacceptable behavior."

"Yeah, I'm disappointed, but also I can look at how we played and how they played, and they're just better at some things than we were."

Though he's 42-22 in 25 tournament appearances, Knight's teams have lost in the first round in five of his last seven trips. He hasn't been to the round of 16 since 1994.

And until now, the first-round losses have been particularly ugly. Indiana lost to Colorado by 18 in 1997, matching the Hoosiers' worst postseason defeat. That was followed by a 25-point blowout to St. John's in 1999, and a 20-point loss to Pepperdine in 2000.

But while Texas Tech was the sixth seed, this wasn't that much of an upset.

"I really was impressed with Southern Illinois right from the very beginning," Knight said. "They had a mental toughness that was really extraordinary. They were just tougher than we were all across the floor, and they maintained that the whole ballgame."

Kent Williams scored 17 for the Salukis, who won their school-record 27th game. Southern Illinois held Tech to just 39 percent shooting -- and that was with Dearman and Rolan Roberts, their top defenders, starting the game on the bench.

Same old, Same old Click the image to launch the clip Once again, a Bob Knight-coached team is bounced early. Start Video Plus Visit Video Plus for all the latest video and audio.

The two missed their first start of the season after being late to practice Tuesday.

Andy Ellis and Kasib Powell had 19 each for Texas Tech, but leading scorer Andre Emmett had just nine points.

"We didn't come ready to play tonight and if you don't do that, you're going to get beat," Ellis said.

Still, Texas Tech's turnaround this season was remarkable. The Red Raiders were 9-19 last season, and Knight took six holdovers, four junior college transfers, two freshmen and a walk-on and earned Texas Tech's first NCAA bid since 1996.

"I grew up watching him when he was back at Indiana," said Dearman, an Indianapolis native. "I don't know if I ever really wanted to play for him because I know the kind of coach that he is. I know he's a good coach, but I know he gets a little frustrated at players at times.

"So I felt great winning the game today."

But the game wasn't even the main event. All eyes were on Knight, who looked out of place in his black sweater and was just four hours north of Indiana, where he spent 29 years.

There were some boos when he took the floor for the game, and one Southern Illinois fan held up a sign reading, "Hey Knight, What's Up? Salukis."

Knight was fired after he grabbed the arm of a student who said, "What's up, Knight?"

But raucous cheers drowned out any boos when Knight was introduced. Knight didn't show any reaction, of course. And he was fairly well-behaved once the game started.

He did let loose at Nick Valdez at one point, calling him over to the bench to yell at him, and continuing the 'discussion' at the next timeout. And Knight was livid when Ellis was called for basket interference with 18:16 to play, jumping up and screaming at the referees.

"That's not right," he said to one. "You can't possibly see."

It appeared that the ball might have been off the rim when Ellis touched it, but replays were inconclusive. In Knight's mind, though, there was no question, and he was still complaining about it several minutes later.

Other than that, though, he was a model citizen. Southern Illinois coach Bruce Weber spent more time on his feet.

When Mikey Marshall was called for what could have been a charge, Knight simply leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms across his chest and glared at the referee. When Pawel Storozynski was called for traveling, Knight jumped up and took a few steps down the bench, then sat back down.

And when Dearman scored on an alley-oop to put Southern Illinois up 53-38 with 8:09 left, Knight just looked over at son Pat, a Red Raiders assistant, as if to ask him where they were going for dinner.

With yet another early departure from the tournament, he's got plenty of time to decide.

"Our kids, if I were to say a weakness, I'd have quickly said mental toughness," Knight said. "Southern Illinois both played smarter and harder than we did. Hopefully we can learn something and grow from it."

 

Related information
Stories
Creighton downs Florida in 2OT Closer Look: Creighton's Taylor wants to be like Mike
Stats
Southern Illinois-Texas Tech Game Summary
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.