Missouri Valley Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose | Jun 5, 2020

ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Members of the Bradley Braves celebrate after beating the Northern Iowa Panthers in the final game of MVC Basketball Tournament at the Enterprise Center on March 10, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Bradley Braves beat the Northern Iowa Panthers 57-54 to win the MVC Championship. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

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AUBURN HILLS, MI – MARCH 17: Head coach Chris Lowery of the Southern Illinois Salukis (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /

8. Missouri Valley Basketball coach – Chris Lowery (Southern Illinois, 2004-2012)

When Lowery was brought to Southern Illinois as head coach in 2004, there were some big shoes to fill. He was thrust in charge of a successful program he had helped build alongside predecessors Bruce Weber and Matt Painter, who were both off to Big Ten jobs. Things were looking great for the Salukis, and Lowery kept that momentum going for Southern Illinois, at least for a while.

Lowery took over a team that had made the last three NCAA Tournaments and proceeded to lead the Salukis to the next three as well. His 2007 team was the highlight, winning 2007 games and making the Sweet Sixteen as a 4-seed. Southern Illinois finished in the top two in the MVC in each of those three seasons, building on the momentum.

Unfortunately, Lowery ranks this low because of the following seasons. The Salukis failed to build on that momentum, and the school slowly faded out of contention. Lowery was fired in 2012 after a third straight finish in the bottom three of the MVC. It’s hard to give him total credit for Southern Illinois’s success without also sole blame for how things have fallen apart. Southern Illinois hasn’t gotten back to the NCAA Tournament since that 2007 success, but one day this program might just turn around again.