Saint Louis Basketball: 3 takeaways from dominant win over SIUE

Full-court pressure was effective

Ramping up the pressure against SIUE seemed to be a pretty solid plan, as the Cougars never really showed that they could handle it with ease. I don’t necessarily think that the full-court pressure was designed to help the Billikens get instant steals, but rather to force SIUE to deal with two things at once offensively.

Worrying about getting good looks, once they got down to the opposite end of the floor, was probably stressful enough for the Cougars, which is why being tasked with dealing with full-court pressure probably put them on edge.

So why was Saint Louis able to harass the Cougars all game long, as soon as they inbounded the ball? Well, because they didn’t have the same guards applying the pressure the entire game.

Yes, guys like Yuri Collins, Jordan Goodwin, and Gibson Jimerson started off the game turning SIUE’s guards, and getting them to pound the ball as much as possible (so that they couldn’t be as effective on offense), but Travis Ford was also able to bring in guys like Fred Thatch Jr. (who left the game with an injury), Demarius Jacobs, Markhi Strickland, and even Phillip Russell off the bench, and watch them defend 94 feet from the basket as well.

Based on Wednesday night’s performance, I think that those bench players know that if they want to see the floor more often, they will have to buy into Ford’s defensive system (which is all about putting pressure on opponents and making them earn every bucket that they get).

And frankly, it’s a system that the players should want to buy into, because more often than not, the Billikens stingy will allow them to get out and run, which is a recipe for success this season (given the fact that Saint Louis has plenty of exciting athletes this year).

While I still believe that Ford is still in the process, of determining which lineups will help the Billikens receive the best results, he was able to rotate different guys into the game, and evaluate how they played with one another. Additionally, Ford got to see that even if some of the players that he brings in, don’t provide much help offensively, he can rely on them to bring the toughness and tenacity defensively, that Saint Louis prides themselves on.

More importantly, I think that in order for Saint Louis to meet or even exceed expectations this year, Travis Ford cannot run his starting guards into the ground this season. And although Wednesday night’s contest wasn’t as competitive as I wanted it to be, I think that Ford was able to sense that, if the Billikens want to continue to be successful, he must be as flexible as he possibly can.