Insider: Purple Aces don't have much to say about blowout loss to Southern Illinois

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — You don’t need many words to describe the University of Evansville men’s basketball team’s Missouri Valley Conference opener. Wednesday’s 80-53 loss to Southern Illinois can be narrowed to a single, four-letter adjective:

Ugly.

UE was predicted to finish last in the league; SIU was picked third. Both teams showed why they were chosen in their respective spots. If Wednesday was any showing of the gap between the Purple Aces and the top of the conference, there could be cause for concern.

UE was second in every measurable factor except, ironically, free throws. Two things were clear: The Salukis made a statement in the conference opener and the Aces (2-7, 0-1 MVC) have a long way to go.

“There’s not a lot to say when you lose by 27 (points),” UE guard Gage Bobe said. “We gotta find shooters in transition. They didn’t even score that many tough buckets, a lot of it was wide-open, spot-3s, and any college team is going to make those.”

Growing pains were to be expected for UE this season. That’s not what was on display against SIU in front of 4,286 fans at Ford Center.

One of the paramount pieces of the Aces’ season to this point was remaining competitive for most of every game. Wednesday was different. Southern Illinois (5-2, 1-0) controlled play from start to finish. UE’s conference opener mostly resembled an early-season, buy-game against a high-major opponent more than a league contest — one considered a rivalry by the schools.

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If UE’s loss is the consistent showing in conference play, the Aces are in for a long season. Southern Illinois was simply better in every facet. UE’s turnovers were the biggest factor. The Salukis won by 27 points, scoring 28 points off the Aces' giveaways.

“The reason we’ve been in games leading up to this point, we haven’t turned the ball over at a high level,” coach David Ragland said. “The rim looks like an ocean when you’re making early layups.

“We just have to sharpen that part of it. Just being more disciplined and locked into the scouting report on both ends of the floor.”

For much of the game, particularly the first half, UE looked like it did last season. And there's a completely new regime in place. Some of the progress shown in the early parts of this year was lost as the Aces looked unrecognizable from the team that started with a gritty road win against Miami (Ohio) and stayed competitive against Saint Louis.

UE wasn’t just far and away behind its opponent, it simply didn’t compete for any part of the night. Southern Illinois, which lost by 18 to Southern Indiana in early November, came back into Evansville and played the Aces off their home court.

That UE performance was a stark reminder of where the program is and why Ragland was hired. In some ways, the loss was a mirror of what the administration was trying to move on from.

While the loss is harrowing, the Aces need to bounce back to ensure the season doesn’t take a turn for the worst. UE has shown tangible improvements over a year ago, but losses like Wednesday can send things the wrong way, though the Aces are confident they can rebound.

“This team is so much different than last year, just in terms of fight,” UE forward Preston Phillips said. “(Last season) won’t happen again. No one’s gonna allow that to happen again.”

UE’s focus shifts to Northern Iowa (2-4, 0-1) on Saturday, its second game of the league season, before completing the non-conference slate. The Aces need to improve in virtually every area to avoid their third consecutive 0-2 start to MVC play. UE gave the Salukis everything they wanted while not generating anything for itself, aside from a late run to make the score less embarrassing.

The positive is that SIU was the first time UE was truly outplayed wire-to-wire. The Aces have competed, which is a positive sign, but they can’t allow games like Wednesday to become a consistent habit.

If that happens, UE is in for another long, painful stretch.

“We have a good enough team. You can say whatever about where we’re at,” Ragland said. “Our league is a really good league, and our league is good because they’re well coached, they stick to the game plan and they make you work for everything that you get. We just have to stick to the game plan.”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville men's basketball blown out by Southern Illinois in MVC open