As national champion, Duke still celebrates, locals have to be wondering if one of our teams could be the last one standing in future years. With Butler making the championship game, it really shows that a small school can beat national superpowers like Syracuse and Michigan State and have the ability to contend for the national title. Missouri and Saint Louis University (SLU) both enjoyed relatively successful seasons, while Illinois was a bit of a disappointment.
Entering the season, SLU, Missouri and Illinois were all coming off different seasons, but headed in the same general direction. Each school had an emphasis on youth this year.

SLU, as the youngest team in the nation, had not one junior or senior this year, so the entire team will be returning for the 2010-11 season and presumably the 2011-2012 season. Because they lost two the best players in SLU history last year to graduation in Tommy Liddell and Kevin Lisch, many college basketball analysts predicted SLU to have a lackluster season and finish near the bottom of the conference standings. SLU’s team impressed sophomore Charlie Harned, an avid college basketball fan and big-time follower of Gonzaga, this year.
“For being so young and for the Atlantic 10 Conference being so tough, the Billikens had a great year,” Harned said.
Missouri entered this past season coming off a fantastic National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament where it made a run to the Elite Eight. However, it too lost two great players to graduation in Leo Lyons and Demarre Carroll.
Therefore, analysts did not predict Missouri finish very high this year, even though it had a great season in 2008-09. Missouri did in fact finish two spots higher in the Big 12 standings and the team was better than expected. Rick Kordenbrock, who got his bachelors and law degree from the University of Missouri, agreed that the team performed well.
“I thought it was a very good year for what they had,” Kordenbrock said. “They were athletic, but they were weak in terms of their inside game, with a lack a scoring and rebounding in the post.”
Illinois also lost a couple players last year, though neither as important as Lyons or Carroll to Missouri. And unlike Missouri, Illinois finished last season on a sour note, getting upset by Western Kentucky in the first round of the tournament.
However, because Illinois was not losing a star player, the Illini began the season ranked and was supposed to make an impact in college basketball this year on the national level. A late season collapse ruined Illinois’ otherwise decent season.
Though SLU, Missouri, and Illinois all finished their regular seasons’ with losses that hurt their resumes, each team had the opportunity to play postseason basketball.
SLU, after being passed over by the NCAA and NIT tournaments, was selected to play in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). While the team won its first three games to make it to the championship, it lost the final to Virginia Commonwealth. Harned attended the finale against Virginia Commonwealth.
“The atmosphere was great, even though they lost,” Harned said. “Chaifetz Arena is built in a unique way so that no matter where you are you can see everything. The SLU students get real into the game and it was loads of fun.”
In losing its final regular season game, Missouri hurt its season and its NCAA tournament resume. Even so, Missouri made the tournament and upset seven-seed Clemson in the first round. Following this game, it lost to second seeded and eventual Final Four participant West Virginia.
“The Nebraska loss really highlighted the inconsistency of the team,” Kordenbrock said. “I don’t think it affected their morale too much though as they came back with the win in the NCAA tournament.”
This year, Illinois was one of those famously called bubble teams. Unfortunately their bubble popped on Selection Sunday and it was passed over by the NCAA tournament selection committee. Instead Illinois was selected as a first seed in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). They won their first two games before losing to eventual champion Dayton in the quarterfinals. Sophomore Freddy Barnes, an Illinois fan, thought that the NCAA snubbed the team, but he still watched it play in the NIT.
“They deserved to be in the NCAA tournament, they beat quality teams that were in the tournament during the season, such as Michigan State, who made the Final Four,” Barnes said.
All three could possibly make the NCAA tournament next year, as so few players are being lost to graduation. With SLU losing no players to graduation next year, Illinois only losing one major contributor and with Missouri having the depth to overcome their losses, next year could be a great year for local college basketball fans.
According to Harned, SLU has nowhere to move but up.
“I think next year is SLU’s year,” Harned said. “If they have a real tough non-conference schedule and show they can compete with bigger schools then they will make the NCAA tournament for sure. [SLU coach] Rick Majerus sure knows how to build a program.”
Kordenbrock also has been impressed with Missouri’s coach Mike Anderson.
“Anderson is an excellent coach, and I love his style of play,” Kordenbrock said. “Its fast-paced and exciting, the way the game should be played. He should be able to get to the Final Four, and my hope is that before he leaves Missouri, he will be able to accomplish this.”
This year, Illinois, specifically, killed itself with bad losses. Barnes thinks Illinois can’t settle for less than great with so many contributing seniors next year.
“This year they lost games they shouldn’t have lost to mediocre teams,” Barnes said. “Next year they need to stay in the moment and not get ahead of themselves. If Illinois doesn’t finish in the top three in the Big Ten, and doesn’t reach the sweet sixteen next year, I think the season will be a disappointment. Those should be their goals because they clearly have the talent to accomplish both.”
With such young players and highly thought of coaches, what could stop the teams from improving in the future?
“The only problem I could see in the future for SLU would be not giving Christian Thomas a scholarship,” Harned said.
“Missouri has broken my heart so many times in March,” Kordenbrock said. “Even with legendary [Missouri] coach Norm Stewart, the team couldn’t get past the Elite Eight.”
In collapsing at the each of the past two seasons, as Barnes mentioned, Illinois has not met their expectations in succeeding in March.
SLU faces a possible lack of recruiting in the future, Missouri faces the pressure of being the first Missouri team ever to make the Final Four and Illinois faces the prospect of another late season collapse. All will have to overcome their problems in order to find the success each team is looking for.
With so much promise and youth in the SLU, Missouri and Illinois basketball programs, next year and years to come should be very exciting for local fans. 