Salukis receive N0. 4 seed in West

~ Southern Illinois could face Illinois in the second round.

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois got the highest NCAA tournament seed in school history Sunday when the Salukis were given a No. 4 in the West Region and a matchup in Columbus, Ohio, against Holy Cross.

A Salukis' victory Friday could set up an intriguing second-round game between the winner of Illinois and Virginia Tech. The Illini are coached by Bruce Weber, who spent five seasons at Southern Illinois.

Southern Illinois (27-6), making its sixth straight NCAA appearance, was ranked No. 14 in the latest AP poll after winning the Missouri Valley regular season title and losing in the tournament finals to Creighton. That ended a 13-game winning streak for the Salukis.

Some of the Salukis were hoping they would be sent to Chicago for the opening round but weren't complaining.

"It's not Chicago, but that's close enough," senior guard and Chicago native Tony Young told the Southern Illinoisan.

"I was looking forward to gong back home, but we're happy with where we're at," said sophomore guard Bryan Mullins, another Chicago-area player. "We're happy to be somewhere in the Midwest for our fans, somewhere within driving distance."

SIU and Creighton were the only teams from the MVC to make the 65-team field.

Bradley (21-12), which won two games in the NCAA tourney last year, didn't make it and neither did Missouri State, which finished third in the conference.

"There were surprises throughout the entire bracket," Southern Illinois' Matt Shaw said.

"It's so crazy, there's never anything you can predict. Obviously, there are a couple other teams that could have made a case for a bid, but at the same time, there are always more things you can do."

Holy Cross (25-8), which is seeded 13th, won the Patriot League tournament title and is led by 6-5 guard Keith Simmons.

"I don't really know too much about Holy Cross yet," Saluki guard Bryan Mullins said Sunday. "We'll watch some video and get to know them a little better, but all we're focused on is Holy Cross. The first game of the tournament is always the toughest."