Friday, March 17th, 2:45 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Palace of Auburn Hills (23,585) -- Auburn Hills, Michigan. Television: ABC. NCAA Record: Southern Illinois 5-8, West Virginia 15-19. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: The sixth-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers hope to go even further than last season's unforgettable NCAA Tournament run, and they open this year's event against the 11th-seeded Southern Illinois Salukis in first round action of the Atlanta Regional. The winner moves on to the second round to battle either third-seeded Iowa or 14th-seeded Northwestern State. Southern Illinois is making its fifth consecutive appearance in the "Big Dance", and it has achieved five straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history. The Salukis won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and are set to play in their ninth NCAA Tournament since moving to Division I in 1966. The last three seasons they have failed to get past the second round, but they did reach the Sweet 16 in 2002. Last year, West Virginia defeated MVC foe Creighton in the first round en route to an unlikely trip to the Elite Eight. The Mountaineers return with almost the exact same team as 2004-05, and they are making back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 1986-87. This afternoon's game marks the first-ever meeting between Southern Illinois and West Virginia on the hardwood.

The strength of this Southern Illinois squad is defense, as it is allowing only 56.2 ppg. Not only is that mark the best by the program in over 50 years, the Salukis placed fourth nationally among 334 Division I teams in scoring defense as of March 12th. There are some capable offensive performers in the lineup, and First Team All-MVC performer Tony Young is certainly among them. He is averaging 11.9 ppg and was particularly impressive against league competition. Fellow guard Jamaal Tatum is contributing 15.1 ppg to lead the team and place fourth in the conference in scoring. He is also dishing out 3.3 apg and provides a great deal of leadership. Randal Falker is a 6-7 sophomore forward who scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the league title game en route to being named the MVC Tournament MVP. As for true freshman point guard Bryan Mullins, he became the fifth player in school history to be named the MVC Freshman of the Year. He leads the league and ranks seventh nationally with 2.84 spg as of March 12th.

Prior to this season, only two West Virginia players had ever earned a spot on the All-Big East First Team. That total has since doubled, as Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey have both received that honor. Only once this season has a player other than Pittsnogle or Gansey led the Mountaineers in scoring, and it comes as no surprise that they are the only two double-digit scorers on the roster. Pittsnogle has been the leading scorer for his club the last five times out, and he is netting 19.5 ppg on 48.5 percent shooting from the floor, including 40.5 percent efficiency from three-point range. The 6-11 center is most comfortable playing away from the basket, but he may spend a great deal of time on the low blocks in this contest since there are no players bigger than 6-7 in the Southern Illinois lineup. Gansey is posting 17.2 ppg on 55.9 percent shooting from the field and 44.2 percent from long range, and he and Pittsnogle form one of the nation's best duos.

West Virginia has struggled to establish consistency this season, but it has the potential to go far in this tournament because of its talent and experience. Expect a big game from Pittsnogle today, as he will have no trouble getting his shot off.

Predicted Outcome

West Virginia 70, Southern Illinois 58