Game Notes
They say all good things must end.
One of Division-II's "good things" — the Kentucky Wesleyan-Southern Indiana rivalary as most people know it — comes to an end Thursday night.
The two historic rivals will play their last regular season game against each other as members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, marking the end of what's unquestionably been a remarkable era. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. at the PAC Arena in Evansville.
"I think it's going to be just like it always is," USI coach Rodney Watson said. "In the four years that I've been here, it's a great college basketball atmosphere. There aren't many rivalries left in college basketball anymore. There's so much riding on this game — it's senior night at our place, there's so much at stake with the conference tournament coming up and certainly for the NCAA and Region seedings."
On the court, KWC (19-6, 11-6 Great Lakes Valley Conference) is still on the bubble in terms of an NCAA Tournament bid and a win over USI could do wonders to help its case. On the other side, USI (19-6, 12-5 GLVC) is looking for a win to solidify a first-round bye in the GLVC Tournament and avoid playing a first round campus site game.
While the ramifications of Thursday's game will provide an intriguing backdrop for the game itself, many fans will undoubtedly experience feelings of melancholy and nostalgia when looking back on the rivalry as a whole.
In the 1990s, Bruce Pearl and Ray Harper upped the ante a little bit and brought a new level of hostility and competitiveness to the rivalry. Each game provided a show on the court and on the sidelines as the two ultra-successful coaches played their own chess match with each other during the game.
The rivalry continued through the 2000s, although it lost a little bit of steam once Pearl and Harper went their separate ways. Now, Watson and KWC coach Todd Lee consider themselves friendly competitors.
On Jan. 14, 2010, the rivalry took an unexpected turn. USI forward Jeron Lewis collapsed on the floor with 4:32 remaing in a game at the Sportscenter and later that night died of an enlarged heart. In the wake of that, KWC showed its respect to USI and Lewis by raising money for Lewis and his family. The players wore red warm-ups with Lewis' name and number on them in the second meeting that season at the PAC Arena.
"I think we can say it humanized the game of college basketball," Watson said of Lewis' death. "We're all competitive. Our fans are so competitive and our teams are competitive. Unfortunately, that incident gave us a very silver reminder that while we're competitive...there is a limit."
Lee, who will be coaching his 13th game against USI in his eight seasons at KWC, talked at length about the Lewis incident. He was noticeably emotional as he recounted that game and more specifically how the KWC community responded afterwards.
"Really, that's the way rivalries should be," he said. "You should want to beat each other on the court, or on the field, and you hope that you would help each other if somebody needs it...We've had some games that, you know, the first couple years Rodney coached we beat them over there and they beat us over here and now we've kind of went back and forth. But that part of it stood out because it was a lot more than about basketball at that point."
Both coaches said they're sad to see the rivalry as it is now come to an end, but they do intend to keep playing each other in the non-conference season once KWC moves to the Great Midwest Athletic Conferecne next season. They said it's important for both schools and the fanbases to keep the rivalry going.
But rivalry aside, the game is a rather important one for both teams. KWC remained No. 9 in the second of three Midwest Regional Rankings, which were published on Wednesday. That means KWC is still one spot away from being considered for an NCAA Tournament berth.
A win over the Eagles (No. 6 in the region) would likely propel KWC into the coveted top eight.
"It's a huge rivalry, but for us we can't focus on the rivalry," senior guard Kreig Oxley said. "This game means a whole lot more than just a rivalry. It's got postseason implications on it and we've just got to come out and play our game."
