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It was a rough night in New York City for the SIU men's basketball team against Duke.

Check that. A rough night would have been an improvement.

It was a tough shooting night not only for the Salukis (20-57 for 35.1%), but also for the Blue Devils (18-42 for 42.9%) and that's mostly because they basically shot lights out in the last 10 minutes of the second half ... and how can you not when you're dunking on everything SIU has to offer.

Duke won the game at the charity stripe by shooting 47 free throws and making 40(!) of them. Yeah, that's 85 percent, so yeah, they made the most of their opportunities, but that's a classic discrepancy that you would only see when Duke plays a "non-power" school.

Sean McGahan breaks it down for the Daily Egyptian as SIU head coach Chris Lowery blamed poor defensive positioning for the fouls.

I blame the zebras for knowing the name on the front of the jerseys worn by the team ranked No. 5 in the nation.

Yeah, I went there. But that's Duke being Duke. If you read my blog from the other day, you wouldn't have been surprised with the Blue Devils making more free throws than Southern attempted.

Now for tidbits from New York City:

• "That's a very good point." Direct quote from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski after I asked him a question. That's right, Coach K gave me a +1 on a question. He was a lot nicer in the presser than I thought he would be ... granted as a UNC fan I was sure he was the devil. He was joking about Dean Smith and Bobby Knight and even had some cracks about his beat writers. I can't wait to see what he has for me today, maybe he'll give me a thumbs up on my outfit. Or my beard. Who knows when this will end.
• Speaking of outfits, +2 for C-Lo for repping the maroon shirt and maroon-ish tie last night. Very sharp! I wonder if he went to the Prato store and got suits 2 for $125 ... seriously we saw a store like that around Times Square.
• Oh yeah, speaking of Time Square ... WOW! It's huge! Everything was turned on! I was seriously in awe of my surroundings. It's so brightly colored, it's ridiculous. That's the only way I can describe it.
  
• When Steven, Sean and myself stepped on to Madison Square Garden's property I turned to Sean and asked him "do you smell that?" and I could have been talking about the grilled chicken kabobs we just passed. I wasn't. "It's the smell of the House That Jordan Torched." It was the first of many jabs I took at the Knicks last night.
• My mother called to see how I was doing in the Big Apple and asked me where I was. "Madison Square Garden, Ma" was what I replied. "No, it's just the Garden" said my mother, a native New Yorker. "No, Ma, it's got a new name ... 'The House That Jordan Torched.'" Mom could only reply with a simple "whatever."
• My seats in the "press box" were probably the best seats I'll ever have at the Garden. Right behind the basket to the right. I could see everything. Everyone. It felt special, and to be honest, I was tense with nerves for most of the first half.
• No Brandon Jacobs. No Walt Frazier. Sad face. I wanted to know what Frazier said in his pregame video speech to SIU, but it's a moot point after a 25-point loss.
• Duke fans are evil people. Evil. And annoying. Mostly annoying. With the loudest guy in the entire arena blasting his mouth off at every turn, he only shut up when someone brought him a beer. You would think that would have made it worse, but it was like giving a baby a bottle. All quiet after that.

In a New York (City) State of Mind

Tonight, a nation will have its eyes squarely set on the SIU men's basketball team.

Yeah, Duke's on the other side of the court. Who cares?

The Salukis are in New York City playing at Madison Square Garden for the first time since 1967 and are looking to repeat the feat they accomplished that season, en route to a NIT title.

And that's beat the Blue Devils.

Easier said than done, my friends. Even easier (maybe) if you're playing the Dukies on March Madness '09 and you've got the game skills of a kid who never leaves his basement, not even to feel the loving touch of his girlfriend or a home-cooked meal from Mom.

Speaking of kids who never leave their basements ...

I've made my triumphant return to New York City for the first time since 2003 and it's just like how I remembered it.

Congested with mindless pedestrians roaming the streets and sidewalks aimlessly and drivers who apparently didn't go (or pay attention to) their Driver's Ed instructor. Seriously, traffic sucks and construction doesn't hurt.

But man, I'm hungry. I think it's time for me to get some grub. Or take a nap, seeing that myself and two of my compadres just spent 16-plus hours in a car together.

Yeah, I think I'll knock that nap out first.

Oh yeah, congrats to BFeldt for making his first post. I wonder if I should tell him now about the potential site relaunch/redesign.

Oops, I let that cat out of the bag out early didn't I?

Details forthcoming???

Oh yeah, and where are my manners.

Always (seriously, I mean always) check the sidebar for frequent Twitter updates from tonight's game. Oh and check out my Gus Bode blog whenever it gets up (that's what she said) at gusbode.wordpress.com.

Oh yeah ... check out my preview of tonight's game. Here's for another classic at the Garden.

Garden party: SIU ready to dance with Duke [Daily Egyptian]

P.S. Maybe I'm the only one thinking this way, but the last time I cheered for a certain No. 45 to play at MSG, he dropped 55 on the New York Knicks. Carlton Fay, the floor is yours.

NYC Countdown: Day 2

"Old" Yankee Stadim, courtesy of Way Back Sports

I haven't been to New York City since 2003.

The last time I was in the Big Apple I was in town for a wedding. I got the best haircut ever in the Bronx and ate the tastiest, cheesiest slice of pizza not too far from the barber shop.

The Cubs and Yankees were in first place and my cousin (who lives outside the city and has Yankees season tix) told me if the Cubs and Yanks were to meet in the World Series, he would have given me tickets and paid for my airfare.

If not for an ill-fated foul ball and a complete Cubs collapse, it could have happened. As it turned out, I have yet to return to NY, therefore, never getting a chance to go to Yankee Stadium.

That's why I immediately circled the date on my calendar when I saw that there was a possibility that the SIU men's basketball team would be playing out east.

Thanks to victories against California (Pa.) and UMass, the Salukis are making my dreams come true. I'm pretty sure they don't care about how much it means to me to have the opportunity to go back to New York City, but in some backwards way I care that they get to play in NYC at Madison Square Garden.

And now SIU gets an opportunity to play Duke and possibly UCLA or Michigan. Those are all schools from power conferences and if the Salukis can pull out a couple of wins, it could help make Carbondale a destination school for the Midwest's top basketball players.

Not that it already isn't. Ask the fabulous freshmen Kevin Dillard, Ryan Hare, Torres Roundtree and Anthony Booker. To them, SIU is the destination school of the Midwest.

New York City has been known as the place where stars shine. Here's hoping the Salukis' stars shine a little brighter Thursday and Friday night.

NYC Countdown: Day 1

I'm counting down the days 'til I get to enjoy The Big Apple

I'm stoked.

SIU. Duke. Madison Square Garden. It's the stuff that dreams are made of. This is the kind of moment that made me want to be a sports writer. Going to Madison Square Garden to cover a basketball game, let alone do it for a legit publication, is something I can't wait to tell my friends and family about.

My only regrets are missing the opportunity to cover the SIU football team's opportunity to clinch a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship and the automatic FCS playoff berth (by virtue of beating Northern Iowa earlier in the year).

And missing Paige's 21st birthday.

I hope everyone understands how big this is. It truly is kind of a big deal.