Southern Illinois might be real headliner in Anaheim

A Saluki is not as well known as a Zag, but Southern Illinois might be getting there.

USC and freshman O.J. Mayo are the headliners at the eight-team Anaheim Classic, a fledgling made-for-ESPN2 and ESPNU tournament that begins Thanksgiving Day at the Anaheim Convention Center and concludes Sunday.

But after the Trojans’ opening-game misstep against Mercer, the only ranked team will be the No. 19 Salukis. (It’s a breed of dog, by the way.)

USC was in the Sweet 16 last season. But so was defense-minded Southern Illinois, sometimes known as Floorburn U. The Salukis lost a tight, 61-58 game to Kansas that would have put them in the Elite Eight against UCLA.

Consider some of the program’s accomplishments:

Since 2001, Southern Illinois has won more games than all but seven other Division I programs: Kansas, Duke, Florida, Pittsburgh, Illinois, Memphis and Gonzaga.

The Salukis have made six consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

And they have the nation’s best home-court winning percentage from 2001 through last season, at 79-3 (96.3%).

Think of Southern Illinois as sort of a Gonzaga that embraces its conference, the Missouri Valley, more than it bristles under it.

“We’re continuing to try to build our national profile, but we’ve got to know what’s important is to win our own conference,” said Chris Lowery, the former Southern Illinois point guard who, at 35, is in his fourth season as the Salukis’ coach.

Win the regular-season title in the MVC, which has put at least two teams in the NCAA tournament in each of the last nine years, and Lowery figures things take care of themselves.

Any West Coast fans challenged by Midwest geography should think of Southern Illinois as more St. Louis than Chicago.

Carbondale is five hours from Chicago but only about two hours from St. Louis, one of its most fertile recruiting grounds.

Randal Falker, the team’s top player, is from St. Louis, as is Anthony Booker, the prized recruit for next season who was ranked the No. 29 prospect in the nation by Rivals.com.

The outlook is solid this season with three starters back from a 29-7 team, but the most important returnee is probably Lowery.

Holding onto coaches is one of the biggest challenges for a mid-major program. Southern Illinois lost Bruce Weber to Illinois in 2003 and then lost Matt Painter after one season to Purdue, where he spent a season-in-waiting as the successor to Gene Keady.

So after last season, Southern Illinois signed Lowery to a seven-year extension that will pay him $750,000 a year, tripling his salary.

“My biggest concern is what we’re doing. It’s not for me to say who’s the hottest coach, that’s for the media,” Lowery said. “You’ve got to make where you are the best possible place.”

Speaking of nicknames

The biggest local beneficiaries of the Anaheim event are UC Irvine’s Anteaters, who play Mississippi State in the first round Thursday.

Irvine Coach Pat Douglass, asked how hard it would be for him to persuade a Southeastern Conference school to come to Orange County to play, could only laugh.

“That’s the advantage, to be able to play a major school on a neutral court, and get TV exposure,” he said.

Big West teams will take turns appearing in the event, which is produced by ESPN Regional Television and hosted by the conference.

How it will draw over the Thanksgiving holiday at the 7,500-seat Anaheim Convention Center remains to be seen. Organizers are hoping for a walk-up crowd, but attendance isn’t paramount.

“Attendance is always a factor, but for us, it’s part of the equation. We’re providing programming for two different networks,” said Arnie Sgalio, senior director of programming for ESPN Regional, adding that the group is working under a four-year contract with the Big West. “Attendance is just one factor. It’s not as if it’s not well-attended we’re not going to do it.

“It’s something where we’re going to see what the appetite is and go from there.”

Around the rim

Coach Scott Drew has been working to revive Baylor’s program since it was laid low by the 2003 murder of a player by a former teammate and the subsequent revelation of rampant improprieties under coach Dave Bliss. Drew might have turned the corner. The Bears won the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands by defeating Wichita State, Notre Dame and Winthrop and are 4-0. Since the resignation of Bliss after the discovery of NCAA violations and ethical lapses in the wake of the murder of Patrick Dennehy by former teammate Carlton Dotson, the Bears had won only eight, nine, four and 15 games the last four seasons. But they reached the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals last season before blowing a double-digit lead in a loss to Texas. Every starter from that team is back, led by junior guard Curtis Jerrells. . . .

Arizona assistant Kevin O’Neill, filling in for Coach Lute Olson since Olson took a leave of absence for unspecified personal reasons Nov. 4, seemed to back off earlier statements that Olson would return “shortly,” telling reporters “there is no timetable for his return.” O’Neill added he did not mean to imply it would be a lengthy leave. . . . Greg Oden was only the beginning of a line of 7-footers at Ohio State. Freshman Kosta Koufos -- who is from Canton, Ohio -- is averaging 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds and the Buckeyes have signed another 7-footer, B.J. Mullens, for next season. “My dream was for [Koufos] and Greg to play together at least a year,” Coach Thad Matta said. “Now with B.J. Mullens coming in, I hope he and Kosta might play together.”

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robyn.norwood@latimes.com