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One thing I forgot to add....Make sure you stop on the Strip and get a Winston's bagel. Winston, himself, retired last year but a guy bought his cart and is starting to sell them again. Best darn bagels around. Especially after a few beers that evening.

I would guess no later than 6:00 for a 7:00 game. I was going to recommend to get there a little early and walk around the concourse. There are a ton of floor-to-ceiling pictures of former Saluki greats (men and women), including the 1967 NIT championship team (when the NIT meant something), including Walt "Clyde" Frazier and the 6-straight NCAA teams in the 2000's and the ESPN Gameday visit in 2008.

I live in St. Louis so there is a good chance that I will not be at the game. The current state of the Saluki program over the last decade makes it tough to make the trip down there.

You'll be fine at Quatro's. There is a general malaise over the men's basketball program at SIU these days. Mostly directed at the head coach. BTW, you'll have no issues getting a ticket. Averaging less than 4,000 sold tickets (as opposed to butts in seats) in an 8,500-seat building. You can order tickets online through the athletics web site.

And yes, there are several establishments for "post-game revelry" between the University and the train station. I think they all stay open until 2 am in Carbondale. Most of them in that area are more student-focused but I am sure you can get a beer or two if you want one.

Assuming that you don't have access to a car, your best bet are a couple of pizza places. Pagliai's (right next to the train station) and Quatro's (just down a couple of blocks and then one block west) have excellent deep-dish pizza but would not be considered "Chicago style". Not sure what time your train will get in, but if you're there early enough for a late breakfast, try Mary Lou's Grill. AWESOME biscuits and gravy. The Student Center has several fast-food places in it. I think a Steak N Shake just opened up there. If you do have access to a vehicle, I have some other choices for you.

The way the Valley TV contract usually works is that there are at least one game a weekend (usually on Saturday or Sunday afternoon) on Fox Sports Midwest and Comcast in Chicago. Those games are mostly in the afternoon because in the evenings they would be up against the pro sports like the Blues on FSM or Bulls/Blackhawks in Chicago. Sometimes they are delayed overnight because they are up against a pro team. ESPN2 and ESPNU will usually show no more than a handful of games throughout the season. Most of the times, it's when the #1 and #2 teams in the league are playing. All other games (conference games and non-conference homes games) are streamed on ESPN3/WatchESPN. Most of them are decent with local TV guys as announcers and most of the production work is done by students in the Radio/TV department of the schools.