What's Up In The Missouri Valley 12/14/2019

Bradley Basketball Hosts Georgia Southern Sunday--bradleybraves.com

The Morning Dish – Saturday, December 14, 2019--Hoopville

Tonight’s Menu
It’s a full day of action as college hoops has center stage for the first time all season on a Saturday, and the slate is really good, with a few rivalry games among them.

• Dayton gets a good test as Drake comes to town, while New Mexico hosts arch rival New Mexico State and Cincinnati should get a good challenge from Patriot League favorite Colgate (7 p.m.)

Davis: Picks against the spread for Oregon-Michigan, Memphis-Tennessee, Gonzaga-Arizona and more--The Athletic

Drake at Dayton (-16), 7 p.m. (ESPN+): The Flyers have been arguably the best offensive team in the country. They lead the country in effective field goal percentage, rank second nationally in scoring at 87.4 points per game and they’re fourth nationally in efficiency. They also have a big ol’ target on their backs, so a home mid-December game against Drake isn’t going to mean as much to them as it will to the Bulldogs. That leads me to anticipate either a tougher-than-anticipated game or a backdoor cover. Plus, Drake is a pretty good team, with an 8-2 record, a four-game win streak and a disciplined, methodical style of play anchored by a defense that is holding opponents to 60.7 points. The pick: Drake

Evansville basketball will add final Peace to puzzle with big man Ilegomah--Evansville Courier & Press
The Case for DeAndre Williams as MVC Player of the Year--Eville Ways
Week 6 Norman Dale Power Rankings--Eville Ways
Game Preview: Green Bay Phoenix--Eville Ways

Bracy's 25 leads Aces in loss at Purdue Fort Wayne--gopurpleaces.com

Rey Idowu, Illinois State ready for final tests before MVC season begins--The Pantagraph

Loyola Returns Home For "Field Trip Day With the Ramblers" Matinee With Bowling Green Monday--loyolaramblers.com

Quick Takes: Five under-the-radar teams to watch--Bracketville

Northern Iowa – Coming off back-to-back road wins at Colorado and Grand Canyon, the Panthers are 8-1 (D1) with their lone loss coming to West Virginia (5 points) at the Cancun Challenge.  They also have a victory over South Carolina at the same event.  For now, anyway, UNI looks like the favorite to win the Missouri Valley.  The Panthers have just one remaining non-conference game (Marshall at home) before opening up MVC action at Illinois State on New Year’s Eve.

Under The Radar Game of the Day: Friday, December 13th (and other News and Notes)--Hoops HD

OTHER NEWS, NOTES, AND GAMES
-Northern Iowa, who may actually be the best team in Iowa, went on the road against a Grand Canyon team that’s not great, but that’s still tough to beat in their on campus arena, and totally blew them out of the building.  UNI has had a great week with a win at Colorado, and then following that up with their blowout road win last night.

Saluki Basketball 5@5: Cook progressing and Mullins appears with Katz--The Southern Illinoisan
Salukis start big week at Missouri--The Southern Illinoisan
Bryan Mullins weekly press conference--siusalukis.com
Salukis set for Sunday game at Mizzou--siusalukis.com