What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In the Missouri Valley 1/17/2020

Northern Iowa looks to extend streak vs Bradley--Associated Press
Super Sophomore Sensations--Valley Hoops Insider

First Place on the Line Saturday at Carver Arena--bradleybraves.com

Drake handles Illinois State, runs Knapp Center win streak to 14--Des Moines Register
Men’s Basketball Defeats Illinois State For 14th-Straight Home Win--godrakebulldogs.com-

Purple Aces 'doing everything we can' to notch first MVC win despite turmoil--Evansville Courier & Press
Week 11 Norman Dale Power Rankings--Eville-Ways
Men’s basketball returns home on Saturday--gopurpleaces.com

Time Change for Friday's Game at UNI--gopurpleaces.com

Liam Robbins, Drake send Illinois State to fourth straight loss despite Zach Copeland's career-high 32 points--The Pantagraph
Despite improvements 'Birds cannot break road losing streak--Vidette Online
Copeland’s Career Night Not Enough in Loss to Bulldogs--goredbirds.com

Sycamores Make Trek To Valparaiso For In-State MVC Battle--gosycamores.com

Five Question Friday: Horizon League struggles, Best Picture picks, and more--Mid-Major Madness

How deep in the tourney will Loyola go?
— Tim Doyle (@TimDoyle64) January 17, 2020

The Ramblers have gotten off to a good start in Missouri Valley play by beating up on the bottom half of the league. In league play, they boast the most efficient defense and a Player of The Year candidate in Cameron Krutwig that’s become an all-around efficiency darling.

Loyola Chicago does a lot of things well that can make them a tough out in the postseason. They’re really sound defensively, pass the ball extremely well, and convert at one of the highest rates in the country inside the arc. There’s always the experience factor that has to be taken into account too. Porter Moser is a great coach, and key pieces from the Final Four team like Krutwig and Lucas Williamson know what it takes to win in single-elimination formats.

All in all, the Ramblers definitely have the makeup of a team that could win a game or two before ultimately bowing out to a better team like Northern Iowa in Arch Madness.

Ramblers Smother Salukis in Mullins' Return--CBB Central
3 takeaways from Loyola’s 64-48 win over Southern Illinois, including the newcomers jelling and Cameron Krutwig’s leadership--Chicago Tribune

Second-Half Run Pushes Loyola Past Salukis--loyolaramblers.com

Three Up / Three Down Vol. 4--Three Man Weave

Three Down

Missouri State
Speaking of teams with an abundance of talent with little to show for it: The Missouri State Bears! Picked #1 in the Valley by 3MW (me) and the MVC media members, the Bears now sit tied for 7th in the MVC standings. “How could this happen?” you may ask, “How can a team with West Virginia’s 2019 leading scorer, the #2 JUCO prospect in the country, two returning All-MVC honorees, and a Nevada transfer possibly be a mediocre Missouri Valley team?” I have no idea whatsoever.

Jared Ridder, a burgeoning sophomore star, has been out for the season with a shoulder injury, but Dana Ford still has way too much talent to be messing around with an 8-10 (2-3) record. Point guard play has been a major issue, as MTSU transfer Tyrik Dixon has struggled with turnovers and freshman Ford Cooper isn’t quite ready for major minutes. Shot selection has been a joke – no team in the country has attempted a fewer percentage of shots near the rim than Missouri State this season and only one team (Southern Miss) has attempted more two-point jumpers.

That’s not talent – that’s coaching. Ford’s inability to reign in his multiple alpha offensive personalities has resulted in too much “my turn, your turn” on offense, which is a sure way of taking teammates out of the flow of the game when shots aren’t falling. Perhaps there are downsides to relying on a heavy dose of transfers to carry your program.

Defense has also been a disaster. Granted, the Bears may be the victims of some shooting luck, as MVC opponents are shooting 39.6% from three in five games, but MSU’s bevy of athletes should at least be better than 8th in the league in TO rate, 5th in DR%, and 6th in 2PFG% D. MO State has already dropped games to the three best teams in the Valley this season in Loyola, Bradley, and Northern Iowa, the latter two in convincing fashion. Ford will need to figure out his team’s offensive stagnation and decision-making (or, you know, maybe actually run in transition with an athletic team) for the Bears to live up to their preseason billing.

Bears Focus on Road Test at Evansville--missouristatebears.com

Under The Radar: January 15th--Hoops HD

After that we run through the other 21 UTR leagues and discuss how well Akron has been playing, a rough night for Stephen F Austin as they barely held on to beat Central Arkansas, how Liberty is continuing to roll, and how Northern Iowa keeps winning but not dominating. All that, and more. And as always, we close with this week’s UTR Top Ten.

UNI Women's Basketball Hosts Evansville, Indiana State--unipanthers.com
UNI Women's Basketball vs Evansville Moved to 5 p.m.--unipanthers.com