What's Up In The Missouri Valley 2/13/2020

The Morning Dish – Thursday February 13, 2020--Hoopville

Side Dishes

Other results of note: Northern Iowa will stay on top in the Missouri Valley Conference after knocking off Illinois State 71-63, and got a helping hand from Valparaiso as they beat Southern Illinois 55-38 to snap the Salukis’ seven-game winning streak

Williamson leads Loyola of Chicago past Evansville 73-66--Associated Press
Valpo ends cold-shooting Southern Illinois' 7-game streak--Associated Press
Hot shooting Missouri St. wallops Drake by 35 points--Associated Press
Green scores 27 to lead N. Iowa over Illinois St. 71-63--Associated Press
Childs scores 19 to lead Bradley over Indiana State 72-61--Associated Press
MVC – Surging Popularity--Valley Hoops Insider

Strong finish sparks Bradley by Indiana State--Peoria Journal Star
Big buckets, clutch defense sends Bradley past Indiana State--Bradley Scout
Bradley Earns 72-61 Victory over Indiana State--bradleybraves.com

Missouri State lights-out from long range as Bears stomp Drake--Des Moines Register
MSU’s First-Half Three-Point Barrage Upends Drake Men’s Basketball--godrakebulldogs.com

Losing streak hits 13 as Aces' second half rally against Loyola falls short--Evansville Courier & Press
Game Recap: Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Already--Eville-Ways
Aces erase 22-point deficit in hard-fought contest--gopurpleaces.com

AJ Green scores 27, lifts Northern Iowa past pesky Illinois State--The Pantagraph
Panther problems: ISU unable to sweep season series in 71-63 loss to UNI--Vidette Online
Redbirds Fall in Second Battle with Panthers--goredbirds.com

Down In The Valley: Bradley Road Musings--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Bradley Runs Away Late From The Sycamores In Peoria--gosycamores.com

ISU women welcome UNI to Hulman Center--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Women Clash with UNI and Drake at Home--Indiana Statesman

Williamson Leads Loyola To 73-66 Victory Over Evansville--loyolaramblers.com

Hot-shooting night leads Missouri State basketball to dominant win over Drake--Springfield News-Leader
MSU hoops reactions: Are the Bears getting better at the right time? They think so.--Springfield News-Leader
Milestones for many: Bears secure 700th Division I win by 35--The Standard
Bears Roll to Lopsided Win Over Drake, 97-62--missouristatebears.com

Bubble Banter: VCU is in serious trouble after loss--College Basketball Talk

THE BUBBLE WATCH WINNERS …

NORTHERN IOWA (NET: 36, NBC: 12): The Panthers got some revenge on Illinois State on Wednesday night, picking off the Redbirds in Cedar Rapids. Their strong NET and wins at Colorado (16) and over South Carolina (75) on a neutral keep the Panthers in the conversation, but losses at Southern Illinois (146) and Illinois State (203) are killers. UNI cannot lose another game unless it is against Loyola-Chicago (100) in the MVC tournament if they really want a chance at an at-large.

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Feb 12th--Hoops HD

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-ILLINOIS STATE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Missouri Valley).  I think we all feel that Northern Iowa is inside the bubble, and will remain there so long as they hold serve.  Illinois State beat them earlier in the year, but they should be able to avenge that tonight.

UNI men's basketball hangs on to beat pesky Illinois State in rematch--The Gazette
Green scores 1,000th point in UNI win--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
AP top 25 poll: why aren’t the Panthers ranked yet?--Northern Iowan
Panthers Move to 22-3 With Win Over Illinois State--unipanthers.com

Panthers take down Southern Illinois in overtime--Northern Iowan

First-Year Coaches Competing for Conference Championships--CBB Central

Bryan Mullins (Southern Illinois)

Picked last in the Missouri Valley, SIU sits one game off the league lead in mid-February and the Salukis haven’t lost in close to a month. Mullins deserves an incredible amount of credit for this remarkable turnaround, especially when you consider than the Salukis’ last six wins have come by single digits. Oh yeah, and all this came after losing leading scorer Aaron Cook for the season after just six games. Freshman wing Marcus Domask has been sensational, and Northwestern grad transfer Barret Benson has plugged a massive hole in the frontcourt. Making the NCAA Tournament in year one would be a massive achievement for the former Loyola top assistant, but regardless of what happens the rest of the way the program is clearly headed in the right direction.

SIU Men's Basketball | Valparaiso ends SIU's 7-game winning streak--The Southern Illinoisan
The streak comes to an end: SIU falls to Valpo--Daily Egyptian
Valpo snaps SIU's seven-game winning streak--siusalukis.com

VU men’s basketball notes: Freshmen Ben Krikke and Donovan Clay play well as Valparaiso shuts down Southern Illinois--Post-Tribune
Krikke, Valparaiso roll past Southern Illinois--NWI Times
Stingy Defense Helps Valpo Dispatch SIU on Wednesday--valpoathletics.com