What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 2/4/2020

Northern Iowa looks to sweep Valpo--Associated Press
Drake seeks revenge on Bradley--Associated Press
Illinois St. seeks revenge on Missouri St.--Associated Press
Illinois basketball is still tops in the state, but Southern Illinois is heating up — and complicating things in the Missouri Valley--Chicago Tribune

2. Southern Illinois 13-10, 7-3 Missouri Valley (5)

Freshman Marcus Domask — Wisconsin’s Mr. Basketball last year — is one of four Salukis averaging in double digits. He scored a career-high 28 in a win over Drake.

3. Loyola 15-8, 7-3 Missouri Valley (2)

The Ramblers have won five straight at Gentile Arena and are decent on the road at 2-3 in conference play, though they’ve dropped their last two.

4. Bradley 15-8, 6-4 Missouri Valley (3)

The Braves have lost four straight at Loyola. They registered season lows in their 62-51 loss Saturday in points and rebounds (23).

9. Illinois State 7-15, 2-8 Missouri Valley (10)

The Redbirds haven’t won two straight since the opening week of the season.

Climbing the Charts--Valley Hoops Insider

Missouri Valley Conference
As Southern Illinois continues to shock the MVC World, Eric McGill is this week’s ‘Player of the Week‘. The 6’2 senior averaged 23 points while the Salukis swept last season’s co-champions (Loyola and Drake). McGill made 67% of his shots and made all six of his three-point attempts during SIU’s (13-10, 7-3) unlikely sweep.

Illinois State’s Keith Fisher emerged from a season-long struggle to average 17.5 points and eight rebounds as the Redbirds snapped their losing streak during a 1-1 week. Fisher scored 16 points in the Redbird win over Evansville and posted a career-high 19 points in the team’s loss at Valparaiso. Fisher is this week’s ‘Newcomer of the Week‘.

Braves Remain on the Road to Face Drake--bradleybraves.com

Men's Basketball Hosts Bradley Wednesday at 8 p.m.--godrakebulldogs.com

Rhine Named Semifinalist for Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award--godrakebulldogs.com

Evansville basketball newcomer Samari Curtis: 'I’ve found the right school for me now'--Evansville Courier & Press
Arch Madness Simulator: Week 14--Eville-Ways
Aces and Salukis to tangle on Wednesday at Ford Center--gopurpleaces.com

Redbird Reportcard: Grading the Redbirds halfway through MVC play--Vidette Online
Keith Fisher named MVC Newcomer of the Week--Vidette Online
Redmond back-to-back MVC Newcomer of the Week--Vidette Online
Men's Basketball to Face Off in Mid-Week Battle with Missouri State--goredbirds.com

Loyola big man can't help but get attention--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamore Put Home Winning Streak On The Line Against Loyola Wednesday--gosycamores.com

Jordan Moser chose to walk on to the women’s basketball team at Loyola — where her father, Porter, is the best-known man on campus: ‘Going far away is overrated'--Chicago Tribune
Ramblers Return Home To Open Second Swing Through MVC Play Against Indiana State, Evansville--loyolaramblers.com

2/3 Women's Basketball Players of the Week--College Sports Madness

Missouri Valley Brice Calip G Missouri State

Bubble Watch: The state of the bubble is … fine, actually--The Athletic

This is all relative, of course, but still: There are some decent teams on the bubble this year, right? Teams like Florida and VCU, decent teams that arrived with massive preseason expectations and still might close that gap in February and beyond. Teams like Purdue, which rates out extremely well on a per-possession basis (the Boilermakers are 28th in the country in adjusted efficiency, for example), but whose résumés look worse than their analytics numbers would suggest. Teams like BYU, which, same. Teams like Arkansas and Mississippi State, which feel significantly underrated within their own leagues, let alone nationally. Teams like Cincinnati, which is rolling in the right direction at exactly the right time. And teams like Northern Iowa and Yale, quality mid-majors walking a high-stakes tightrope in their respective leagues.
is not an option.

Work to do: BYU, Saint Mary’s, VCU, Rhode Island, Northern Iowa, Utah State, Richmond, Yale

Northern Iowa (17-3, 8-2; NET: 43, SOS: 101): Beat Missouri State at home. Beat Evansville away. (The Purple Aces have lost their last 10 games. Remember when they won at Kentucky? This season is dumb.) Essentially maintained their bubble trajectory, such as it is, in that after falling to Southern Illinois on Jan. 22 they probably can’t afford another league loss. If that.

UNI freshmen have earned Jacobson's trust--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
Panthers Set for Mid-Week Match-up With Valparaiso--unipanthers.com