What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 2/15/2021

Berhow, Carter lead N. Iowa past Valparaiso 74-60--Associated Press
Key carries Indiana St. past Evansville 76-70--Associated Press
Jones carries S. Illinois over Illinois St. 59-49--Associated Press
Mosley carries Missouri St. over short-handed Bradley 72-57--Associated Press
Drake rallies to beat No. 22 Loyola Chicago in OT, 51-50--Associated Press
The Valley got what it needed in Des Moines--Mid-Major Madness
The Other Top 25: Belmont’s rise continues, Louisiana Tech and Grand Canyon join the party--Mid-Major Madness

Elsewhere, Gonzaga’s ho-hum week with wins over two quality opponents keeps them acres ahead of the pack at No. 1. Loyola’s Saturday demolition of Drake keeps them at No. 2, while Drake’s bounce back, ugly win on Sunday allowed them to rise despite the 27-point loss the day before.

Here’s how the rest of the poll shook out:

Untitled

Rank School Record Change Our reasoning

2 Loyola University Chicago 18-4 - Loyola stomped on Drake on Saturday only to turn around and lose in overtime to the Bulldogs on Sunday, so the best possible result for a #2BidValley happened. Loyola doesn't drop for the overtime loss because of how convincing they looked in the win. Let's run this one back at Arch Madness.
11 Drake 20-2 1 Drake got trounced by the Ramblers on Saturday, and many were quick to write them off. The Bulldogs responded with a tough, grindy victory in the rematch on Sunday, and rose one spot in the rankings for it. Say it with me, for effect: #2BidValley. The Bulldogs should be an at-large team, especially because the Loyola results came without Shanquan Hemphill.

Rank	School	Record	Change	Our reasoning
2	Loyola University Chicago	18-4	-	Loyola stomped on Drake on Saturday only to turn around and lose in overtime to the Bulldogs on Sunday, so the best possible result for a #2BidValley happened. Loyola doesn't drop for the overtime loss because of how convincing they looked in the win. Let's run this one back at Arch Madness.
11	Drake	20-2	1	Drake got trounced by the Ramblers on Saturday, and many were quick to write them off. The Bulldogs responded with a tough, grindy victory in the rematch on Sunday, and rose one spot in the rankings for it. Say it with me, for effect: #2BidValley. The Bulldogs should be an at-large team, especially because the Loyola results came without Shanquan Hemphill.

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Sunday, Feb 14th--Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES
-Loyola Chicago blasted Drake yesterday in a showcase game for the Missouri Valley that turned out to be a clunker. I’m much more impressed with Loyola Chicago than I am disappointed in Drake. This Ramblers team is for real!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). Loyola Chicago won in a landslide yesterday and will likely be safely inside the bubble if they’re able to win today. Well, safely inside so long as they’re able to hold serve the rest of the way. Drake probably needs this one a little more. They could really use a big win on their resume.

Grant Sherfield finds a home at Nevada, Akron’s spark, the top 10 and more: This Week in Mid-Major--The Athletic

Mid-bits

• Valparaiso administrators last week decided to eliminate the nickname Crusaders, which anyone with even a cursory knowledge of history would tell you was the right and overdue call. Might we suggest the Dancing Homers, in a nod to Homer Drew? Also, you’re on the clock — again — Holy Cross.
The Mid-Major Top 10
3. Loyola Chicago (18-4, 13-2 Missouri Valley): Before last Friday, a split at Drake seemed like a good outcome for the Ramblers. Then the Bulldogs announced that leading scorer and rebounder ShanQuan “Tank” Hemphill had foot surgery and would miss at least a month. After Loyola Chicago cruised to an 81-54 victory on Saturday, a sweep became the expectation as Porter Moser’s team moved up to No. 10 in the NET on Sunday morning. But Drake turned Sunday afternoon’s game into a rock fight, managed to get it into overtime tied at 45 and played great defense down the stretch to eke out a 51-50 win. It shouldn’t do major damage to the Ramblers long term, but it probably cost them a seed line or two in March. LW: 1
10. Drake (20-2, 11-2 Missouri Valley): We were ready to do the harsh thing and knock the Bulldogs out of the top 10 if they had lost Sunday, based largely on the absence of Hemphill. But Drake turned in a gutsy performance to pull out that win in overtime despite shooting just 33.3 percent from the floor. If the team can hold serve the rest of the regular season and hopefully get Hemphill back in March, the dream of a two-bid Valley will live on. LW: 7

Award Winners Climbing Record Books--Valley Hoops Insider

Shorthanded Bradley basketball team battles again but falls short at Missouri State--Peoria Journal Star
Shorthanded Bradley swept by Missouri State--Bradley Scout
Braves Fall at Missouri State--bradleybraves.com

Women's Basketball Home Game With Illinois State Moved To Feb. 25--bradleybraves.com

AARON FERGUSON: Region brand stamped on Drake’s statement win over Loyola--NWI Times
Men’s Basketball Grinds Out Overtime Victory Against No. 22 Loyola--godrakebulldogs.com
Brodie Named MVC Newcomer of the Week For The Second Time--godrakebulldogs.com

Evansville basketball drops third straight with loss at home to Indiana State--Evansville Courier & Press
Game Recap: Ugggggh--Eville-Ways
Second half run lifts Sycamores to win over Aces--gopurpleaces.com

Watch now: Illinois State can't get sweep as Southern Illinois grinds out MVC victory--The Pantagraph
ISU men's basketball stays in basement of Valley, drops game two against Southern--Vidette Online
Cold Spell Drops Redbirds in Carbondale--goredbirds.com

The Illinois State Basketball Coaches Shows Presented by Bud Light Air Tonight--goredbirds.com

Bradley Game Adjusted--goredbirds.com

ISU gives fans something to cheer about in win at Evansville--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores Get Back On Track with 76-70 Win at Evansville--gosycamores.com
Tyreke Key Named MVC Player of the Week--gosycamores.com
Sycamore Basketball to Black Out Cancer Wednesday Night--gosycamores.com

Boston College basketball coaching candidates: Names who could be atop the list--The Athletic

Boston College’s call list

(In alphabetical order)
Porter Moser, Loyola Chicago head coach. The Ramblers coach is on this list mostly due to a preexisting relationship with Kraft; the pair worked together at Loyola when Kraft served as executive senior associate athletic director. And Moser’s a fit in many ways from a basketball perspective, as he’s currently piloting a team ranked 10th in the NET as of Monday morning with one of the best defenses in the country. But Moser has been highly selective about jobs and likely would prefer not to venture too far out of his Midwest wheelhouse. The variable in play is a possible NCAA Tournament snub for a worthy Ramblers squad; if that happens, all bets are off.

Loyola is in good shape to make the NCAA Tournament after a weekend split with Drake — thanks to the nation’s top defense and a deep, experienced roster--Chicago Tribune
Loyola’s Win Streak Halted With Overtime Loss At Drake--loyolaramblers.com
Loyola Men’s Basketball Ranked In Both National Polls For Second Straight Week--loyolaramblers.com

Loyola Women’s Basketball Sweeps Evansville, Moves Into Third Place in MVC--Loyola Phoenix
Sitori Tanin Tabbed MVC Newcomer Of The Week--loyolaramblers.com