Primarily a collection of news links about all 12 Missouri Valley League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
6. USC vs. 11. Wichita State/Drake – 4:30 p.m. Saturday on TNT
Wichita State is a two-point favorite against Drake in the play-in game on Thursday.
Evan Mobley, a 7-foot freshman, looks like a surefire lottery pick.
He is averaging just shy of 17 points and nine rebounds per game to go
with three blocks. His brother, 6-foot-10 sophomore Isaiah Mobley, is
also a starter and makes the Trojans a brutal matchup for undersized
teams.
Betting on Drake was money early in the season. The Bulldogs covered
in their first 13 games and are 20-6-1 against the spread this season.
The Shockers are 3-7 against the spread in their last 10. Six of those games were decided by five points or less.
MIDWEST
8. Loyola Chicago (-2.5) vs. 9. Georgia Tech – 4 p.m. Friday on TBS
The only game the Ramblers weren’t favored in this season was Dec. 15
at Wisconsin. The Badgers won 77-63, covering a nine-point spread.
The Yellow Jackets took advantage of Virginia having to drop out of
the ACC Tournament, but they enter the dance with eight straight wins.
They covered in seven of those eight wins as well.
Dana Ford, Missouri State head coach. An Illinois
native who hasn’t turned 40 yet and has two successful builds as a head
coach on his resume already? That’s worth further inspection. Ford
engineered a massive turnaround at Tennessee State (five wins in Year 1
to 20 in Year 2) and has nudged Missouri State near the top of the
Missouri Valley Conference; five of the Bears’ seven losses this season
were to Loyola Chicago and Drake, which is no great shame, especially
with a roster ranking 210th nationally in experience, per KenPom. No
conference titles or NCAA Tournament bids in seven years might give
pause, given the credentials of others on the list. Still, the
36-year-old Ford would be a dice roll that isn’t too much of a dice roll.
Porter Moser, Loyola Chicago head coach. This might
be the ultimate test of Moser’s affection for his current place of
employment and any desire he might have for a little more margin for
error when it comes to NCAA Tournament berths. The native of the Chicago
suburbs, who absolutely loves the city, doesn’t have to move his
family. He might not have to change much about his system and player development philosophies.
He’ll have name recognition and the benefit of the doubt from the jump,
as opposed to introducing himself to a new market. If it sounds like
the decision could be as much Moser’s as it is DePaul’s, well, that
might not be very far off from the truth. Peevy has to make this call.
Where the conversation goes is less certain.
Brian Hamilton’s hire
If head-coach experience is a must — and it’s certainly justifiable
to proceed that way — it’s Gates or Moser. Either would be home-run
hires. If Peevy is inclined to take an even bigger swing, Scheyer fits
into the mix.
Evansville
entered the season on a 19-game losing streak after former coach Walter
McCarty's mid-season dismissal sent the program into a tailspin.
The
Aces' drought grew to 22 games before they eked out two close wins
against Eastern Illinois and Southeastern Missouri State. All three
early-season losses came away from home, foreshadowing a troubling trend
for the Aces.
Evansville went 8-4 at home but just 1-11 in road or neutral site games.
How it ended
A
four-game mid-season win streak moved the Aces to 4-1 in the Missouri
Valley, but they ended the regular season winning just three of their
final 13 games.
The struggles away from home
continued during the opening round of the MVC tournament. Evansville
scored a season-low 43 points, losing to Indiana State 53-43.
After
going winless in the MVC last season, Evansville became the second
team in league history to improve its record from winless to seven wins
the following season.
Indiana State
How it started
With
All-MVC performer senior guard Tyreke Key and rising 6-9 sophomore
guard/forward Jake LaRavia leading the way, expectations were high in
Terre Haute.
The Sycamores started 4-7 overall and 1-5 in the MVC before catching fire midseason and reeling off seven wins in a row.
How it ended
Indiana
State entered the Missouri Valley tournament with a 14-9 record,
clinching its second-consecutive winning season under coach Greg
Lansing.
Despite the strong performance, rumors
of Lansing's departure from the program began spreading on social
media. Two days after Indiana State's 65-49 loss to top-seeded Loyola in
the MVC quarterfinals, Indiana State announced Lansing would not return
for the 2021-22 season.
Once Lansing's
departure became public, five Sycamores — LaRavia, sophomore Tre
Williams, sophomore Cobie Barnes, redshirt freshman Jared Hankins and
junior Cooper Nease announced their intentions to transfer from Indiana
State.
Valparaiso
How it started
Valparaiso
started its season on a three-game losing streak. Valpo regrouped by
winning three of its next four, but only one win (Southern Illinois
Edwardsville) came against a Division I opponent.
Valpo
lost five in a row including its first three Missouri Valley conference
games. Valpo followed the drought with a three-game winning streak, but
the strong spurt could not breed consistency.
How it ended
Valpo
finished the regular season 10-17 overall and 7-10 in conference. Valpo
entered the MVC tournament as a No. 6 seed facing off against No. 3
seed Missouri State.
Valpo shot 4 for 30 in the first half and could not overcome an 18-point halftime deficit, losing to the Bears 66-55.
Since
the loss, six Valpo players have announced their decisions to
transfer. Senior Mileek McMillan, junior Daniel Sackey, senior Nick
Robinson, and sophomores Steven Helm, Donovan Clay and Sigurd Lorange
have entered the transfer portal. Robinson and McMillan were set to
graduate and Helm was a walk-on.
Gold Star Leader: Tank Hemphill (14.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.5 apg)
Drake enters the Big Dance with one of the best records in the
country at 25-4. After starting the season 18-0, though, they are just
7-4 over their last 11 with losses to Valparaiso and Bradley mixed in.
The big problem is that the Bulldogs are playing without star point
guard Roman Penn, one of the main reasons why they rank in the Top 20
nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency. They have also been without
Tank Hemphill, but it is likely that he will be back in action this
week. Drake is a very good team that was 18-0 for a reason but injuries
have greatly impacted their ceiling. The Bulldogs are still a threat but
don’t appear quite as good as they were a couple of months ago.
Loyola Chicago is arriving in Indianapolis with the nation’s best
adjusted defensive efficiency rating and the No. 9 spot on KenPom. Yet,
they earned just a No. 8 seed and that puts them in a difficult spot to
make a run. There should be no doubt about how dangerous this team can
be in the field. They move the ball beautifully on offense and space the
floor with great shooters around an interior star; it is easy to
understand why thank rank ninth nationally in eFG%. Defensively, you
won’t find many better. The Ramblers refuse to send their opponents to
the foul line or give up second-chance opportunities, ranking Top 10 in
the country in both defensive categories. They stifle ball-movement and
limit 3-point attempts as well. Lucas Williamson is the nation’s most
underrated elite defender and Cameron Krutwig is a do-it-all star big;
both were freshmen on Loyola’s Final Four team.
Initial Thoughts: Fewer places were sweatier on Selection Sunday than Wichita and Des Moines, where both the Shockers and Bulldogs had to feel squarely on the cut-line. And as the last two teams in the field, they were right to be!
Drake especially breathes a sigh of relief after injuries crushed the top of the roster, leaving the committee an easy excuse to keep the Bulldogs out of Indianapolis (should they have wanted one); instead, Drake snuck in, falling behind even surprise auto-bids Georgetown and Oregon State on the final seed list. Crucially, one of the wounded, Tank Hemphill, should be good to go for Thursday’s matchup, though his effectiveness is unknown.
On the other hand, Wichita survived poor metrics and limited opportunities (only 19 games played) to fight another day, likely aided by the American outright regular season crown. The Shockers were a stunning (I resisted the pun!) inclusion to the field, at least to most Bracket Matrix participants, but I don’t hate seeing them here.
Drake on Offense: With two tremendous point guards, Darian DeVries – a superb strategist on the sideline – smartly shifted the offense to one of the most pick-and-roll-dependent schemes in the country. Roman Penn might have challenged Cam Krutwig for MVC Player of the Year before his season-ending injury, and Joe Yesufu has emerged into a star in his own right after taking over, averaging 23.0 PPG in the six games since Penn got hurt.
He’s much more of a scorer and less of a creator than Penn, though, which has cut into the production of his teammates. The return of Hemphill, a thunderbolt of a slasher and a constant lob threat, adds another crucial weapon to the arsenal – behold the Yesufu-to-Hemphill connection:
He may not be a shooter, but Hemphill’s ability to win one-on-one off the bounce forces more help, creating more open shots for Drake’s snipers, Jonah Jackson and Tremell Murphy. DeVries often plays Murphy and Hemphill together as a forward pair, and it’s inevitable that one of them has a strength or quickness advantage against his opponent; Murphy has become particularly adept at finishing with floaters in the paint. Wichita can actually combat this duo somewhat with Trey Wade and Dexter Dennis, but Murphy and Hemphill will likely still find ways to get theirs.
The Shockers are not a strong defense group, by and large, and even their mediocre numbers on that end have been buoyed by the plethora of ice-cold opponents in the American (opponents shot 28.9% from deep against Wichita State in conference play – gross). They’re also one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the entire country, so expect mountainous Drake center Darnell Brodie, Hemphill, and ultimate pest and cutter extraordinaire Garrett Sturtz to gobble up second shot opportunities.
Wichita St. on Offense: Hemphill’s return must also be mentioned on this end, as he became the point man on DeVries’ various pressing schemes thanks to his length and knack for getting deflections. Wichita has an outstanding group of guards that take great care of the ball, so turnovers should not be an issue, but Drake’s press is geared more towards disrupting an offense’s flow and stalling possessions out before they can get started.
Fortunately, the Shockers’ attack has been led by that backcourt’s ability to get buckets, often without requiring a screen. Tyson Etienne and Alterique Gilbert are both more than capable as creators and shot-makers, and they’ll be relied on heavily in this one if Drake is able to drain the shot clock the way it desires (324th nationally in average possession length defensively).
Plus, akin the Shockers’ own defense, Drake’s defense has benefitted from poor shooting by opponents. Some of the credit goes to the Bulldogs’ scrappy defending that makes foes uncomfortable, but against a team like Wichita State that has multiple deep threats, postseason regression is a scary proposition.
Key Factor(s): Drake’s dominance against the spread received plenty of attention, but digging into why this team has been so dominant compared to expectations has been a fun exercise. My biggest takeaway: thanks in large part to Sturtz and Hemphill, Drake is one of the best off-ball cutting teams in the entire country. That’s mega alarming for Wichtia State, which has been routinely gashed by that kind of action, ranking in the 24th percentile per Synergy:
Alterique Gilbert gets beat by the same back door cut twice in a single possession! That’s hard to do. Drake could rack up easy points this way.
Final Prediction: I fully expect Isaac Brown to have a long and successful career at Wichita State, but he’s facing one of the true rising stars in the profession in DeVries, and this Drake . Perhaps there are some rust concerns after not playing for so long and reincorporating Hemphill in the rotation, but I believe the Bulldogs will be prepared. Plus, even if they get off to a slow start, they’ve been terrific in the second half this year, and Wichita State has blown its fair share of leads. I’ll be backing the darlings from Drake in this one.
There were a few teams going into the tournament that I’d earmarked
as potential spots to fade. Wichita State, particularly, was one of
them. I still may get the chance to do that if they get past Drake in
the First Four game. But with Drake guard Roman Penn out for the year,
and the status of forward ShanQuan Hemphill uncertain following foot
surgery a month ago, I don’t think I can quite pull the trigger. If we
get word that Hemphill is in, that could change things for me and force
me to bet Drake +2. But until we know more on Drake’s leading scorer,
you can’t really bet with confidence there.
First opponent: First Four game against No. 11 seed Wichita State (American at-large) When: 6:27 p.m. ET Thursday, Mackey Arena (TBS) Record: 25-4 (15-3 Missouri Valley)
How they got here: By winning their first 18 games,
one of the last three undefeated Division I teams standing. Three of
their four losses since then have come with one or both of Shanquan
Hemphill (scoring leader) and Roman Penn (assists leader) out with foot
injuries.The Bulldogs went 6-2 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games, with an
important regular-season win over Loyola Chicago before losing to the
Ramblers in the MVC title game, meaning they had to sweat Sunday. They
survived bid-stealing Georgetown and Oregon State to edge other at-large
hopefuls, including Louisville of the mighty ACC. This is the Bulldogs’
first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008.
What you need to know: Hemphill (14.1 points, 6.3
rebounds) broke his foot on Feb. 10 and has not returned but could in
time for the tournament. Penn (11.2 points, 5.5 assists) broke his foot
on Feb. 21 against Evansville and is done for the season. Both were
brutal injuries for coach Darian DeVries and arguably the best Drake
team since the Bulldogs made a Final Four and two more Elite Eights from
1969 to ’71. Even so, there has been something special about the fight
in this team since Hemphill went down. And if he comes back, look out.
Spotlight on: Tremell Murphy, a 6-foot-6 senior
forward, has tried to take up the slack. He scored 17 points and played
41 minutes in an overtime win over Loyola after Hemphill went down. He
made 16 of 20 shots, scored 40 points and grabbed a dozen rebounds in
two MVC tournament games. It’s going to take that much and more for the
Bulldogs to get by Wichita State.
How they got here: By winning 17 of the last 18
games, the lone loss coming by a point on the road at second-place
Drake, and making relatively light work of the Valley tournament to
claim the automatic bid. This is the program’s seventh NCAA appearance
but first since reaching the Final Four in 2018.
What you need to know: Cameron Krutwig, a 6-foot-9,
255-pound senior center and the conference player of the year, is the
only man in program history to rank in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding
and assists. Last season he became the only player in Valley history to
rank top five in the league in scoring, rebounding, assists and
field-goal percentage. He totaled 38 points, 19 rebounds, eight assists
and five blocks in the league semifinals and title game – and hung a
22-point triple-double on Vanderbilt as a junior. Oh, and the Ramblers
also have the Valley Defensive Player of the Year, 6-4 senior guard
Lucas Williamson, who led the league in steals.
Spotlight on: Sister Jean, fairy godmother and unofficial mascot, is 101 years old now, and her favorite team is still really good. Because coach Porter Moser is no one-hit wonder.
That 32-6 season and dream run to the national semifinal in 2018 was
the start of something, not the end. Moser has won 20-plus games in all
three seasons since and looks fully reloaded to crash the party again.
Loyola Chicago leads the nation in scoring defense and defensive
efficiency and has a top-50 offense to go with it, which is why both
KenPom.com and the NET rankings consider these Ramblers a top-10 squad.
Porter Moser, head coach, Loyola Chicago. It must
have been hard for Indiana fans wondering why the Hoosiers haven’t made
the Final Four since 2002 to see Loyola Chicago get there three years
ago. Now the Ramblers have won their league again and are back in the
tournament with a squad that may be even stronger.
Moser is going to lose his best player, senior forward Cameron Krutwig,
and although he is plenty happy where he is, it’s hard to imagine he
could turn down the lure of this job. If Dolson hires him, that’s a
press conference he can win.
• That Loyola Chicago-Georgia Tech game is not for the faint of heart. Those are two old, physical, tough-minded teams. I think the Ramblers
are better than the team that reached the 2018 Final Four, although
that doesn’t mean this team will go as far. The Yellow Jackets just won
an emotional ACC tournament and are powered by 6-9 senior forward Moses
Wright, the league’s player of the year. It’s a toss-up, as 8-9 games
should be, but I went with the pairing of Loyola against its downstate
neighbor, Illinois, in the second round. What can I say, I’m a sucker
for a good storyline.
The Ramblers are hoping to repeat their 2018 Final Four run and have
the combination of talent and experience to do it again. They are No. 11
in experience in the country led by Missouri Valley Player of the Year
Cameron Krutwig. He’s a potential All-American averaging 15 points, 6.7
rebounds, and three assists per game to lead a balanced offense that has
six other players averaging at least seven points per game.
Loyola hangs their hat on their defense, though. The Ramblers have
the nation’s second-best unit on that end of the court and excel in just
about every aspect. They’re somewhat Virginia-like in the way they like
to slow the game down (342nd in tempo) and suffocate opponents on that
end of the floor, and they’re efficient enough offensively (ninth in
effective field goal percentage) to be extremely dangerous.
This is a major long shot because of their conference affiliation,
but Loyola-Chicago is the long shot to take if you’re so inclined.
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