What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 11/11/2021

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Nov 9th: SEASON OPENER!!--Hoops HD

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT LITTLE ROCK. Southern Illinois is a team that’s on our radar this year, and this is a winnable road game for them to open the season.
-EVANSVILLE AT CINCINNATI. This is technically a buy game, but we think the Missouri Valley could send multiple teams to the tournament this year, and while Cincinnati appears to be the better team, they better not completely overlook the Aces.
-BRADLEY AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE. South Dakota State is another very good Under the Radar team that’s worth keeping an eye on. They should be able to start things off with a win tonight.
-CLEVELAND STATE AT BYU. Cleveland State is another really strong Under the Radar team that we think can win the Horizon League. If they can somehow manage an opening night win at BYU, then you’re suddenly talking about them being good enough to land inside the bubble.

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Nov 10th--Hoops HD

-It was a rough night for a couple of teams in the Missouri Valley that we are expecting to have big seasons. Northern Iowa fell at home to Nicholls, which is certainly not how you want to begin things. Missouri State also suffered a surprise loss to SEMO. Southern Illinois also fell on the road at Little Rock, which was a bit of a surprise.

Takeaways and reactions after Bradley basketball drops opener at South Dakota State--Peoria Journal Star
Rapid Recap: Bradley falls at South Dakota State in season opener--Bradley Scout
Bradley Drops Opener at South Dakota State--bradleybraves.com

A ring and banner ceremony, followed by a big victory for Bradley women's basketball--Peoria Journal Star
Rapid Recap: Bradley women’s basketball defeats Wright State in decisive season opener--Bradley Scout
Bradley Women Roll in Season-Opener, 84-65--bradleybraves.com
Bradley Women's Basketball Begins Building Squad 48--bradleybraves.com

Drake men's basketball opens season with 87-61 win over Coe College--Des Moines Register
Drake basketball's Tucker DeVries puts on impressive performance in college debut--Des Moines Register
Drake vs. Coe -- Postgame Notes Nov. 09--godrakebulldogs.com
Men's Basketball Conquers Coe, 87-61--godrakebulldogs.com
Lovings-Watts Signs with Men’s Basketball--godrakebulldogs.com

Drake women's basketball takeaways: Katie Dinnebier shows she's ready for the college spotlight--Des Moines Register
Katie Dinnebier's big 3 gives Drake women's basketball a win in Allison Pohlman's head coaching debut--Des Moines Register
Hawthorne picks Drake: Gilbert senior signs to play women's basketball for the Bulldogs--Des Moines Register
Women’s Basketball wins back to back exhibition games--Times-Delphic
Women’s Basketball Signs Two High School Standouts--godrakebulldogs.com
Women's Basketball Knocks Down Creighton, 82-79--godrakebulldogs.com

The Aces weren't ready for Cincinnati's physicality, but a blowout won't define the season--Evansville Courier & Press
Men’s basketball battles in physical opener at Cincinnati--gopurpleaces.com
UE right back in action for home opener on Thursday--gopurpleaces.com

Reeves lifts Illinois St. over UNC Wilmington 68-63--Associated Press
Watch now: Antonio Reeves leads Illinois State comeback in season-opening win--The Pantagraph
Watch now: Sy Chatman hopes to build up endurance as Illinois State goes on first road trip--The Pantagraph
ISU men's basketball comes back from poor first half to take down North Carolina-Wilmington 68-63 in first game--Vidette Online
Reeves Erupts as Redbirds Rally Against Seahawks--goredbirds.com

Watch now: Illinois State women's basketball signs pair of guards--The Pantagraph
ISU women's basketball struggles to find rhythm, consistency in season opener against Northern Illinois--Vidette Online
Redmond Leads ‘Birds in Scoring, ISU Falls in Season Opener--goredbirds.com
Women’s Basketball Adds Two on National Signing Day--goredbirds.com
Illinois State Travels to St. Thomas on Saturday--goredbirds.com

Neese, Stephens lift Indiana State past Green Bay 81-77--Associated Press
ISU rallies from 12 down to win Schertz opener--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Competitiveness and inner trust got ISU over the line for first win--Terre Haute Tribune Star
METRO ROUNDUP: Sycamores sign Illinois all-state power forward--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores Rally from Double-Digit Deficit to Defeat Green Bay, 81-77--gosycamores.com
Sycamores Officially Ink Robbie Avila on National Signing Day--gosycamores.com
Sycamores Matchup with No. 7 Purdue Friday Night at Mackey Arena--gosycamores.com

ISU women win season opener by 55 points--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores jump ahead early in home-opening win over Stephens--gosycamores.com

Uguak carries Loyola Chicago over CSU 103-45--Associated Press
Loyola Powers Past Coppin State in 2021-2022 Home Opener--Loyola Phoenix
Scouting the Loyola Men’s Basketball Non-Conference Competitors--Loyola Phoenix

Overcoming First-Game Jitters, Loyola Women’s Basketball Dominates Detroit Mercy--Loyola Phoenix
Gonzales, Defense Carry Ramblers Past Detroit Mercy In 2021-22 Opener, 63-40--loyolaramblers.com

Reed Jr. lifts SE Missouri over Missouri St. 99-94--Associated Press
Missouri State basketball stunned in opening night loss to Southeast Missouri State--Springfield News-Leader
What led to Missouri State basketball's 'very, very poor display' in disappointing season opener--Springfield News-Leader
"It starts with me." Ford says Missouri State's loss to SEMO is on him--The Standard
Bears’ 94 Points Not Enough in Opening-Night Loss--missouristatebears.com

Missouri State Lady Bears use big fourth quarter to secure season-opening win in Little Rock--Springfield News-Leader
Lady Bears Use Fourth Quarter Surge to Down Little Rock 76-62--missouristatebears.com
Calip Named to Naismith Award Watch List--missouristatebears.com

Nicholls slips past Northern Iowa 62-58 in season opener--Associated Press
11/11/21 MATCHUP NEWS AND NOTES--Staring At The Floorboards

VERMONT @ NORTHERN IOWA

To say AJ Green was rusty in his return to the UNI lineup would be an understatement, as he was 1-14 from the field and looked a step slow on the dribble. But it wasn’t just Green who struggled, as UNI as a team was 3-23 from 3, and Phyfe in the post was about the only thing working for the UNI offense. With Green still working his way back and Born and now Carter hurt, there might not be an immediate fix for the offense. This leaves stellar UVM on ball defender Shungu to focus almost solely on Green, and a Becker defense always forces offenses to put the ball on the floor (top 50 in shot rate off the dribble last year), which isn’t a particular strength of a Jacobson offense, especially with Born out. The good news is UNI’s packline was most effectively against Nicholls St, with the exception of Ty Gordon getting loose off the dribble on occasion. The bad news is UVM’s spacing and effectiveness against pack lines is well noted, thanks to the mobility of Davis, Murphy, and Powell. Not an automatic bounce back game here for the Panthers.

UNI men’s basketball can’t overcome shooting struggles in home loss to Nicholls State--Cedar Rapids Gazette
Panthers fight back down double digits, fall to Colonels in season opener--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
UNI's Green struggles in first game back, Kimmons finds groove late--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
Antwan Kimmons: A spark plug on and off the court--Northern Iowan
Panthers come up short in season opener vs Nicholls State--Northern Iowan
UNI opens 2022 season with loss to Nicholls State, 62-58--unipanthers.com
UNI men's basketball signs Cedar Falls' Trey Campbell--unipanthers.com
UNI men's basketball hosts Vermont in midweek matchup--unipanthers.com