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.
I'm
hearing that the preferred destination for both programs is the
Missouri Valley. However, the MVC is really only interested in
UT-Arlington. I've been told that the Mavericks were at or near the top
of the MVC wishlist for a while, as presidents from the league's private
schools pushed for the MVC to expand into larger markets (not to
maximize TV revenue so much as to improve student recruiting). Little Rock is not in that conversation.
I
am hearing that if the MVC doesn't work out, the OVC is a more likely
destination for UALR than the ASUN, WAC or Southland. One person close
to the program told me that while he understands why fans bring up the
ASUN, "that still gives us the same problems we had in the Sun Belt,
just now with less money."
This
has been a hard league for me to get my arms around, because
information has changed quickly, and this is a conference that I think
has to be a bit more reactive than others.
I was told that
earlier in November, OVC officials were kicking the tires on a potential
merger with the Southland, although I don't believe that is likely at
this point. I know the league has also attracted quite a bit of interest
from several D-II programs, enough interest to make me think the league
isn't in danger of vanishing or anything.
But part of the reason
you haven't seen anybody officially announce they're joining, is because
there's still uncertainty about what kind of league this will be in six
weeks. Murray State could very well follow Belmont to the Missouri
Valley in the immediate future, and the ASUN may try again to lure some
Tennessee schools.
Kent State (MAC, 1-1, 137 KP) vs. James Madison (CAA, 4-0, 173 KP), 12 p.m. Wright State (Horizon, 1-2, 120 KP) vs. George Washington (A 10, 1-4, 256 KP), approx. 2:30 p.m. ETSU (SoCon, 1-2, 151 KP) vs. Murray State (OVC, 3-0, 107 KP), 5:30 p.m. Missouri State (MVC, 2-1, 73 KP) vs. Long Beach State (Big West, 1-2, 293 KP), approx. 8 p.m.
This new event is a sibling of both the Gulf Coast and
Nassau events above. While Missouri State looks like a clear favorite,
seeing as the Bears are the lone KenPom top 75 team in the field, I
would consider everyone but GW and Long Beach State as potential title
threats. There’s a half-dozen intriguing potential auto bid winners in
this group.
Other Games of Note
Belmont (3-1, 61 KP) at LSU (4-0, 30 KP), 8 p.m. (SECN+/ESPN+ ($)) Speaking
of Drake, the Bulldogs will meet future MVC rival Belmont in the ESPN
Events Invitational at Walt Disney World on Thursday.
-Drake and Richmond was an important game between (we think( two NCAA
Tournament caliber teams. Richmond led for much of the game, but Drake
kept it close and ended up with a 73-70 win. Richmond falls to 2-2,
but neither loss was overly damaging and they’ll have some chances to
get their resume back up. Drake improves to 3-0 on the year.
Almost famous: Xavier, Marquette, UConn, Indiana, Michigan
State, Oregon, Providence, Texas Tech, Iowa, Virginia Tech, Colorado
State, Loyola Chicago, LSU, San Diego State, Arizona
Notes on the votes
• As for the rest of my Almost Famous group, keep your eye on Loyola
Chicago. The Fighting Sister Jeans are off to a 4-0 start, albeit
against weak competition. That will change this week when they play in
the Battle 4 Atlantis, where they start by playing Michigan State on
Wednesday. First-year coach Drew Valentine got most of his roster back
from last year’s Sweet 16 squad. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if
they won that tournament.
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