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.
Stephen F. Austin (WAC, 3-1, 144 KP) vs. Buffalo (MAC, 2-1, 81 KP), 6 p.m. Illinois State (MVC, 2-2, 228 KP) vs. Saint Louis (A 10, 4-1, 92 KP), approx. 8:30 p.m.
After spending a season in Melbourne, Florida as the
Space Coast Classic, the Cancún Classic returns to Mexico with a few of
the teams originally scheduled to head south of the border last season
(Illinois State, Bucknell, Rider) making the trip. While the original
lineup of 2020’s event featured the Redbirds and three power conference
teams, this year’s affair is all mid-major. A Buffalo-Saint Louis final
looks likely for Wednesday night, but is not guaranteed, as ever.
Charlotte (C-USA, 3-1, 199 KP) vs. Drexel (CAA, 2-2, 177 KP), 2:30 p.m.
Jacksonville State (ASUN, 1-3, 143 KP) will meet the
winner of this game in the 6th/7th place game due to Abilene Christian’s
(WAC, 1-2, 164 KP) withdrawal (COVID).
The biggest story of the day in Nassau was a leak in the
roof of the host hotel’s ballroom during the Tulane-Drexel quarterfinal.
That’s led to some schedule changes for both today and
tomorrow’s tripleheaders and resulted In neither the second half of the
Green Wave-Dragons game nor the third quarterfinal between Jax State and
Valpo being streamed, as both contests were moved to the tournament’s
practice court.
On the court, all three games were competitive, though Tulane needed OT to knock Drexel down to the consolation bracket, 90-87.
Kent State (MAC, 2-1, 132 KP) vs. George Washington (A 10, 2-4, 238 KP), 5:30 p.m. ETSU (SoCon, 2-2, 134 KP) vs. Missouri State (MVC, 3-1, 65 KP), approx. 8 p.m.
Consolation
James Madison (CAA, 4-1, 175 KP) vs. Wright State (Horizon, 1-3, 138 KP), 12 p.m. Murray State (OVC, 3-1, 113 KP) vs. Long Beach State (Big West, 1-3, 297 KP), approx. 2:30 p.m.
The top half of the Naples bracket didn’t go as planned
for the favorites. James Madison, fresh off a 67-64 home win over George
Mason, fell to Kent State by a 74-69 score. Wright State, last year’s
Horizon regular season champ, fell to a GW side that had dropped its
last four, 74-63. Missouri State remains the favorite to finish this
event 3-0, however, thanks to a 92-66 quarterfinal win over Long Beach
State. ETSU might test the Bears tonight, though, thanks to the Bucs’
66-58 victory over a competitive Murray State squad.
8. Dana Ford, head coach, Missouri State | Age: 37
Ford is entering his eighth season as a head coach, and his fourth at
Missouri State. He played at Illinois State from 2002-06, and after
brief stints as an assistant at Winthrop, Chipola College, Tennessee
State, Wichita State and Illinois State, he was hired as head coach at
Tennessee State in 2014 at the age of 30. Ford took the team from
winning five games his first season to 20 in his second, after which he
was named the OVC’s coach of the year. That success has continued at
Missouri State, which under Ford’s leadership has finished in third
place in the Missouri Valley Conference twice in the last three years.
Dana Ford has won 49 games in his first three seasons at Missouri State. (Jeff Curry / USA Today)
21. Bryan Mullins, head coach, Southern Illinois | Age: 34
This is a big year for Mullins as he enters his third season as head
coach at his alma mater. The Salukis finished fifth and ninth,
respectively, in the Missouri Valley Conference the last two seasons,
but they return all five starters and should be more competitive this
winter. Mullins was an associate head coach at Loyola Chicago when the
Ramblers reached the 2018 Final Four. A native of Downers Grove, Ill.,
Mullins led the Salukis to the 2007 Sweet 16 as a sophomore. He was
twice named Academic All-American and was also a two-time Valley
defensive player of the year.
38. Drew Valentine, head coach, Loyola Chicago | Age: 30
When Valentine was promoted on April 3 to replace Porter Moser, who
left for Oklahoma, he could have been on a 30 Under 30 list. Valentine
had a birthday the following month, but he is still the youngest head
coach in Division I men’s basketball. Yet, he is eminently qualified
after spending two years as a graduate assistant at Michigan State, two
years as an assistant at Oakland, his alma mater, and then four years
working for Moser at Loyola. Valentine is energetic, intelligent and
mature for his age, and a really good basketball job got even better
when the school recently announced it would be joining the Atlantic 10
next season.
-CREIGHTON VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Paradise Jam). Both teams are
coming off losses, but both have the chance to pick up what should be at
least a notable neutral floor win today, and get an even better chance
in their third game. The selection committee doesn’t care that it’s in
the loser’s bracket. To them it’s the same as any neutral floor game.
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