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.
We begin in the Missouri Valley, which may not be Under the Radar for
very long. There are four or five teams that could be good enough to
make the NCAA Tournament, so it may be a lot stronger than just a one
bid league this year.
I was frankly surprised that Loyola Chicago wasn’t in the preseason top 25. I understand that Drew Valentine is new as a head coach and Cameron Krutwig
is gone, but this team is old, old, old. There are four super seniors
on the roster, all key components of a team that housed Illinois a year
ago. Valentine isn’t foolish. He’s not going to come in and redo things
just to put his stamp on it. He’ll go with what Porter Moser brought,
and that is more than good enough to make the second weekend. — Dana O’Neil
Drake. Wish I could be more creative than picking
the Missouri Valley favorites. But why bother? The Bulldogs have nine of
their top 10 minutes-loggers back from a 25-win team, while adding Iowa
Mr. Basketball Tucker DeVries to the mix. Drake won an NCAA Tournament game (over Wichita State in the First Four) last March already. — Brian Hamilton
Northern Iowa. Every few years, coach Ben Jacobson puts
together a lineup that locks down the Valley with a tenacious defense
coupled with an efficient offense. Jacobson might have that team this
year coupled with a dynamic scoring guard in A.J. Green, who is back
after multiple hip surgeries. — Scott Dochterman
The obvious answer here is St. Bonaventure. But because that’s so obvious, let’s shout out Missouri State, who in Isiaih Mosley and Gaige Prim
arguably have the two best players in the Missouri Valley, full stop.
The Bears played just three nonconference games last season. They
suffered just two “bad” losses all year – at Northern Iowa, and at
Evansville – and the rest were lost to either Drake (good) or Loyola
Chicago (devastatingly good). With a full nonconference slate and an
even deeper version of the Valley, this team can harbor very real
tourney aspirations. — Eamonn Brennan
As
valuable to his team as any other player you'll see listed. Green is a
high-major player who has a variety of scoring tricks in his bag -- he
just has to stay healthy. He lost much of last season because of a hip
injury, but now he's fully healthy and should at least keep steady with
his career numbers: 17.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 88.5% FT and a 37.3%
3-point shooting. The Missouri Valley's two best teams are Loyola Chicago and Drake. Its best player is Green.
Hot coaches on the climb
Let's highlight coaches
from outside the Major Seven conferences who've done the most winning
across the previous three years. Here are six with at least 70 victories
to their name in that span.
Darian DeVries, Drake
Last season gave Drake its most
publicity and national relevance in a long time, but the truth is
DeVries has been going strong since he got this job in 2018. The
Bulldogs have 70 wins and set up as a top-two team again in the Valley
this season. For more, keep on reading -- I've got Drake as one of the
top 15 mid-major teams for the season ahead.
Yes,
I'm pushing the chips in on the Ramblers. A Sweet 16 run last season,
and now everyone of importance except two people are back. Gone: the
head coach (Porter Moser off to Oklahoma) and the star senior (Cameron Krutwig off to overseas glory). In: Drew Valentine promoted to head coach. The Ramblers have Lucas Williamson and Aher Uguak
back. Williamson is one of the best mid-major players in the country
and both of them rate as two of the 25-or-so best defenders in the
sport. I don't think this team's dropping off all that much this season,
not with an A-level mid-major defensive front and enough wing attack
and perimeter potential to keep them in the mix as a top 25-40 team.
The
preseason MVC voters do not agree with me. It's Drake -- not Loyola
Chicago -- that was picked to win the Valley. Both teams have most of
their players back, so we'll call it a toss-up. DeVries' record is noted
above. I could well be under-shooting Drake here, though my 1-358
ranking of the Bulldogs (No. 72) is basically aligned with KenPom
(73rd). Tank Hemphill (13.2 ppg), who missed nine games in February and
March, returns alongside Roman Penn (11.2 ppg, 5.5 apg) and D.J. Wilkins
(10.1 ppg). If you watched Drake after its 18-0 start last season, you
saw a legitimate mid-major outfit. Much more of that coming in '21-22.
Late-season injuries to Roman Penn and Roquan “Tank” Hemphill cost
Drake a chance to show what they could really do in the NCAA Tournament.
Both are back, along with most of the Bulldogs’ core, which could make
Drake a dangerous mid-major team out of the Missouri Valley.
Missouri Valley Champion – Loyola-Chicago Ramblers
Porter
Moser may be at Oklahoma now but Drew Valentine inherits a team that is
still very dangerous. Lucas Williamson is the star to watch for the
Ramblers, who made headlines by toppling Wisconsin in a secret scrimmage
in late October.
Porter Moser may be at Oklahoma and Cameron Krutwig may be gone but
the Ramblers are still a quality team that will be a problem to deal
with. Loyola-Chicago already turned heads by winning a secret scrimmage
at Wisconsin, a sign that they still have the ability to make a deep run
in March for the third time in five years.
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