What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 2/24/2022

SI:AM | 🏀 It’s Almost March …--Sports Illustrated

What mid-major conference tournaments will you keep your eye on?
Some other fun ones:
The Missouri Valley, which won’t be easy for recent March darling Loyola Chicago to skate through.

Cinderellas and Sleepers: Murray State, Belmont set to clash in huge matchup--Heat Check CBB

17. Drake Bulldogs (21-9)

Drake wrapped up an excellent 3-0 week with a road victory over Valparaiso to make a rise up our rankings. The Bulldogs are now on a four-game winning streak that included an upset win over Loyola Chicago away from home. They are now 21-9 (12-5 MVC) for the year and are trending in the right direction. Roman Penn was named Game MVP in each of Drake’s last two games, combining for 26 points and 14 assists in the victories. -LH

16. Missouri State Bears (21-9)

The Bears may have split their season series with Loyola Chicago, but they were unable to get past Northern Iowa in two tries. Most recently, Missouri State went to Cedar Falls with a chance to avenge a one-point loss at home — and the result was a 20-point win for UNI. While the Bears recovered well with a big win over Bradley, they cannot win the MVC regular-season title at this point. Still, the duo of Isiaih Mosley and Gaige Prim is one that could easily make a home-state run through Arch Madness. -AD
5. Loyola Chicago Ramblers (22-6)

Loyola Chicago, you absolute king. The Ramblers followed through on the Heat Check mantra “Do it for the NET” in its most recent game, absolutely destroying Evansville by 51 points at home. There is no cap on efficiency measures, and Loyola jumped seven spots on KenPom and eight spots in the NET with their absurd performance. As friend of the site Kevin Sweeney posted after the game, Loyola Chicago’s walk-on Will Alcock scored as many points (9) in seven minutes as Evansville’s leading scorer for the game. Talk about bouncing back in a big way after a loss to Drake over the weekend. -LH

Loyola @ UNI – Winner Take All--Valley Hoops Insider
Quick Hitter: Worst MVC Team This Millennium?--Missouri Valley Beat

'Stir things up': How Bradley's duel at Missouri State could tighten MVC basketball race--Peoria Journal Star
How Missouri State's star took over the game and left Bradley searching for answers--Peoria Journal Star
Missouri State Defeats Bradley--bradleybraves.com

Bradley Women Visit UNI Friday--bradleybraves.com

Drake Delivers Key Plays Late to Win at Valparaiso--godrakebulldogs.com

Women’s Basketball to Host Senior Day, Final Pair of Home Games--godrakebulldogs.com

No coach, no difference: Lickliter out as Purple Aces get pounded again by Loyola--Evansville Courier & Press
Shorthanded Aces fall in road finale at Loyola--gopurpleaces.com

Griffin, Clark leads Aces in loss at Missouri State--gopurpleaces.com

Watch now: 4 takeaways as hot-shooting SIU slaps Illinois State with fifth straight defeat--The Pantagraph
Redbirds drop final road game of the season at Southern Illinois 90-69--Vidette Online
ISU scheduled to play Indiana State in first round of MVC tournament--Vidette Online
Redbirds Fall in Final Road Game of 2021-22 Season--goredbirds.com

From 16-year-old freshman to Olympian: Cathy Boswell reflects on her career--Vidette Online
Illinois State Embarks on Three-Game Road Trip--goredbirds.com

Martin keeps CBC-ISU connection flowing--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores can’t stop Panthers in another frustrating loss--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Schertz: Key intends to transfer after season--Terre Haute Tribune Star
DOWN IN THE VALLEY: Five takeaways from ISU's recent week--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Northern Iowa Takes Advantage of Sycamore Miscues to Claim Win in Terre Haute--gosycamores.com

Lalic brings Aussie touch to Sycamores--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Balanced output not enough for Sycamores against SIU--gosycamores.com

Under the Radar: February 23rd--Hoops HD

From there we run through the other 21 leagues and discuss ... Loyola Chicago’s struggles and how they will not finish the season in first place if they fall to Northern Iowa this weekend, and more.

BRACKET BREAKDOWN--College Hoops Today