What's Up In The Missouri Valley 3/13/2023

College Corner: Vandy Headed To NIT, MTSU Lady’s Continue Dominance, Belmont Women’s Headed To WNIT--The Sports Credential
Belmont to Participate in 2023 Postseason WNIT--belmontbruins.com

Bradley Plays in the National Invitation Tournament--Valley Hoops Insider
This super senior's experience means so much to Bradley basketball in the NIT--Peoria Journal Star

March Madness: SI’s Pat Forde Ranks All 68 Teams in the Men’s NCAA Tournament--Sports Illustrated

21. Drake

Seed: No. 12 in the Midwest. Love the Drake. Don’t love the Drake’s draw, getting Miami in the first round and potentially Indiana in the second. But the Bulldogs are too good and too experienced to be in this thing for only 40 minutes. Coach’s son Tucker DeVries (19 points, 5.6 rebounds) and point guard Roman Penn (12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists) form a nice lead tandem, but there is more to Drake than that. The Bulldogs have a major paint presence in 6'10", 275-pound Darnell Brodie, one of the reasons they don’t give up a lot of second-chance points. Drake was dominant in the Missouri Valley tournament, and if it didn’t lose that edge in the 12 days between wrapping the autobid and playing Miami, that’s a strong 12–5 upset opportunity.

NCAA Tournament Midwest Region boasts Houston, Texas and Texas A&M in fight to get to Final Four--USA Today

Best first-round matchup: Texas A&M vs. Penn State

►Drake beat Mississippi State in a game in Lincoln, Nebraska, in December; it demolished Missouri Valley Conference regular season champ Bradley in the conference title game; and its top scorer, sophomore guard-forward Tucker DeVries, is the son of coach Darian DeVries. That all adds up to a major challenge for Miami (Fla.), whose third-team All-ACC forward Norchad Omier hurt an ankle in an Atlantic Coast Conference semifinal loss to Duke.

NCAA Tournament 2023 bracket picks from Seth Davis: Why Alabama will win it all--The Athletic

Midwest Region

• After Drake eviscerated Bradley by 26 points in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament final, I spent time on Synergy studying the Bulldogs — and I loved what I saw. This is one of the few teams in the country that is ranked in the top 30 on KenPom in both experience and minutes continuity (which measures how many players from last year’s team are contributing again this season). The only non-senior starter, 6-7 sophomore forward Tucker DeVries, is an absolute bucket who averages 19.0 points on 38.7 percent shooting. The Bulldogs also have legit size inside with 6-10 senior Darnell Brodie, and they rank third in the country in defensive rebound percentage. I know Miami has had a great season, but the Hurricanes lost their best inside player, 6-7 sophomore Norchad Omier, to an ankle injury in the opening minutes of their loss to Duke in the ACC tournament. The team is saying Omier will be available, but we don’t yet know if he’ll be ready to play in this game, and if so, how effective he’ll be.

Tucker DeVries could be a mid-major hero by the end of March. (Jeff Curry / USA Today)

March Madness 2023: Tournament Index preview, projections, Cinderellas, upsets, more--Heat Check CBB

Who are the other upset candidates to monitor?

Drake (12-seed) over Miami (5-seed): Miami earned a 5-seed as the selection committee’s No. 20 overall team compared to Drake at No. 49. Our metrics have this one much closer, however, with Miami at No. 33 and Drake No. 40 — far more similar to a 7/10 matchup than a 5/12.

Led by head coach Darian DeVries’ son Tucker, the Bulldogs have a 39.7 percent chance of pulling an upset, compared to the 29.7 percent average for 12-seeds on Tournament Index. Miami’s defense ranks 132nd on KenPom, better than only 15 tournament teams, many of which are 15-seeds and 16-seeds.

Testing the Slipper: 12 mid-major stars to watch in the 2023 NCAA Tournament--Heat Check CBB

Tucker DeVries, Drake

Drake reached the NCAA Tournament in 2021 with a roster featuring Roman Penn, DJ Wilkins, Darnell Brodie, Garrett Sturtz, and Nate Ferguson. All of those players still don the blue and white this season. The most significant difference between that team and this year’s team is the addition of the coach’s son: Tucker DeVries. A top-100 recruit from the 2021 class, DeVries is an instant bucket. He averaged 19 points per game this season while being named the Missouri Valley Player of the Year as a sophomore.

DeVries is a mismatch problem with his size (6-7) and shooting ability (83 made 3-pointers). He gets it done at every level (.523/.387/.838 2P/3P/FT) and is very consistent; DeVries has reached double figures as a scorer in every game this season. He has also shown up when it matters most; he had 21 against fellow automatic bid Louisiana, 15 in a win over future No. 11 seed Mississippi State, 28 against Bradley, and 32 in back-to-back road wins over Valpo and Murray State.

Tucker DeVries has a great combination of size and shooting ability. 6’7” shooting at 38.4% from three on 6.8 attempts per game. Has versatility as a shooter. 45.1% on off the dribble jumpers (90th percentile) and 56% on all unguarded catch and shoot jumpers (97th percentile). pic.twitter.com/pMxXuek84d

— Global Scouting (@GlobalScouting_) March 5, 2023

DeVries can fill it up. Put him alongside the experienced core from the 2021 tournament team, and Drake is a No. 12 seed to watch. They are old and know how to win.

NCAA TOURNAMENT: MIDWEST REGION--Staring At The Floorboards

Subscriber Content

5 MIAMI vs 12 DRAKE (Albany)

Jim Larranaga shares first impressions of Drake--ON3
Five mid-majors capable of upsets in the NCAA Tournament--ON3

Drake

Drake is led by the MVC Player of the Year in 6-foot-7 sophomore Tucker DeVries. Devries is the coach, Darian DeVries’ son, and averaged 19.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and shot 38.7 percent from three this season.

This Drake team is more than just a one-trick pony, however. The Bulldogs finished with five other players who scored eight or more points per game. Senior point guard Roman Penn joins DeVries as a double-digit scorer, averaging 12.6 points and 5.4 assists per contest.

Drake is the 12 seed in the Midwest Bracket. They start off with a tough Miami team, a team who could make a run themselves if their health is in order. The 4/13 matchup is between Indiana and Kent State, and then you have Houston as the one-seed.

Drake Basketball: Preview of the Round of 64 matchup with Miami--Busting Brackets

Drake Women's Basketball 2023 NCAA Tournament Capsule--College Sports Madness

Illinois State women headed to Missouri for first round of WNIT--The Pantagraph
ISU women's basketball to face Missouri in first round of WNIT--The Vidette
Women's Basketball Receives WNIT Bid--goredbirds.com

Sycamores accept invite to postseason invitational--Terre Haute Tribune Star
ISU jets to CBI in Daytona Beach seeking program ‘springboard’--Terre Haute Tribune Star

Missouri State basketball big man Dawson Carper enters transfer portal--Springfield News-Leader

Lady Bears to Face Nebraska in WNIT Opening Round--missouristatebears.com

Murray State's White enters transfer portal--WPSD Local 6

UNI women's basketball set for opening round WNIT matchup against Colorado State--unipanthers.com

Ranking the top players that entered the transfer portal on Monday--ON3

7. Jace Carter (Illinois-Chicago)

Height/weight: 6-5/215
Year: Sophomore
High school: Titusville (FL) Astronaut High

2022-23 stats: 16.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 45.6% FG

Notes: Jace Carter is originally from Titusville, Florida, and played with the CP25 program on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit. The sophomore was second-team All-MAC this season. He committed to UIC over other offers that included Vermont, Marshall, FIU, Toledo, and more.

UIC accepts bid to 2023 Women’s Basketball Invitational--UIC Today