What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 11/8/2023

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Nov 7th--Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:
-Another wild game that took place between two potential dark-horse Under the Radar teams was Bradley at UAB. Neither were picked to blow through their leagues, but both are teams that we at Hoops HD thought might be good this year. Bradly jumped out to a big lead in the first half and appeared to be in complete control. Then halftime came, the two teams switched sides, and UAB came all the way back to force overtime. Bradley ended up holding on for a 73-71 win in one of the more exciting games of the day, and picking up what will probably prove to be a very strong road win given that UAB won’t lose much at home this year. Given how the game played out, maybe it was something about the basket on that end of the court??

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-NORTHERN IOWA AT NORTH TEXAS. This looks like a VERY good Northern Iowa team thsi year that could be a part of a multi-bid Missouri Valley Conference. North Texas is coming off a fantastic season from last year, but the problem is they’re in a complete reset mode. Still, it’s a challenge for UNI to open on the road like this, and it’s a good chance to add a road win to their resume right out of the gate.

Maybe the schedule won’t be a problem for MTSU--nashvillehoops.blog

— Lipscomb is not only handicapped by the absence of leading scorer Jacob Ognacevic, but the Bisons’ other top two players, Will Pruitt and Devin Boyd, are returning from injuries slowly. Both played in the 76-59 loss to Wichita State, but Pruitt didn’t start and was limited to 24 minutes. Boyd played 28 minutes. Both would play more if fully healthy.

“We’ve been without Jacob, Derrin and Will for the last two weeks and it’s just hard to get better and be in sync,’’ said Lipscomb coach Lennie Acuff. “They finally practiced on Saturday. Will had a minutes limit tonight. It’s hard to beat a team like that (Wichita) when you’re not at full strength and really not clicking.

“It’s been frustrating. I thought we were really making progress. Three weeks ago, I felt as good about our team as I have in a long time.’’

Things aren’t going to be better as the Bisons play at Drake Thursday.
— A thought about Belmont’s seeming lack of depth is the contribution of graduate transfer Jayce Willingham, who had two key baskets including a three-pointer in Monday’s 89-87 victory over Georgia State. Willingham is a tweener, a 6-5 swingman who’s shaped more like a football player, but if he can give coach Casey Alexander some quality minutes it would go a long way.

MVC Notebook | How league teams fared on opening night--The Southern Illinoisan

What we learned from Lipscomb and Belmont’s opening night games--nashvillehoops.blog
Belmont flexes its offensive muscles in beating Georgia State--nashvillehoops.blog
Men’s Basketball Survives Scare at Home Opener--Belmont Vision
Men's Basketball Defeats Georgia State in Instant Classic--belmontbruins.com

Women's Basketball Struggles Offensively in Season Opener--Belmont Vision
Bruins Battle Missouri in Season Opener Monday on the Road--belmontbruins.com
Women's Basketball Signs Trio on National Signing Day--belmontbruins.com

Quick Takes: Michigan St falls to James Madison--Bracketville

Additional Quick Takes from opening night:

Bradley went into Bartow Arena and grabbed a nifty road win at UAB as Darius Hannah hit the closing-seconds game winner.

How touch and toughness lifted Bradley basketball to a dramatic victory in the final seconds--Peoria Journal Star
Braves punch back at UAB, win OT thriller--The Bradley Scout
Game Recap: Bradley at UAB--bradleybraves.com

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Nov 8th--Hoops HD

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-LIPSCOMB AT DRAKE. Lipscomb is coming off a rather decisive loss to Wichita State in their opener, which is a little surprising because I think they’re pretty good and will make quite a bit of noise in the ASun. It’s the season opener for Drake, and while they lost a couple of stars from last year’s team, I still think they are one of the top UTR teams this year and can make a run at the bubble. This is the kind of game they need to almost always be able to win if they want to make that happen, though.

Drake men's basketball adds Kansas native Andrell Burton Jr. on signing day--Des Moines Register
Tucker DeVries scores career-high 36 points in Drake basketball's season-opening win--Des Moines Register
Men's Basketball Preview: Lipscomb--godrakebulldogs.com

Drake women's basketball team signs three high school players to 2024 recruiting class--Des Moines Register
First-Period Flurry Boosts Bulldogs Past St. Thomas in Season Opener--godrakebulldogs.com
Knutson, McCabe, and Taylor Sign with Drake Women's Hoops--godrakebulldogs.com

The Purple Aces beat Miami to open another season. But this feels different than last year--Evansville Courier & Press
Humrichous’ 18 points lifts Aces past RedHawks in opener--gopurpleaces.com
Men’s basketball back in action on Thursday--gopurpleaces.com

Aces women's basketball drops first game to Lipscomb 77-58--gopurpleaces.com

Defense paves way for Illinois State victory over Lourdes--The Pantagraph
ISU men's basketball opens season with 75-56 win over Lourdes--The Vidette
Walker maintains redshirt eligibility; takeaways from ISU men's basketball season opener--The Vidette
Redbirds Close out Gritty Opener over Lourdes--goredbirds.com
Men’s Basketball Signs Two to NLI--goredbirds.com

ISU athletics announce 2024 signing class--The Vidette

Illinois State women ring up lopsided win over Omaha--The Pantagraph
ISU women's basketball's offense explodes in dominant season-opening win at Omaha--The Vidette
Redbirds Put up Historic Performance in Season Opener at Omaha--goredbirds.com

New faces help push Indiana State to opening win over SMWC--Terre Haute Tribune-Star
The Start of Men’s College Basketball Season--Indiana Statesman
Sycamores Open Up Season with Win against SMWC--gosycamores.com

Sycamores down Norse in season-opening overtime thriller--gosycamores.com
Sycamores close season-opening road swing at Mizzou--gosycamores.com

Same ol' Missouri State basketball? Wouldn't go that far (yet) after West Virginia loss--Springfield News-Leader
Basketball Bears welcome back core players alongside new faces--The Standard
Damien Mayo Jr. looks to lead the Basketball Bears to 2023-24 victory--The Standard
Redshirt freshman Tommy Pinegar receives scholarship at MSU Basketball Media Day--The Standard
Moore Posts Career-High in Opening Night Loss at West Virginia--missouristatebears.com

Missouri State basketball couldn't stop West Virginia in second half in opening night loss--Springfield News-Leader

The Lady Bears’ Beth Cunningham begins second season as team’s head coach--The Standard
Lady Bears welcome new faces from transfer portal--The Standard
Lady Bears basketball look to larger roster for 2023-24 season--The Standard
Jade Masogayo: Sophomore forward enters season confident after being named MVC Freshman of the
Year--The Standard
Lady Bears Lead Wire-to-Wire in Season-Opening Victory--missouristatebears.com
Lady Bears Add Two on Signing Day--missouristatebears.com

Murray State runs through Midway in season opener 91-58--WPSD Local 6
And they’re off!; Ellington, Walker set pace for Racer men in opening-night win over Midway at The Bank--Murray Ledger & Times
Moore’s injuries in first two outings concern Prohm--Murray Ledger & Times
The Racer Basketball Podcast--Racer Basketball
11/7 KenPom ratings update--Racer Basketball
The Racer Basketball Podcast--Racer Basketball
11/8 KenPom ratings update--Racer Basketball
Walker ready to take on familiar face Friday--Racer Basketball
Prohm inks historic signing classProhm inks historic signing class--Racer Basketball
Racers Open 99th Season With Seven In Double-Figure Scoring--goracers.com
DJ Shine Signs with Racer Basketball--goracers.com
Jordan McCullum Signs with Racer Basketball--goracers.com

Pena excited about Arkansas homecoming--Racer Basketball

Quick Takes: Baylor rallies, St. John’s wins opener for Pitino--Bracketville

Closing thoughts from a less-busy Tuesday:
North Texas held off Northern Iowa in overtime. With Bradley earning a road win at UAB on Monday, a UNI victory would have been another bonus for the Missouri Valley.

Local high school athletes make college plans official on National Signing Day--Green Bay Press-Gazette

Fellow basketball star Will Hornseth signed with Northern Iowa, a DI school in Cedar Falls.
The 6-8 senior forward was a key piece on the Redbirds’ state championship team last season, helping them become the first boys program in state history to go 30-0.
Hornseth averaged 16.6 points and 5.7 rebounds as a junior and has scored 984 points and grabbed 348 rebounds during his career.
“Will has the ability to impact games in a variety of ways,” De Pere coach Brian Winchester said. “He scores from the post, puts the ball on the floor to attack the rim, makes open perimeter shots, is one of the best passers on our team, and defends multiple positions.
“Will is a great teammate and very well thought of by his peers. His leadership will be extremely important to our success this year. Will has worked hard to develop his talents and is very deserving of the opportunity at Northern Iowa.”

College Men’s Basketball: Three numbers to remember from UNI’s season opener--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
College Men’s Basketball: UNI falls to North Texas in OT to open 2023-24 season--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

College women's basketball: UNI opens with strong win over UW-Green Bay--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
Panthers start season in exhibition vs Coe--Northern Iowan