What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 11/22/2023

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Nov 22nd--Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-James Madison keeps winning! They don’t always do it convincingly, and they’re not always playing top 40 caliber teams, but they do keep winning. They came from behind to beat Southern Illinois 82-76 yesterday.

-Drake blew out Akron 79*59 in the Cayman Islands 3rd place game. Akron was the UTR team I was the biggest on coming into the season. After they dropped two straight in this event I’m starting to rethink that. The teams they lost to were good, but that’s just it. You have to beat good teams to demonstrate that you yourself are good.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

NORTHERN IOWA VS NORTH CAROLINA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Northern Iowa is off to just a 1-2 start, but we still think they can have a big year and this event is a chance for them to really build up their resume. North Carolina comes in at 3-0, but has only played three home buy games, so we’ll learn something about them throughout the week.
-BRADLEY VS UTEP (SoCal Challenge). This is a great game to watch. Both teams come in unbeaten, and Bradley has already racked up some notable wins on their resume. Tonight is a chance for another one against a UTEP team that’s also unbeaten and has wins over UC Santa Barbara and Cal. This is a resume-building opportunity for both teams.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES/BUY GAMES:
-Southern Illinois vs New Mexico State (Cancun Challenge) – Southern Illinois hung tough with James Madison yesterday and should be able to get this win today
-Indiana State @ Pepperdine (Ball Dawg Classic) – Indiana State has just one loss and can pick up a nice neutral floor win

Newcomers Shine During Week Two Awards--Valley Hoops Insider

Week Two Awards – MVC

Illinois Chicago’s Isaiah Rivera is a newcomer, but he isn’t the Valley’s ‘Newcomer of the Week‘. The 6’5 guard is the ‘Player of the Week‘ for averaging 18 points and three assists during the Flames’ huge win over Loyola Chicago and its victory over Aurora. A Colorado State transfer, Rivera scored 23 points during UIC’s transformative win over the Ramblers.

John A. Logan transfer Isaiah Stafford is the ‘Newcomer of the Week‘. Valparaiso’s 6’2 guard scored 48 points during the Beacons’ two games. He was dazzling in dropping 30 points on the Fighting Illini and added 18 during a win over Green Bay.

Drake’s Kevin Overton tallied 41 points during the Bulldogs two victories. The ‘Freshman of the Week‘ converted eight long distance attempts and is Drake’s third leading scorer (16.8 ppg).

MTE Wins and Near Misses--Valley Hoops Insider

Second Week Women’s Award Winners--Valley Hoops Insider

Women’s Award Winners – MVC

Pre-season player of the year Grace Boffeli is the Valley’s ‘Player of the Week’. Boffeli scored 24 points in Northern Iowa’s win over Ball State and in so doing captured her third career Valley weekly honor. The 6’1 junior forward was an all-Valley performer last year and has been named to the ‘Hoops In the Heartland’ all-tournament team the past two seasons.

Chicago native Makiyah Williams led Illinois Chicago to a pair of victories by averaging twenty-five points and 6.5 rebounds. The Marquette transfer shot 65.5% from the floor and leads the Flames (4-1) with a 15.8 points-per-game scoring average. Williams is the Valley’s ‘Newcomer of the Week’.

During the offseason Belmont lost key players in the transfer portal. Newcomer Jailyn Banks is filling up part of that talent drain. The rookie guard is the Valley’s ‘Freshman of the Week’ for averaging fifteen points, four rebounds and four assists during the Bruins’ two games. Belmont defeated Wichita State but dropped a decision to Mississippi State. The weekly award is her second in as many weeks.

Men's Basketball Welcomes Bryce Bradley--belmontbruins.com

Belmont Set to Face Top-Five Ranked Stanford in Las Vegas Wednesday--belmontbruins.com

Under the Radar Game of the Day (Bradley vs. UTEP) – Wednesday, November 22nd--Hoops HD
'Happy house, happy coach': What the Bradley basketball coach is thankful for this holiday--Peoria Journal Star
Bradley escapes Green Wave, heads to championship game--The Bradley Scout

Bulldogs Bounce Back Against Zips in Cayman Islands Classic Finale--godrakebulldogs.com

Women's Basketball Preview: Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic--godrakebulldogs.com

Aces travel to Coke Zero Sugar Classic in Chattanooga--gopurpleaces.com

Illinois State men's basketball unable to convert late in 74-72 loss to High Point in Gulf Coast Showcase--The Vidette
Redbirds Rally, Fall to High Point--goredbirds.com

Starting with a hoot in Vegas: ISU tops Owls in tourney opener--Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Avila, Miller Career Highs Lead Sycamores Past Rice--gosycamores.com

Sycamores head to San Juan, open Puerto Rico Clasico against Radford--gosycamores.com

Racer men finish play in Fort Myers Tipoff; Prohm seeks better start today against App State--Murray Ledger & Times
Racer Review: Murray State vs. UNCW--Racer Basketball
Racers Fall To App State at Fort Myers Tipoff--goracers.com

Racer women win big, but show flaws--Murray Ledger & Times
Murray State routs Bellarmine 108-78--Murray Ledger & Times
Racers Triumph Over Knights for their Second Triple-Digit Performance--goracers.com

NCAA Basketball: 2023 Battle 4 Atlantis preview and predictions--Busting Brackets

UNI (1-3)

Every one of these tournaments always has a fun underdog, and the University of Northern Iowa from the Missouri Valley Conference is exactly that. The Panthers have their work cut out for them starting off against UNC, but they actually have upset them before. Back in 2015, these two teams met when UNC was the No.1 team in the nation, and the Panthers won and shocked the nation. If they want to do it again it will be off the back of Nate Heise, a 14.3 point-per-game scorer, anything is possible in the Bahamas.

11/22/23 WEDNESDAY MATCHUP NEWS AND NOTES--Staring at the Floorboards

Subscriber Content

BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS

Northern Iowa could be heading to the Bahamas with two decent wins over UNT and USF- if they could hit a jump shot and someone would miss against them...

College Athletics: Northern Iowa confirms David Harris has accepted similar role at Tulane--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
College Men’s Basketball: How UNI’s upset bid fell short against North Carolina--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
College Men’s Basketball: UNI falls to North Carolina despite dominant first half showing--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
Panther men’s basketball drops Battle 4 Atlantis opener to No. 14 Tar Heels--unipanthers.com

Panthers set for South Point Shootout action--unipanthers.com