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.
From there we run through the other 21 UTR leagues and discuss the strength
of the Missouri Valley and how good Indiana State and Drake have looked so
far, along with Bradley still potentially being a dangerous team.
NIT Bracket (Protected Seeds in Bold, Bubble Teams in Italics):
1. Texas Tech (Big 12 1)
8. Minnesota
4. Mississippi
5. Washington
3. N.C. State (ACC 2)
6. Missouri
2. Michigan (Big Ten 1)
7. Saint Joseph's
1. Oregon (Pac-12 1)
8. Nevada
4. Xavier (Big East 1)
5. Iowa
3. Butler (Big East 2)
6. Duquesne
2. Indiana
7. Drake
1. South Carolina (SEC 2)
8. St. Bonaventure
4. UCF (Big 12 2)
5. Rutgers
3. Arkansas (SEC 1)
6. Maryland
2. Virginia Tech (ACC 1)
7. Seton Hall
1. Nebraska (Big Ten 2)
8. Georgia
4. Washington St.
5. Boise St.
3. UCLA (Pac-12 2)
6. Utah St.
2. St. John's
7. Syracuse
Also Considered: George
Mason, Boston College, VCU, Appalachian St., Louisiana Tech, North
Texas, SMU, Richmond, San Francisco, Florida St., Tulane, Wichita St.,
Bradley, Missouri St., Southern Illinois, Loyola Marymount, Yale,
Hawaii, Drexel, Kent St.
Casey Alexander has a Big Three. Photo Courtesy: Belmont University Athletics/Sam Simpkins
We’re approximately one-third of the way through the college
basketball season. Many teams aren’t fully formed, but some are so it is
possible to project which way a team’s season is heading.
Nashvillehoops.blog will take a look at what’s good, what’s bad and
what’s in between at this point with our five teams (as usual, in
alphabetical order).
Belmont (8-3)
The Good: The Bruins have put together a version of a
Big Three with Cade Tyson (17.1 ppg), Malik Dia (16.8) and Ja’Kobi
Gillespie (16.6). Tyson is playing at an all-league level and Dia is one
of the most gifted players in the MVC, but it’s the emergence of
Gillespie as a serious offensive threat because of his improved shooting
that makes the Bruins a possible NCAA team.
The Bad: Coach Casey Alexander hasn’t been able to
develop the depth he likes to have, but he is still hopeful that bench
players Kyler Vanderjagt and Win Miller will provide that. It remains to
be seen.
The In Between: As talented as Dia and Gillespie
are, they lead the team in turnovers. If those two can be more careful
with the ball, that would make a big difference.
The 7-footer played two seasons at Bradley, winning MVC defensive player of the year and helping the team to the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
He is among BU's all-time leaders in field goal percentage and blocked
shots — and is the only BU player with at least 70 blocks in two
seasons. He was selected as the No. 9 overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft
by the Golden State Warriors. He played parts of four seasons in the NBA,
including time with Golden State, the Boston Celtics and the Toronto
Raptors. After the NBA, he went on to compete professionally around the
world for nearly a decade.
Yohn starred for BU all four years, from 2009-13, was named to the MVC all-freshman team, and three times was named all-MVC.
She graduated as the BU record-holder for career 3-pointers, since
surpassed, and ranked eighth all-time in scoring. Yohn led Bradley to
its first two postseason appearances in program history — the 2010 and
2012 Women's Basketball Invitationals. She went on to play eight years
professionally, including in Germany. As a senior, Yohn became the first
BU player to finish with 300 points, 175 rebounds, 70 assists, 20
blocks and 70 steals in a single season. In her career, she was the
first to simultaneously reach the milestones of 1,300 points, 200
3-pointers, 450 rebounds, 250 assists, 80 blocked shots and 175 steals.
It was only a matter of time before the Sycamores made an appearance here in
our “Spotlight On The Sneaky Mid-Major” slot in the rankings. Josh Schertz’s
team, which won 23 games a year ago, leads the nation in effective
field-goal percentage (.617) and ranks fifth in 3-point percentage (.412)
and sixth in 2-point percentage (.616). They take 46 percent of their shots
and get 38 percent of their points from beyond the arc. In short, it’s quite
a fun offense to watch, and it’s yielding results. ISU’s only loss was at
Alabama, but there are also already five wins away from home — most by a
comfortable margin. Oh, and think it can’t get worse for Michigan State?
Well, the Sycamores and Spartans have their most anticipated meeting since
the 1979 national championship game coming up on Dec. 30.
There are a ton of interesting guys on this roster. Southern Indiana
transfer
Isaiah Swope
and South Florida transfer
Ryan Conwell
rank first and second in the Missouri Valley in made 3s while shooting 45
and 43 percent from deep, respectively. Swope averages 19.7 points and 2.2
steals, Conwell averages 15.2 points and 5.1 boards and former Bradley
transfer
Jayson Kent
(13.1 and 7.2) leads the league in 2-point percentage. But the name you
really need to know, the player you absolutely must see to believe, is
sophomore sensation
Robbie Avila, a 6-10, 240-pound unicorn with a soft middle, goofy grin and goggles. His
looks are deceiving, as Avila does it all for the Sycamores: 16.6 points,
5.9 boards, 3.8 assists, 10 of 25 from deep. He led the MVC in offensive
rating last season and is fourth this year in box plus/minus, sixth in true
shooting. To watch him is to love him. – Tucker
With the Sycamores off to a 9-1
start, the former Southern Indiana guard has been leading the way
averaging 19.7 PPG while shooting 50% from the field, including his
first double-double of the season with 27 points and 10 boards over
Northern Illinois.
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