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.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
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-LOYOLA-CHICAGO AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley). Loyola currently leads Bradley by 2 games in the Valley and a surprising Southern Illinois team by a game and a half. This is one of the Ramblers’ toughest tests remaining – Bradley is a perfect 10-0 at home against D-I competition this season.
The Ramblers have a big road win against Florida, which is easily the most alluring win for any team on this list. The Gators haven’t been quite as good as expected, but they’re still nationally ranked in the polls and No. 37 in RPI.
Other than that, Loyola is riding on victories over borderline top 100 teams. The Ramblers are 3-1 against Group 2 teams, with the best of those wins coming at 12-11 Illinois State. They’ll have three more chances for Group 2 wins in the deep MVC before the regular season, and possibly a few more in the MVC Tournament.
The Ramblers are two losses away from their bubble bursting, and even one loss in the MVC championship game could send them packing for the NIT. Their non-conference strength of schedule, which ranked No. 281, and losses to Indiana State and Milwaukee leave Loyola almost no room for error.
Tonight’s Menu:
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A very important Missouri Valley game is Southern Illinois at Drake, and who ever would’ve thought that before the season? Barry Hinson has quietly done a superb job guiding the Salukis through a mass of injuries this year, and the winner is in sole possession of second in the MVC.
Today’s Menu: The Sunday before Super Bowl Sunday is a bit busier than the last few and has a good mix of conference showdowns and rivalry games.
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Loyola (Ill.) has looked like the best team in the MVC of late and is in first place, but Northern Iowa is still dangerous and as capable of making a sudden run as anyone in the league (4 p.m., ESPNU).
60 percent of the Valley is within three games of first place, and so let’s sort this jumble out. Missouri State, the preseason favorite, dropped a home game to Southern Illinois to fall to 5-5. At the same time, the Salukis won their third-straight to move to 6-4. This brought them even with Bradley, which won a third-straight game of its own, and Drake, which has dropped consecutive games after rocketing briefly to first.
Phew.
Above it all, the finally-healthy Ramblers have begun to look like the clear-cut favorite. They blitzed Northern Iowa at home by 23 points on Sunday, getting a season-high 21 points from Clayton Custer. He’s been tremendous after missing the first three games of MVC play, but so has Cameron Krutwig. The freshman forward has been more than solid in league play (11.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG), suddenly giving Loyola a low post option alongside its bevy of perimeter scorers and skilled, undersized bigs.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
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-NORTHERN IOWA AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley). At 17-4 overall and with a pretty big win on their resume at Florida, the selection committee should give Loyola a serious look if they’re able to win out. Northern Iowa had some nice wins OOC as well. In conference, well, not so much.
Here’s how it all shakes out. Do not @ us under any circumstances.
Mid-Major Madness Power Rankings: Week 11
RANK TEAM RECORD LAST WEEK POINTS
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15 Loyola Chicago 18-4 16 99
– Loyola-Chicago is on my 12 line, but I have them ranked above all four of my First Four teams. The Ramblers are 18-4 overall, but three of the four losses came during a stretch when one of their top players, Clayton Custer, was out with injury. Plus, they have the huge win at Florida, a team that just became a 4 seed in my field. If they win out until the MVC title game, there should be some long discussions about this team in the committee room.
10. Loyola-Chicago (17-4, 7-2 Missouri Valley). What warrants Loyola making the cut for this top 10 ranking over other contenders is the league it plays in. The Missouri Valley may no longer feature Wichita State, but it remains one of the toughest mid-major conferences in college basketball. Being out front in the Valley speaks for itself here. ► Key guy: Clayton Custer (12.8 ppg, 4.0 apg).
Johnson was a junior college transfer who has blown up in a big way in the Missouri Valley Conference, averaging 14.9 points and 11.5 rebounds this year. He's a natural rebounder, but his 27.3 percent 3-point shooting is concerning.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
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-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). We’ve kind of forgotten about Loyola, but they are still 16-4 on the year and they have a hugely impressive OOC win on their resume. They stumbled out of the gate in league play, but a win tonight gets them to 7-2 in the MVC.
In fact, it’s going to be difficult for Boise State, Wyoming, and Missouri State to stay alive as well, but at least these squads have games left against teams with respectable at-large chances.
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I placed the question mark at the top of the final table because the 12 seeds in the above all have a chance at earning an at-large should things go wrong in March. Loyola of Chicago owns what should be a great true road win over Florida and the top of the Missouri Valley is stronger than anticipated, which could help the Ramblers late.
Tonight’s Menu:
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The Missouri Valley continues to be ridiculously evenly matched. Missouri State is a game ahead of Bradley, but the Braves are at home for this one. Curious to see how the Bears, who have a definite finesse element to them, fare at the home of the take-no-prisoners Braves.
Mid-Major Madness Power Rankings: Week 10
RANK TEAM RECORD LAST WEEK POINTS
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16 Loyola Chicago 16-4 18 84
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Also receiving votes: Duquesne 16, Missouri State 15, Wright State 10, Princeton 9, Charleston 7, Fresno State 7, Penn 6, Bucknell 4, Hawaii 1, Georgia State 1, Marshall 1.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
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-MISSOURI STATE AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley). Both teams come in with padded records, but a win for the Bears tonight will keep them in the MVC race that also includes Drake and Loyola so far this season.
Niko Medved — Drake. In his first year since leaving Furman, Medved has taken a roster that finished dead last in the Missouri Valley and turned it into a conference title contender, at least in the early going. Drake is currently tied for first place in the MVC standings at 6-2 thanks to much improved defense and much better shooting, and despite the fact that it was picked dead last in the league’s preseason poll. What makes Medved’s job most impressive is the fact that — unlike most guys on this list — he’s doing it without the infusion of transfers. In fact, the Bulldogs’ roster is essentially the exact same group that went 7-24 a year ago. Impressive.
Even though colleges can't yet contact sophomore prospects directly, they can talk to their coaches. Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northern Iowa and Drake have all expressed interest in Born through his AAU or high school coaches, Born said.
Franklin earns another honor: Valparaiso women’s basketball player Dani Franklin earned another notable honor this week when the senior was named as a participant in the 2018 “So You Want to be a Coach” program, hosted by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association in a partnership with the Alliance of Women Coaches.
Franklin will attend a three-day workshop at the Final Four in Columbus, Ohio in late March. The program is held in conjunction with the WBCA Convention and helps players understand the skills needed to success in the coaching profession. Franklin is currently a student teacher in a second-grade classroom in Valparaiso and carries a 3.57 grade-point average as an elementary education major.
Franklin recently took over second place on Valparaiso’s all-time scoring list with over 1,500 points. The senior is averaging a team-best 16.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Crusaders this season.
