What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 2/6/2018

MVC Power Shift to Illinois--Valley Hoops Insider
Record Setting Performances--Valley Hoops Insider
College basketball live blog: Musings from our Philly trip, BYU plays Gonzaga, and more--Mid-Major Madness

UPDATE: 9:22 p.m.

It has been some time since Drake basketball has been defined as “good,” so seeing them start the Niko Medved era better than anticipated is clearly a welcomed sight for Bulldogs fans.

However, one mainstay of a program that has struggled recently is Reed Timmer, who has been a consistently solid scorer for Drake for the past few seasons.

This year, it has all paid off for the senior guard, who broke the record for most points scored by a Bulldog in tonight’s game against Bradley.

🚨RECORD ALERT🚨
The Bulldogs have a new all-time scoring leader!@RTimmer12 buries a 3 to give him 1️⃣7️⃣9️⃣2️⃣ career points#thatDRAKE pic.twitter.com/y6BuVXwmXz
— Drake Basketball (@DrakeBulldogsMB) February 4, 2018

This is a great milestone for Timmer, especially since he has passed up greats like Adam Emmenecker and Josh Young, who was the Bulldogs’ all-time scorer when he graduated in 2010.

Now he’s No. 2.
...
UPDATE: 6: 10 p.m.

Final: #Ramblers bounce back with a 22 point win! Clayton Custer lead all scorers with 23 points and 6 assist followed by Townes with 14! #Loyola had 6 players in double figures and 10 players score! Improve to 19-5 (9-3) on the year!#Loyola - 97
MSU - 75#OnwardLU #MVCHoops pic.twitter.com/nKRSW7yuMQ
— Loyola Basketball (@RamblersMBB) February 3, 2018

The person responsible for this entry spent the afternoon watching basketball with a Missouri State alum. The first thing that person said?

“Man, Paul Lusk has got to go.”

Can you blame him? Missouri State fell two (2!) games under .500 in MVC play by getting blown out by Loyola in Chicago this afternoon. Regardless of how Lusk’s tenure has gone, and how this season has trended for the Bears, that still seems incomprehensible for such a talented team.

Nonetheless, MSU is certifiably toast in the wide open Valley. The Ramblers, on the other hand, bounced back from their midweek loss at Bradley. Clayton Custer had another brilliant game (23 points, 6 assists), and has been making a case for MVC POY since returning from injury about a month ago. He’s scored in double figures in his last nine games, including pouring in 20 or more in his last three games.

LISTEN: Crazy days in the MVC--Peoria Journal Star
Rally Falls Short In 71-61 Loss To Loyola--bradleybraves.com

Timmer Named MVC Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week--godrakebulldogs.com
Men’s Basketball Heads To Loyola In Search Of Another Road Win--godrakebulldogs.com

2/5 Women's Basketball Players of the Week--Colege Sports Madness

Missouri Valley Maddy Dean G Drake

Drake women coast by second-place Missouri State, open larger lead in Missouri Valley--Des Moines Register
Five Score in Double-Figures for Women’s Basketball in 84-65 Win over Missouri State--godrakebulldogs.com

Taylor earns weekly MVC honor--Evansville Courier & Press
UE's Ryan Taylor looks to stay hot with Valparaiso coming to town--Evansville Courier & Press
Ryan Taylor named Co-MVC Player of the Week--gopurpleaces.com
Men’s basketball welcomes Valparaiso on Wednesday--gopurpleaces.com
ACES INSIDER - Ryan Taylor's Award-winning performance--gopurpleaces.com
ACES INSIDER - UE Men go for the much-needed season sweep of Valparaiso--gopurpleaces.com

Aces All-Access - February 6, 2018--gopurpleaces.com

2/5 Men's Basketball Players of the Week--Colege Sports Madness

Missouri Valley Milik Yarbrough F Illinois State

ISU's Evans to miss 1-3 weeks with bone bruise--The Pantagraph
MVC notebook: Late-season practices differ for contenders--The Pantagraph
Evans out 1-3 weeks with bruised knee--Vidette Online

Hy-Vee to Host Kristen Gillespie and Dan Muller Coaches Shows Tonight--goredbirds.com
MVC Tournament Tickets and Hotel Fan Blocks Now Available--goredbirds.com

Goods delivers in Redbirds' win over Valpo--The Pantagraph
ISU women nab second consecutive win, defeat Valparaiso 63---Vidette Online
Gillespie duo looks to rebuild ISU women's basketball--Vidette Online
Women's Basketball to Host Play 4Kay--goredbirds.com

ISU, MSU jockey for position in tight MVC race--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores Set For Return To Hulman Center Against Missouri State Tuesday Evening--gosycamores.com

Mid-Major Madness Power Rankings: The head of the pack starts to separate--Mid-Major Madness

Mid-Major Madness Power Rankings: Week 12

RANK    TEAM            RECORD  LAST WEEK       POINTS
...
16      Loyola Chicago  19-5    15              82

Bracket Projections From the Puppet!! (Feb 5th)--Hoops HD

NOTES FROM DAVID
...
-Loyola Chicago also had a tough loss this week at Bradley, but Bradley is also 11-1 at home, and the Ramblers have some tough wins, including the win at Florida. If this really is about picking the best teams, then the teams that play on the road and beat teams that are tough to beat on the road have got to be given a stronger look than someone who racks up all their quality wins at home against teams that may be in the RPI top 50, but that ultimately lose more road games than they win.

Column: ‘Amazing’ home atmosphere, but 19-5 Loyola deserves more--Chicago Tribune
Bubble Watch: Mid-Major Edition--CBB Central

Missouri Valley:
Bubble: Loyola-Chicago

The Ramblers are a team that clearly pass the eye test for me, but their resume leaves a fair amount to be desired. A road win at Florida is a great starting point, but there isn’t a lot of meat on the bone otherwise. Another major hurdle is a head-to-head loss to another team I’ll mention later in Boise State, a game in which the Ramblers were trounced. That said, the Ramblers have lost just 1 game all season that starting guards Clayton Custer and Ben Richardson have played in, and a quick simulation on rpiforecast.com shows that the Ramblers could have an RPI in the 25-30 range if they were to win out and lose to a good opponent in the conference championship game. Still, I wouldn’t give Loyola much of a chance of an at-large bid.