What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 11/20/2018

The Morning Dish – Tuesday, November 20, 2018--Hoopville

Side Dishes

The Cayman Islands Classic quarterfinals saw Clemson get challenged but holding off Akron 72-69. Georgia blew out Illinois State 80-68, the final score not indicating how badly the Redbirds got outplayed by the Bulldogs, whose members played as if their hair was on fire. This game also featured maybe our most absurd example of the awful hook-and-hold rule yet, as UGA started the game with a seven-point trip down the court, bouncing in a three-pointer, then getting two foul shots after a flagrant on ISU after players were battling for a rebound, then scoring two points after getting possession of the ball again. The night games then saw Georgia State upend St. Bonaventure 75-65 and then Creighton toppling Boise State 94-82.
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The Fort Myers Tip-Off Classic saw some prolific individual and team performances. It started with the first semifinal when Loyola Chicago bounced back from a halftime deficit to roll comfortably to an 82-66 win over Richmond. Loyola shot 62% and Lucas Williamson was outstanding with 23 points, hitting 9 of 11 from the field. The Ramblers now will face Boston College, which outran Wyoming 88-76, building a big lead early in the second half and then withstanding a late run by the Cowboys. Ky Bowman scored 38 points, including seven three-pointers, and he more than offset the 27 for Justin James.
Nebraska handled Missouri State as expected, 85-62, in the Hall of Fame Classic. Texas Tech then rebounded from a nine-point halftime deficit to surpass USC 78-63.

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Monday, Nov 19th--Hoops HD

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
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-ILLINOIS STATE VS GEORGIA (Cayman Islands Classic). Neither team has done much of anything yet, and doing well in this tournament is an opportunity for both teams to begin to build their resumes.
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-LOYOLA CHICAGO VS RICHMOND (Fort Meyers Tip-Off). Loyola Chicago doesn’t have much in the way of merit just yet, but they’re still a really good team that we need to keep an eye on and they should do well in this event.

-MISSOURI STATE VS NEBRASKA (Hall of Fame Classic). Both teams come in without a loss, and Nebraska does have a decisive home win against Seton Hall on their resume. It’s a chance for two teams that have some momentum built up to keep that momentum going.

The Puppet’s Merit Rankings/Bracket Projections: Monday, November 19th--Hoops HD

No attempt whatsoever is being made to rank the overall strength of the teams. It is simply an assessment of CURRENT MERIT. In other words, I’m asking myself how difficult it would be for an average team to win the games that they’ve played, and then ranking them based on whether or not they’ve been able to win them. Teams that have won buy games have received virtually no merit, and teams that have lost away from home against good teams have received virtually no demerit.
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94. LOYOLA CHICAGO – 3-1, 3 buy game wins, home loss to Furman
116. Missouri State – 3-0 in buy games

Former Freshman Stars Leading the Way--Valley Hoops Insider

Ferguson has double-double, helps UIC hold off Bradley 71-70--CBS Sports
Childs' 21 points, 12 boards lead Bradley by SMU--CBS Sports
Reynolds: Last-second shot attempt doesn’t erase game of regrets for Bradley--Peoria Journal Star
What to watch when Bradley meets SMU at the Cancun Challenge--Peoria Journal Star
Bradley beats SMU in Valley’s ‘best’ win this season--Peoria Journal Star
Braves Rally Falls Short at UIC--bradleybraves.com
Braves Defeat SMU, 75-62, to Advance to Championship--bradleybraves.com

Braves Cruise By Rockhurst 83-40--bradleybraves.com

Drake holds off Texas State rally for 75-69 win--CBS Sports
'You have high-major wings out there': Murphy twins bring new dynamic to Drake basketball--Des Moines Register
Five Score In Double Figures To Lead Drake Over Texas State, 75-69--godrakebulldogs.com

11/19 Women's Basketball Players of the Week--College Sports Madness

Missouri Valley Sara Rhine F Drake

Drake Women’s Basketball team returns to Des Moines after two wins--Times Delphic
Drake Women’s Basketball Defeats CSUN, 73-63--godrakebulldogs.com
Rhine Named MVC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week For the Second Straight Week--godrakebulldogs.com

Mid-Major Madness Live Blog: Bill Walton returns to Maui Monday--Mid-Major Madness

Update: 4:15 p.m.

The disappointing start to the season continues for Illinois State. The Redbirds fell to Georgia in the Cayman Islands Classic in a game that was never really close. Illinois State look disinterested, sluggish, whatever term you prefer to describe a team that got dominated from wire to wire. It was ugly, bad basketball.

The loss drops the Redbirds to 2-2 on the year, and they’re a late comeback against Chicago State away from being 1-3. After being projected to be one of - if not the best - teams in the Missouri Valley, the early returns have been subpar. The talent is there. The execution has not been. It’s not time to panic just yet, but if they continue to underperform, it may get there quicker than many expected.

Update: 2:09 p.m.

Santa Claus has shown up to the Cayman Islands Classic, and he is an Illinois State fan.

The Redbirds are getting coal if they continue to play like this. pic.twitter.com/qfcauZ8i78
— Mid-Major Madness (@mid_madness) November 19, 2018

The team broadcasting the game on Facebook took a few minutes to interview Santa, who said that his busy season is ramping up and the elves are hard at work. So it appears that Mr. Claus is in the Cayman Islands taking in some basketball while his minions work their fingers to the bone in freezing cold conditions for (presumably) nothing. What a great boss!

Unfortunately for him, his Redbirds are getting their tails kicked by Tom “Krampus” Crean and his Georgia Bulldogs.

Also, Santa seemed to have an extremely Minnesotan accent.

Quick Takes: Duke rolls, Pac-12 rebounds--Bracketville

More Quick Takes …
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Illinois State lost to the aforementioned Bulldogs (Georgia), dropping the Redbirds to 0-2 versus notable competition. They have games left with BYU, San Diego State, and Ole Miss, but their at-large margin is already slipping.