What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 1/6/2019

The Morning Dish – Saturday, January 5, 2019--Hoops HD

With the Pac-12 way, way down and the fortunes of upper-Division I leagues like the Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley and Mountain West all slumping, there is room for upward mobility for more than a couple conferences this season.
...
Side Dishes:
...
Drake has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the season, but the Bulldogs have suffered a huge loss as the school announced point guard Nick Norton is done for the season after he tore the ACL in his left knee in the team’s eventual double-overtime loss at Evansville on Wednesday. A graduate transfer from UAB, Norton was an early contender for Missouri Valley Conference top player honors, averaging 14.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game as Drake got off to an 11-2 start before losing its Valley opener to the Purple Aces.
...
Today’s Menu: The first Saturday of January is predictably loaded with conference action.
...
Loyola Chicago is at Drake. The Ramblers may have found themselves in their destruction of Indiana State on Wednesday, while it bears watching how the Bulldogs move on now without Nick Norton.

Handing out the Hardware: All-conference players of 2018 (Part 2 of 2)--Hoops HD

MVC
G: Nick Norton (Drake)
G: Jordan Barnes (Indiana State)
F: Phil Fayne (Illinois State)
F: Milik Yarbrough (Illinois State)
C: Cameron Krutwig (Loyola IL)
POYSF: Jordan Barnes (Indiana State)

Big 1st half carries Valparaiso past Missouri State, 82-66--CBS Sports
Williams with 18 points, Indiana State edges Bradley 65-60--CBS Sports
Loyola-Chicago beats Drake 85-74 behind 12 3-pointers--CBS Sports
Phil Fayne leads Illinois State over Evansville 58-48--CBS Sports
Pippen leads Southern Illinois past Northern Iowa 58-51--CBS Sports
Bradley vs. Indiana State: 2018-19 College basketball game preview, TV schedule--Busting Brackets
Missouri Valley Basketball Power Rankings: Loyola-Chicago leads at start of conference play--Busting Brackets
Plenty of Opinions--Valley Hoops Insider
Gigantic Second Day--Valley Hoops Insider

What to look for when Bradley plays at Indiana State--Peoria Journal Star
Bradley falls to 0-2 in Valley play, but shows encouraging signs--Peoria Journal Star
Brown Scores 32 in Road Setback--bradleybraves.com

Bradley Falls To Drake In Valley Opener--bradleybraves.com
Women’s Basketball Hosts UNI Sunday--bradleybraves.com

Adjusting to life without PG Norton, Drake falls to visiting Loyola--Des Moines Register
Loyola Weathers First-Half Barrage to Defeat Drake Men’s Basketball, 85-74--godrakebulldogs.com

Women’s Basketball Opens MVC Play with 92-63 Road Win over Bradley--godrakebulldogs.com

Evansville basketball's K.J. Riley among the nation's leaders in drawing fouls--Evansville Courier & Press
Evansville basketball sputters offensively on the road in loss to Illinois State--Evansville Courier & Press
Evan Kuhlman scores career-high at Illinois State--gopurpleaces.com

ACES INSIDER - UE Women fall in MVC opener at Southern Illinois--gopurpleaces.com
Women's Basketball drops MVC opener at SIU--gopurpleaces.com
Aces head to Missouri State to close MVC opening weekend--gopurpleaces.com

Chastain, Redbirds seek to bounce back against Evansville--Pantagraph
Fayne reaches 1,000-point milestone in ISU triumph--Pantagraph
Fayne reaches 1,000 career points in Redbirds' first MVC win over Evansville, 58-46--Vidette Online
2018-19 Illinois State Men’s Basketball Scholarship Endowment Recipients Announced--goredbirds.com
Fayne Reaches Milestone in 12-Point Win Over Evansville--goredbirds.com

Maggett sends ISU women to 'landmark' win--Pantagraph
ISU women eager to test powerhouse Drake--Pantagraph
ISU women's hoops wins seventh straight, remains undefeated at home--Vidette Online
Women's Basketball Wins Seventh-Straight in Fourth Quarter Thriller--goredbirds.com

Bradley visit offers chance for ISU to move on--Terre Haute Tribune Star
ISU protects its (grind) house: Sycamores out-work Braves to earn 65-60 win--Terre Haute Tribune Star
DOWN IN THE VALLEY: Bradley musings--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Christian Williams Posts Double-Double In MVC Win Over Bradley--gosycamores.com

ISU women fall at Missouri State--Terre Haute Tribune Star
ISU women fall at Missouri State--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores Drop League Opener Friday--gosycamores.com
Sycamores Face Salukis in Sunday Matinee--gosycamores.com

College basketball live blog: Marquee conference matchups to start January--Mid-Major Madness

UPDATE: 5:37 p.m.

A tail of the Loyola narrative, as brought to you by us:

Preseason: Loyola is going to be really good again, top 2-3 team in the Valley.
November: They stink. Overrated. Sad!!!
December: ???? forgotten about
January: RAMBLER TIME BABBY!

That’s right, the Ramblers are 2-0 in the MVC with a win over newly ranked (in The Other Top 25) Drake on Saturday. How’d they do it?

By shooting the damn lights out.

Marques Townes had 28 points on 11-17 shooting. Clayton Custer had 26 on 9-12 shooting and was 6-8 from three.

Team stats: 63.3% from the field, 50% from three (12-24), 76% from two-point range, 1.31 points per possession.

It all added up to an 85-74 win on the road.

- Russell Steinberg