What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 3/13/2019

The Morning Dish – Saturday, March 9, 2019--Hoopville

Side Dishes

Conference tournament roundup:
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The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament had a split in the quarterfinals between the higher and lower seeds winning. No. 1 Loyola-Chicago ran out to a 22-point halftime lead against No. 9 Valparaiso en route to a 67-54 win, then No. 5 Bradley continued their late surge by using a big second half to knock off No. 4 Missouri State 61-58, their seventh win in nine games. In the evening session, No. 2 Drake used a big first half to take care of No. 7 Illinois State 78-62, and No. 6 Northern Iowa edged No. 3 Southern Illinois 61-58 in what will be Barry Hinson’s final game as head coach of the Salukis after seven seasons at the helm.
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As noted earlier, Barry Hinson announced that he has coached his last game at Southern Illinois after seven seasons at the helm. A one-time head coach at Missouri State, Hinson said that he agreed before the season that unless the Salukis make the NCAA Tournament or NIT, he would step down.

The Morning Dish – Monday, March 11, 2019--Hoopville

About halfway through that game, the Missouri Valley championship game got going, and it was a quite unlikely matchup with No. 5 Bradley and No. 6 Northern Iowa battling. The Valley was intensely competitive this season, with three games separating first place from seventh including two teams that tied for the regular season title. In light of that, while unlikely, this wasn’t a shocking matchup as even Loyola-Chicago and Drake, who were the other semifinalists, were far from unbeatable.

In this one, Northern Iowa ran out to a 14-2 lead and ran the lead to 18 less than three minutes into the second half, as they had shut down Bradley for most of the early going. Bradley then scored the next 12 points to get back in the game, then as they were down by one later on, they scored the next six points to take the lead for good and hold off the Panthers 57-54 to win their first Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title in 31 years.

Bradley actually started the season 6-1, including wins over OVC contender Jacksonville State, SMU and Penn State. Conference play, though, was a different story, as the Braves lost their first five games, three of them at home, and was staring at a 3-7 mark just past the halfway point. They won four in a row and six of seven, and had a chance to finish above .500 but lost at Loyola-Chicago to end the regular season. Bradley became the fourth team since the MVC went to 10 teams to start conference play 0-4 or worse and not have to play in the first round of the tournament.

In St. Louis, they were masters of the close game, pulling out three straight one-possession games to win the title. But that is something they have done all year long, as they were 4-1 in one-possession games in the regular season. They will enter the NCAA Tournament having won nine of 11 games.

Valparaiso routs Indiana St. 77-55 in MVC tourney--CBS Sports
Fayne lifts Illinois St. past Evansville 65-60--CBS Sports
Murphy leads Drake past Illinois St. 78-62 in MVC tourney--CBS Sports
N. Iowa beats S. Illinois 61-58; Barry Hinson will step down--CBS Sports
https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/bradley-knocks-loyola-chicago-out-of-mvc-tourney/--CBS Sports
Northern Iowa upsets Drake 60-58 in MVC tourney semis--CBS Sports
Bradley vs. Northern Iowa odds, line: 2019 MVC Tournament Championship picks, predictions from model on 111-87 roll--CBS Sports
Bradley rallies big, beats Northern Iowa for MVC title--CBS Sports
MVC – Wilder Than Ever--Valley Hoops Insider
Bartley, Windler & Custer – Academic All-Americans--Valley Hoops Insider
OVC and MVC Players Named ‘All-District’--Valley Hoops Insider

Introducing Cinderella: Bradley earns comeback win to grab Missouri Valley’s autobid--College Basketball Talk
You Are There – Arch Madness Reactions--Valley Hoops Insider
Bradley saves the state's reputation: Power rankings for Division I basketball teams in Illinois--Chicago Tribune
'We earned this': Bradley headed to NCAA tournament after comeback victory over Northern Iowa in MVC championship--Chicago Tribune
Conference tournament brackets: Wofford, Iona are the next teams into the 2019 NCAA Tournament--CBS Sports

MISSOURI VALLEY

In the Missouri Valley tournament, Bradley made history: the Braves scored just 15 points by halftime against Northern Iowa, then roared back from an 18-point deficit to pull off the biggest comeback victory in MVC title game history. The final: 57-54. The Braves will be in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 13 years. Back in 2006, Bradley was in via an at-large; Sunday's victory is the first conference tournament championship for the school since 1988. Bradley will either be a 15 or 16 seed depending on how the low-major conference tournaments unfold in the coming week.

Bracketology: Updated projected bracket has Liberty a No. 13 seed, facing Florida State in first round--CBS Sports

No. 5 seed Bradley won its first Missouri Valley Conference title in 31 years by defeating No. 6 seed Northern Iowa 57-54. The Braves last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2006 as an at-large team and a No. 13 seed. They went on to the Sweet 16 that season. This time, Bradley is projected as a No. 15 seed.

The Other Top 25: Murray State races into top 5 in final poll--Mid-Major Madness

Also receiving votes: Georgia State 18, Yale 18, Northern Kentucky 15, Bradley 12, Northeastern 11, Harvard 11, Montana 10, Charleston 9, Bowling Green 7, Norfolk State 6, San Diego State 6, Jacksonville State 5, Wright State 5, San Francisco 4, Texas State 3, Radford 3, Gardner-Webb 2, St. Francis (PA) 2, San Diego 2.

5 keys to UE basketball's matchup with Illinois State at Arch Madness--Evansville Courier & Press
UE basketball season ends with tough loss to Illinois State at Arch Madness--Evansville Courier & Press
Aces give ISU all it could handle at Arch Madness--gopurpleaces.com
ACES INSIDER - UE Men goes out strong in Arch Madness--gopurpleaces.com
UE basketball announces summer camp dates--gopurpleaces.com

Aces fall to Bears to open final weekend--gopurpleaces.com
Salukis' second-half run sends SIU past Aces--gopurpleaces.com
"New season" begins for Aces Thursday in Hoops in the Heartland opener--gopurpleaces.com

Flat season for ISU ends with deflating Arch Madness loss to Valpo--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Clinkscales speaks candidly about ISU basketball's disappointing season--Terre Haute Tribune Star
ISU's Lansing under no illusions about job status and improvement needed--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Down In The Valley: Valparaiso/Arch Madness musings--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Crusaders defeat the Sycamores in weekend tournament--Indiana Statesman
Tyreke Key Earns Spot On MVC Scholar-Athlete Team--gosycamores.com

Short-handed Sycamores can't keep up with SIU--Terre Haute Tribune Star
ISU women play tough in 10-point loss to Missouri State--Terre Haute Tribune Star
ISU women face team they've already beaten twice--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Indiana State Drops Thursday Contest to Salukis--gosycamores.com
Sycamores Fall in Regular Season Finale--gosycamores.com
Sycamores to Face Valpo at Hoops in the Heartland--gosycamores.com
Tamara Lee Receives Honorable Mention Scholar-Athlete Honors--gosycamores.com
Ashli O’Neal Named to MVC All-Defensive Team--gosycamores.com
Sycamores Set to Face Valpo at Hoops in the Heartland--gosycamores.com

No close shave this time-Loyola dominates MVC Tournament opener--Hoopville
Saturday’s Things to Know: Conference titles get decided; Murray State and Ja Morant earn an autobid--College Basketball Talk

SATURDAY’S LOSERS
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Loyola: We won’t be seeing Loyola and Sister Jean in the 2019 NCAA tournament following last season’s memorable Final Four run. The top-seeded Ramblers were upset by Bradley in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Saturday as Loyola’s two Conference Players of the Year, Clayton Custer and Marques Townes, were held to only 17 points combined on 7-for-27 shooting.

Despite upset loss, Loyola University Chicago is creating the blueprint for similar mid-majors--Mid-Major Madness
Winners and losers: North Carolina makes case for No. 1 seed; Villanova backs into Big East title--CBS Sports

Loser: The NCAA Tournament darling of 2018

Loyola-Chicago stole the hearts of college hoops fans across the country last season. And what little sliver of the world they didn't, their team chaplain, Sister Jean, did.

That won't be the case this season. The Ramblers, a 1 seed in the MVC Tournament, fell Saturday in stunning fashion to 5 seed Bradley, ensuring they won't be the auto-bid from the MVC -- and that their postseason destination is likely the NIT.

Salukis fall early in St. Louis, MVC loses a great ambassador with Hinson resignation--Hoopville
College Basketball’s 2019 Coaching Carousel--College Basketball Talk

Southern Illinois: Following a quarterfinal exit from the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, head coach Barry Hinson announced in his postgame press conference that he was leaving his post at Southern Illinois. It hasn’t been made clear if Hinson is resigning, or being fired, as he said, “It is time for me to step away,” during an emotional press conference. In seven seasons at Southern Illinois, Hinson went 116-111 — twice winning 20 or more games in a season. But the Salukis never made the postseason as the once-proud Valley program has struggled to find its footing since six consecutive NCAA tournament appearances earlier this century. Hinson has also spent time at Oral Roberts and Missouri State as he’s fifth all-time in Missouri Valley Conference wins.

College basketball coaching changes: Hirings, firings and the latest rumors for 2019--CBS Sports

Hinson announced his resignation on March 8 after Southern Illinois lost in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. He spent seven seasons with the Salukis and did not make an NCAA Tournament. Former SIU point guard Bryan Mullins, who is the associate head coach at Loyola-Chicago , is considered a runaway favorite to get the job.

What's Up In The Missouri Valley

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 3/13/2019

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