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.
Side Dishes
Other results of note: DePaul moved to 8-0 with a 73-68 win at Minnesota; Duke bounced back against Winthrop 83-70, but there was more to this game we’ll note below; LSU took care of Missouri State 73-58 behind 20 points and 10 rebounds from Darius Days; and Saint Mary’s won the matchup of the day late by riding big games from their dynamic duo to an 81-73 win over Utah State.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-MISSOURI STATE AT LSU. Missouri State has looked good at times, but
not all the time. Still, they should be one of the frontrunners in the
Missouri Valley and this is a chance for them to pick up a really nice
road win. It’s easier said than done, though. LSU is good.
In the Cancun Challenge, Northern Iowa got 26 points from A.J. Green to take third place with a 78072 win over South Carolina.
In the Fort Myers Tip-Off, Bradley pulled away from Kansas State 73-60 to take third place, then Pittsburgh did the same to Northwestern in the championship game for a 72-59 win.
NEWS AND NOTES
-Northern Iowa led West Virginia for most of the game down in the Cancun Challenge, but let it slip away in the final minutes. A flagrant foul late in the game didn’t help things. It was a missed opportunity for Northern Iowa to pick up a notable win away from home and go on to play a pretty good Wichita State team tonight, which would have helped them out even more. It was a big win for West Virginia, but they’ll have far more chances at wins like this than UNI will the rest of the way. HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-KANSAS STATE VS BRADLEY (Fort Meyers Tip-Off). K State is looking to bounce back from a somewhat surprising loss to Pitt the other night. They shouldn’t have too much trouble with a Bradley team that’s good by UTR standards, but not good enough to were you’d think they’d be able to beat K State. -SOUTH CAROLINA VS NORTHERN IOWA (Cancun Challenge). Northern Iowa had West Virginia on the ropes, but could not hold on for the win in the final minutes. Still, they’re a good team that has a chance to land inside the bubble come March, but they need to pick up some wins away from home in games like this. South Carolina suffered their first loss yesterday to Wichita State, but the game wasn’t even close. They could use a win to bounce back as well.
For mid-major teams such as Northern Iowa, those with aspirations of
making major impressions come March, Thanksgiving can make or break a
season. Those are the teams that need this week.
Northern Iowa
will play five teams from power conferences this season. Two of those
games come in the span of 24 hours this week against Alabama and Ohio
State in Las Vegas. The other three are spread over six weeks. The
Panthers are among the fortunate: They at least share a state with two
power conference teams, Iowa and Iowa State, who are traditionally
willing to play the Missouri Valley Conference foe in ongoing
home-and-home series.
As
Drake plays Auburn and possibly Arizona State near Fort Myers, Florida,
as Ohio takes on Pitt in Daytona Beach, and as South Dakota faces Ohio
State in Las Vegas, there is a strong case to be made that, no matter
the headliners, these are the sort of games that matter most this week.Now on to the rankings.
The
Lady Bears are the rare mid-major that can afford to put their feet up
at Thanksgiving, with their résumé work nearly complete. On top of
earlier wins at Minnesota and Oklahoma, along with a competitive loss at
Oregon State, Monday's win at South Dakota cements their No. 1
position. Alexa Willard always seemed to have an answer when the Coyotes
started to rally. She led all scorers with 21 points, including five
3-pointers. No surprise there. The senior has yet to hit fewer than half
her 3-pointers in a game and is shooting 61.5% from behind the arc. Last ranking: 3
The
Bulldogs responded well to the loss at South Dakota at the start of
this ranking period, beating Creighton and Western Illinois. Limiting
the Big East team to 29% shooting and protecting an early lead just
three days after letting one slip away in South Dakota stands out. But
perhaps the best development was seeing shots fall for Becca Hittner
against Western Illinois. Drawing every opponent's defensive focus, the
reigning MVC player of the year hit just three of 22 3-point attempts in
the first four games. She matched that with three more against Western
Illinois and got to the free throw line eight times. That's what she
does at her best. Last ranking: 1
Ohio
wasn't the only team turning the normal in-state order on its ear.
Beating Iowa for the first time in 13 years in the annual series is one
thing, but winning by 22 points is eye-catching (though, oddly, Northern
Iowa's only two other wins in the series were by 44 and 21 points). The
Panthers did it to the Hawkeyes without a point from leading scorer and
all-conference guard Karli Rucker and modest numbers from Megan Maahs,
the former all-MVC pick who otherwise looks stellar in her comeback from
an injury and redshirt season. Last ranking: Not ranked
NEWS AND NOTES
-Bradley handed Kansas State their second loss of the season in the
Fort Myers Tip-Off. A nice win for Bradley, but a rather underwhelming
showing in this event for K State.
Tonight’s Menu
After a day full of tournament action, a number of games outside of tournaments also come into play on a busier day of games.
Games outside of tournaments and showcases to watch include DePaul at Minnesota (3 p.m.), Louisville at Western Kentucky (5 p.m.), Winthrop at Duke (7 p.m.), Missouri State at LSU (8 p.m.), and the best one of all is the next-to-last one on the entire slate, Utah State at Saint Mary’s (11:30 p.m.)
Missouri State Bearsvs. LSU Tigers(8 p.m. ET, SEC Network+): LSU
has been a little skittish to start the season. But the Tigers are
aiming to correct themselves, and they’ll look to do so Friday night
against Missouri State. The Tigers have lost to the two best teams
they’ve faced this year, those teams being the Virginia Commonwealth Rams and the Utah State Aggies.
To their credit, they’ve yet to lose at the PMAC, and chances are they
won’t do so on Friday night either. The Bears are 3-4 and have lost
three of their last four games heading into play on Friday night
Side Dishes
First, the tournament/showcase roundup:
On day two of the Gulf Coast Showcase, Drake edged Northeastern 59-56 and Murray State held off Weber State 69-68 in consolation games, and in semifinal action South Alabama pulled away from Miami (Ohio) 82-71 and La Salle held off Wright State 72-70.
Tonight’s Menu
The slate gets a bit lighter, but the big games don’t take a dip a day before Thanksgiving.
In the Fort Myers Tip-Off, Kansas State and Bradley clash for third place (6 p.m.), then Pittsburgh and Northwestern meet in the championship game (8:30 p.m.)
The Gulf Coast Showcase has one more day of action, beginning with the seventh place game between Northeastern and Weber State (11 a.m.), then the fifth place game between Drake and Murray State (1:30 p.m.), third place game between Miami (Ohio) and Wright State (5 p.m.) and the championship game between South Alabama and La Salle (7:30 p.m.)
The Cayman Islands Classic concludes, starting with Loyola-Chicago taking on Old Dominion for seventh place (11 a.m.), then Colorado State battles Washington State for fifth place (1:30 p.m.), South Florida takes on Nebraska for third place (5 p.m.) and New Mexico State takes on George Mason for the championship (7:30 p.m.)
NEWS AND NOTES
-Cincinnati needed overtime to get past Valparaiso. The good news for Cincinnati is that they’ve been winning their games. The bad news is that they haven’t looked impressive at all in doing so. The coaching change is probably effecting them since the style he wants to play is something they’re not used to, but to barely beat Illinois State, then lose to Bowling Green, and then barely beat Valpo….it wasn’t exactly a strong showing for them down at the Paradise Jam. HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-NORTHERN IOWA VS WEST VIRGINIA (Cancun Challenge). A really interesting game here between a Northern Iowa team that we think is one of the better UTR teams out there, and a West Virginia team that’s looking to have a bounce back season. Both teams come into this one unbeaten.
Either South Alabama or La Salle will claim its first-ever Gulf Coast Showcase title this evening in Estero, Fla,, while the third-place game is a rematch of a regularly-scheduled game from the season’s first week. Wright State won at Miami, 88-81, back on November 9th. In the afternoon session, a pair of 2019 NCAA qualifiers—Northeastern and Murray State—will look to leave Southwest Florida with last day wins after disappointing trips.
The third-annual Cayman Islands Classic will close with a pair of quality mid-majors playing for the title and two typically bad power-conference teams squaring off for third. However, the most interesting game may be the battle to avoid the 0-for-Caymans trip this morning, as it features Conference USA’s 2019 champ, ODU, and 2017 Final Four qualifier Loyola.
Gardner-Webb picked up its first win of the season at the right time, earning a championship game tilt against a Northern Colorado team that blew out Boston U by 23.
In Tuesday night’s semifinals, South Carolina was no match for Wichita State, as the Shockers won going away, 70-47. In the nightcap, West Virginia held off Northern Iowa, 60-55.
Wichita State won this event back in 2012, while West Virginia fell in the 2013 final to Wisconsin.
Former Duke teammates and assistants Jeff Capel III and Chris Collins will see their teams meet on the court for the first time in tonight’s final in Fort Myers. The pair’s clubs reached the final in contrasting manners, as Pitt held off K-State, 63-59, in Monday night’s first semifinal, while Northwestern had no trouble with Bradley in a 78-51 victory.
The Morning Dish – Tuesday, November 26, 2019--Hoopville
Side Dishes
Tournament roundup:
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Quarterfinal action in the Gulf Coast Showcase saw South Alabama hold the nation’s leading scorer, Jordan Roland, to just nine points on 3-13 shooting en route to a 74-62 win over Northeastern in the opener. Then Miami (Ohio) beat Drake 67-59, Wright State handled Weber State 72-57 and La Salle made a big first half stand up in a 75-64 win over Murray State.
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The Fort Myers Tip-Off had a contrast in games. First, Pittsburgh got a double-double from Eric Hamilton (13 points, 12 rebounds) to edge Kansas State 63-59, then Northwestern breezed past Bradley 78-61. Yes, in another sign of what happens in college basketball this year, the same Northwestern team that lost to Division I newcomer Merrimack and Radford blew out a Bradley team that should contend in the Missouri Valley. (They also beat Providence as well.)
Nevada won the Paradise Jam by taking care of Bowling Green 77-62 in the championship game. Earlier, Cincinnati took third place with an 81-77 win over Valparaiso in overtime despite 32 points and nine rebounds from Valpo’s Javon Freeman-Liberty, Western Kentucky got 24 points and 12 rebounds from Charles Bassey and held off Fordham 69-64 for fifth place, and Grand Canyon opened the day by beating Illinois State 68-63 to take seventh place.
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Tonight’s Menu
Another packed day of action is ahead as the tournaments and showcases continue, including a couple of championship games.
Day two of the Gulf Coast Showcase begins with losers bracket matchups featuring Drake and Northeastern (11 a.m.) and Murray State and Weber State (1:30 p.m.), then semifinal action between Miami (Ohio) and South Alabama (5 p.m.) and Wright State and La Salle (7:30 p.m.)
The Cayman Islands Classic has a couple of interesting matchups on its second day, with Colorado State taking on Loyola-Chicago (11 a.m.), New Mexico State taking on South Florida (1:30 p.m.), Old Dominion taking on Washington State (5 p.m.) and George Mason taking on Nebraska (7:30 p.m.)
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The headline games in the Cancun Challenge come in the evening as Wichita State takes on South Carolina (6 p.m.), then Northern Iowa puts its undefeated mark on the line against West Virginia (8:30 p.m.)
-Last, and probably least, Evansville snapped a three game losing streak with a triple overtime win, against Morgan State, in the 7th place game of the Island of the Bahamas Showcase. They haven’t exactly been lighting the world on fire since their big win at Kentucky. I’m now ready to simply call that win a fluke. HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
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-GRAND CANYON VS ILLINOIS STATE (Paradise Jam). A matchup between two teams that have really underachieved so far this season. At least one of them will walk out of here with a semi-decent win away from home.
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-CINCINNATI VS VALPARAISO (Paradise Jam). Cincinnati lost to Bowling Green the other night and is just trying to pick up another win in this event. Valpo has played pretty well this season, so it may not be a cakewalk.
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-BRADLEY VS NORTHWESTERN (Fort Meyers Tip-Off). Bradley is 4-1 and has a winnable game today against Northwestern.
Northern Iowa is 6-0 and one reason is the explosive play of Trae Berhow. The 6’5 junior went off for 36 points against UT Martin and then added 20 during a win over Cornell. Berhow connected on a UNI record eight three-pointers against the Skyhawks and is the Valley’s ‘Player of the Week‘.
The explosive play of Gaige Prim has been a shot in the arm for the Missouri State Bears. In his first significant playing time of the season, Prim scored 18, 19 and 21 points. The 6’8 junior college transfer is this week’s ‘Newcomer of the Week‘ and didn’t start a game. He converted 62% of his shots from the field and nailed 10 of 14 from the line.
West Virginia (-6) vs. Northern Iowa in Cancun, 8:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network: This is a sleeper matchup between a pair of undefeated teams. West Virginia’s 4-0 start includes a 15-point win at Pitt. This is one of Bob Huggins’ younger teams, but he has a pair of sturdy, dependable bigs in 6-9 freshman Oscar Tshiebwe and 6-10 sophomore Derek Culver, who are combining to average 23.3 points and 15.3 rebounds per game. UNI is 6-0 but its nonconference strength of schedule is ranked No. 308 nationally on KenPom. The Panthers are also 335th in tempo, which tells me they are likely to struggle against the Mountaineers’ size and speed. The pick: West Virginia
Tournament/showcase roundup:
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In other action in the Charleston Classic, UConn handled Miami 80-55 to take third place, Buffalo edged Missouri State 75-74 for fifth place, and Towson salvaged the weekend by taking seventh place with a 76-64 win over Saint Joseph’s.
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Semifinal action in the Paradise Jam saw Nevada hammer Valparaiso 84-59 and Dylan Frye score 28 points to lead Bowling Green past Cincinnati 91-84 in overtime.
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Other notable games: It took three overtimes, but Evansville outlasted Morgan State 115-112 in the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase, with K.J. Riley scoring 36 points to lead Evansville and Troy Baxter Jr. scoring 30 points and hauling down 10 rebounds for Morgan State; and in the same event, Liberty, one of last season’s big mid-major stories, moved to 8-0 with a 62-49 win over UMKC.
Tonight’s Menu
The tournaments really pick up this week, with one of the best getting underway.
The Cayman Islands Classic gets going with Colorado State taking on New Mexico State (11 a.m.), then Loyola-Chicago takes on South Florida (1:30 p.m.), old CAA rivals clash as George Mason battles Old Dominion (5 p.m.) and Washington State takes on Nebraska to close the day (7:30 p.m.)
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The final day of action in the Paradise Jam starts with Grand Canyon and Illinois State playing for seventh place (1 p.m.), then Fordham and Western Kentucky play in the fifth place game (3:15 p.m.), Cincinnati takes on Valparaiso for third place (5:45 p.m.) and Nevada plays Bowling Green for the championship (8 p.m.)
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In the Fort Myers Tip-Off, Pittsburgh takes on Kansas State (6 p.m.) and two Illinois schools meet as Bradley plays Northwestern (8:30 p.m.)
NEWS AND NOTES
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-Since beating Kentucky, Evansville has beaten a div2 team and lost three straight div1 games. Yesterday’s loss to George Washington may have been the worst one of all. I now think that Evansville is a sub-par team that had one unbelievable day. At the end of the season they’ll probably be somewhere below the middle of the MVC. But hey, for a few days they got to own college basketball!!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
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-VALPARAISO VS NEVADA (Paradise Jam, Semifinal). Valpo has just one loss on the season and is coming off a nice win (at least we think) against Grand Canyon. Nevada has evened their record at 3-3 and is just trying to hang on through the rough adjustment period. Like so many exempt tournament games, it’s a chance at a notable neutral floor win for both teams.
Missouri State schedules tough, learns about itself
Dana Ford knew his Missouri State team had a chance to be special this season. So he scheduled aggressively, putting teams such as Xavier, LSU and VCU on the docket, along with an appearance in the Charleston Classic.
“We wanted to be battle-tested,” he says. “Hopefully this sets us up for what we feel like is going to be a grind of a conference season. There are going to be a lot of one-possession games.”
Ford just didn’t expect to get so much practice — and unfortunate results — in those types of situations. The Bears, who were picked as Missouri Valley Conference favorites in the preseason, lost their opener to Little Rock by one point. They dropped a three-point decision at Xavier in part because of a highly questionable flopping call in the final minute. They opened play in Charleston with a four-point loss to Miami, then nipped Saint Joesph’s by a bucket in their second game. Sunday brought a 75-74 loss to Buffalo in which Missouri State committed a turnover, missed the front end of a one-and-one and fouled a shooter in the final 27 seconds to kick away a one-point lead.
The team has given itself little margin for error thanks to turnover issues and some shaky shooting. Tulio da Silva, the Valley’s newcomer of the year last season, was shooting just 41 percent from the field going into Sunday, nearly 14 percentage points down from 2018-19. He made 7-of-10 shots against Buffalo for 15 points, perhaps showing signs of getting on track. Ford says the 6-8 Brazilian is still getting used to playing alongside Gaige Prim, a 250-pound junior college transfer who has been the team’s best scoring option early.
“He’s got to learn how to play double-post basketball,” Ford says. “But it’s all about energy and motor with him. He’s going to be fine.”
Will these close calls help or hurt Missouri State in the long run? There’s certainly no time to wallow. They play at LSU on Black Friday.
“My AAU coach used to tell me, ‘Y’all get me to the last two minutes, and I’ll bring it home,’ ” Ford says. “They’ve been getting there every game, so I’ve got to bring it home for them. We’ve got high-character kids. There’s no fold in us.”
Mid-bits
• Last week, TWMM wondered what Evansville might do for an encore after the stunning upset of then- No. 1 Kentucky. The answer: not much good. After beating NAIA program IU-Kokomo, the Purple Aces lost a close one at home to SMU, then fell to East Carolina by 17 points and George Washington by eight in the Bahamas Showcase. Walter McCarty’s team salvaged something out of the event by beating Morgan State in triple overtime on Sunday. Morgan State came in ranked 299th on KenPom.com. Insert shrug emoji.
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As for Northern Iowa, well, there could be something here. The Panthers got hot at the end of last year and made it to the Missouri Valley tournament title game. Ben Jacobsen brought in some talented freshmen and has a deep, balanced attack. Prove-it games are coming: West Virginia on Tuesday and at Colorado on Dec. 10.
7th/8th Place: Grand Canyon Antelopes (2-5, WAC) vs. Illinois State Redbirds (2-3, MVC), 1 p.m.
4th/6th Place: Fordham Rams (4-1, A 10) vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (5-1, C-USA), approx. 3:30 p.m.
3rd/5th Place: Valparaiso Crusaders (4-2, MVC) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-2, American), approx. 6 p.m.
Championship: Nevada Wolf Pack (4-3, MW) vs. Bowling Green Falcons (5-1, MAC), approx. 8:30 p.m.
As usual, the surprises continued on Sunday night in St. Thomas, as Bowling Green rallied to defeat Cincinnati after overtime, 91-84. So, the Falcons will meet Nevada, who survived their half of the bracket in an unexpected championship game. The other surprise here is the seventh-place game, as one of Grand Canyon or Illinois State will leave the Virgin Islands with three losses. Few expected that when this event tipped off on Friday.
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Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tip-Off Semifinals
FS1 will air both games.
Kansas State Wildcats (4-0, Big 12) vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (4-2, ACC), 6 p.m.
Bradley Braves (4-1, MVC) vs. Northwestern Wildcats (2-2, Big Ten), approx. 8:30 p.m.
K-State looks to be the favorite here, though I would rank Pitt second, so the winner of the evening’s first game looks to have the inside track at the title. Northwestern dropped a campus game to Radford, as the Wildcats continue to struggle since 2017’s NCAA trip.
Bradley (-1½) vs. Northwestern, 8:30 p.m., FS1: Not a great look for Northwestern as an underdog on a neutral floor against a Missouri Valley team. But it’s not a low point for the Wildcats! That’d be losing to something called a Merrimack.
Northwestern is a lousy shooting team (22.7 percent from 3), but the Wildcats at least do one thing well, and that’s getting to the free-throw line frequently. They have a 45.4 free-throw rate and make a solid 79.6 percent at the line. Bradley ranks 238th in defensive free-throw rate, which is typical of Brian Wardle defenses. But there’s a lot more to like about the Braves. They finished last season hot, going 9-4 after an 0-5 start in the Missouri Valley and then winning the conference tournament to earn an NCAA bid, where they pushed Michigan State. Bradley is also forcing a lot of turnovers (on 24.1 percent of its opponents’ possessions) and gets a lot of extra possessions with offensive rebounds, ranking fifth nationally in offensive rebounding rate (40.9 percent). Oh, Northwestern is also 1-3 against the spread. The pick: Bradley
