What's Up In The Missouri Valley 1/25/2020

Loyola-Chicago looks to extend streak vs Northern Iowa--Associated Press
Missouri St., Drake meet in conference play--Associated Press
Evansville looks to end streak vs Valpo--Associated Press
MVC Captains of Their Own Destinies--Valley Hoops Insider

What to look for when Bradley plays at Indiana State--Peoria Journal Star
Season of recovery, learning for Bradley freshman Rienk Mast--Peoria Journal Star

Braves Top UNI 61-47 To Move To 6-0 In Valley Play--bradleybraves.com

Men's Basketball Looks To Extend Home Win Steak Sunday--godrakebulldogs.com

Drake women beat Illinois State in overtime--Des Moines Register
Women’s Basketball Earns Hard-Fought Overtime Win at Illinois State, 69-67--godrakebulldogs.com

Game Preview: Valparaiso Crusaders (Part II)--Eville-Ways
Road trip begins on Sunday for men’s basketball--gopurpleaces.com

Late SIU run sends Salukis past Aces--gopurpleaces.com

Preview: ISU looks to get back on track at Redbird Arena against Southern--Vidette Online

Drake takes overtime thriller from Illinois State women's basketball--The Pantagraph
Redbirds fall to Bulldogs in OT, 69-67--Vidette Online
Redbirds Take Drake to Overtime, Fall 69-67 at Home--goredbirds.com

Bradley will test whether ISU can find a safe harbor for its defense--Terre Haute Tribune Star

No. 22 Bears take down Sycamores--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores Battle, but Fall to #22 Missouri State on Friday--gosycamores.com
Sunday Showdown with Southern Illinois on Deck for Sycamores--gosycamores.com

Valparaiso Rallies Late To Stun Loyola, 66-64--loyolaramblers.com

No. 22 MSU Lady Bears bounce back with dominating win over Indiana State--Springfield News-Leader
Lady Bears Take Down Sycamores, 76-55--missouristatebears.com

Bracketology 2020: The bubble is getting increasingly crowded--SB Nation

The wrong side of the cut line

First Four OUT: 69. DePaul (57/12-6/4-4/3-3), 70. Northern Iowa (51/14-3/4-1/1-1), 71. Richmond (54/15-4/3-3/2-2), 72. Rhode Island (52/13-5/4-4/1-3)
Next Four OUT: 73. Purdue (46/10-9/4-8/2-6), 74. Liberty (50/17-2/1-1/0-1), 75. Syracuse (66/12-7/4-6/2-3), 76. Washington (48/12-8/2-6/1-4)

This week didn’t play out well for the leaders of two likely one-bid leagues hoping to have an at-large chance should things go wrong in the early stages of the Championship Fortnight. First, the Northern Iowa Panthers surrendered their share of the Missouri Valley lead when their furious rally at Southern Illinois fell short, 68-66. While the Panthers’ win at Colorado Buffaloes remains impressive, it might not mean much in the end. Given the 2018 Loyola Chicago Ramblers’ spot on that March’s seed list, their win at Florida probably wouldn’t have earned them an at-large had they failed to win Arch Madness. (Oddly enough, the Ramblers replace UNI at the top of the Valley for today’s post.)

MVC leader Bradley stifles UNI--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
UNI Women Fall to Bradley 61-47--unipanthers.com

Tracking the Transfers: How are the former members of Northwestern MBB faring?--Inside NU

Barret Benson — Southern Illinois

Season Stats: 20 games / 17 starts / 24.9 minutes / 9.9 points / 5.5 rebounds / 0.8 assists / 0.8 blocks / 51.3 FG% / 25.0 3FG%

Team record: 10-10 (4-3) — 4th in Missouri Valley Conference

The big man is giving the Salukis some solid play in a starting role, averaging nearly 10 points per game. He’s also made seven three-pointers this year, which is pretty cool considering he only made two throughout his three-year career in Evanston. Benson recorded his second career double-double, going for 18 points and 10 boards in a blowout win over Drake this past week. The Salukis currently sit in the top half of the MVC.

SIU Men's Basketball | Fresh off signature win, Salukis try to snap 12-game losing streak in Normal--The Southern Illinoisan
Sports Column | We'll never know what Salukis could have been--The Southern Illinoisan
SIU at Illinois State: 3 things to watch--The Southern Illinoisan

Salukis use big second half to get past Evansville--Daily Egyptian
Salukis erase 13-point deficit to stun Purple Aces, 70-57--siusalukis.com

Epic Rally Delivers Valpo Women Stunning Win Over Loyola--valpoathletics.com