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.
Given increased budget scrutiny, do you see mid-major
conferences turning to challenges (like the Big 10-ACC) to get home
games without needing to buy them? What conferences would you like to
see match up in this format? — Matthew A.
This was already happening before the pandemic.
Mid-major schools are getting squeezed out of scheduling because many
power leagues are going to 20-game conference schedules, in addition to
their own conference challenges and exempt tournaments. I think you’ll
see more mid-major leagues follow suit and increase their number of
conference games, as well as hold some of these challenges to get good
nonconference matchups.
The MAAC and Atlantic Sun had a crossover event in November. The
Mountain West and Atlantic 10 are beginning a challenge series next
season. That includes games such as San Diego State at Saint Louis, UNLV
at VCU and Dayton at Nevada. I’d also like to see the WCC get involved
in one of these, and the Mountain West makes sense geographically. Why
not have the MAC and Missouri Valley go head to head, or C-USA and the
Sun Belt? Ivy vs. Patriot in the smart guy showdown? The possibilities
are endless, and I think it’s a great idea.
Once upon a time, this was a real rivalry game. Back when
DePaul regularly made the NCAA Tournament, the Red Line Rivalry pitted
these Chicago basketball teams together on a near-annual basis. Finally,
after going dormant for eight years, the series is back.
So
much has changed since these teams last played in 2012. Although both
Loyola and DePaul were in the early goings of two sub-.500 seasons last
time they met, each team has taken different trajectories since. Oliver
Purnell is out at DePaul, and Dave Leito is in. Loyola head coach Porter
Moser is still there, but the Ramblers finally rose above .500 and
broke out onto the national scene with a Final Four run in 2018. The
Blue Demons, meanwhile, made a run to the 2019 CBI Championship before
losing to South Florida. At home.
Next season, Loyola could be even better than the Final Four team. DePaul might not have many options outside of Charlie Moore and Monmouth transfer Ray Salnave. However, in the off chance Valparaiso transfer Javon Freeman-Liberty
earns a waiver from the NCAA, having a former Missouri Valley player
square off against the team he helped beat in the 2020 MVC Tournament
only sweetens the deal.
Robbins
needed a year at prep school to lose weight and attract college
interest after high school, but his rise has been meteoric since he got
on the right track. The 7-footer will now get to test his game in the
sport's toughest league after a breakout sophomore season in the
Missouri Valley Conference. The Iowa native averaged 14.1 points, 7.1
rebounds and 2.9 blocks this season. If his game continues progressing
on its current trajectory, he'll be a force in the Big Ten in his
remaining two seasons of eligibility.
Went through tape on Minnesota's transfer commit Liam Robbins. As impressive as any transfer prospect in the country. Impressed with his touch, hands and post work. Effective over either shoulder. Late bloomer that didn't have a scholarship offer coming out of high school. pic.twitter.com/0r2AnRLqTc
The
6 foot 9 forward will have two seasons to play at Memphis once he's
eligible. Williams has an intriguing case for a waiver considering the
upheaval that occurred during his lone season at Evansville. After a
momentous upset at Kentucky, coach Walter McCarty was placed on leave
and ultimately fired. The Purple Aces then played under an interim coach
and a new head coach in the second half of the season. It remains a
question how Williams' stretch forward capabilities will translate to a
higher level. But he averaged 15.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and made 45.5%
of his 3-pointers last season, and the Tigers will give him ample
opportunity to play an essential role after the departure of AAC Player
of the Year Precious Achiuwa.
In the Valley, Northern Iowa and Loyola University
Chicago are the two clubs to keep an eye on. Both return the core of
solid teams from last year, making the MVC a potential multi-bid league
for the first time in the post-Wichita State era.
There were few occurrences weirder last February and
March (pre-quarantine) than watching Northern Iowa blast Drake by 27 in
Des Moines, only to see the Bulldogs come back and win by 21 less than a
week later in the Missouri Valley quarterfinals. That loss probably
popped what would have been UNI’s bubble and have doomed an awesome
Panthers team to the NIT.
Thankfully, that same group returns in 2020-21, led by reigning conference player of the year AJ Green. Last year, Green became just the third sophomore ever to win that award, joining Fred VanVleet
and Doug McDermott. He’s scored over 1,100 points in his two seasons
thanks to a 44% mark from three in conference play and a 92% rate from
the line overall. Green is the best shooter in the Valley, and if he can
make strides in his ability to defend and distribute, he’ll have the
Panthers in the AP Top 25 conversation.
UNI is returning more than just the best player in the conference. By his side — or, rather, down low — will be Austin Phyfe, the league’s best big man not named Cameron Krutwig. Phyfe
is one of the most efficient players you’ll ever see — he led the MVC
in offensive rating (132.6) and shot 69% (nice) from the field in
conference play. He also ranked in the top two in the league in
offensive rebounding percentage, defensive rebounding percentage, and
effective field goal percentage. For that reason, the two best players
in the conference might play their home games in Cedar Falls.
With those two, it’s easy to see why the Panthers had one of the most efficient offenses in the country last year (No. 23 per KenPom), and that’s not even factoring in Trae Berhow, who was second on the team in scoring and shot 42% from three. He’ll be back as well.
There’s not much of note coming in either on the transfer market or in the freshman class, but that’s ok. The one key, according to Ben Jacobson, will be if Tywhon Pickford can step up and fill the void left by Isaiah Brown’s graduation. Brown was MVC defensive player of the year last year, but Jacobson thinks Pickford can help make up for his loss.
“We’re counting on Ty to come in whenever we
would get back, this summer or the fall, and immediately step into that
spot. He’s shown that he can do some of those same things defensively.
Now we need him to do it for longer and we need him to do it every
practice and every game.”
Loyola’s best shot at becoming more than “the team that
made the Final Four that one time” is in 2020-21. Almost the entire team
is returning from a group that won 13 games in the Valley and played
its best basketball in February, which included a win at then-reigning
conference champion Bradley on Senior Day.
Krutwig,
the only guy other than AJ Green to get a player of the year vote, will
return for his senior season. I could sit here and spew stats at you,
but a better use of your time would be to go read what Kyle Cajero wrote about him back in December. TL;DR: Krutwig can score, rebound, and assist, and he can do all those things well.
Thanks to his role on the Final Four team in 2018,
Krutwig is the guy everyone will know. But he’s certainly not the only
player capable of earning all-conference honors. In fact, Tate Hall
was All-Valley Third Team and on the All-Newcomer Team last season. The
transfer from University of Indianapolis is a three-point marksman who
picks his spots well, and as you just read in Kyle’s piece (I know you
read it), is excellent in transition.
On the other end of the court is the Ramblers’ honoree on
the All-Defensive Team from last year, Lucas Williamson. The lock-down
defender ranked fourth in the Valley in steal percentage and, as the Loyola Phoenix points out, forced UNI’s Green to commit 14 turnovers over two games last year.
Returning everyone from an already-good team is a great
way to get into The Other Top 25. Adding someone like sit-out transfer
Brandon Norris, finally eligible this season, can put Loyola over the
top. Norris was a Horizon League All-Freshman Team member and ranked
23rd in Division I with a 2.75 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2018-19. He
and Williamson will give Loyola the most annoying, suffocating backcourt
in the league.
Ford
just completed his second year as head coach of the Bears after a
four-season run as the head man at Tennessee State. TSU improved from
5-25 the season before Ford arrived to 20-11 in just his second
campaign. -- John Gasaway
His
profile and prospects were magnified when he served as the associate
head coach under Porter Moser during Loyola Chicago's run to the Final
Four in 2018. His first season as the head coach at Southern Illinois
this season included a respectable 16-16 mark and a 10-8 record in
Missouri Valley Conference play. -- Myron Medcalf
Just missed:
Kevin Kruger (UNLV assistant); Chris Ogden (UT-Arlington); Chris Caputo
(Miami assistant); Matt Lottich (Valparaiso); Greg Paulus, (Niagara);
Adam Cohen (Stanford assistant); Bashir Mason (Wagner); Jamal Brunt (VCU
assistant); Chester Frazier (Virginia Tech assistant), Bruce Shingler
(South Carolina assistant), Jai Lucas (Texas assistant), Brandin Knight
(Rutgers assistant), Grant Billmeier (Seton Hall assistant), Brian
"Penny" Collins (Tennessee State); Drew Valentine (Loyola Chicago
assistant)
2. Melanie Boeglin, basketball, 2002-06 – If you
arrived on the scene in the mid-2000s, as I did, the biggest thing going
on the local sports scene was the ISU women's basketball team. Boeglin
was the catalyst for those excellent Sycamores teams.
The numbers
tell part of the story. ISU was 88-36 in Boeglin's career, including a
MVC regular season championship, and she has school records in steals
(436), assists (685), games played (124), free throws made (576), points
scored in a season (600 in 2005-06), free throws made in a season (166
in 2005-2006), assists in a season (237 in 2005-2006), steals in a
season (123 in 2004-2005), points scored in a game (46 against Drake on
Jan. 26, 2006) and field goals made in a game (19 against Drake on Jan.
26, 2006).
But they don't tell the whole story. ISU women's
basketball was a phenomenon in the mid-2000s, occasionally selling out
Hulman Center, and largely out-drawing the men's team at the time.
Boeglin, a Terre Haute native, was a major part of the reason both city
and university galvanized behind the team.
In the highest profile
women's sport, Boeglin brought more positive attention and enthusiasm
for a women's athletics program at ISU than any athlete likely ever
has — even if the Sycamores had heartbreaking conference tournament
defeats that kept them from achieving NCAA postseason glory.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19982035/usa_today_13778823.jpg)
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19982036/1129463213.jpg.jpg)
