What's Up In The Missouri Valley 2/28/2021

No. 21 Loyola beats Southern Illinois 65-58 in overtime--Associated Press
Kent scores 15 to lift Bradley over Drake 67-61--Associated Press
Ognacevic lifts Valparaiso past Indiana St. 70-58--Associated Press
Carter lifts Northern Iowa over Illinois State 94-87 in 2OT--Associated Press
Givance carries Evansville over Missouri State 72-63--Associated Press
News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Feb 27th--Hoops HD

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley).  If Loyola Chicago can wi out through the regular season I think they’ll make the field even if they lose their first conference tournament game.

-DRAKE AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley).  I think Drake will be safe for a bid so long as they continue to hold serve and avoid a bad loss early in the MVC Tourney.

More injuries, a big win and that final dunk: Takeaways from Bradley basketball's upset of Drake--Peoria Journal Star
'That was amazing': Short-handed Bradley basketball upsets Drake in regular-season finale--Peoria Journal Star
Shorthanded Braves spoil Drake’s share of MVC title--Bradley Scout
Braves Head to Arch Madness on High Note After Defeating Drake--bradleybraves.com

Bradley Clips Men’s Basketball In Regular-Season Finale, 67-61--godrakebulldogs.com

Purple Aces snap skid, defeat Missouri State, clinch No. 5 seed for MVC tournament--Evansville Courier & Press
Mo State, No Problems--Eville-Ways
Aces clinch top five seed with win over Missouri State--gopurpleaces.com

Cold-shooting hands Aces loss in series opener at UNI--gopurpleaces.com

Watch now: Northern Iowa outlasts Illinois State in two-overtime thriller to end regular season--The Pantagraph
Redbirds fall to Panthers in double OT thriller to finish season--Vidette Online
Illinois State Falls in Double Overtime Thriller with UNI--goredbirds.com

Sycamores suffer ugly start in loss at Valpo--Terre Haute Tribune Star
DOWN IN THE VALLEY: Week In Review, Feb. 28--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores Fall Short in Season Finale at Valparaiso--gosycamores.com

Overtime Win Against Southern Illinois Earns Loyola Men’s Basketball MVC Title--Loyola Phoenix
Loyola Wins Third MVC Title In Four Years, Survives SIU, 65-58--loyolaramblers.com

Ramblers Battle, Drop 64-50 Decision To No. 23/19 Missouri State--loyolaramblers.com

Missouri State basketball drops regular season finale to Evansville--Springfield News-Leader
Three-Pointers the Difference as Evansville Snaps Bears Streak--missouristatebears.com

No. 19 MSU Lady Bears grab 13th straight victory with win over Loyola--Springfield News-Leader
Missouri State basketball goes 1-1 at Evansville, secures third seed in Arch Madness--The Standard
Lady Bears Top Loyola 64-50, Reach 13-0 in MVC for First Time--missouristatebears.com

College men's basketball: Panthers outlast Redbirds in 2 OT--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
Men's Basketball Win 2OT Thriller at Illinois State--unipanthers.com

Panthers Defeat Evansville 67-31--unipanthers.com
Panthers Secure Senior Day Win Over Evansville--unipanthers.com

Krutwig, Williamson lead Loyola past SIU in overtime--Southern Ilinoisan
Salukis fall to Loyola in final game of regular season in overtime--Daily Egyptian
Salukis lose OT heartbreaker at #21 Loyola--siusalukis.com

Saluki women’s basketball drops 11-point game to Valparaiso--Daily Egyptian
Hot-shooting powers Valpo to 75-64 win over Salukis--siusalukis.com

Reserves help Valparaiso clinch Arch Madness bye--NWI Times
Senior Salute: Eron Gordon--Valpo Torch
Senior Salute: Mileek McMillan--Valpo Torch
Senior Salute: Zion Morgan--Valpo Torch
Opinion: Top Five Men's Basketball Games--Valpo Torch
Valpo Downs Indiana State, Clinches First-Round Bye in MVC Tournament--valpoathletics.com

Record-Setting 3-Point Barrage Lifts Women’s Basketball to Road Win Saturday--valpoathletics.com

Loyola Earns Top Seed for Arch Madness; Outright Regular-Season Crown--The Missouri Valley

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 2/27/2021

Under the Radar Game of the Day – Friday, February 26 (and other News, Notes, and Games)--Hoops HD

NEWS, NOTES, AND GAMES

-DRAKE AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley).  Drake will get a bit of a challenge on the road today, especially with them being a little short handed, but it’s still a winnable game and I think they are very close to landing in a situation to where they are safely inside the bubble.

-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley).  Loyola is definitely inside the bubble right now and will remain there so long as they continue to hold serve.

Prim scores 33 to lead Missouri St. over Evansville 90-81--Associated Press
Berhow scores 15 to carry N. Iowa over Illinois St. 70-56--Associated Press
Brodie scores 21 to lead Drake over Bradley 80-71--Associated Press
LaRavia lifts Indiana St. past Valparaiso 58-43--Associated Press
Valpo seeks revenge on Indiana St.--Associated Press
Pandemic challenges also give some teams chances to bond--Associated Press
Covid Bright Spots? Playing the Games--Valley Hoops Insider

'A battle of heart': Bradley basketball makes a push, but can't get past Drake--Peoria Journal Star
2021 Arch Madness: Seeding scenarios heading into final day of regular season--Peoria Journal Star
Strong start doesn’t last, Braves fall to Drake--Bradley Scout
Drake Tops Braves, 80-71--bradleybraves.com

Men’s Basketball Wins 24th Game; Moves One Win Away From Clinching League Title--godrakebulldogs.com

Red-hot Missouri State delivers Evansville its seventh straight loss with one game to go--Evansville Courier & Press
Prim and Mosley Too Much For The Aces On Friday--Eville-Ways
Jawaun Newton has career game against Missouri State--gopurpleaces.com

Watch now: Northern Iowa downs Illinois State as Redbirds headed for MVC tourney play-in round again--The Pantagraph
Men's basketball still looking up at UNI in Valley standings after 70-56 loss--Vidette Online
Redbirds Go Cold in Loss to Panthers--goredbirds.com

No Key, no problem as ISU rolls past VU--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores' Defense Stifles Valpo for Road Victory--gosycamores.com

No. 21 Loyola holds on to beat Southern Illinois 60-52--Associated Press
College basketball rankings: Loyola Chicago closing in on MVC title, has the look of an NCAA Tournament team--CBS Sports
Loyola Men’s Basketball Outlasts Southern Illinois, Kennedy Provides Boost Off Bench--Loyola Phoenix
10 Teams Built to Bust Brackets in the 2021 Men's NCAA Tournament--Bleacher Report

Loyola-Chicago Ramblers

6 of 10

Loyola-Chicago's Cameron KrutwigCharlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Projected Seed: 9

Loyola-Chicago isn't going to sneak up on anyone like it did three years ago. Not only is that run to the 2018 Final Four still fresh in the minds of all college basketball fans, but this year's Ramblers are ranked in the AP Top 25 and have climbed all the way up to No. 10 on KenPom.

That latter factoid is because they have the most efficient defense in the country.

Between their elite defense, their slow pace of play and a general lack of offense in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Ramblers are on a Virginia-like run of holding 13 consecutive opponents to 58 points or fewer. They don't allow second chances, they don't commit fouls and they rarely commit live-ball turnovers that lead to fast-break opportunities.

Even in the 77-63 loss at Wisconsin back in mid-December, the Ramblers held the Badgers to 38.5 percent shooting inside the arc and allowed just six offensive rebounds. However, it was an unfortunate night in the three-point luck department with Wisconsin canning 10 of 18 attempts.

In addition to that great defense, the Cameron Krutwig-led Ramblers also have one of the most efficient two-point attacks in the country. Gonzaga is leaving everyone in the dust in that category, but at 58.6 percent against D-I opponents, Loyola-Chicago is comfortably ranked in the top 10.

Maybe the Ramblers won't make another deep run, but it's hard to imagine a scenario in which they get blown out. Even if they wind up as the No. 8 or No. 9 seed that draws Gonzaga or Baylor in the second round, they're going to put up a valiant fight.

Ramblers Win 20th Game Of Season, Knock Off Southern Illinois, 60-52--loyolaramblers.com

Missouri State basketball grabs Valley's three seed with win at Evansville--Springfield News-Leader
Prim, Mosley Ambush Aces; Bears Clinch Third Place--missouristatebears.com

College men's basketball: Northern Iowa's inside play, defense lead to win--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
Men's Basketball Defeat Illinois State 70-56--unipanthers.com

Saluki Basketball 5@5: Mullins wants Domask close to 100% before putting him in--Southern Illinoisan
Todd Hefferman: When push comes to shove, Salukis pretty good--Southern Illinoisan
Salukis turn it over 18 times, fall 60-52 at No. 21/22 Loyola--Southern Illinoisan
Salukis lose by eight in first game of the series against Loyola--Daily Egyptian
Salukis narrowly fall at #21 Loyola--siusalukis.com

Valparaiso shoots season-low against Indiana State--NWI Times
Valpo Drops Opener vs. Indiana State--valpoathletics.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 2/26/2021

Under the Radar: Feb 24th (and Championship Week Video Notebook: Day 0)--Hoops HD

From there we run through the other 21 UTR Leagues and discuss the chances of teams like Drake, Western Kentucky, Belmont, and Winthrop of making the NCAA Tournament if they don’t win their conference tournaments, look at all the conferences races as we come down the stretch of the regular season, and much more!  And, as always, we close with this week’s UTR Top Ten.

Conference Tourney Previews (Part 1 of 2)--Hoops HD

MVC tourney predicted champ: Loyola Chicago (#1 seed)
Dates: March 4-7
Location: St. Louis, MO
2020 tourney champ: Bradley (#4 seed)
Fun fact: 4 different champs since 2016
Seeding: 3 of past 5 champs were #4 or #5 seed
The Ramblers lost back-to-back games vs. Wisconsin/Richmond in mid-December but since then they have won 16 of 18 with the 2 losses by a combined 6 PTS. If Drake had a healthy Roman Penn/Tank Hemphill then I would give them some serious consideration, but they do not so this is the Ramblers’ title to lose. The stat that stands out is a best-in-the-nation 55.7 PPG allowed because (as everyone knows) defense wins championships. Coach Porter Moser made the Final 4 in 2018 with now-SR Cameron Krutwig so they both know what it takes to win games in March.

Bubble Watch: Four more teams join the lock party--The Athletic

Others

Should be in: Loyola Chicago, BYU, San Diego State
Work to do: Boise State, Drake, VCU, St. Bonaventure, Colorado State, Saint Louis, Richmond, Utah State, SMU, Wichita State, Western Kentucky

Loyola Chicago (17-4, 14-2; NET: 10, SOS: 143): Loyola still hasn’t played since last week’s narrow escape against Valpo and will finish its league season with home games against Southern Illinois on Friday and Saturday, but the following remains worth reiterating: In addition to having been safely inside the adjusted efficiency top 10 for weeks now, this is also the top per-possession defense in all of Division I. Not Baylor. Not Tennessee. Not Alabama. Or Houston. Or Michigan. Loyola Chicago. Thanks to a truly elite defense — and not just elite relative to competition, but adjusted for competition; this team can just plain guard — Rambler Fever™ rolls on.

Drake (21-2, 14-2; NET: 34, SOS: 255): Drake’s first game of the season without injured point guard and team usage rate leader Roman Penn went about as well as could be expected Monday night: The Bulldogs handled a vastly overmatched Evansville team, never blowing out the Purple Aces but never really letting them get close. Penn’s absence is the big point of intrigue. Again, we think this two-loss team that split with Loyola absolutely deserves an at-large bid, but it probably can’t afford to let up without Penn in the lineup. Two games left, both away, both at

Women’s Basketball Falls To Illinois State--bradleybraves.com

Bring On The Bears!--Eville-Ways

Evansville heads to UNI for final road trip of the season--gopurpleaces.com

Watch now: Taylor Bruninga, Matt Chastain feeling better physically while still members of ISU basketball program--The Pantagraph
Five things to know ahead of the men's basketball's final series before Arch Madness--Vidette Online

Watch now: Illinois State women storm past Bradley--The Pantagraph
Redbirds sweep season series with rival Bradley--Vidette Online
Balanced Attack Propels Redbirds Past Braves, 79-59--goredbirds.com

Loyola Men’s Basketball and Southern Illinois Gear Up for Season Finale Series--Loyola Phoenix
Loyola’s Feb. 27 Men’s Basketball Game To Be Televised On ESPN2--loyolaramblers.com

Loyola Visits No. 23/19 Missouri State For Final Road Trip of 2020-21--loyolaramblers.com

Here are Missouri State men's basketball's Arch Madness scenarios heading into weekend--Springfield News-Leader

UNI men's basketball running out of time to show improvement in trying season--Cedar Rapid Gazette

Panthers Host Evansville for Senior Day on Sunday--unipanthers.com

Game Notes: Women's Basketball vs. Valparaiso--siusalukis.com

Merrillville native Mileek McMillan has grown up before Region's eyes at Valparaiso--NWI Times

Women's Basketball Continues Road Swing at SIU This Weekend--valpoathletics.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 2/25/2021

 
Playing basketball with heart, and playing spoiler: What to watch in Bradley vs. Drake--Peoria Journal Star
Bradley Hosts Drake in Final Series of 2020-21 Season--bradleybraves.com

Drake basketball: ShanQuan Hemphill could return for Missouri Valley Conference tournament--Des Moines Register
Men’s Basketball Aims To Secure Valley Title At Bradley--godrakebulldogs.com
30-Point Third Quarter Propels Women’s Basketball Past UNI, 77-56--godrakebulldogs.com

Drake women complete sweep of Panthers Special to the Register--Des Moines Register

Four-year seniors Noah Frederking, Evan Kuhlman stuck with UE through many changes--Evansville Courier & Press
Thomasi Is Transferring--Eville-Ways
Men’s basketball welcomes Missouri State--gopurpleaces.com

Feit scores career-high as Aces fall to Indiana State--gopurpleaces.com

Watch now: Illinois State's Dedric Boyd getting back in a groove ahead of final weekend series against UNI--The Pantagraph
Redbirds Close Out 2020-21 Regular Season Against Panthers--goredbirds.com

With little at-stake at Valpo, might ISU experiment a bit?--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores Wrap Regular Season at Valpo--gosycamores.com

Sophomore powers ISU's Senior Night victory--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores Earn Senior Night Victory Over Evansville in Home Finale--gosycamores.com

Basketball Breakdown: Everything You Need to Know to Understand Postseason Basketball--Loyola Phoenix

Loyola Women’s Basketball Falls to Valparaiso in the Final Seconds--Loyola Phoenix
Valparaiso Rallies Past Loyola, 57-55--loyolaramblers.com

Missouri St women claim MVC title for 14th time since 1990--Associated Press
No. 19 MSU Lady Bears clinch second-straight MVC title with win at Southern Illinois--Springfield News-Leader
Lady Bears Claim MVC Regular Season Title With 67-55 Win at SIU--missouristatebears.com
No. 19 Lady Bears Host Loyola Saturday and Sunday in Final Home Series--missouristatebears.com

UNI women's basketball sees close game at halftime turned into Drake rout--Cedar Rapids Gazette
Panthers split with Loyola in weekend series--Northern Iowan
Panthers Fall to Drake, 77-56--unipanthers.com

Saluki Basketball 5@5: SIU-Loyola on ESPN2 Saturday, Arch Madness tickets on sale, and Niles Notre Dame remains No. 1--Southern Illinoisan
3 burning questions for SIU and No. 21/22 Loyola--Southern Illinoisan
Game Notes: Men's Basketball at #21 Loyola--siusalukis.com

Bears defeat Salukis in Wednesday night matchup--Daily Egyptian
Salukis fall to Lady Bears, 67-55--siusalukis.com

Frederick Delivers Game-Winner as Valpo Edges Loyola--valpoathletics.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 2/24/2021

Historic Performances – Weekly Awards--Valley Hoops Insider

Women’s Basketball Returns Home To Host Illinois State--bradleybraves.com

Evansville's Thomasi Gilgeous-Alexander enters NCAA transfer portal--Evansville Courier & Press

Watch now: MVC notebook: Every Arch Madness seed up for grabs in final weekend of crazy season--The Pantagraph
Washington tabbed MVC Newcomer of the Week--Vidette Online

Watch now: Illinois State women aim for season sweep of Bradley--The Pantagraph
'Birds Head to Peoria for Second Game in Series against Braves--goredbirds.com

Senior Night up next for ISU women--Terre Haute Tribune Star

Basketball Breakdown: Everything You Need to Know to Understand Postseason Basketball--Loyola Phoenix
Loyola Wraps Up Regular Season With Two-Game Series Against SIU--loyolaramblers.com

Regular-Season Finale at Evansville Up Next for Ford, Bears--missouristatebears.com

Panthers Wrap up Valley Play at Illinois State--unipanthers.com

MVC Notebook: Yesufu co-player of the week after big series--Southern Illinoisan

First-Round Bye at Stake as Valpo Hosts Indiana State--valpoathletics.com

Valpo Basketball Weekly: Feb. 24--valpoathletics.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 2/23/2021

Jones scores 21 to lift S. Illinois past Valparaiso 67-64--Associated Press
The Other Top 25: Here’s some Colgate appreciation--Mid-Major Madness

The Other Top 25: Week 14

Rank	School	Record	Change	Our reasoning
2	Loyola University Chicago	19-4	-	Was there a bit of a hangover from a pair of emotional tilts against Drake? Possibly. Nonetheless, the Ramblers escaped with a two-point win over Valpo in their lone game of the week to keep their strong resume without a major blemish.
9	Drake	22-2	2	Three straight wins for Drake have the Bulldogs back in the NCAA Tournament at-large picture. They need to sweep their three remaining regular season games.

Bubble Watch: It’s time to start the math, which means it’s getting real--The Athletic

Others

Should be in: Loyola Chicago, BYU, San Diego State

Work to do: Boise State, Drake, VCU, St. Bonaventure, Colorado State, Saint Louis, Utah State, Richmond, SMU, Wichita State, Western Kentucky

Loyola Chicago (17-4, 14-2; NET: 11, SOS: 137): Loyola still hasn’t played since last week’s narrow escape against Valpo, but it’s worth reiterating what we wrote Friday: In addition to having been safely inside the adjusted efficiency top 10 for weeks now, this is also the top per-possession defense in all of Division I. Not Baylor. Not Tennessee. Not Alabama. Or Houston. Or Michigan. Loyola Chicago. Thanks to a truly elite defense — and not just elite relative to competition, but adjusted for competition; this team can just plain guard — Rambler Fever™ rolls on.

Drake (20-2, 13-2; NET: 33, SOS: 257): Bad development for the Bulldogs: On Monday, news broke that point guard Roman Penn, an absolutely vital piece in Drake’s breakthrough season, had broken his foot and would miss the remainder of the year. Nor was this even the first unfortunate injury Drake has suffered; leading score Shanquan Hemphill has been missing since before mid-February games against Loyola, though he is expected to return in time for the NCAA Tournament — if Drake is playing in the NCAA Tournament. That is an “if,” by the way. We think the Bulldogs have been worthy to date, and one bad loss against Valpo (and a split with Loyola) shouldn’t be enough to keep them out of the tourney, even if there’s still a reasonable bubbly conversation to be had there. But if things go south without Penn? If they lose to Evansville or Bradley or both? No amount of college hoops Twitter goodwill may be able to salvage the dream of the two-bid Valley then.

Valley Hoops Insider Postgame--Valley Hoops Insider

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Monday, Feb 22nd--Hoops HD

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-EVANSVILLE AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley).  Drake appears to be cruising toward the NCAA Tournament.  So long as they win out and avoid an early loss in the MVC Tourney I think they’ll be inside the bubble even if they don’t win the automatic bid.

Drake point guard Roman Penn out for the season--NWI Times
Drake point guard Roman Penn out for season with broken foot--Des Moines Register
'We can't fuss about it': Assessing the rest of Drake's basketball season without Roman Penn--Des Moines Register
Drake basketball pulls away from Evansville in first game without Roman Penn--Des Moines Register
Men’s Basketball Wins 23rd Game Behind 36 Points From Yesufu--godrakebulldogs.com
Yesufu’s Historic Week Earns MVC Co-Player of the Week Honor--godrakebulldogs.com

Women’s Basketball Travels to UNI Wednesday--godrakebulldogs.com

Drake sweeps Evansville as Aces' skid hits six heading into final weekend--Evansville Courier & Press
Aces Drop Their Sixth Straight--Eville-Ways
Givance leads Aces in finale at Drake--gopurpleaces.com
Evansville looks to important opportunity in Wednesday matchup with Indiana State--gopurpleaces.com

Emon Washington Named MVC Newcomer of the Week--goredbirds.com

Terrion Moore Tabbed MVC Newcomer of the Week--goredbirds.com
The man behind the mic: Colee has made lasting impact with Redbird Athletics--goredbirds.com

Sycamores to Host Evansville for Senior Night on Wednesday--gosycamores.com

Loyola Back Home To Host Valparaiso Wednesday--loyolaramblers.com

Prim Named Valley Co-Player of the Week--missouristatebears.com

19th-Ranked Lady Bears Take Win Streak on the Road to SIU Wednesday--missouristatebears.com

UNI women's basketball looking for more consistency in final stretch of regular season--Cedar Rapids Gazette

Salukis hold on for 67-64 win over Valparaiso--Southern Illinoisan
Salukis win final home game of the season 67-64 over Valpo--Daily Egyptian
Five Salukis in double-figures in 67-64 win over Valpo--siusalukis.com

Salukis' Makenzie Silvey named MVC player of the week--Southern Illinoisan
Makenzie Silvey named MVC Player of the Week--siusalukis.com
Game Notes: Women's Basketball vs. No. 23 Missouri State--siusalukis.com

Valparaiso falls flat in loss to Southern Illinois--NWI Times
SIU Edges Valpo to Split Series--valpoathletics.com

Women's Basketball Hits Road Wednesday to Face Loyola--valpoathletics.com

MVC Announces Changes to Arch Madness Schedule--The Missouri Valley
MVC MBB Weekly Notes (F23)--The Missouri Valley

MVC Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook - Feb. 22--The Missouri Valley