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.
If the Bulldogs had gotten the opportunity to play (and
defeat) Colorado during their common season-opening exempt event at
Kansas State, we might not be having this discussion. Instead, Drake was
scheduled against, and defeated, the hosts (189th in the NET) and South
Dakota (178th) in Manhattan. When Darian DeVries’s squad finally got
its chance at a top-tier squad, it was blown out at home by eventual
Arch Madness champ Loyola by 37 in game one. Amazingly, the Bulldogs
managed to win the rematch the following day by a single point in
overtime to earn their solitary Quad 1 victory. Honestly, it’s Drake’s
losses that hurt more than anything else, as the defeat against the
Ramblers and a 17-point loss at 224th-ranked Valparaiso, combined with
another bad loss, to No. 171 Bradley, have helped to deflate the
Bulldogs’ NET.
However, Drake’s great overall record, 6-2 mark in Quad 1
and 2 games, and impressive record away from the Knapp Center should
result in a bid, particularly with the quality of teams around them.
The Rams are the only team from this quartet that still
controls their own fate, as they’ll be in with a win over St.
Bonaventure in Sunday’s Atlantic 10 final. I would still consider the
Bruins and Spartans locks despite Thursday conference tournament losses,
while the Bulldogs earn a bit of breathing room after another
examination of the bubble’s membership.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22362566/Drake.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment