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.
72. Drake:
There was a push for the Bulldogs to earn an at-large bid following a
25-4 season; the committee rewarded Darian DeVries' team. Drake gets Roman Penn and Tank Hemphill back -- that's enough for me to slot this Valley fan
fave into the No. 2 hole in the conference. DeVries' son, Tucker, a
freshman, was the best high school player in Iowa last year.
111. Northern Iowa:
The Panthers have wonderful news in that A.J. Green -- who might be the
best player in the Valley when he's at 100% -- is indeed at 100% after
suffering a hip injury in December 2020. The Valley should have a
compelling top half, with UNI trotting as a dark horse.
114. Missouri State:
The coaches in the Valley know that Missouri State -- again -- has the
talent to do something that rattles every team's cage. The question is
if Dana Ford can keep his team together from November through March.
With Gaige Prim and Isiaih Mosley back from a 17-7 club, this team should get four or five more wins than last season.
147. Bradley:
Not quite experienced enough as a group to truly qualify as a Missouri
Valley dark horse. The Braves were one of the abysmal teams at drawing
fouls last season, so expect a huge change in behavior -- because Brian
Wardle's teams are normally not contact-averse or 3-point-reliant.
163. Southern Illinois: Bryan Mullins' four-guard offense will return to form, as Marcus Domask is back after a stress reaction in his left foot. The Salukis stumbled without the dynamic wing, going 5-13 in league play. Lance Jones also can ball a bit.
187. Indiana State:
After 11 seasons, the Greg Lansing era is over and now Josh Schertz --
who comes via Division II Lincoln Memorial, where he won 85% of his
games in 13 seasons -- steps in and has an archetypal point guard (Tyreke Key) to run the show.
At 30 years old, Loyola Chicago's Drew Valentine is the youngest head coach in Division I.
Steve Woltmann/Loyola Athletics
28. Loyola Chicago:
The best mid-major team of 2021 (finished top-20 in most predictive
metrics) will again be in the mix to win an NCAA Tournament game or two.
The Ramblers made the Sweet 16 as an underseeded No. 8 and the only
people they lost of consequence are coach Porter Moser and team MVP
Cameron Krutwig. Those are huge losses, natch, but the school promoted
from within, giving 30-year-old Drew Valentine a job he's naturally
built for. Valentine managed to retain the rest of the roster, led by Lucas Williamson, who personifies how disciplined and dogged this defensive unit is. Williamson will have Marquise Kennedy, Keith Clemons and Aher Uguak flanking him. Braden Norris could be the best shooter in the MVC. LUC is a near-lock to boast a fifth straight season of at least 20 wins.
With two productive years under his belt, which included a
third-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection as a sophomore last
season, the talented 6-1 guard is headed for a big junior year.
Last year he averaged 13.4 points a game with four
20-point scoring games. He led the league in three-point field goal
percentage while leading the Salukis in scoring, assists and steals.
No comments:
Post a Comment