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.
Speaking votes of confidence…Evansville AD Mark Spencer is out. He gave head coach Todd Lickliter the infamous VOC back on 2/25. Will be interesting to see how this plays out…
No. 15 Illinois State vs. No. 2 Iowa (-24.5), 4 p.m., ESPN
Iowa has two big things going for it right now — sophomore Caitlin Clark and senior Monika Czinano. Together, the dynamic duo
averages 48.5 points per game, which is more than half of Iowa’s total
average of 84.5. After winning the Big Ten tournament, the Hawkeyes
appear destined for a Final Four appearance, though they’d have to go
through South Carolina for that to happen. But I’m getting ahead of
myself. (It’s that anticipation of the potential matchup!) Iowa has to
take care of Illinois State first. And at 64.4 points per game, the
Redbirds just don’t have enough offensive punch to knock out the
Hawkeyes, or defensive answers for the Clark-Czinano combination. My pick: Iowa
Spread: Loyola-Chicago -1.5 (-110) | Ohio State +1.5 (-110) Total: 133 – Over (-110) | Under 133 (-110) Moneyline: Loyola-Chicago -118 | Ohio State -110 Game Info: Friday, March 18, 2022 | 12:15 p.m. ET | CBS Site: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Penn. Editor’s Note - Odds are subject to change.
The line has held steady from the opening line of displaying No. 7 Ohio State (19-11 SU; 15-15 ATS) as 1.5-point favorites over No. 10 Loyola Chicago (25-7 SU; 12-15-4 ATS) at SI Sportsbook.
Sister
Jean’s boys are back and they are once again poised to advance in the
NCAA tournament. Fresh off winning the Missouri Valley tournament,
Loyola Chicago has won seven of their nine games overall. Senior guard
Lucas Williamson leads the Ramblers attack averaging 14.0 points, 5.0
rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Led by Branden Norris who leads the
club shooting 43.5% from beyond the arc, with the Ramblers ranking 18th
in the country as a team hitting at an impressive 38.8% from deep.
On
the flip side, Ohio State are one of the coldest teams in the
tournament having lost four of their last five games overall. The
Buckeyes were bounced by Penn State 71-68 in the second round of the Big
Ten Tournament as 5.5-point favorites. Overall, Ohio State has burned
bettors posting a disappointing 1-4 ATS mark over their last five.
In
this matchup, Ohio State will lean heavily on forward E.J. Liddell
(19.6 ppg, 7.9 rbg). The junior big-man is as consistent as they come
scoring in double-digits in every game this season.
This
game will likely come down to Loyola’s efficient offense against a
Buckeyes defense that ranks 130th in defensive efficiency that struggles
to defend opponents three-point shooting.
The early respected
money in Las Vegas and at SI Sportsbook backed Sister Jean and the
Ramblers. Now is not the time to get in the way of divine intervention.
The Buckeyes have not played their best basketball in March.
Ohio State enters the tournament having lost four of five and three of
those losses were to teams not in the 68-team field. The Buckeyes were
favored in all five of those games and only covered in one.
E.J. Liddell gives OSU a chance in almost any game though. The
forward is Ohio State’s leading scorer, a potential first-round pick and
was a first-team All-Big Ten selection.
Loyola (25-7, 13-5 Missouri Valley)
This is Loyola’s second straight Tournament appearance, the
first consecutive bids since 1963 and 1964. The Ramblers won the
national title in 1963.
Loyola won the MVC Tournament as the No. 4 seed, but is just 9-15 against the spread this season.
No. 10 Loyola Chicago (-1.5) vs. No. 7 Ohio State, 12:15 p.m. (ET), TNT.
This is one case where it makes sense for the lower seed to be the
favorite. The Buckeyes were beset by a combination of a compressed
schedule and injuries to two key frontcourt players, 6-8 senior Kyle Young (concussion) and 6-8 sophomore Zed Key
(ankle). This team did not have a huge margin for error to begin with,
and as a result, it dropped four of its last five games, including to
Penn State in the Big Ten tournament. Chris Holtmann has said he is
hopeful those two will be available for this game, but there’s no way to
be sure until it begins. The Ramblers, on the other hand, just got an
important piece back in Marquise Kennedy,
a 6-1 junior combo guard who missed most of February because of a knee
injury but returned to help Loyola win the Missouri Valley Conference
tournament. Like most every team that plays Ohio State, the Ramblers
will have a hard time containing 6-7 junior forward E.J. Liddell, but
the injuries to the frontcourt will make it harder for Ohio State to
take advantage of Loyola’s lack of size. The Ramblers don’t have an
individual player as talented as Cameron Krutwig, who spearheaded their
Sweet 16 run last year, but they have loads of experience and a winning
culture, not to mention a centenarian nun who will be summoning divine
intervention from her seat inside the arena. The pick: Loyola Chicago
Friday | 12:15 p.m. | CBS The
winner of this game will have sleeper potential in the South Region.
Loyola-Chicago beat Illinois in last season's NCAA Tournament and will
be undisturbed by Ohio State's Big Ten pedigree. The Buckeyes are a No. 7
seed but have the talent to perform well above that slotting. Expect
Ohio State to be particularly motivated for redemption after it lost to
No. 15 seed Oral Roberts in the first round last season.
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