What's Up In The Missouri Valley: December 2022

Friday, December 30, 2022

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 12/30/2022

Women's Basketball to host UNI and Drake--bradleybraves.com

Drake men's basketball holds off Valparaiso in final game of 2022--Des Moines Register
Bulldogs Fend Off Beacons, 68-63--godrakebulldogs.com

How can the Purple Aces improve after another lopsided MVC loss? 'We have to show up'--Evansville Courier & Press
Men’s basketball falls at Indiana State--gopurpleaces.com

Late SIU run trips-up Aces in MVC opener--gopurpleaces.com

ISU men rout Purple Aces 91-63--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Sycamores remain perfect in Valley play behind Larry’s career outing--gosycamores.com

Sycamore women fall 72-61 to Bears in rugged MVC opener--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Comeback effort falls short for Sycamores in MVC opener--gosycamores.com

Lady Bears Chop Down Sycamores for Conference-Opening Victory--missouristatebears.com

Perry Scores 26 – But Racers Fall To Salukis--goracers.com

Turner: Unfamiliar UIC presents big test for Valley opener--Murray Ledger & Times

College men's basketball: UNI guard out for season--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

UNI women's basketball ends 2022 against Bradley--unipanthers.com

Domask Records first Double-Double of the year as SIU takes down Murray State for fifth win in a row--Daily Egyptian
Salukis Snap Murray State’s 20-Game Homecourt Streak; Win Fifth-Straight--siusalukis.com

Salukis use big fourth quarter to down Evansville--siusalukis.com

Flames Begin MVC Play at Murray State--uicflames.com

Started from the bottom--The Victory Bell
Valiant Valpo Effort Falls Short as MVC Preseason Favorite Drake Escapes with Home Win--valpoathletics.com

Thursday, December 29, 2022

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 12/29/2022

12/29/2022 MATCHUP NEWS AND NOTES--Staring At The Floorboards

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ELSEWHERE

Haven’t been impressed with Murray State, as the offense has no general direction with a lot of iso and over dribbling. SIU’s defense is their calling card...

Men's basketball caps off year with victory over Bradley--Belmont Vision
Men's Basketball Defeats Bradley in Holiday Hoops Classic--belmontbruins.com

Bruins Begin MVC Play, Host Valparaiso Friday Evening--belmontbruins.com

'Oh my goodness': Bradley loses to Belmont after dramatic sequence in final seconds--Peoria Journal Star
Bruins complete comeback, Braves falter late in Nashville--Bradley Scout
Bradley drops a thriller in Nashville--bradleybraves.com

Illinois State's 'competitive spirit' lacking while falling behind to UIC before comeback comes up short--The Pantagraph
ISU men's basketball falls 55-51 at Illinois-Chicago despite late push--The Vidette

Illinois State women's basketball opens MVC season against Drake--The Pantagraph
Furious Second-Half Comeback Falls Short in Chicago--goredbirds.com
Women’s Basketball Opens 2022-23 MVC Season Friday in CEFCU Arena--goredbirds.com

Sycamores host Evansville in return to Valley play Thursday--gosycamores.com

Ridgnal, Bears Out-Muscle Panthers for Valley Road Win--missouristatebears.com

Here are the southwest Missouri sports storylines to keep an eye on in 2023--Springfield News-Leader

Not just for bragging rights anymore; SIU vs. Racers now has Valley stakes on line--Murray Ledger & Times

UNI restarts MVC men’s basketball play with physical loss to Missouri State--Cedar Rapids Gazette
College Men’s Basketball: Bears out-physical UNI--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
Panther men's basketball slowed by Bears in 79-67 loss--unipanthers.com
UNI men's basketball visits Illinois State on New Year's Eve--unipanthers.com

Men's Basketballl Notches First-Ever MVC Victory Wenesday--uicflames.com

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 12/28/2022

NCAA Basketball: Mid-major power rankings midway through 2022-23 season--Busting Brackets

No. 25 – Indiana State

Conference: Missouri Valley

Best Wins: Drake (75-73), at Southern Illinois (74-71), and Ball State (83-71)

Number of wins over a power five conference teams: Zero

Number of victories over non-mid-major teams not in a Power Five conference: Zero

Notable Defeats: Kansas City (61-63), at Duquesne (86-92), and Southern Indiana (85-88)

Record: 9-4

RPI Ranking: 133

KenPom Ranking: 127

College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 151

Sagarin Ranking: 133

Net Ranking: 129

Quadrant 1 Wins: Zero

Quadrant 2 Victories: One

Total Points from Rankings: 673
No. 23 – Southern Illinois

Conference: MVC

Best Wins: At Oklahoma State (61-60) and California Baptist (64-61)

Number of wins over a power five conference teams: One

Number of victories over non-mid-major teams not in a Power Five conference: Zero

Notable Defeats: At Southern Indiana (71-53), UNLV (49-56), at St. Louis (72-85), and Indiana State (71-74)

Record: 9-4

RPI Ranking:126

KenPom Ranking: 117

College Basketball Power Index Ranking:135

Sagarin Ranking:130

NET Rankings: 116

Quadrant 1 Wins: One

Quadrant 2 Victories: Zero

Total Points from Rankings: 624

Mid-Money Madness: Conference play commences--Mid-Major Madness

Ben Jacobson and Northern Iowa recently picked wins over Saint Bonaventure and Towson.
Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Missouri State vs. Northern Iowa

DraftKings Line: Northern Iowa -2

Total: 129.5

When: 8:00 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN3

Northern Iowa is hitting its stride at the right time, and it’s ready to make some noise in the Valley.

Coming off double-digit wins against top-165 programs in Saint Bonaventure and Towson, the Panthers will face another in 128^th-ranked Missouri State.

The Bears though have struggled against top-170 programs, reeling in a 1-7 record. A lot of that can be accounted for with their bottom three free throw percentage in the country.

Northern Iowa on the other hand has a resurging defense, holding its opponents to under 70 points in three of the last four.

The Pick: Northern Iowa -2

Under The Radar Game of the Day – Wednesday, December 28th (Bradley at Belmont)--Hoops HD
12/28/2022 MATCHUP NEWS AND NOTES--Staring At The Floorboards

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MISSOURI VALLEY

Both Belmont and Bradley are in good positions as MVC play resumes...
There existed a definite plane of reality where Luke Yaklich was coaching Illinois State in this game, but as it is he’s been struggling to keep his head above water at UIC...
Northern Iowa is playing their best basketball of the season after the McNeese debacle, and Coach Jake’s shelled out modified pack line has always given Ford’s free flowing, penetrate and kick Missouri State teams a lot of issues...

MVC/OVC Players of the Week – Week Seven--Valley Hoops Insider

NCAA Basketball: Mid-major power rankings midway through 2022-23 season--Busting Brackets

No. 14 – Bradley

Conference: Missouri Valley

Best Wins: SIU-Edwardsville (56-54), at Missouri State (58-40), and Akron (74-55)

Number of wins over a power five conference teams: Zero

Number of victories over non-mid-major teams not in a Power Five conference: Zero

Notable Defeats: At Utah State (62-84), Auburn (64-85), at Arkansas (57-76) and Liberty (44-55)

Record: 9-4

RPI Ranking: 89

KenPom Ranking: 85

College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 78

Sagarin Ranking: 79

Net Ranking: 65

Quadrant 1 Wins: Zero

Quadrant 2 Victories: One

Total Points from Rankings: 396

How Bradley will compete in the grueling Missouri Valley Conference basketball race--Peoria Journal Star
Bradley basketball has an open roster spot. Here's how the Braves will fill it--Peoria Journal Star

NCAA Basketball: Mid-major power rankings midway through 2022-23 season--Busting Brackets

12

Bulldogs 10-3

Last rank: 12

No. 12 – Drake

Conference: Missouri Valley

Best Wins: Wyoming (61-56), Louisana (76-64), Tarleton State (71-64), Mississippi State (58-52)

Number of wins over a power five conference teams: One

Number of victories over non-mid-major teams not in a Power Five conference: One

Notable Defeats: At Indiana State (73-75), at Richmond (52-82), at St. Louis (75-83)

Record: 10-3

RPI Ranking: 44

KenPom Ranking: 90

College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 73

Sagarin Ranking: 88

NET Rankings: 86

Quadrant 1 Wins: One

Quadrant 2 Victories: Zero

Total Points from Rankings: 381