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.
The Charleston Classic was supposed to be a showcase event for teams like
Miami, Nevada and VCU, potentially giving the champion a significant boost
in both at-large resume and national notoriety.
One team did earn those spoils — it just happened to be Drake.
The Bulldogs started out with a convincing victory over Miami and then
knocked off FAU and Vanderbilt on their way to the title, winning all three
games by double digits.
Drake endured plenty of turnover this offseason after Darian DeVries took
the head coaching job at West Virginia (taking his son, two-time MVC POY
Tucker DeVries, with him).
Ben McCollum quickly put together a roster filled with transfers — many from
lower levels, including a handful that followed McCollum from Northwest
Missouri State. McCollum turned that program into a Division II powerhouse,
but it was unclear how this group would perform at the D-I level. As a
result, Drake finished finish in the MVC preseason polling, a mark this team
now seems sure to outperform.
One of those NWMSU transfers, Bennett Stirtz, has already
become a star. He played every single minute in Charleston and currently
leads the Bulldogs in both points and assists (18.3 ppg, 6.3 apg) while
leading the country in minutes. Two other NWMSU transfers,
Daniel Abreu (15.2 ppg) and
Mitch Mascari (14.3 ppg), have proven to be elite
contributors as well.
This kind of dominance can help put a mid-major in the at-large conversation
come tournament time. The Bulldogs still have one more nonconference game
against a power opponent in Kansas State, and then the Missouri Valley race
looks to be a dogfight between Drake and Bradley.
After the MVC earned an at-large bid in 2021 and nearly got another last
season, Drake looks poised to make its own run in 2025.
Their star players were spectacular during those special ‘firsts’.
Players of the Week
UNI’s Maya McDermott
scored 37 points during Northern Iowa’s historic win over Iowa State.
McDermott scored 30 in a loss to the Cyclones last season. She is the
first Valley player to ever score more than 35 points during a win over a
nationally ranked team. The Valley’s ‘Player of the Week’ is
also one of five players honored nationally by the USBWA as a member of
the Ann Meyers Drysdale national players of the week.
McDermott leads the Valley with a 26.0 points-per-game scoring average.
Newcomer Weekly Women’s Award Winners
Missouri State split its two games, but
shining in both was Sarah Linthacum. The 6’3 senior averaged 15.5 points
and eight rebounds for the Lady Bears. This week’s Valley ‘Newcomer of the Week’ tallied a career-high 20 points against UT Martin and added a career-best six assists against Saint Louis.
Freshman of the Week Awards
Speaking of repeating freshman award winners, Evansville’s Camryn Runner earned her second MVC ‘Freshman of the Week’
award. Runner scored 30 points against Lindenwood and 18 against
Lipscomb. The Cicero, Indiana native has reached double figures in the
scoring column in five straight games.
(St. Louis, MO) –
Key players are emerging as Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conference
announces their weekly stars. While several Valley teams were competing
in MTE action, most of its teams and all the OVC teams were playing
typical non-conference games.
It looks like some players are like the cream that is rising to the top.
Players of the Week
Bennett Stirtz sparked Drake to a
Charleston Classic championship and was named the tournament’s MVP and
Tuesday he was named the MVC’s ‘Player of the Week’. The 6’4 junior averaged 18 points, 7.7 assists and five rebounds at the South Carolina-based MTE.
Newcomer Weekly Stars
Stirtz’s Drake teammate Mitch Mascari
averaged 18 points per game in South Carolina and made twelve three
pointers during the three-game tournament. He joined Stirtz on the
all-tournament team and is the Valley’s ‘Newcomer fo the Week’. Mascari is making .512 of his long distance shots (22 of 43) and is perfect on all 16 of his free throw attempts.
Freshman of the Week Awards
Valparaiso won two games last week and
rookie Justus McNair scored 16 points during the Beacons’ win over
Eastern Illinois. The Valley’s ‘Freshman of the Week’ converted four three-point attempts against EIU.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS MISSOURI STATE (Cayman Islands Classic). Both
teams are coming off heartbreaking losses with South Dakota State
losing by just 1 to Boise State, and MO State losing in overtime to
Boston College. This was nearly the championship game. Both are solid
UTR teams and both have limited opportunities at notable wins, so that’s
what makes this one today so important.
Drake’s roster may not look like last year’s. It’s a new coaching staff for
the Bulldogs. But the results are the same.
Ben McCollum’s team is 6-0 after claiming the Charleston Classic
championship this weekend. It skyrocketed into the top 10 of this week’s
Other Top 25.
The Bulldogs knocked off Miami 80-69 in the opening round on Thursday. They
defeated Florida Atlantic 75-63 one day later. Then in the title game, they
toppled Vanderbilt 81-70, which was win No. 400 in McCollum’s career. He is
now 400-91 over his 16 years leading a program.
Bennett Stirtz was named Tournament MVP after notching his first career
double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the title game.
Drake climbed into the top 40 in BartTorvik at 39. Over the past week, the
Bulldogs sit 26th in Torvik.
Three teams joined the rankings: Wichita State (18), Missouri State (T-23)
and Rhode Island (T-23). They replaced Colorado State, Saint Louis and
Charleston.
Below is the full ranking for this week:
The Other Top 25: Nov. 25, 2024
Ranking
Team (First Place Votes)
Points
Previous
T-8
Drake
67
T-22
13
Bradley
41
T-16
T-23
Missouri St.
16
NR
Others Receiving Votes:
McNeese St. 12; Columbia 10; Furman 9; Belmont 6; Santa Clara 6; Washington
St. 5; Oregon St. 4; Saint Louis 3; Florida Atlantic 3; George Mason 2,
Middle Tennessee 2; Kennesaw St. 2; Saint Joseph’s 1; Southern Utah 1
-Bradley is now 6-1 after beating Middle Tennessee 80-69 in the
Myrtle Beach Invitational. They are another team to keep an eye on.
-Last, but DEFINITELY not least, Drake is turning into one of the
more compelling stories in all of college basketball. They are now 6-0
on the year after beating Vanderbilt in the championship game of the
Charleston Classic. Drake lost their coach and all their starters from a
year ago and no one expected much out of them, especially since they
were rebuilding with predominantly nonD1 transfers. Well, I’m a
believer now!! 6-0 with wins over Miami FL, FAU, and Vanderbilt.
They’ve outperformed a lot of teams that are currently ranked in the top
25.
.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MISSOURI STATE VS BOSTON COLLEGE (Cayman Islands Classic). I wasn’t
big on either team coming into the year, but both have good records,
both managed good wins yesterday, and both have an opportunity to
continue to build momentum and add to their resumes today.
In his first season at Drake, Coach McCollum has the Bulldogs off to a
6-0 start that includes three victories at the Shriners Children’s
Charleston Classic this week. In their opener on Thursday, Drake
defeated Miami 80-69, marking the first time since 2017 that the
Bulldogs have knocked off an ACC opponent. Back in action the following
morning, Drake held Florida Atlantic, who had entered the matchup
averaging 94.8 points per game, to just 63 in a 75-63 victory. The
Bulldogs then claimed the title at the Charleston Classic on Sunday
night, taking down their second power conference opponent of the week in
an 81-70 triumph over Vanderbilt. The win was the 400th in Coach
McCollum’s career, as he had compiled an incredible record of 394-91 and
four National Championships across 15 seasons at DII Northwest Missouri
State. McCollum has continued winning with many of the same players
despite the fact that it is his first year with the program, as four of
his current starters came with him from Northwest Missouri State. His
Bulldogs will return to the floor on Saturday at home against Georgia
Southern.
