What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 12/19/2024

Under the Radar – Dec 18th--Hoops HD

After that, we run through the other 21 UTR conferences and discuss ... and Bradley is looking strong in the Missouri Valley along with Drake, who remains undefeated.

Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Thursday, Dec 19th--Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:
-Bradley held off San Francisco in a 66-64 thriller to improve to 9-2 and pick up what is probably their biggest win of the year. Bradley still has a lot of work to do, and their margin for error is small, but I do think they have a path to the NCAA Tournament along with Drake. They’ll have to basically blow through the MVC in order to get there, but they’re good enough to do it and the opportunity is there.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-UC IRVINE AT BELMONT. This is an interesting road game for what is a very good UC Irvine team and it’s an important one if they want to finish the season inside the bubble. If you’ve been following Under the Radar, you know that we feel this is a team that can make the NCAA Tournament. Belmont is 9-2 on the season, and 5-1 at home. They’ll likely win a lot of home games, so the committee should take note of this game if UC Irvine is able to pull it off.

Mid-Major Madness Men’s Player of the Week: Jamichael Stillwell, Milwaukee--Mid-Major Madness

Honorable Mentions
Jonathan Pierre (Belmont)

Pierre lifted the Bruins to a road win at Richmond with a D-I career-high of 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to help see out the 96-86 victory.

12/19/24 THURSDAY NOTES--Staring at the Floorboards

Subscriber Content

The only offense to give UC Irvine any trouble whatsoever was Weber State, who posted 1.15 PPP (and still lost) via elite ball screen manipulation through Threatt and pick and pops with Koehler against the Eaters’ hyper disciplined drop coverage. Can Belmont do that? Not really....

How walk-on journeyman Tyler Lundblade has become one of Belmont basketball's best players--Nashville Tennessean

Women's Basketball Travels to Nationally-Ranked Kentucky Friday--belmontbruins.com

Quick Takes: Oklahoma shocks Michigan, UConn survives Xavier--Bracketville

Additional Quick Takes:
Bradley held off San Francisco in Peoria for a nice resume victory, 66-64. Bracket Effects: The Braves still have to work to do to become a viable at-large. As for San Francisco, a missed chance for a potential Quad 1 road win. USF is now 0-3 vs. Quad 1 opponents. The Dons get two chances each against Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga in West Coast Conference play. Those outcomes are likely to determine where the Dons sit on Selection Sunday.

Bradley basketball vs San Francisco: Braves rally to win physical, defensive battle--Peoria Journal Star
Rapid Recap: Deen catches fire in second half to lead Braves to Quad 2 win--The Bradley Scout
Bradley defeats San Francisco in marquee Mid-Major Matchup--bradleybraves.com

Braves dominate Bethune Cookman in first game of Hatter Classic--bradleybraves.com