What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 12/29/2024

Sunday, December 29, 2024

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 12/29/2024

NCAA Basketball: Picks for Day 52 of 2024-25 season featuring Drake and Belmont--Busting Brackets
Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Sunday, Dec 29th--Hoops HD

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-INDIANA STATE AT OHIO STATE. It’s a buy game, but it’s interesting enough to go ahead and highlight. After a very slow start and a lot of roster turnover, Indiana State is starting to hit their stride with five straight wins. This is a much bigger test than any of the previous five games, though, as Ohio State is coming off a very impressive win against Kentucky, which ranks up there as one of the more impressive single game performances any team has this season.
-BELMONT AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). Belmont is good, but Drake has just been fantastic this year and are one of the few remaining unbeaten teams. They are inching closer and closer to the top 25 and may be just a week or two away from breaking into it if they can keep winning. They will be tested today, but it’s still a game they should be able to win.

12/29/24 SUNDAY NOTES--Staring at the Floorboards

Subscriber Content

I have a couple of competing thoughts on Belmont visiting Drake....
Illinois State is quietly one of the more deadly drive and kick (96th percentile rate and 98th percentile efficiency per hoop-explorer) and post reliant offenses in the country....UIC isn’t a particularly strong defensive team, and their best perimeter defender Mason didn’t play against Seattle with an unknown injury...
Fascinating how bad Evansville was in two games without Pozzato, as he’s analytically a massive net negative on both ends of the floor for the Aces...The Aces have been way more competent shooting the ball at home, but they could get murdered on shot volume by Missouri State in their Valley home opener...
Northern Iowa has been absolutely trucking everyone at home this year...Schematically this is a tough one for SIU on both ends....