What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 1/5/2025

Under the Radar Game of the Day (Murray State at Drake) – Sunday, January 5th--Hoops HD

Belmont shows grit, beats Illinois Chicago--Main Street Media of Tennessee
Pierre, Whitt Lead Men's Basketball Past UIC--belmontbruins.com

Women's Hoops Defeats Southern Illinois 79-66 on the Road Saturday--belmontbruins.com

Bradley basketball vs Missouri State score today: Win leaves Braves alone in first--Peoria Journal Star
Braves earn best start to a season in nearly 40 years following win over Missouri State--bradleybraves.com

Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Sunday, Jan 5th--Hoops HD

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MURRAY STATE AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). Drake needs to bounce back from their somewhat surprising loss at UIC earlier this week.

Drake men's basketball falls to Murray State; Bulldogs' 2nd straight loss after 12-0 start--Des Moines Register
Drake Falls to Murray State, 66-59--godrakebulldogs.com

Katie Dinnebier leads Drake women's basketball to dominant win over Valparaiso--Des Moines Register
Dinnebier Drops 31 as Drake Wears Out Valpo in Des Moines--godrakebulldogs.com

Late rally lifts Indiana State past Evansville--gopurpleaces.com

Kelley sets career scoring high at Illinois State--gopurpleaces.com

Illlinois State men's basketball returns home to face Southern Illinois--The Pantagraph
Illinois State men's basketball protects the house against the Salukis--The Vidette
Redbirds Return Home for Battle with Salukis--goredbirds.com

Takeaways from the Illinois State women's matchup with Evansville--The Pantagraph
Illinois State women's basketball continues its winning against Evansville--The Vidette
Evansville transfer Neveah Thomas showcases success early on as a Redbird--The Vidette
Redbirds Win Second-Straight, Topple Evansville 79-55--goredbirds.com

Daughtry powers Sycamores in win at Evansville--Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Sycamores slip by Evansville 66-62--Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Key free throws and a career high lead Sycamores to MVC win at Evansville--gosycamores.com

Sycamores’ comeback effort falls short at Bradley--gosycamores.com

Brady Goes for Career-High; Bradley Holds Off Bears--missouristatebears.com

Missouri State women's basketball getting hot behind Springfield-area duo--Springfield News-Leader
Bekemeier, Stokes Lead Lady Bears Past Racers--missouristatebears.com

Backs against wall, Racer men begin Iowa Valley trek with Drake--Murray Ledger and Times
Episode 238: Here's your Sunday game day edition of the 'Fast Break'--Racer Basketball
Murray State at Drake preview--Racer Basketball
Ellington back in starting lineup vs. Drake--Racer Basketball
Episode 239: Here's the 'Ride Home' after Murray State's 66-59 win over Drake--Racer Basketball
Road Racers - Snap Drake 28-Game Home Winning Streak--goracers.com

Episode 237: It's the 'Ride Home' after Murray State's 85-78 loss at Missouri State--Racer Basketball
Shorthanded Racers fall at Missouri State--Racer Basketball
Bears Prove Too Much for Racers--goracers.com

College Men's Basketball: Valpo takes charge early hand UNI first league loss--Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
UNI men’s basketball drops road test at Valparaiso--unipanthers.com

Five mid-major women's basketball teams that have exceeded expectations--ON3

Northern Iowa

Northern Iowa is another team that, despite an 8-6 record, has done some real damage during their non-conference slate. They played a truly daunting schedule and took down two Power Four teams in the process – then-Top 10 Iowa State and Pittsburgh. In addition, they were two possessions or less from victories over No. 22 Iowa, Creighton, Kansas, Auburn and Ball State.

Senior guard Maya McDermott has been a star to start this season, averaging 21.5 points, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals in her final year of eligibility. The Panthers are my favorite to win the Missouri Valley this year.