Primarily a collection of news links about all 11 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.
#92 Northern Iowa (-2) at #131 UC Irvine, 10 PM ET, ESPN+.
Everybody loves the
battle of two defenses, I'm sure. The problem will be the two offenses.
UCI has looked its usual fantastic self on defense, minus some
rebounding issues, but 287th in 3PT/330th in 2PT is perhaps all I need
to say about the other end of the court. Northern Iowa, meanwhile, is shooting
well yet can't buy a rebound to save its life and has gone
1.02/1.09/1.12 PPP against three very pedestrian defenses after a
blistering opener against CSUN.
UCI swallows up attacks to the rim
exceptionally well, which could create a real advantage for them. UNI
doesn't do rim attacks in the traditional downhill sense, instead using
drives to the basket to open up kickout threes. UCI plays these straight
up and almost never overhelps, which could bog down the UNI offense and
force a lot of long, slow possessions. I'm also not huge on a
post-first, big-first offense going up against a UCI team whose one
thing they do best is beat other bigs. This could go UNI's way easy, but
on face value, it seems like a great get-right game for the Anteaters. -
Will Warren
Sunday, November 23
C Games
Middle Tennessee vs. Murray State, 7:30 PM ET, Flo Sports.
Murray
State’s ridiculous wealth of size, depth and athleticism has been a
handful for mid-major opponents this year. The Racers overwhelmed Omaha
on opening night, 85-77, and since have beaten MVSU by 48, Nicholls by
20 and Little Rock by 21. Heck, they even gave SMU a serious run on the
road, trailing by six with just two minutes to play.
The versatile
frontcourt trio of Mason Miller, Roman Domon and JJ Traynor gives new
coach Ryan Miller a ton of lineup flexibility, and the backcourt is
flush with shot making and playmaking. That does not even mention the P5
center platoon of Fred King (Creighton) and Dylan Anderson
(Arizona/Boise St.), a towering twosome that has crushed the glass.
Coach
Miller has weaponized his overflowing roster by playing fast and
pressuring, speeding up the game and maximizing possession count against
teams with inferior talent.
Midde Tennessee, meanwhile, has been
decent in its two Division I games: a win at an improved Evansville
squad, and a strong first half at Michigan on Wednesday (we’ll forgive
the second half demolition). Nick McDevitt’s is accustomed to battling
size after that matchup, but their poor interior defense (59.8% allowed
on 2s, 324th) has been propped up by tremendous 3P luck (20.3% allowed, 3rd). I’d expect the Racers to overwhelm the Blue Raiders here as the game wears on. - Jim Root
Indiana State Sycamores forward Ian Scott (23) | Rob Kinnan-Imagn
Images
Ball State Cardinals vs. Indiana State Sycamores
Ball State’s backcourt additions from the transfer portal have made an
immediate impact, especially with their ability to create turnovers.
Indiana State also has turnover concerns, which makes this a dangerous matchup for
them. Ball State has upset potential, but the safer play is taking
them with the points.
Betting Pick: Ball State Cardinals +8.5 over Indiana
State Sycamores
-NORTHERN IOWA AT UC IRVINE. Northern Iowa is unbeaten on the year
so far, but this is by far their toughest test. UC Irvine is good and
is still expected to be a Big West frontrunner, but they have lost two
games and so far haven’t looked quite as strong as they did a year ago.
Having said that, a win today would be a big statement.
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