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.
Boise St. 14; Northern Colorado 14; Stephen F. Austin 11; Kent St. 11;
George Washington 8; Illinois St. 6; South Florida 5; Saint Peter’s 5;
Wyoming 4; Merrimack 4; San Francisco 3; Winthrop 2; Tennessee Martin 2;
Portland St. 2; High Point 1
Dropped from Rankings:
High Point – 18; Boise St. – 22; Illinois St. – 23; George Washington –
24; Hofstra – 25
#107 Northern Iowa at #89 Illinois State (-6), 9 PM ET, ESPNU.
The MVC conference race is likely Murray State vs. Belmont, which is
really lovely for those of us of a certain age. But if a third team is
going to have something to say about it, it kinda has to be Illinois
State, who has the best positioning as the darkhorse in the race.
Several first-time head coaches are having immediate success
Ryan Miller, Murray State
Long-time
assistant coach and college basketball journeyman Ryan Miller finally
got his first head coaching opportunity last spring and he's made the
most of his wealth of experience. Miller's Murray State squad currently
boasts the 5th longest winning streak in the country at 12 games.
They're 16-3 overall and sit atop the Missouri Valley standings at 8-0.
Murray
State has two clear objectives, play fast and efficient on offense, and
take away the three on defense. Miller essentially took the Creighton
model and put it into overdrive. The Racers are currently 23rd in
adjusted tempo, 50th in 3PA/FGA on offense and 1st in 3PA/FGA on
defense.
via CBB Analytics
The
Racers maintain their tempo by subbing frequently and keeping fresh
legs on the floor. Layne Taylor leads the team in minutes per game at
only 25.7. Miller's current rotation stands at nine or ten players
depending on the game and he doesn't appear to have any desire to
shorten it as the season rolls on.
Miller's early success will
likely draw the eye of several teams with openings this spring. His
initial contract pays him $625K and the buyout sits at $1.5M. He's got
ties all over the country, so in theory any job could be in play.
Murray State has
put themselves in a great spot through the first third of conference
play. They are the sole leader in the Missouri Valley right now at 7-0
and will be traveling to take on 5-2 Northern Iowa later in the week.
This is a huge game for Murray State because they can both put some
additional room between them and Murray State, but also they will stay
ahead of Belmont in the standings after beating them this past week.
They also play at Drake this week, which is not as tough of a game as it
has been in years past, but they will still need to make sure they
don't slip up.
Murray St. joined the ranking and came in at 21. The Racers sit at 16-2 as
they ride a 14-game win streak. Colorado St. and UNLV owned the next two
spots with Oregon St. at 24. Quinnipiac rounded out the poll at 25.
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