What's Up In The Missouri Valley

Saturday, April 4, 2026

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/4/2026

NIT Semifinals: Tulsa advances, Illinois State and New Mexico’s seasons end--Mid-Major Madness
Illinois State basketball must move on quickly after rewarding NIT march--The Pantagraph

Friday, April 3, 2026

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/3/2026

Bradley Braves women's basketball team has a new head coach--Peoria Journal Star
Former Marquette assistant coach hired as new Bradley women’s basketball head coach--The Bradley Scout
Chaia Meier Named Bradley Women’s Basketball Head Coach--bradleybraves.com

Auburn capitalizes on Illinois State giveaways to run to NIT championship game--Indianapolis Star
Illinois State loses to ‘NCAA Tournament-caliber’ Auburn in NIT semifinals: ‘What we’re building is special’--Chicago Tribune
Auburn ends Illinois State's basketball season in semifinals of NIT--The Pantagraph
Redbirds’ historic season ends against powerhouse Auburn in NIT Final Four--The Vidette
Redbirds Fall to Top Seed in NIT Semifinals--goredbirds.com

Illinois State women head east in quest for WNIT championship--The Pantagraph
Redbirds and Thundering Herd Square Off For WNIT Championship Saturday--goredbirds.com

Ryan Miller Receives Contract Extension After Successful First Season--goracers.com

Murray State Board of Regents approves contract extensions for basketball coaches--WPSD Local 6

Head Coach Rechelle Turner Receives Contract Extension Through 2031--goracers.com

Kyle Green introduced as Panthers' new head men's basketball coach--unipanthers.com

SIU Women's Kraus is next to test the portal--Southern Illinoisan

Thursday, April 2, 2026

What's Up In The Horizon 4/2/2026

DAILY DIRT 2: 4/2/26--HoopDirt

Just catching up on a bunch of assistants on the move…

Murray State associate head coach Brendan Mullins to Belmont

The 25 Best Men’s NCAA Tournament Buzzer Beaters of the Past 25 Years--Sports Illustrated

5. Paul Jesperson, Northern Iowa over Texas (2016 first round)

No. 11 Northern Iowa clung to a 72–70 lead late in regulation against No. 6 Texas in the first round of the 2016 Midwest Regional. With fewer than 12 seconds to play, Texas guard Isaiah Taylor drove the lane and got a layup to go that tied the contest at 72 with fewer than three seconds remaining. Northern Iowa inbounded the ball to Paul Jesperson on the right sideline, who crossed over to the middle of the floor and put up a half-court heave as time expired. Cash. The Panthers advanced to the round of 32 in an absolute stunner.

Northern Iowa’s Paul Jesperson shoots the winning shot over Texas in the first round of the 2016 tournament. | Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated

15. Ty Rogers, Western Kentucky over Drake (2008 first round)

In a first-round game where both teams apparently refused to play defense, No. 12 Western Kentucky found itself trailing No. 5 Drake 99–98 with five seconds left in overtime. Inbounding from beneath their own basket, the Hilltoppers turned to a play that has become one of the most trusted in buzzer-beater scenarios—one man brings the ball up, and when the defending team has committed just enough, tosses the ball back to a trailing shooter. Ty Rogers was that trailing shooter, and he hit nothing but net.

Greeneview grad lands dream job at Belmont--Dayton Daily News
Bradds is Back and Ready to Build--Valley Hoops Insider
Belmont Duo Could Be Perfect Additions to Iowa State in 2026-27--Sports Illustrated
Evan Bradds faces significant roster decisions as new Belmont basketball coach--Main Street Nashville
In hiring Evan Bradds, Belmont chooses family over experience | Estes--Nashville Tennessean
Evan Bradds' journey to becoming Belmont basketball coach started with an ACL injury--Nashville Tennessean
Belmont basketball freshman Jack Smiley returning for sophomore season--Nashville Tennessean
Why Rick Barnes has high praise for Tennessee basketball transfer Tyler Lundblade--Nashville Tennessean
Belmont Turns To Bradds To Lead Next Era Of Men’s Basketball--Belmont Vision
Evan Bradds Welcome Event Recap--belmontbruins.com

How to watch NIT semifinals: Schedule for Auburn vs. Illinois St., New Mexico vs. Tulsa--The Athletic

No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 4 Illinois State

Auburn, which picked up wins over Florida, St. John’s and Arkansas during the regular season, has secured three straight victories to reach the NIT semifinals, though it hasn’t been easy. The Tigers relied on a strong second half to survive South Alabama’s upset bid in the first round and have since defeated Seattle and Nevada by six points apiece.

All three wins were played at Neville Arena, meaning Thursday’s meeting with Illinois State will be Auburn’s first NIT game away from home.

Kevin Overton and Keyshawn Hall have been instrumental in carrying the Tigers through the tournament. Overton is putting up a team-high 17 points so far in NIT play, while Hall is averaging 14.7 points and nine rebounds — his 15 rebounds in Auburn’s win over Seattle were a season high.

The Tigers have holes defensively. They allow nearly 79 points per game and are incapable of defending the 3-ball, but the offense is a different story. Auburn ranks 12th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, and the team gets to the free throw line at a high rate.

Illinois State suffered an early exit from the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament but has since bounced back, knocking off Kent State, Wake Forest and Dayton en route to the semifinal round.

The Redbirds are led by juniors Chase Walker and Johnny Kinziger, who combine to average over 25 points per game. Three more players score at least nine points per game, including knockdown shooter Boden Skunberg, who’s connecting on 39.9 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Unlike Auburn, Illinois State is defined by its defense. The Redbirds defend all areas of the floor relatively well and are exceptional at limiting second-chance points, ranking 12th in the nation in opponent offensive rebound percentage. They’re fairly average on offense, though they do rank 66th in 2-point percentage.

It remains to be seen if Illinois State can handle an opponent from the mighty SEC, but this team has come on strong at the right time. Auburn can’t afford to underestimate the Redbirds.

Illinois State learned its lesson well enough to reach NIT semifinals--Daily Herald
3 things to know about Illinois State ahead of Thursday’s NIT semifinal against Auburn--Chicago Tribune

TITLE GAME BOUND: Illinois State women oust South Dakota to continue WNIT run--The Pantagraph
Redbirds head to first WNIT championship with victory over Coyotes--The Vidette
Redbirds Punch Ticket To WNIT Championship With 67-60 Win At South Dakota--goredbirds.com

Roman Domon announces return to Murray State for sophomore season--WPSD Local 6
Murray State forward Brock Vice to enter the transfer portal--WPSD Local 6
A second racer, Layne Taylor, plans to enter the transfer portal--WPSD Local 6

UNI Hires Kyle Green--Valley Hoops Insider
Watch Kyle Green's first remarks as UNI men's basketball head coach--Des Moines Register
Iowa State Basketball Assistant Kyle Green Hired by Northern Iowa--Sports Illustrated
Kyle Green says he can't be more excited to be back at UNI--Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

Women's Basketball Welcomes Wallace to 2026-27 Recruiting Class--siusalukis.com

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/1/2026

How a career-ending injury brought Evan Bradds back to lead Belmont basketball--Main Street Nashville

Hinkle Showdown #2 features: Final Four matchup between Illinois State and Auburn.--Busting Brackets
4.1.26 Game Analysis--Basket Under Review

NIT SEMIFINAL NOTES:
Illinois State is the only NIT semifinalist to have won a game on the road in this tournament, and should have a strong crowd contingent in Indy. I noted ahead of this tournament that ISUred desperately needed Johnny Kinziger to rediscover his jump shot if they wanted to make a run to Indy, and he's had his best shooting stretch of the year (11-23 from 3) in what has been a trying year for him. Auburn has struggled to defend at the rim and in particular the post all season (4th percentile efficiency rating in post defense), which isn't ideal against Chase Walker and an ISU offense that filters offense through the post at an 85th percentile rate and now has the options around Walker's paint gravity to exploit Auburn's 64th percentile unguarded catch and shoot rate allowed (and opponents have rarely missed their catch and shoots against the Tigers all season). Elijah Price just had a career game in the post against Auburn, scoring 1.6 PPP on post possessions in Nevada's near comeback against the Tigers. Auburn meanwhile has seen Filip Jovic take full advantage of KeShawn Murphy's opt out, scoring 30 points the last two games, which is more than his previous 9 games combined. The problem is that he's allowed 1.5 PPP in the post- that's a 1st percentile grade out per Synergy data. That said, Pettiford's ball screen and dribble creation could have devastating effects against a pretty devout ISUred drop coverage with the paint bound Walker, and they have no one for Keyshawn Hall's isolations. ISUred has been an elite defensive rebounding team (best in the Valley, top 15 DREB% nationally, per KenPom), which is important against Auburn's athleticism and glass crashing. But in ISU's one top 50 game this season they allowed 19 offensive rebounds on a massive 63% rate to Utah State. Probably simply not enough horses from an athleticism standpoint for the Redbirds, and too many matchup advantages on the ball for the Tigers. We've also seen Auburn try to hand back the game after building big leads against Seattle and Nevada the past two rounds.

Illinois State making most of NIT opportunity entering semifinal against Auburn--The Pantagraph
Redbirds face off with SEC’s Auburn in NIT Final Four Thursday--The Vidette
Men's Basketball to Battle Auburn for Spot in NIT Title Game--goredbirds.com

WNIT Fab 4 Showdown Between Illinois State and South Dakota Set For Wednesday--goredbirds.com