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.
Here are the — we’ll say it — largely ugly results:
What we got right:
We’ll keep this short and simple, we more or less nailed
the top 10. Not that that exactly took working the phones and diving
into the per 40 numbers on rotation players. Gonzaga was a bolted-on number one and Loyola Chicago, San Diego State, Western Kentucky, Boise State and St. Bonaventure
either returned large portions of good teams, had a transcendent star
or, some bases, both. But hey, that top 10 looks pretty good
nonetheless.
What we got wrong:
So. Much. Red.
Maybe that’s normal, and maybe one day we’ll crunch the
yearly results on how our preseason poll usually stacks up. That day is
not today, and the preseason list is splotched with scarlet. Some
notable misses:
Northern Iowa, but maybe with an asterisk. The Panthers
seemed poised to rekindle the old dueling thoroughbred nature of the
Valley with Loyola swapping in for Wichita State. That didn’t happen, in
large part because reigning league POY A.J. Green was lost to a
season-ending hip injury after three games. The team pegged to win the
Valley never recovered, and went from flirting with an at-large in
2019-20 to finishing 7-11 in the MVC this year.
It seems overlooking Drake may be a
thing of the past as long as Darian DeVries is in Des Moines. Coming off
an 8-10 league season — and losing Liam Robbins — it made sense they
weren’t a part of the initial OT25. Even with Joseph Yesufu off the
Kansas, the program may have reached a point it gets the benefit of the
doubt going forward.
Greg Lansing was recently let go by Indiana State at
the end of his contract despite a fourth place finish in the Missouri
Valley conference. That result becomes even more impressive when you
consider that Lansing’s 250,000 dollar annual salary is lower than eight
of 12 Horizon League coaches and is nowhere near the seven-figure high
end of MVC salaries. Lansing has proven himself as a quality head coach
in the same state as IUPUI, and he’s done it in a tougher conference
than the Horizon League. Throw in the potential portal additions that
would come with him and Lansing seems like a home run if he wants to
stay in college basketball.
A name frequently linked — or…Linc’d (I’m sorry) — to the job is ex-Green Bay Head Coach Linc Darner.
But if I’m being honest, Lansing has similar strengths and no reason to
choose to sit around collecting buyout money. This one is mostly fan
service. It would be a blast to watch if Burk, Minnett and Goss were coming back!
Cameron Krutwig, Senior, Loyola (Chicago)
(15 PPG, 7 RPG, 3 APG, 57.4% FG) A four-year starter at Loyola
(Chicago), Krutwig earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year
award this season. A versatile player who scored in double-figures in
all but three games, had 26 games with two or more assists, and 12 games
with at least eight rebounds. In the Ramblers upset Second Round win
over Illinois, Krutwig gave the Illini defense problems for 40 minutes,
finishing the game with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and five asissts.
5 top candidates to replace Roy Williams at North Carolina
5. Porter Moser, Loyola head coach
Best
known for his run with Loyola-Chicago, Moser has been a hot candidate
in this hiring cycle. Moser has had power conference interest before,
turning down an opportunity with St. John’s to remain with the Ramblers,
which paid off for him thanks to this year’s strong March Madness run to the Sweet 16 that included an upset of Illinois in the Round of 32.
The
leap from Loyola-Chicago to North Carolina is a massive one, however,
and it’s unclear if Moser would be at the top of the list given his lack
of ties to the program or the Southeast. Moser also seems more likely
to pick a landing spot closer to the Midwest if he opts to make the
high-major jump, but he should at least get a phone call.
This is where things could get interesting if the Tar Heels decide to
look for the best coaches available regardless of previous ties to the
school.
Moser has been a hot name given his success at Loyola Chicago over
the last four seasons, and there’s a thought that he could be looking
for a change as this season showed the ceiling in his current job.
Despite lofty KenPom and NET rankings and past tournament success, the
Ramblers were slotted with a No. 8 seed on Selection Sunday and were
ousted in the Sweet 16.
Moser has indicated he won’t leave the Ramblers for just any job and
has a preference to stay in Chicago. That said, this isn’t just any job. This is one of the jobs the sport has to offer.
A lack of success before Loyola’s 2018 Final Four run and the lack of
ties to Chapel Hill keep Moser fairly far down the list, yet he will
certainly be considered.
