February NIT Bracketology--NIT Bracketology
NIT Bracket (autos in bold, bubble in italics):
1. SMU
U. N.C. State
4. Iowa (Big Ten 1)
U. Drake
3. Washington (Pac-12 2)
U. San Francisco
2. Villanova (Big East 1)
U. Syracuse
1. Texas A&M (SEC 1)
U. North Texas
4. Kansas St. (Big 12 2)
U. Pittsburgh
3. Xavier (Big East 2)
U. Indiana
2. Oregon (Pac-12 1)
U. Nevada
1. Virginia Tech (ACC 2)
U. LSU
4. UCF (Big 12 2)
U. Memphis
3. Georgia (SEC 2)
U. James Madison
2. Virginia (ACC 1)
U. Richmond
1. Seton Hall
U. Cornell
4. Ohio St. (Big Ten 2)
U. Florida St.
3. Miami FL
U. Maryland
2. Butler
U. Bradley
NCAA Tournament Bubble Watch 2024: What will it take to reach March
Madness?--Heat Check CBB
Others
Double the deodorant: Indiana State, Princeton, Gonzaga,
Drake, Grand Canyon, James Madison, Appalachian State
On the periphery:
Bradley, San Francisco, Yale, Cornell
Indiana State Sycamores
The nation’s under-the-radar offensive juggernaut resides in Terre Haute,
IN. Josh Schertz has done a tremendous job with Indiana State this season
while guiding the team to an 18-3 record. The Sycamores also have raised
their metrics to the point at which they are garnering at-large intrigue;
they rank in the top 43 in every single metric, including 25th in the NET
and 18th in SOR. Indiana State only has one Q1 win and it isn’t a
needle-mover (at Bradley). That said, all three of its losses are in Q1 and
were on the road to KenPom top-50 teams. Indiana State is 9-3 against the
upper three quadrants with plus-metrics. A home matchup with Drake
approaches on Feb. 3. If the Sycamores win that one, you will see more and
more at-large discussion. I already have Indiana State on the No. 9 seed
line.
Drake Bulldogs
A double-overtime road loss at Missouri State put a wrench in Drake’s
already-slim bubble hopes. But with three matchups against Indiana State
(away) and Bradley (home and away) still left on the schedule, the at-large
hopes are not yet extinguished. Drake is top-55 across all teamsheet metrics
except SOR and can argue its 4-0 Q1+2 record as a key part of its case. In
addition to a home win over Indiana State, the Bulldogs beat Akron and
Nevada on neutral sites. Earning an at-large bid would take a strong finish,
but it’s too early to count Drake out. The Bulldogs being as good as they
are also helps Indiana State and, by extension, the potential for a two-bid
Missouri Valley.
MVC NOTEBOOK: Potential multi-bid MVC, weight of midpoint, guard play--Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Women’s Weekly Awards in OVC & MVC--Valley Hoops Insider
Season Ending Awards Coming Into Focus
(St. Louis, MO) –
Some season ending awards are coming into focus as we see the women’s
weekly awards in the Ohio Valley and Missouri Valley Conferences. Illinois State’s DeAnna Wilson,
Missouri State’s Lacy Stokes, Eastern Illinois’ Macy McGlone and
Western Illinois’ Raegan McCowan have solidified end-of-year honors.
Those players are racking up weekly honors like Taylor Swift mentions during football games.
Women’s Weekly Awards – Top Players
Illinois State star Wilson has claimed three of the last five MVC ‘Player of the Week‘
awards. Last week she averaged twenty-five points and 7.5 rebounds as
the Redbirds swept the Valley’s Iowa-based teams. Drake’s loss was its
first in league play. Wilson has topped the twenty-point mark six times.
Newcomers
Lacy Stokes, on the other hand, just received her fifth MVC ‘Newcomer of the Week‘
award. The Missouri State guard showed off her complete game by
averaging 10.5 points, six assists and 3.5 rebounds while the Bears
split a pair of games. Stokes is seventeenth nationally in
assist-to-turnover ratio.
Women’s Weekly Rookie Awards
Murray State’s Haven Ford is the second Racer to receive an MVC ‘Freshman of the Week‘
award. Zoe Stewart was so-named during week four of the season. Ford
scored a career high seventeen points in one game and then topped that
total with 19 in the next. The high-scoring Racers face rival Belmont on
Friday.
--
NashvilleHoops.blog
Men's Basketball Falls Just Short--
Belmont Vision
Men's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker to Conference-Leading [rv/rv] Indiana State--
belmontbruins.comBruins Host Rival Murray State for Annual “Red Out” Game--belmontbruins.com
'I came out mad': Bradley guard starts hot, leads Braves to big win over Northern Iowa--
Peoria Journal Star
Game Recap: Bradley vs Northern Iowa--
bradleybraves.com
Drake basketball overcomes several scoring droughts to beat Valparaiso--
Des Moines Register
DeVries Named Julius Erving Award Top 10 Candidate--
godrakebulldogs.com
Bulldogs Dim Beacons for 17th Consecutive Home Victory--
godrakebulldogs.comDrake graduate guard Megan Meyer returns to Bulldogs women's basketball team--Des Moines Register
Toumi and Cuff post career highs in win over UIC--
gopurpleaces.com
Dramatic second half rally sparks Illinois State past Murray State--
The Pantagraph
ISU men's basketball overcomes 15-point deficit, survives last-second shot at Murray State--
The Vidette
Redbirds Rally for Series Sweep of Racers--
goredbirds.comFebruary Coaching Carousel Breakdown--
Burner Ball
Mid-Major Hot Seat
Dana Ford (Missouri State)
This one can go either way at the end of the year. The expectations are high
at Missouri State and Ford hasn’t met them.
Bend don’t break: Sycamores expunge 19-point deficit in Music City--
Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Second Half Surge Secures the Comeback for Sycamores over Belmont--
gosycamores.com
Is it time to let the freshmen shine?--Indiana Statesman
Missouri State basketball rallies for another overtime victory at Southern Illinois--
Springfield News-Leader
How Missouri State basketball's Chance Moore reminded us what he's capable of--
Springfield News-Leader
Balanced Bears Pull Off Overtime Comeback at SIU, 76-75--
missouristatebears.com
Bears Host Belmont in Key Valley Matchup Saturday--
missouristatebears.comWomen's Hoops Set for Road Test at Southern Illinois--missouristatebears.com
Racer men build big lead, fall again at Bank--
Murray Ledger & Times
Racer men try to end skid after painful string of losing leads--
Murray Ledger & Times
Episode 67: The 'Ride Home' after Murray State's 61-59 loss to Illinois State--
Racer Basketball
Late Redbird run dooms Racers in 61-59 loss--
Racer Basketball
Episode 68: Ethan Petrik joins me ahead of Murray State's rematch with UNI--
Racer Basketball
Late-Game Struggles Show Again For the Racers--
goracers.com
Racers Take On UNI Saturday--
goracers.comRacer Young talks about big 3-pointer on night she reached 2,000 career points--Murray Ledger & Times
Racer women seek return to ‘System’ ball after slow last several games--Murray Ledger & Times
McKay savoring each moment as career winds down--Racer Basketball
Racers Visit a Familiar Opponent in the Music City--goracers.com
College Men’s Basketball: UNI goes cold, falls to Bradley--
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
UNI men’s basketball comes up short at Bradley--
unipanthers.comCollege Women’s Basketball: UNI fans Flames, beats red-hot UIC--Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
McDermott etches name in UNI history with 1,000th point--Northern Iowan
Panthers notch sixth 100-plus point game in history--Northern Iowan
Panthers defense shuts down UIC Flames in a road matchup--unipanthers.com
UPDATED GAMER MISSOURI STATE 76, SIU 75--
Dawg Bites
OX SCORE AND GRADES MISSOURI STATE 76, SIU 75--
Dawg Bites
OVERTIME--
Dawg Bites
Missouri State rallies to beat Salukis 76-75 in overtime--
The Daily Egyptian
Recap | Bears Rally to Slip Past Salukis in Overtime, 76-75--
siusalukis.com
Men’s Basketball Succumbs at Evansville, 77-60--
uicflames.comWomen’s Basketball Drop Mid-Week Match-Up to Northern Iowa, 65-43--uicflames.com
Brodie bullies Beacons--
The Victory Bell
Stafford Rewrites Career High, Host Bulldogs Fend Off Beacons--
valpoathletics.com
Valpo to Clash with Evansville for Beach Game--
valpoathletics.comWomen's Basketball Heads to Chicago Sunday to Face UIC--valpoathletics.com
DeVries Named Julius Erving Award Top 10 Candidate--
Missouri Valley
State Farm MVC Scholar-Athlete Spotlight (Feb. 1)--
Missouri Valley
