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.
Illinois State Redbirds at Ohio Bobcats - Two conference favorites square
off in a high-scoring game.
The Redbirds are the favorites to win the Missouri Valley, and given the
roster they have returning, it isn't surprising.
Illinois State
has scored consistently and is likely to make a postseason tournament. They
have yet to play a game and head into a hostile environment against another
team that will be a factor in their conference. Ohio is a hard team to
gauge. The Bobcats have scoring everywhere, but they don't play much
defense. If they can find any defense, they will win a ton of games;
otherwise, Ohio will be in shootouts all year long. Take the overs
Cal State Northridge Matadors at Northern Iowa Panthers- Beautiful
offense and pace of play
The Matadors have been one of the top programs in the
Big West
over the last three seasons, primarily due to their efficient offense and
ability to shoot the ball from deep. The Matadors play at a swift pace and
maintain constant pressure on the defense with their efficient offense. At
this point, it's no surprise how Northern Iowa is going to play. The
Panthers are going to shoot a ton of threes and get the ball inside off the
pick and roll. Offense will be a thing of beauty in this game
Great midmajor matchup, with last year’s meeting being a wild affair that
saw Illinois State erase a 2H Ohio lead with 28 points in the final 10
minutes....
CSUN @ NORTHERN IOWA
Extremely difficult game stylistically for CSUN....
LIU @ IU INDY
The Ben Howlett Fun and Gun system was on full display opening night in
Columbus...
WRIGHT STATE @ CAL
Very early returns on Cal’s revamped ball screen/dribble drive coverage was
better than expected...
It pains me to say it, but the Bobcats out of the MAC are going to take this
one. The additions of Javan Simmons and Dior Conners make Ohio a legitimate
threat in league play and a tough early-season matchup. Illinois State
brings back several key pieces from last year and has earned
preseason Missouri Valley buzz, but the Bobcats’ balance gives them the edge.
Pick: Ohio Bobcats +1.5 over Illinois State Redbirds
Final Score Prediction:
Ohio 79, Illinois State 77
-All the games in the Field of 68 Marathon
were good games. Major respect to those guys for putting together a
great event! When most teams were playing buy games and dump-trucking
their opponents, these were all compelling matchups. Winthrop got a
nice win against Queens 81-74, Saint Bonaventure outlasted what we think
is a pretty good Bradley team 69-63, and Murray State and Drake also
picked up early season wins.
The Missouri Valley
will be unbelievably fun and competitive this year, with Bradley,
Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Belmont and Drake battling for the top
spot, but watch out for Murray State, as the Racers are a clear dark
horse under new head coach Ryan Miller. – TM
-Bradley vs Saint Bonaventure (Field of 68 Opening Day
Marathon, Rock Hill, SC) – Bradley is a team to watch in the MVC and
this is a chance for them to start things off with a winnable game away
from home
-Omaha vs Murray State (Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon,
Sioux Falls, SD) – Murray State has a loaded roster and is set to have
their best season since joining the MVC. A win away from home against a
solid Omaha team who loves beating up trash cans would be a great way
to start things off!
-Northern Arizona vs Drake (Field of 68 Opening Day
Marathon, Sioux Falls, SD) – Drake was completely gutted after having a
remarkable season last year. This should be a winnable game for them,
though
-Air Force @ Belmont – Belmont is a team to keep an eye on and, quite frankly, they should clobber AFA
G: Jaquan Johnson, Bradley. This is my runner-up for Guy of the Year. Johnson is tiny, annoying, and as of now, is top-25 ever for
steals per 100 possessions (5.1) as a true freshman. When you're
surrounded on a list by guys like Jahmai Mashack, T.J. McConnell, Peyton
Siva, Marcus Smart, etc., you're probably really damn good. Also, he's
5'9".
Rocco Miller
My Guys of 2025-26:
G: Tyler Lundblade, Belmont
Jordan Majewski
My Favorite Mid-Major Team of 2025-26:Murray State. The
collection of talent and potential lineup iterations first year head
coach Ryan Miller has to work with is beyond intriguing. He has
institutional knowledge in Fred King and Mason Miller to install his
Creighton influenced brand of basketball (and the McDermott coaching
tree has perhaps the most proven track record in terms of midmajor
success), a potential on-ball stud in Layne Taylor, and most tantalizing
of all, the French Connection. Romon Dobon and Mathis Courbon have
ridiculous ball skills and versatility for their size, and could quickly
give the MVC nightly matchup nightmares.
My Guys of 2025-26:
I'm going to end with Amar Augillard
at Milwaukee. Augillard's season at Fresno State didn't end on a
pleasant note, but man, he was a comet for those 10.5 games he was
there. Bart Lundy has lacked shooting the past two seasons, and he
certainly addressed that with Augillard and frosh Stevie Elam. Augillard
might outpace former Panther BJ Freeman in terms of shot rate in this
system with that itchy shooting hand.
Matt Cox
My Guys of 2025-26: I
also had Money Williams (Montana) and JaQuan Johnson (Bradley) but I
won't step on my colleagues' toes. The theme is middling power
conference or mid-major point guards
#106 Bradley (-2) vs. #122 St. Bonaventure, 11 AM ET, YouTube. This
is the actual first good game, though. I'd have both of these teams a
little higher than their KenPom positions, as Bradley has two legitimate
First Team All-MVC talents in Jaquan Johnson and Wright State transfer
Alex Huibregtse, while the Bonnies have Daryl Simmons II (awesome) and
Dasonte Bowen (outstanding perimeter defender). Either (or both) of
these teams could win 22+ games this year.
Thursday, November 6
B Games
#121 Illinois State at #154 Ohio (-1), 7 PM ET, ESPN+. Maybe
a top-15 most purely fun matchup of this opening week, and certainly,
well among the most offense-friendly. Both teams could be truly
explosive in this one, too: Chase Walker can attack what is a fairly
undersized Ohio frontcourt, and Ohio can expose Walker's lack of great
footspeed by dragging him to the perimeter in high ball screens. If both
sides touch 80+ in regulation it's not a surprise, but if Illinois
State can keep Ohio at 75 or lower, it's a decent sign for a defense I
don't believe in yet.
C Games
#161 CSUN at #117 Northern Iowa (-7), 8 PM ET, ESPN+. One of the sport's most extreme, deep-set man defenses against a UNI offense that generally doesn't want to take many jumpers.
Sunday, November 9
C Games
#169 South Dakota State at #117 Northern Iowa (-7), 2 PM ET, ESPN+. Joe
Sayler ripping threes for South Dakota State? An extremely old,
high-floor Northern Iowa team getting two solid home opponents to start
the year? I'm in.
Since I had the daily
task of calling schools all over the country to this past spring and
summer for scheduling exercises, I also started forming opinions as to
who "won" the offseason compared to my initial expectations. So, in true
Teams of the Week fashion, here is who wins the awards:
Murray State - New
HC Ryan Miller has completely helped rejuvenate the trajectory and
overall future for Racers' Basketball. A quick look at the roster build,
and its quite clear that a fundraising plan was well in order as part
of this transition. This team is ready to win right now. There are not
many teams left (sadly) in the non-power ranks that can realistically
advance in the NCAA Tournament, but this roster potential sure has "it."
Both
of these squads are going to look to get off to a good start to the
year. Avery Koenen (North Dakota) and Ryley Goebel (Northern Iowa) are
two of the top mid-major players in the country.
Murray State is one of the teams that should be on everyone's radar
heading into the season.
The Racers are coached by first-year head coach Ryan Miller, who was most
recently an assistant coach at Creighton. Murray State is going to shoot a
ton of threes and has a lot of former Creighton players on the roster. Omaha
made the tournament last season but then lost a significant amount of talent
to the transfer portal. This game is part of the Field of 68 Opening Day
Marathon.
Bradley vs. St. Bonaventure – Mid-Major Showdown to Watch
The second game of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon features two teams
with high expectations. Bradley is always a factor in the Missouri Valley,
and they will be this year again. St. Bonaventure always seems to exceed
expectations heading into the year, and they are poised to do so again this
year. The Bonnies and Braves might be the most competitive game of opening
day.
Illinois State Redbirds at Ohio Bobcats, Nov. 6, 7:00 PM ET
On Thursday night, one of the contenders in the MAC, the Ohio Bobcats, plays
host to Illinois State. Both teams will be a factor in their respective
conferences, especially the Redbirds, who are a sneaky pick to win the
Missouri Valley.
There’s a reason Illinois State is a trendy pick to win the Missouri Valley.
First and foremost, they were able to keep their two stars,
Chase Walker
and Johnny Kinziger, away from the transfer portal. The duo averaged 28.7
points, over 10 rebounds, and five assists for Ryan Pedon and the Redbirds
last season. Another big addition will be Boden Skunberg, who sat out last
season but led North Dakota State in both scoring and rebounding in
2023-24.
Head Coach Jeff Boals brings back senior point guard Jackson Paveletzke.
Paveletzke averaged 13.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and a team-high 4.8 assists
for the Bobcats last season. Also returning is senior forward Aidan Hadaway
and his 10 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. also struck big in the portal,
landing, 6-7 Javan Simmons. It’s a face he knows well, as Simmons did a
little bit of everything at Toledo last season, averaging 12.5 points, 6.8
rebounds, and 2.2 assists. Add in up-and-coming sophomore Elijah Elliott,
and the Bobcats will be a team to keep an eye on in the MAC this year.
The
Gaels close non-conference play at home against a respected Missouri
Valley opponent. The teams last met in 2020, when Saint Mary’s edged UNI
by two points. Expect another close, competitive game to finish the
calendar year.
