Missouri Valley Notebook
by Adam Shandler
Creighton, Come on Down!
The Creighton Blue Jays have given hope to mid-majors teams all over the country. With a 6-0 record and wins over Notre Dame and BYU, the Jays have captured a Number 24 ranking in this week’s Hoopville Top 25 poll. This marks the first time in five years that a MVC team has broken into any Top 25 poll. Illinois State rated in the AP poll on November 18, 1997. The Bluejays are buoyed by an early 80-75 win over then-unranked No. 11 Notre Dame – the Irish’s only loss.
Salukis Also Surge
Southern Illinois is another Valley team off to an unblemished start. The 4-0 Salukis are coming off an 85-69 win over Southeast Missouri State and have victories over George Mason, Colorado State and Murray State to their credit. Guard Kent Williams shook off a shooting snide to score 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting in the SE Missouri State game. SIU has some formidable competition coming up. Illinois-Chicago and Charlotte are next on the slate on December 14 and 18th respectively.
A Stetson Man
More Saluki news…Sophomore guard Stetson Hairston was named this week’s MVC Player of the Week. Check out his stats, you’ll like ’em:
December 3rd, against Murray State: 5-of-9 shooting, 14 points, two 3’s, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, one steal, one blocked shot and held Racers’ leading scorer Chris Shumate to an un-Shumatelike 3-of-14 shooting.
December 7th against SE Missouri State: 7-of-9 shooting, 17 points, 8 assists and 3 steals.
MVC Prime Time!
The Valley is getting some airtime. Fox Sports Net Midwest will air another two installments of the Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Show on Saturday, December 14 at 3 PM CT and Monday, December 16, at 7 PM CT. For the MVC fan who just can’t get enough, the show will feature game highlights and coach and player interviews.
Games to Watch:
It’s a heck of a weekend for the Valley. In games of note on Saturday, December 14, Indiana State battles always difficult Ball State, Northern Iowa has their hands full with Utah, Southwest Missouri State hosts No. 19 Tulsa, UNLV battles Bradley and Kansas State invades Wichita State. On Sunday, dinged-up Western Kentucky welcomes Illinois State.
