Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Adam Shandler
Seniors Help Salukis Rally
As a coach, you can only hope that you can rely on your seniors to pull your team from despair. Bruce Weber’s seniors came through for Southern Illinois on Saturday, and the Salukis defeated 1-9 Illinois State in their second conference win of the season, 74-65.
Down 9 points with just over fifteen minutes to go in the game, the Salukis went on a 22-6 tear, led by a 3-point play by Jermaine Dearman. Kent Williams shot 7-of-9 from the line and led Southern Illinois with 19 points. Dearman double-doubled with 13 and 10 for the 7-3 Salukis, who extended their win-streak at the SIU Arena to 19 games.
Illinois State falls to 0-2 in MVC play.
Creighton Bounces Back
Ain’t nothing like pounding one of your lowly conference foes after losing a nationally televised heartbreaker to a Top 25 team. The Jays loss to Number 19 Xavier earlier in the week stung a little, but Korver and company bounced back against conference rival Drake, 84-63. The MVC’s darling, Kyle Korver, was 7-of-8 from the floor, 6-of-6 from 3-point land, and scored 23 points in 27 minutes. DeAnthony Bowen and MVC Player of the Week Mike Grimes each netted 11.
Drake Center Greg Daniels scored 14 points and brought down 11 boards for the 5-8, 0-2 Bulldogs.
Chicks Dig The Long Ball
It was the power of three that pushed Wichita State past Northern Iowa, 79-55, in WSU’s first MVC game of the season. The Shockers hit 15-of-30, yes 30, three-pointers, a new school record. Aaron Hogg led all scorers with 18 points, including 4 of those 3’s.
NIU didn’t shy away from the arc either. The Panthers were 7-of-16 from 21 feet and back.
Syc It To ‘Em
This one was over before it started. Indiana State shot 58 percent in the first 20 minutes, led by 19 at halftime and rolled over Evansville, 86-60. In the first MVC game for both clubs, the Sycamores’ Wilfred Antoine scored 11 of his 17 in the first half, leading three other players in double figures.
Indiana State improves to 5-7 overall, the Purple Aces are feeling more blue at 4-6.
Bradley? Badly.
It won’t get easier for the 4-8, 0-1 Bradley Braves. The Peoria boys took on Southwest Missouri State and were chewed up by a defense that held its last two opponents to an average of 50 points. Bradley was another victim, falling to the Bears 67-45.
Next up for the Braves? Only the 17th ranked team in the nation, Creighton. ‘Least it’s a home game.
Grimes Is Not a Dirty Word
Last week, State Farm and the Missouri Valley Conference awarded a Creighton player other than Kyle Korver the Player of the Week honor. Mike Grimes, a junior forward from Florissan, Mo, powered the Blue Jays past Southeast Missouri State on 87.5 percent shooting in a 93-70 victory on Dec. 29. Grimes finished with 17 points, five rebounds and two steals.
At 70 percent shooting on the season, Grimes is one of the top shooters in the
MVC — an applaud-able accomplishment considering he comes off the bench.
