Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston
Midterm
This writer thinks he’s so smart. But you can judge now by comparing my preseason picks compared to how everything stacks up midway through the conference slate. Be kind; there’s still a month left!
Preseason Picks Through Jan. 24
Wichita State Wichita State Southern Illinois Southern Illinois Northern Iowa Illinois State SMS Bradley Drake Northern Iowa Creighton Creighton Illinois State Evansville Indiana State SMS Evansville Drake Bradley Indiana State
Tourney Watch
It’s that time of the year again. One more month of the regular season remains, and teams will begin to wonder what their chances are at a postseason bid. Here’s my opinion as of Tuesday:
- Wichita State: Goes Dancing – The Shockers had an excellent week after defeating Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa. This team is a grand total of nine points away from being 16-0. You better believe they would be able to play with almost any team if the tournament started today.
- Southern Illinois: Goes Dancing – What is there to say about the Salukis? They lost their first conference game a little earlier than last season. Odds are SIU may lose a few more, but there is no way this traditional powerhouse should be overlooked.
- Illinois State: NIT Bound – There’s no way the third-place team in this conference is getting left out of the postseason.
- Northern Iowa: NIT Bound – The Panthers have struggled lately, but if the season ended today, its strong play outside of the MVC would clinch a postseason berth.
- Creighton: NIT Bound – Creighton is capable of playing with any team. Unfortunately, a lot of close games have gone down as losses for the Bluejays, but to leave the team out of the postseason would be a insult to college basketball.
Close, but not yet: Bradley, Evansville
MVC Game of the Week:
Wednesday, Jan. 26: Southern Illinois at Southwest Missouri State
It’s do-or-die for the Bears. SMS had Southern Illinois down to its last breath 10 days ago, but if the Bears aren’t able to finish the job Wednesday, any chance at a postseason berth is slim.
If this contest plays similar to the one on Jan. 15, it should be an enjoyable two hours. Southern Illinois had to rely on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Josh Warren to beat the Bears and keep SIU’s home-winning streak in Valley play intact. SMS finally got back on the winning track at Drake Saturday, snapping a five-game losing streak. A win would give the team consecutive wins for the first time since mid December. On the other side, Southern Illinois is off to a familiar start with a 15-4 record.
Other games to keep an eye on: Saturday, Jan. 29: Illinois State at Wichita State, 5:05 p.m.; Creighton at Southwest Missouri State, 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 1: Wichita State at Creighton
Hoopville MVC Player of the Week: Nate Funk, Creighton
There is nothing to say to Nate Funk this week except, “Marvelous.” After playing the hero against Northern Iowa on Jan. 8, the junior guard returned Wednesday to score a Qwest Center record 26 points. He followed that effort by scoring another 26 points against Illinois State on Saturday. Unfortunately, effort No. 2 won’t get as much recognition because the Bluejays fell in overtime.
Hoopville Newcomer of the Week: Patrick O’Bryant, Bradley
This freshman put up a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, helping the Braves upend Northern Iowa. He averaged 13.5 points and nine rebounds as Bradley went 1-1 last week.
Wichita State Shockers (14-2, 7-1)
Last week: defeated Southern Illinois 58-56, defeated Northern Iowa 65-57
This week: Wednesday, Jan. 26 vs. Drake, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 29 vs. Illinois State, 6:05 p.m.; Tuesday, February 1 at Creighton 7:05 p.m.
Basketball is a game of runs and spurts, and the Shockers proved that this week. While knocking off Southern Illinois, WSU trailed by as many as nine points in the first half and led by as many as eight points in the second before squeaking out a two-point win over the Salukis. A contest at Northern Iowa saw the Shockers lose a seven-point lead before using an 11-0 run to put the Panthers away. Call it what you want, but the Shockers were able to make their runs at the opportune times to take over first place in the MVC.
Two key factors to Wichita State’s successful week were Randy Burns and Jamar Howard, who averaged 14 and 11 points, respectively. Howard also grabbed 7.5 rebounds.
Now is not the time to enjoy the view at the top of the Valley. If the Shockers have a good memory, they’ll remember that Drake beat them at home last season. Drake visits on Wednesday night. Surging Illinois State won’t be an easy task either, and winning at the Qwest Center is never simple – especially if Nate Funk keeps scoring 26 points a game.
Southern Illinois Salukis (15-4, 6-1)
Last week: defeated Bradley 67-59, lost to Wichita State 58-56
This week: Wednesday, Jan. 26 at Southwest Missouri State, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 29 vs. Evansville, 7:05 p.m.
Only Wichita State seems to pose a threat to another conference title for SIU, and for a while, it looked as if the Salukis were going to handle the Shockers easily on Saturday.
Southern Illinois captured its 31st consecutive MVC home victory with a 67-59 triumph over the Bradley Braves. Josh Warren recorded career highs with 18 points and 13 rebounds. He was supported by Tony Young, who came off the bench to add 15 points. An amazing 22-2 run by the Salukis to end the first half enabled SIU to rally from an early 11-point deficit and run away with the win.
On Saturday, it was Southern Illinois who let a large lead slip away, as Wichita State rallied from a nine-point deficit in the first half to force a brief tie for first place in the MVC. Jamal Tatum led all scorers with 21 points, and Darren Brooks put another double-double in the books with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Wednesday will be a huge test with a road game at Southwest Missouri State. The Bears already nearly beat SIU on its home court and will be eager to finish the job on Wednesday.
Illinois State Redbirds (13-5, 5-3)
Last week: defeated Indiana State 73-69, defeated Creighton 82-77 (OT)
This week: Saturday, Jan. 29 at Wichita State, 6:05 p.m.; Tuesday, February 1 at Drake, 7:05 p.m.
Wichita State, Southern Illinois, Creighton, Northern Iowa… Nobody ever talks about Illinois State, but here it is, quietly sitting at third place in this competitive conference. Any team that comes out of Omaha still breathing deserves at least a little attention. Thanks to Trey Guidry’s career-high 30 points at Creighton and Lorenzo Gordon’s 19 points, the Redbirds were able to force overtime and send the Bluejays to a rare home defeat. Gordon continues to post amazing numbers, as he scored 26 in the Redbird’s win at Indiana State.
This week was rather special for Illinois State. The Redbirds continue to improve upon last season’s win total of 10 and have already surpassed the four MVC wins from a year ago.
Who knows? With a win on Saturday, Illinois State would be awfully close to Wichita State and Southern Illinois – not bad after finishing last in the Valley last season.
Bradley Braves (11-5, 4-4)
Last week: lost to Southern Illinois 67-59, defeated Northern Iowa 71-65
This week: Wednesday, Jan. 26 vs. Creighton, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 29 at Indiana State, 1:05 p.m.
The Braves continue to be a confusing team. They go from possibly blowing out Southern Illinois in Carbondale to getting outscored 56-37 for the rest of the contest. Saturday’s game against Northern Iowa was no shooting gem either, but thanks to the Brave’s defense, a tally was still put in the win column. Bradley kept the fifth-best shooting team in the nation to 33 percent from the field en route to the six-point win. Freshman Patrick O’Bryant had a big day with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Marcellus Sommerville added another 16 points to keep a stronghold as the third-leading scorer in the Valley.
An opportunity to avenge a loss to Creighton appears on Wednesday when the Bluejays visit Carver Arena. Both teams have played .500 ball since their last meeting on Dec. 28. It will be an important game for both teams because the winner salvages hope of a high finish in the conference. The loser, well, 5-4 looks a lot better to move forward with than 4-5. It’s not impossible, but the loser will have a lot of work ahead.
Northern Iowa Panthers (13-6, 4-4)
Last week: lost to Bradley 71-65, lost to Wichita State 65-57
This week: Wednesday, Jan. 26 vs. Indiana State, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 29 at Drake, 7:05 p.m.
Shooting woes have created a hill for the Panthers to climb as the calendar turns to February. On Saturday, Bradley kept UNI to a season-low 33 percent from the field. Wichita State did the same thing to defeat the Panthers on Monday. Now with Indiana State heading into the UNI-Dome on Wednesday, UNI is in trouble of falling below the .500 mark in the MVC since finishing 7-11 in the 2002-03 season. There is hope this week, as Indiana State and Drake sit at No. 9 and 10 in the conference for field goal defense.
After averaging 19 points in UNI’s two games, Ben Jacobson sits at second place for leading scorers in the Valley with 18.2 points per game. Illinois State’s Lorenzo Gordon leads the pack with 18.4 points per contest.
This will be an important week for this team. The Panthers can either rebound and regain some confidence from the field or keep rolling down the hill.
Creighton Bluejays (12-7, 4-4)
Last week: defeated Drake 82-67, lost to Illinois State 82-77 (OT)
This week: Wednesday, Jan. 26 at Bradley, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 29 at Southwest Missouri State, 7:05 p.m.; Tuesday, February 1 vs. Wichita State 7:05 p.m.
It would be nice to say this team will move up in the standings, but there is still a trip to Carver Arena, where Bradley is 10-0 this season and a contest next Tuesday against Wichita State. The Shockers not only lead the conference, but they could very well be in the AP and ESPN/USA Today top 25 next week. And don’t forget that in between that is Southwest Missouri State, who after so many bad breaks, finally struck the win column on Saturday.
In Creighton’s favor, Nate Funk has been nothing but remarkable lately. While defeating Drake, the junior guard scored a career-high and Qwest Center record 26 points. He put up another 26 against Illinois State on Saturday, but his effort was countered by Trey Guidry who broke the Qwest Center’s three-day-old scoring record with 30 points.
This team seems as if it will fly high towards March because Funk is finally getting support. Dane Watts added 17 points, and Johnny Mathies chipped in 12 against Drake. Against Illinois State, it was Kellen Miliner and Tyler McKinney who combined for 25 points.
Evansville Purple Aces (10-7, 4-5)
Last week: defeated Indiana State 64-59
This week: Saturday, Jan. 29 at Southern Illinois, 7:05 p.m.
The Aces took advantage of Indiana State to end a three-game skid, but now a road trip is scheduled to Carbondale to face Southern Illinois, who hasn’t lost a conference game at home since February of 2001. The last team to accomplish that feat just happened to be Evansville though. Destiny? Probably not. It will take a lot more to handle the Salukis in their house. Every conference game is obviously important one, but a loss here could be the back-breaker for UE. Coming back from two games below .500 is quite the task in this conference.
Southwest Missouri State Bears (8-8, 2-6)
Last week: defeated Drake 87-76
This week: Wednesday, Jan. 26 vs. Southern Illinois, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 29 vs. Creighton, 7:05 p.m.
If any team deserved a victory last week, it was the Bears. After so many heartbreaking losses, SMS finally found the win column again after easily beating Drake. Those tough losses included losing a 14-point lead to Northern Iowa, losing at Southern Illinois from a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, losing at Northern Iowa after rallying to within one point with about one minute remaining and losing by two to Wichita State. All of that happened within the last two weeks.
Drake stayed with the Bears through the first half, but SMS used a 21-3 run to leave the Knapp Center with an easy “W.” The Bears, who have no player averaging double figures this season, had six reach at least 10 points on Saturday. Tamar Maclin led the way with 11 points and 15 rebounds and Nathan Bilyeu and Anthony Shavies eached chipped in 13 points apiece.
Kudos to Head Coach Barry Hinson and the team for keeping their heads up and realizing luck had to get back on their side sometime soon. If the Bears can etch out two wins over Southern Illinois and Creighton, a third- or fourth-place finish in the Valley isn’t out of the question.
Drake Bulldogs (6-10, 2-6)
Last week: lost to Creighton 82-67, lost to Southwest Missouri State 87-76
This week: Wednesday, Jan. 26 at Wichita State, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 29 vs. Northern Iowa, 7:05 p.m.; Tuesday, February 1 vs. Illinois State 7:05 p.m.
The Bulldogs didn’t fare well playing the teams in the bottom half of the standings last week. Now this week, they will have to face Nos. 1, 3 and 5. A positive for Drake is that two of the contests are at home, and the other is at Wichita State, where the ‘Dogs recorded a shocking upset last season.
Nate Funk’s 26 points last Wednesday didn’t even give Drake a chance to get into the game. Creighton marched out onto the floor to grab an 8-0 lead and never allowed the Bulldogs to get any closer than six for the rest of the game. Saturday’s contest vs. SMS appeared to be going better until the Bears used a 21-3 run to put the ‘Dogs to sleep, sending the team to its third consecutive defeat.
It isn’t fair, but after a competitive non-conference slate, Drake could be staring at a 2-9 mark in the Valley by next Wednesday.
Indiana State Sycamores (7-12, 2-6)
Last week: lost to Illinois State 73-69, lost to Evansville 64-59
This week: Wednesday, Jan. 26 at Northern Iowa, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 29 vs. Bradley, 1:05 p.m.
Indiana State continues to struggle on the road, dropping to 0-6 after a defeat at Evansville. The Sycamores forced a 59-59 tie in the final 1:30, but Evansville’s Lucious Wagner broke the knot to help send INS to defeat. Eric Gray scored 16 in the game and was aided by 13 points from David Moss and 12 tallies from Tyson Schnitker.
Getting a road win on Wednesday won’t be so easy at Northern Iowa. The Panthers have dropped two consecutive home games already and won’t go down again in front of their home crowd without a good fight.
