Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston
Tourney Watch
With the first week of February complete, which teams still look strong?
- Wichita State: NCAA Tourney – Wichita State dropped a close one at Creighton on Tuesday, but it still appears to be the best team in the Valley.
- Southern Illinois: NCAA Tourney – The Salukis have shown some vulnerability lately, but nobody still wants to play them.
- Illinois State: NIT Bound – After nearly knocking off the Shockers at Wichita State, the Redbirds proved they are for real.
- Northern Iowa: NIT Bound – Shooting more than 50 percent on Wednesday should give the Panthers some confidence heading into Saturday’s contest with Southern Illinois.
- Creighton: NIT Bound – A close loss at SMS and a win against Wichita State has the Bluejays right in the thick of the conference race.
Close, but not yet: SMS
Bracket Buster Pairings released
ESPN announced the pairings for Bracket Buster Saturday on Feb. 19, and nine Valley schools will participate. Four of those nine (Wichita State, Southern Illinois, Illinois State and Northern Iowa) will have games telecast on selected ESPN stations. The MVC has fared well in this event’s first two years of existence, going 10-4 all-time (6-4 last season). Matches for the MVC include: Illinois State at Wisconsin-Green Bay, Western Michigan at UNI, Southern Illinois at Kent St., Wichita State at Miami (Ohio), Loyola at Evansville, San Jose St. at Drake, Bradley at Western Kentucky, Oral Roberts at SMS, and Chattanooga at Creighton.
The Magic Number
Last season, four MVC teams won 20 games for just the third time in the conference’s history. The Valley isn’t only on pace to tie that record right now, but there is also a possibility for a fifth team to sneak in 20 wins. As of Feb. 3, Wichita State, Southern Illinois, Illinois State and Northern Iowa were on pace to win at least 20 games by the time the conference tournament begins next month. Creighton is on pace to win 19 by that time. The only other times before last season where at least four Valley teams won 20 games were the 1994-95 and 1990-00 seasons. The 1999-00 season was successful enough to sneak three MVC teams into the NCAA Tournament.
NBA Rookie Challenge calls Korver
Former Creighton standout Kyle Korver will participate in the NBA’s Rookie Challenge on Friday, Feb. 18 on the sophomore team. Korver is one of 18 players to participate and is the only player who graduated from a mid-major school. The game will be televised on TNT at 8 p.m.
In his second season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Korver is averaging 11.9 points per game. Last year he ranked second among NBA rookies in 3-point field goal percentage, hitting 39.1 percent from beyond the arc.
While with Creighton from 1999-2003, Korver scored 1,801 points – fifth-best in Bluejay’s history and broke school records for career 3-pointers (371) and career free-throw percentage (39.1 percent).
MVC Game of the Week
Wednesday, Feb. 9: Northern Iowa at Creighton (Televised on ESPN2, 7:05 p.m.)
UNI will look for revenge against the Bluejays after Nate Funk hit a buzzer-beating shot at Northern Iowa on Jan. 15 to defeat the Panthers. Both of these teams are evenly matched and can’t afford very many more losses. UNI’s Ben Jacobson and Creighton’s Nate Funk should be a fun battle to watch, as they are ranked third and fourth in the MVC for points per game.
Other games to keep an eye on: Saturday, Feb. 5: Southern Illinois at Northern Iowa, 7:05 p.m.; Southwest Missouri State at Creighton, 8:05 p.m.
Hoopville MVC Player of the Week: Lonnie Randolph, Drake
How does a player when conference Player of the Week when his team went 1-2? Easy, average 17.3 points in those three games and almost single-handedly take your team to victory. That’s exactly what Randolph did last week after scoring 19 points against Wichita State and a season-high 30 points in a win against Northern Iowa before being limited to three points against Illinois State on Tuesday. Against Northern Iowa, Randolph tied a school record by sinking 22 free throws.
Hoopville Newcomer of the Week: Aliou Keita, Drake
This sophomore transfer had an excellent week on the boards to aid the Bulldogs. Keita averaged just more than nine points in three games last week while pulling in 11 rebounds per game. His efforts helped keep Drake competitive in each game.
Wichita State Shockers (16-3, 9-2)
Last week: defeated Drake 76-65, defeated Illinois St. 78-72, lost to Creighton 73-69
This week: Saturday, Feb. 5 vs. Indiana St., 7:05 p.m.
The Shockers dodged two bullets and nearly pulled off their first victory in Omaha for the first time since 1992. WSU will have to settle for a close loss at the Qwest Center and be prepared to nurse its half-game lead over Southern Illinois as Indiana State comes into town on Saturday.
Jamar Howard was a huge part of the Shockers’ escapes over Drake and Illinois State, as the senior scored 21 and 27 points, but the Bluejays had his number on Tuesday and limited him to three points. With Howard well defended, Rob Kampman, Randy Burns and Sean Ogirri tried to take over, but it wasn’t quite enough.
As the final seven games of the MVC regular season are played, Wichita State has one detail to worry about: falling into early holes. Runs of 14-7 and 9-0 were needed to overcome an early 12-point deficit to Illinois State, and a second-half surge finally put Drake away last Wednesday. Sooner or later, this will hurt the Shockers, as it did several times last season.
Southern Illinois Salukis (17-5, 8-2)
Last week: lost to SMS 92-77, defeated Evansville 79-55, defeated Bradley 89-73
This week: Saturday, Feb. 5 at Northern Iowa, 7:05 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 7 at Drake, 7:05 p.m.
It’s back to the place that started SIU’s collapse last season – the UNI-Dome at Northern Iowa. Southern Illinois visited the Dome last year attempting to finish the MVC season 18-0, but was walloped by the Panthers. The Salukis went on to lose two of their three final games, including a semifinal in the conference tournament and in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The team may enter Northern Iowa at a bad time, as the Panthers appeared to climb out of their shooting slump against Evansville Wednesday (without a healthy Ben Jacobson or Erik Crawford). And as everybody knows, when the Panthers are hot from the field, it’s going to be a long night.
Two days later, SIU will travel to another tough environment in Des Moines. Drake is 6-5 at home this season, with two of those losses being a three-point setback to Creighton and a one-point heartbreaker to Illinois State. UNI was dominated for much of the game at the Knapp Center last Saturday.
In the first Drake-SIU game this season, SIU squeezed through for a 51-45 win.
Illinois State Redbirds (15-6, 7-4)
Last week: lost to Wichita St. 78-72, defeated Drake 59-58
This week: Saturday, Feb. 5 vs. Bradley, 4:05 p.m.
It was a roller coaster week for Illinois State. After letting one slip away at Wichita State, the Redbirds went on the road and stole one from the Drake Bulldogs. ILS controlled a 21-9 lead early in Kansas against Wichita State, but fell victim to a 14-7 WSU run to tie the game and a 9-0 WSU run to help the Shockers pull away.
On Tuesday, the Redbirds trailed for all but three seconds, but thankfully, they were the final three seconds to carry the ‘Birds out of Des Moines with a close win and their standing at third place in the Valley.
Trey Guidry, Vince Greene and Lorenzo Gordon all enjoyed strong performances last week. Guidry put 19 points in the books against Wichita State, Greene averaged 16.5 points per contest and Gordon averaged 15.5 points per game.
This week presents the opportunity for ILS to keep a stronghold on third place, and with some help, fly into a tie for second place. A struggling Bradley squad will visit Normal on Saturday. Since defeating Northern Iowa on Jan. 22, the Braves have looked dismal several times in losses to Indiana State, Creighton and Southern Illinois.
Northern Iowa Panthera (15-7, 6-5)
Last week: defeated Indiana St. 69-61, lost to Drake 81-72, defeated Evansville 79-61
This week: Saturday, Feb. 5 vs. Southern Illinois, 7:05 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 9 at Creighton, 7:05 p.m.
“Critical” is the only word that can describe this week for Northern Iowa. After showing signs of life in a win over Evansville Wednesday, the Panthers shooting woes may appear to be a thing of the past. If that’s the case, this team could be in great position come next week. If Wednesday was just a fluke, it would be more accurate to say a 6-7 conference mark is likely instead of possible.
What gives the Panthers confidence as Southern Illinois works its way to Cedar Falls is that UNI shot very well Wednesday without a lot from Ben Jacobson or Erik Crawford – the team’s leading scorers. Both suffered from the flu but still combined for 15 points. The duo of Grant Stout and Eric Coleman came to life, as the two combined for 36 points – Stout chipping in a career-high 24 tallies.
Of course, Jacobson and Crawford will need to be healthy to get a win over Southern Illinois, but more importantly, Stout and Coleman will need to give the same output as Wednesday – if not more.
Creighton Bluejays (14-8, 6-5)
Last week: defeated Bradley 74-65, lost to SMS 80-73, defeated Wichita St. 73-69
This week: Saturday, Feb. 5 vs. SMS, 8:05 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 9 vs. Northern Iowa, 7:05 p.m.
This isn’t what many would call Creighton’s best team during the years, yet the Bluejays are still in contention and appear poised to continue moving up. Dominating Bradley in Peoria, knocking the top team in the Valley off its pedestal and nearly winning at SMS proves that.
Johnny Mathies enjoyed a strong week for the Bluejays, averaging 14.7 points per game. Nate Funk and Tyler McKinney also threw in a couple double-figure scoring efforts.
The schedule won’t be kind this week, as SMS appears on the schedule again, and Northern Iowa visits on Wednesday. Both games are in the Qwest Center, but the Bluejays haven’t been as invincible at home this season, going 7-4 so far.
Southwest Missouri State Bears (10-8, 4-6)
Last week: defeated Southern Illinois 92-77, defeated Creighton 80-73
This week: Saturday, Feb. 5 at Creighton, 8:05 p.m.
To those who left the Bears for dead two weeks ago: For shame. SMS continues to put marks in the win column – and with style at that.
Southern Illinois was no contest for the Bears on Jan. 26. Six players scored in double figures, led by Tamarr Maclin with 16, Blake Ahearn with 15 and Nathan Bilyeu with 11. Maclin added 12 rebounds, and Bilyeu grabbed another 12 boards. The Bears’ defense was just as dominating as the offense on that night, as SMS shot 57 percent from the field compared with 38 percent from the Salukis.
The offense continued to stay hot while defeating Creighton. SMS was good for 50 percent from the field and had continuous leads ranging from 3 to 9 points in the competitive contest.
Don’t be surprised if this team is 8-7 or even 9-6 in Valley play by the time Wichita State appears on the schedule on Feb. 23. Although there are no “gimmies” in this conference, the next three games for SMS after Creighton include teams in the bottom half of the standings.
Bradley Braves (11-8, 4-7)
Last week: lost to Creighton 74-65, lost to Indiana St. 73-63, lost to Southern Illinois 89-73
This week: Saturday, Feb. 5 at Illinois St., 4:05 p.m.
The roller coaster is going down a steep hill and has taken Bradley for a ride down the standings. After getting back to .500 in conference play, the Braves hit a wall while falling to Creighton, Indiana State and Southern Illinois.
Bradley led Creighton 34-31 at the half last week, but hasn’t really been able to put together a good half of basketball since then. The Bluejays stormed back to win by nine, Indiana State dominated during the next contest and Southern Illinois had little trouble disposing of the Braves – connecting on 20 percent more shots than BU.
The schedule isn’t favorable to end this losing streak with Illinois State coming into town Saturday. The game is in Peoria, but Illinois State is playing very well right now.
Marcellus Sommerville gave very strong efforts this week, averaging 16.3 points per game. Tony Bennett was good support as well, scoring 17 points against Creighton and 20 points against Indiana State.
Evansville Purple Aces (10-10, 4-8)
Last week: lost to Southern Illinois 79-55, lost to Northern Iowa 79-61
This week: Saturday, Feb. 5 vs. Drake, 7:05 p.m.
Another team struggling is the Purple Aces. Losses aren’t only piling up, but they are bad losses: 16, 19, 24 and 18. In Evansville’s defense, those losses were to Wichita State, Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa. Nevertheless, losses like those will destroy a team’s confidence, and that is what UE looks like right now.
Though the lone game this week is against last-place Drake, it won’t be an easy game to end a losing streak. Drake has been competing with the teams in the upper half and has even pulled off a victory.
Indiana State Sycamores (8-13, 3-7)
Last week: lost to Northern Iowa 69-61, defeated Bradley 73-63
This week: Saturday, Feb. 5 at Wichita State, 7:05 p.m.
Indiana State sits near the bottom, but it has played some very competitive games lately. It took Northern Iowa all 40 minutes to finally put the pesky Sycamores away, and Bradley was no match in its contest. The Sycamores jumped out to a 15-point halftime lead against Bradley and never looked back. In that game, David Moss scored 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists. It was almost as good as his 28-point effort against Northern Iowa.
The Sycamores contest on Saturday isn’t much of a treat. Not only will they play Wichita State, but they’ll be in Kansas. Don’t be surprised to see a close match though.
Drake Bulldogs (7-12, 3-8)
Last week: lost to Wichita St. 76-65, defeated Northern Iowa 81-72, lost to Illinois St. 59-58
This week: Saturday, Feb. 5 at Evansville, 7:05 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 7 vs. Southern Illinois, 7:05 p.m.
Sandwiched between two heartbreaks was a huge win over Northern Iowa for the Bulldogs. Lonnie Randolph took control and scored a season-high 30 points. Randolph connected for 22 free throws to tie a school record. His performance against the Panthers would have been even more amazing had he not scored 31 in a game against UNI last season.
Randolph and transfer sophomore Aliou Keita were the keys to a competitive week for Drake (thus the Players of the Week). If that continues and Klayton Korver and Chris Bryant put up a few more points this week, two wins should go in the books.
