The No. 8 conference in the country should get more attention than it has this year, though Missouri Valley Conference schools have few others to blame but themselves for that.
A league that had such a good non-conference season that it is clearly ahead of leagues like the Mountain West (a good distance back at No. 9 in conference RPI), Atlantic 10 and West Coast Conference has once again done itself no favors for national perception with its parity in conference play. All 10 MVC schools have at least 10 wins overall already-a real achievement in January in a conference that isn’t playing 70%+ of its non-conference games at home-and all 10 are also in the top 160 in the RPI. And yet, nine of the 10 also have seven losses, too, and having seven teams separated by a total of two games between 5-4 and 3-6 in league play is no way to build a NCAA Tournament at-large contenders.
Wednesday did feature a battle for first in the Valley, though, and it’s also possible the conference’s hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAAs aren’t done yet. The first half of the MVC’s round robin is now complete with Loyola Chicago alone in first place after what turned out to be a resounding 80-57 win at Drake, and the Ramblers are making a mighty nice run at separating themselves from the rest of the Valley pack.
The team that famously won at Florida in early December, Loyola has now won six straight games (more on that in a minute), four of those on the road in the MVC. The Ramblers did it Wednesday night with a smoking-hot finish, outscoring Drake 29-6 to finish the game-believe it or not, this was a tie game with nine minutes left, but Loyola shot 65.7% in the second half and seemed to break the Bulldogs’ spirit by the end.
The Ramblers have been a favorite of efficiency mavens the last two years for their offense, and indeed they are one of the better offensive teams in the country, shooting 51% from the field this season even as they typically play at a controlled pace that averages 72.8 points per game. Loyola won’t wow you and won’t devastate with one three-pointer after another-though it does shoot 40.9% from there, too. The Ramblers just have really skilled players who spread out, move the ball and convert when they get their shot, a credit to the recruiting and development by coach Porter Moser and his staff.
The best of those players, and perhaps the best player in the MVC this year, just might be the one running the point. The Valley has a recent history of great point guards, from Adam Emmenecker’s superb 2007-08 season at Drake to Wichita State’s Fred VanVleet (two-time winner) and Illinois State’s Paris Lee last year all winners of the league’s Larry Bird Player of the Year award. Loyola may have the next in that line with Clayton Custer, who is clearly the one who makes the Ramblers go.
Loyola is 15-1 this season in games Custer has played in, and it’s not a coincidence at all that the Ramblers current six-game winning streak started when the junior returned to the lineup after missing five games with an ankle injury. Watch Loyola play at all and it’s crystal clear the energy he gives its offense, and indeed Custer had 14 points and eight assists Wednesday night, including 11 and six in the decisive second half.
Loyola is searching for its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 33 years, since a Sweet 16 run as a 4 seed in 1985 out of the then-Midwestern Cities Conference (later Midwestern Collegiate, now known to all as the Horizon League). At 17-4 now and 7-2 in the Valley now, the Ramblers are the favorite at this point to win the MVC, but also have a chance yet to establish themselves as a credible NCAA at-large contender.
Losses to Indiana State, Missouri State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee all came with Custer out (two of those also were without defensive stopper Ben Richardson), and the Ramblers have one of the best non-conference road wins by any team this season. If Loyola can stay hot, win the MVC with four losses or less and be, say, 25-7 overall after Arch Madness…a clear regular season title in the No. 8 conference in the country ‘should’ be enough for an NCAA bid. Should.
Side Dishes:
- The SEC has a new leader, and it’s Auburn. The Tigers were incredibly impressive on the road, taking over in the last 10 minutes to dismiss Missouri 91-73. Jared Harper scored 21 and his 5-for-7 from three-point range led a 14 of 32 performance from deep as a team. Auburn also hit 23 of 26 from the foul line. National polls have seemed slow to warm to the Tigers, but this team deserves to be ranked in the top 15-at least.
- The Tigers are in first in the SEC because South Carolina knocked off Florida 77-72 in a rematch of the teams’ Elite Eight matchup in March. A surprising result, as the Gators held a nine-point lead early in the second half but couldn’t shake the Gamecocks, especially Wesley Myers, who scored 22 and hit five triples. Florida is just too inconsistent of an offensive team, and the Gators shot 42.9% in this one but more importantly just 6 of 23 from three.
- Xavier looked the part of a top-10 team, drilling Marquette 89-70. The Musketeers can be deadly at Cintas Center, and they were here, shooting 55.6% and putting five in double figures, none of them named J.P. Macura, either. Trevon Bluiett also reached 2,000 points for his outstanding career, the fifth Musketeer ever to do so. X also shut down the Golden Eagles’ three-point attack, allowing just 6 of 23 shooting from there, even as Markus Howard regularly took it to the rim and scored 33. Howard also missed a free throw for the first time this season, ending a streak of 66 consecutive made foul shots, fourth longest in NCAA Division I history.
- Cincinnati drubbed Temple 75-42, extending the nation’s longest home winning streak to 37 games. A stifling defensive performance by Cincy-Temple shot 28.6%, including just 3 of 23 from three. The Bearcats are good…but for the Owls-what was that? There’s more talent there than this.
- What a wild one in the Mountain West, where Wyoming edged Nevada 104-103 in double overtime up at elevation in Laramie. What a game! This one was close the entire way-14 ties, 16 lead changes and neither ever led by more than nine points-and had four 25+ point scorers (led by Justin James with 33 plus 10 boards for the hosts). Wyoming pinned the Wolf Pack with their first MWC loss and as a bonus in its attempt to climb the league standings is now done with Nevada for the regular season, having split the season series.
- Miami (Fla.) edged Louisville 78-75 in overtime, a key hold at home in the ACC for the Hurricanes. This one was another that was tight the whole way-neither held a lead by more than seven all night. Many have been waiting for Miami’s Lonnie Walker to explode, and the talented freshman who has battled injuries may be coming on now in the second half of the season-he had 25 points in this one, many of the clutch variety in the second half, and is averaging 20 ppg over the Canes’ last three contests.
- Another big conference showdown in the Midwest came in South Dakota, where South Dakota hopped over South Dakota State and into first in the Summit League with an 87-68 win at home. Matt Mooney scored 30 for the Coyotes, who went on a big 27-6 run in the second half to blow this one open. SDSU saw an eight-game winning streak snapped. These are two really good teams, both worthy of at least the NIT.
- USC held off Stanford 69-64 to solidify its hold on second in the Pac-12. Jonah Mathews may not be the first one thinks about on this Trojans team, but he was huge with 18 points off the bench in a game where Bennie Boatwright did not play due to pain from a plantar wart on his foot.
- UNC Greensboro defeated Furman 71-61 in a showdown among strong Southern Conference teams. The Spartans broke free late from a back-and-forth battle to hold serve at home and are now 6-1 in the SoCon but still chase East Tennessee State, which moved to 8-0 and won its 11th straight with an 84-75 victory over Mercer. The Buccaneers hit a season-best 13 three-pointers, six by Jalan McCloud.
- The first showdown between a pair of America East titans was a clear decision for Vermont, which held serve at home in a 61-50 defeat of Albany. Trae Bell-Haynes scored 21 points for the Catamounts, who held Great Danes guards Joe Cremo and David Nichols in check and remained undefeated in the league.
- St. Bonaventure got back on the winning track-barely. The Bonnies outlasted stubborn Saint Joseph’s 70-67, with Jaylen Adams driving for the go-ahead hoop with 19 seconds left. It’s a win, and the Hawks are no slouch, but this is still a team that doesn’t have the mojo it did earlier in the year.
- How about Nicholls State? The Colonels-picked 10th of 13 teams in the Southland Conference preseason poll-are now alone in first at 7-1 after a 79-74 win at Lamar. Roddy Peters scored 28 points off the bench for Nicholls, which is becoming one of the best stories in the country. This was a funky game in that the Colonels shot 60.4% and yet committed 27 turnovers
- Villanova defeated Providence handily on Tuesday, but it came at a cost as Phil Booth fractured a bone in his right hand and is out indefinitely. Booth (11.6 ppg, 2.5 assist-to-TO ratio) is the third Wildcat this season to have a broken bone in the hand/wrist area, and his loss deals a blow to the team’s depth, perhaps the closest thing there is to a weakness for the nation’s top-ranked team.
Tonight’s Menu:
- The night starts in the Big Ten with Michigan at Purdue (7 p.m., ESPN). Second meeting of the year already between these two, and the Wolverines have been closer than anyone else-a 70-69 loss-to beating the Boilermakers in their current 15-game winning streak. Michigan surprisingly beat the Boilers 36-29 on the road in the first game, an area where as much as any Purdue seems susceptible to inconsistency.
- SMU is on the road at disappointing Connecticut (7 p.m., CBSSN). The Huskies have a lot to prove after getting pasted each of their last two games.
- The OVC gets some more national TV time with Morehead State at Murray State (7 p.m., ESPNU). The Racers sit tied for second in the league, a game behind Belmont (home against Eastern Illinois this evening), and the terrific three-team race between those two and Jacksonville State (which hosts Tennessee-Martin tonight) looks to be fantastic as it hits the stretch run.
- Important game in the CAA, where co-leader William & Mary is at Towson, the Tribe’s enjoyable always moving offense against the Tigers’ thoroughly different but equally likable brawn and toughness. Also, the other co-leader Northeastern is on the road at Hofstra, which lurks just a game back in this wildly competitive league.
- Colorado gets a chance to back up its home win over Arizona when it faces the Wildcats in Tucson (8:30 p.m., FS1). That was Zona’s only loss in its last 14 games. That’s part of a doubleheader, as its followed by California at UCLA (10:30 p.m., FS1).
- Important bounce back game for Wichita State, which has had some time to seethe after two losses last week including a humbling at Houston. The Shockers host Central Florida, which may well be the cure for WSU’s defensive ills (9 p.m., ESPN2). Curious to see if UCF plays as much zone with Tacko Fall out.
- The Northeast Conference gets a national spotlight with LIU at Mount St. Mary’s (9 p.m., CBSSN), two teams square in the middle of the league now but who played some dandies last year.
- Perhaps the best TV game of the night is one of the last ones, as BYU goes to Saint Mary’s (11 p.m., ESPN2). The Cougars are a super-quiet 17-4 this year, but the Gaels won the first meeting in Provo in overtime as Jock Landale (31 points, 13 rebounds) Yoeli Childs (29 points, 10 boards) engaged in a superb duel.
- Also in the WCC, an interesting game is Pacific at San Francisco. Let’s see how the Tigers respond after a narrow loss to Saint Mary’s last time out.
- The best game of the night in the Big Sky is Northern Colorado at Idaho, with high-scoring Andre Spight (UNC) against Idaho’s Victor Sanders.
- The Big West is heating up, and five teams enter the night separated by a total of one game. Two of them are UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton, with the Titans hosting the Gauchos tonight (10:30 p.m., Fox Sports West on your DirecTV).
Have a terrific Thursday.
