Author: Neal Heston

Missouri Valley Preview

Missouri Valley Conference 2006-07 Preview by Neal Heston As if the upper half of the Missouri Valley Conference weren’t crowded enough. This season, two more teams, the Drake Bulldogs and Evansville Aces, will compete with the perennial contenders. Both squads return a large part of their talented 2005-06 rosters, which […]

Big 12 Preview

Big 12 Conference 2006-07 Preview by Neal Heston Welcome back to the Big 12 Conference, home of new hope for several teams. Despite several noteworthy changes throughout the Big 12, the conference favorite has a decidedly familiar flavor. Half of the Big 12 went through a makeover during the off-season, […]

Missouri Valley Recap

Missouri Valley Conference 2005-06 Season Recap by Neal Heston It seems as if the Missouri Valley Conference re-writes history each season. Two years ago, the league had one of its best non-conference seasons ever. That was followed by five teams reaching the postseason last year – including three in the […]

Missouri Valley Notebook

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook by Neal Heston Valley Tidbits Don’t adjust the brackets; you read it correctly. Southern Illinois is not the top seed heading into the MVC Tournament this weekend – the first time in four years. However, No. 2 isn’t so bad – especially this season. Maybe not […]

Missouri Valley Notebook

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook by Neal Heston Looking into the postseason With Missouri State winning five of its last six games, including contests against Bradley and at Northern Iowa, the Missouri Valley now has another team worthy of grabbing an at large bid to the NCAA. Will the committee see […]

Missouri Valley Notebook

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook by Neal Heston Putting the game in perspective The UNI men’s basketball team will play a tough game this Saturday at home against Missouri State, but a more important event will take place during the contest. As part of “Coaches vs. Cancer” weekend, the University of […]

Missouri Valley Notebook

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook by Neal Heston First to 20 wins? The UNI Panthers are nearing their school-record of 23 wins, but they also have the opportunity to become the first 20-win team in the nation on Tuesday. Illinois also has the chance to hit the 20-win plateau on Tuesday […]

Missouri Valley Notebook

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook by Neal Heston On pace for a match: Last season the MVC saw four teams hit the 20-win plateau. Halfway through the conference slate, four are again on track for 20 wins before the league tournament in St. Louis during the first weekend of March. Not […]

Missouri Valley Notebook

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook by Neal Heston League race tightens: UNI downs SIU in double overtime Northern Iowa has racked up some huge victories on its home floor during the last two seasons, but perhaps none were as large as the 71-65 double-overtime victory over Southern Illinois on Monday night. […]

Missouri Valley Notebook

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook by Neal Heston First Quarter Report Card The conference season is four to five games deep now. Some of your typical straight-A teams will still make Mom and Dad proud. Others may want to forge signatures. Southern Illinois (11-3, 4-0) The Salukis definitely didn’t hit the […]