Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

PRESEASON vs. ACTUAL RESULTS

As you can see from the preseason predictions I made on the Missouri Valley conference back in October versus how things ended up, the MVC turned out to be difficult to predict this year as none of the teams performed as expected other than Northern Iowa and Wichita State.

I originally was not sold on the Panthers, but as the season wore on, I could see the cohesiveness and all the little things this group of players do to win games.  Even with the suspension of Jordan Eglseder in three of the final four games, they were able to rally for the most part and continue their dominance in the Valley.  Wichita State may have surprised some, but the Shockers appear to be back in the Valley picture after a few year absence from relevance.  The work Gregg Marshall has done to build this team back up from scratch has paid off.  The question now is whether it is enough to get to an NCAA Tournament postseason.

HELLO SAINT LOUIS

The Missouri Valley Conference tournament will take place this coming week at the Scottrade Center in downtown Saint Louis.  Rush the Court will be live in St. Louis this week to keep you updated on the things going on at Arch Madness.  Here is how the bracket shapes up:

Teams to watch in the MVC Tournament

It looks that if Northern Iowa wins the MVC tournament for the third straight year, the MVC will be a one-bid league.  The only way that the Valley will get two teams into the NCAA Tournament is if someone knocks off the Panthers.  If that is going to happen, here are the teams to watch:

• Wichita State—For the first time in conference tourney history, there will be two teams entering with 23 or more wins.  Northern Iowa is one and the Shockers are the other.  Both teams have split their season series against each other and it is possible the rub will come in the tournament finals.  It could be quite a battle.  However the loss of David Kyles for the season could create some depth problems for the Shockers.
• Illinois State—For the first time since 1992, two players from the same team have led the conference in scoring (Osiris Eldridge) and rebounding (Dinma Odiokosa).  Add in the third option of Lloyd Phillips and the Redbirds  are hoping the third time is a charm as they have appeared in the last two tournament finals.
• Creighton—Coach Dana Altman has a history of gearing his teams up for the conference tournament.  Creighton owns the most MVC tournament titles with ten, the last coming in 2007.   Despite the rocky season the Bluejays have had, they have won three in a row (their first three-game streak all season) heading into the tournament
• Missouri State—The Bears have been the overachievers in the conference this season with the best record heading into conference play.  Since then, they have been up and down.  They are the first team since the MVC tournament expanded with more than 17 wins to play in the Thursday night play-in game. Don’t be surprised if the Bears get a couple of wins and really be a threat to the higher seeded teams.

TEAM EVALUATION and POSTSEASON OUTLOOK

After playing in Saint Louis this week, some teams will have their season come to an end while others will make appearances in the postseason.  With the assumption Northern Iowa wins the conference tournament, here is the outlook for the other Valley teams.

• Northern Iowa (Projection—NCAA Tournament)—We must mention Northern Iowa in the unlikely chance they lose in the MVC Tournament.  If the Pac-10 gets two teams in the NCAA Tournament this season, then the MVC should get two teams in as well.  If you do a comparison statistically, both conferences are really pretty much the same this season.  If Northern Iowa loses their first round game, then they may need to panic, but for a team that has been ranked a good part down the stretch, they should still be in a good position to make the tournament.   We also know that the MVC Player of the Year will come from Northern Iowa, but the question is, who will it be?
• Wichita State (Projection—NIT)—The Shockers have had a nice season and their 23 wins are nice to look at. However, they missed opportunities when they lost at Northern Iowa and allowed Evansville to get their first conference win of the season against them.   They also went 4-4 down the stretch which isn’t as impressive as it could be.   The lost great opportunities against Pitt which made them miss out on playing Texas in the CBE Classic and the rest of the non-conference opponents were not great competition, but scheduling was done well for this team that had not had very much success the past couple of seasons.  They should be a lock for the NIT.
• Illinois State  (Projection-NIT)—The Redbirds have been the hottest team in the Valley down the stretch, winning six of their last seven games.  Unfortunately that one loss was against conference champion Northern Iowa on Senior Day.  As it has been documented before, the Redbirds did not have a top-notch non-conference schedule.  However, they have been a solid team and could warrant an invite to the NIT with a couple wins in the MVC Tournament.  Things could be electric if they meet Northern Iowa again in the conference tournament.
• Creighton  (Projection—CBI or CIT)—The Bluejays have probably been one of the bigger disappointments in the Valley this season.  They had toughened the schedule, but they were all on the road.  Injuries (Justin Carter), illnesses (Casey Harriman), and distractions (P’Allen Stinnett) could be some of the excuses that this team was not successful, but instead it has just been lack of toughness and players willing to step up.  Chad Millard, who transferred from Louisville four years ago, also feels like injuries kept him from being a better contributor.  Coach Altman has focused things on the future as the starting lineup for the last three games (which have been wins) has included two freshman, a sophomore and a junior to play along Justin Carter.  Kenny Lawson is probably the only player on the Bluejays this season that warrants all-conference consideration.  A couple wins in the MVC Tourney and they can extend their current 13 consecutive seasons to the postseason.
• Bradley (Projection—none)—The clock is ticking on Jim Les’ future in Peoria.  For the fifth straight year, the Braves are playing in the 4 vs. 5 game in the MVC Tournament and have not risen back to the glory of going to the Sweet 16 four seasons ago.  They have been 5-5 in the last ten games of the season.  They lost at Creighton for the twelfth straight time on Saturday.  Unless the Braves get to the tournament final, there is not a postseason to be had for this team.   Their performance in the non-conference was not very good and they lost to teams they shouldn’t have.
• Indiana State (Projection-none)—Indiana State  really had a decent season and Kevin McKenna is helping to get this team relevant again in the Valley.  The Sycamores lost Jake Kelly early in the conference season and then lost leading scorers Dwayne Latham and Harry Marshall at about the same time down the MVC stretch run.  Marshall was able to come back for the season finale against Missouri State and lead the team to a win with a 33-foot shot at the end of the game.  With a large core of players again coming back next season with a couple seasons under their belt, there could be some higher expectations going into next season.
• Missouri State (Projection—CBI or CIT)—The Bears have the opportunity for being rewarded for an outstanding season.  After last season, it appeared Missouri State had a lot more rebuilding to do than they realized and were not projected to do that well this season.  After a strong run out of the gate, this team played some great defense while at the same time having some stellar offense from Kyle Weems and Adam Leonard.  After losing on a last second shot Saturday against Indiana State, the Bears get an extra game by playing on Thursday night in Saint Louis which could garner them their twentieth win of the season.  That could be enough to get them to some postseason play.
• Drake (Projection-none) –Drake’s season turned out pretty much as I had predicted.  They are still trying to reach the level they attained two seasons ago by winning the conference regular season and tournament titles.  Josh Young is leaving as the Bulldogs’ all-time leading scorer.   Their season low came against SIU-Edwardsville who defeated the Bulldogs on their home court in their own tournament.  That was definitely a black eye for the conference.  Drake does have the number one rated recruiting class for the Valley coming in next season.  We will have to see if that turns into results.
• Southern Illinois  (Projection-none)—Although the Salukis will finish the season at .500 or better, it still probably does not meet the expectations of the fans down in Carbondale.  After going to the postseason for ten straight seasons, they will not go to the postseason for the second straight year.  In the season finale, the Salukis got a “butt-beat.” Many are questioning Chris Lowery’s recruiting while some wonder if he will head out of Carbondale over to Depaul.  Either way, the Lowery tenure may not be lasting that much longer and he probably has one more season to show Saluki fans what he can do.
• Evansville (Projection-none)—The Purple Aces had to rebuild from scratch this season.  The bright spot—Colt Ryan and Denver Holmes.  These two players  are building the foundation  for the future and if the last few games of the season were any indication, this team may look a lot better heading into next season.  After starting the conference season 0-13, they went 2-1 in the final three conference games.   With everyone back for next season, the Aces will not finish last.

Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Current Records and my standings (Conference Standings) (Last Week)

1. Northern Iowa  24-3  (14-2) (1)
2. Wichita State 22-7 (11-5) (2)
3. Illinois State  20-8 (10-6) (3)
4. Creighton  14-14 (8-8)  (4)
5. Bradley  14-13 (8-8) (5)
6. Indiana State  16-12 (8-8) (6)
7. Missouri State  18-10 (7-9) (7)
8. Drake  13-16 (7-9)  (8)
9. Southern Illinois   15-12 (6-10) (9)
10. Evansville 7-20 (1-15) (10)  

STORIES OF THE WEEK

Bracketbusters Dominance—The Missouri Valley Conference had a nice showing in Bracketbusters this past weekend, going 7-3 against the competition and  2-1 in televised games.  Northern Iowa had all eyes watching them Friday night to kick off Bracketbusters as they dominated Old Dominion from the Colonial.    On Saturday, Missouri State came from behind to knock off Nevada, however in the nightcap, Wichita State got down early and was not able to  make up the difference in the loss to Utah State.             

More Suspensions in Valley- First it was Nick Evans from Southern Illinois (who eventually left school), P’Allen Stinnett from Creighton, and Jordan Eglseder from Northern Iowa with suspensions.  Now for the third time this season, Taylor Brown from Bradley is serving a suspension from the Braves.  This time it is over some Tweets he made that did not fit into the standards required by head coach Jim Less with respect to social networking.

Last Week of Regular Season—This will be the last week of regular season games in the Valley.  But surprisingly enough, there are still several seeding implications that could occur.  There are enough scenarios that could put Indiana State as high as a #3 seed and Illinois State as low as a #6 seed.  A resident Valley expert has all the likely scenarios laid out for this week.

SEEDING THINGS OUT

As we go into the final week of the MVC regular season, teams are still trying to seed themselves for the conference tourney in St. Louis the first week of March.  Let’s see where everyone stands right now.

• Northern Iowa (2-0 this week)—Northern Iowa still appears to be the class of the Valley this season.  With their wins over Creighton and Old Dominion this week, they actually appeared to play better without the suspended Jordan Eglseder.   Lucas O’Rear has taken over the starting spot during the suspension and his toughness has been enough to help carry the Panthers.  Here is life as a Panther fan.  They finish out the season  this week against Evansville and Illinois State.
• Wichita State (1-1 this week)—The Shockers are starting to falter down the stretch.  After almost losing against Evansville for the second time in a week and some questionable columns by the local beat writers, Wichita State fell to Utah State on the road in Bracketbusters.  Any chance of an at-large look is pretty much out the window for them with their non-conference schedule coming back to haunt them.  They need to finish strong against Bradley and Southern Illinois to hold on to their second place position.
• Illinois State  (2-0 this week, won 6 of last 7)—Breathing down the neck of the Shockers is Illinois State.  The Redbirds are on a roll this week after defeating Missouri State and Morehead State.  Their current winning streak is at five and they are finding ways to win games.  One interesting stat to note— Osiris Eldridge and Dinma Odiakosa are trying to become the first players from the same team to win the league’s scoring and rebounding titles since 1992.  This could be a big week for Illinois State as they close out the regular season against conference champs Northern Iowa.   It could be a preview of the  MVC tournament finals.
• Creighton  (1-1 this week) – Between the game against Northern Iowa at the beginning of the week and against Loyola-Chicago in the Bracketbusters, the Bluejays looked like two totally different teams.  They were torched in Cedar Falls against Northern Iowa before returning home to pull away from Loyola-Chicago.  Center Kenny Lawson has now hit 2 of 3 three-point attempts in the last two games, his first three pointers in his career.  Creighton tries to stay above .500 as they finish against rival Southern Illinois and have senior day against Bradley. 
• Bradley (1-1 this week)—The Braves started the week with a loss at Indiana State before defeating Drexel for their Bracketbuster matchup.  Without Taylor Brown, the Braves went with a zone defense for the whole game.  Again the Braves will not finish in the top three in the conference.  The question is, will Jim Les ever take them to the top of the league much less take them back to the NCAA Tourney?
• Indiana State (1-1 this week)—The Sycamores have been up and down lately.  They have no problems winning at home, but like the rest of the Valley, have a hard time winning on the road.  But they are keeping their head afloat  with eight active players on the roster and could get a good matchup in the MVC tourney if they can beat Illinois State and Missouri State this week. 
• Missouri State (1-1 this week)—Missouri State ran out of gas against Illinois State this week but then in front of a nationally televised audience came back from being five points down late to beat Nevada in Bracketbusters.   Head Coach Cuonzo Martin doesn’t mind the WAC referee crew that came in for that game.  Heck, they might be better than the referees that normally do Valley games in my mind.  Drake and Indiana State are on the menu this week for the Bears and are both very winnable games.  Really with how this team ended up doing this season, it is too bad Cuonzo Martin probably won’t win Valley Coach of the Year honors. 
• Drake (2-0 this week)— Mark Phelps is working to get the Bulldogs to finish strong.    They win the time-zone award this week as they went out to Cal State-Northridge for their Bracketbusters game and walked away with a win.  Missouri State and Evansville are on the slate this week.  How they finish the season here could go a long way for next season.
• Southern Illinois (1-1 this week)— The Salukis are about to end their season with a losing record for the second consecutive season.  Many are wondering if there will be a any shakeups during the offseason and whether the recruiting class that was so hyped up two seasons ago is now a bust.  Southern Illinois is a shell of its former self and I see that there needs to be some type of change during this offseason if Chris Lowery expects to get another pass.  Or he may take off for another coaching opportunity. Firing Lowery probably won’t solve many problems.   A lot of questions without many answers.  They will try to feel a little better about themselves if they can get a win against Creighton this week before heading to Wichita State to finish the regular season. 
• Evansville (0-2 this week)—The Purple Aces are building themselves up to prepare for next season.  They almost pulled off another stunning upset against Wichita State and just missed out on Illinois-Chicago.  Games like this will probably prepare them for next season when they can start over.   Speaking of starting over, Kaylon Williams, who transferred from Evansville after last season is now opening up the recruiting race as he finishes up junior college.   After losing 17 of their last 18 games, Evansville has two more chances for another win this week against Northern Iowa and Drake. 

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

Catch the Valley during the last week of the regular season as the top teams in the Valley get one more showcase to the nation.

• 2/23, Creighton @ Southern Illinois (Fox Sports Net)—Both with down seasons, but still rivals.  SIU tries to avenge being destroyed at home a year ago by the Bluejays. 
• 2/24, Wichita State @ Bradley (Local TV)—Bradley is trying to get a different seed.  Wichita State tries to keep theirs.
• 2/27, Illinois State @ Northern Iowa (ESPN2)—This game was chosen as the “Wildcard” game by ESPN.  Northern Iowa hopes they don’t meet the Redibirds in the MVC Tournament.
• 2/27, Wichita State @ Southern Illinois (Fox Sports Net)—A telling sign of the way the MVC has been gradually been flipped over.  Wichita sitting in the top part of the league while the Salukis head for their second consecutive losing season. 
• 2/28, Bradley @ Creighton (Local TV)—This is always an entertaining game.  Two seasons ago Cavel Witter went off for 42 points in a crazy game.  It is his Senior day, how does he finish his career at Creighton? 

Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Current Records and my standings, (Conference Standings) (Last Week)

1. Northern Iowa  22-3  (13-2) (1)
2. Wichita State 21-6 (10-5) (2)
3. Illinois State  18-8 (9-6) (3)
4. Creighton  13-13 (8-7)  (6)
5. Bradley  13-12 (8-7) (7)
6. Indiana State  15-11 (7-8) (4)
7. Missouri State  17-9 (7-8) (5)
8. Drake  11-16 (6-9)  (8)
9. Southern Illinois   14-11 (6-9) (9)
10. Evansville 7-18 (1-14) (10)  

STORIES OF THE WEEK

• Northern Iowa clinches conference—UNI clinched a share of the MVC title on Wednesday night with their win against Drake.  They will go into the MVC Tournament as the number one seed with everyone else in the conference gunning for them to give the Valley an opportunity to get more than one team into the NCAA Tournament.  However, some pundits including Jerry Palm don’t believe that Northern Iowa is in yet, even as an at-large.   The Mock NCAA exercise has the Panthers as a 13 seed.   It will be up to the Panthers to hold up down the stretch as they struggled a year ago in this same position.
• Eglseder Suspended for Three Games– Northern Iowa may have run into a problem though as their center Jordan Eglseder was arrested Saturday night for drunk driving.  Eglseder was stopped in his vehicle by officers at about 3 a.m. Sunday. Officers observed Eglseder’s vehicle committing a traffic violation and followed the vehicle for a couple of blocks before stopping it.  Eglseder was administered a field sobriety test at the scene and failed it.  He is now suspended for three games at a minimum and could affect how UNI finishes the regular season and the big game against Old Dominion on Friday becomes even bigger. 
• Evansville being the spoiler—The other team in the Valley to even have a little consideration as to tourney talk was Wichita State.  The Shockers have been trying to pad their resume a little more down the stretch.  Unfortunately, they ran into Evansville who were on a 14-game losing streak.  You expected that the Purple Aces would get a win at some point.  They ended up getting it against Wichita State.  This victory has opened up a chance for second place in the conference and the Shockers are back on their heels.
• Bracketbuster week—This weekend is Bracketbuster weekend.  Northern Iowa and Wichita State need wins in this event to give the Valley a little more credibility.  The Panthers host Old Dominion on Friday night and the Shockers go out to Utah State in the final game of the day.  Missouri State is also on the ESPN family of networks against Nevada which may not be of any real significance for either school.  Some people have their own opinion about Bracketbusters. 

THE AVERAGE VALLEY

Once again teams are beating up on each other this week without any consistency down the stretch.  Let’s take a look at the Valley teams.

• Illinois State  (2-0 this week)— The Redbirds have been the most successful team this week, getting victories on the road at their rival Bradley and at Creighton on Saturday.  Some of the Illinois State fans were not to excited about the shirts some of the Bradley fans wore to the game.   The Redbirds have now won three games in a row by a total of seven points to take over sole possession of third place in the Valley.   They host Missouri State in a conference seeding game and then  Morehead State next weekend in Bracketbusters.
• Northern Iowa (1-1 this week)—The Panthers got past their in-state rival Drake this week, but then after celebrating winning a share of the Valley regular season title, they were surprised by Bradley.   They are being celebrated as Iowa’s team of the decade.  That is quite an accomplishment since there are teams from the Big 10 and the Big 12 also in the state.  The Panthers will get some love at home this week as they host Creighton and then kick off Bracketbusters Friday night against Old Dominion. 
• Bradley (1-1 this week)—Bradley was pretty fired up to take on Illinois State this week in the return game of their rivalry after getting smoked in Normal the week before.  Unfortunately it was not enough as Bradley lost a two-point decision to the Redbirds.  The black uniforms may not be the answer.  In a turn of events, Northern Iowa came in and Bradley took it to them from the beginning and put themselves back into contention to avoid Thursday night in St. Louis.  The win against Northern Iowa was the first victory for Bradley against a ranked team at the 27-year old Carver Arena.  A conference game at Indiana State this week is on the slate before hosting Drexel in their Bracketbusters game Saturday night. 
• Wichita State (1-1 this week)—The Shockers are starting to get a little complacent as they head down the stretch.  Losing two of their last three games going into the game against Missouri State, the Shockers are playing themselves out of consideration for an at-large much less a good seed in the conference tournament.  They are looking like last season’s Creighton team that just missed getting into the NCAAs.   They may be thinking their program is returning to prominence, but they need to slow down a bit.  After surviving at home against Missouri State, where they are now 15-0, they need wins this week against Evansville and at Utah State in the Bracketbusters to keep them from a total collapse.
• Missouri State (1-1 this week)—The Bears are full of confidence right now and are getting their momentum back at the right time.  After starting the season 12-1, Missouri State has been up and down throughout the rest of the conference season.   Missouri State had Wichita State on the ropes Sunday night, but could not pull out the victory.   It will be a big game for the Bears at Illinois State on Wednesday before hosting Nevada in the Bracketbusters this weekend.
• Creighton  (1-1 this week) –Justin Carter swished a half-court shot in practice to end it early and to give the team a smile leading into the Bluejays’  golden opportunity to solidify their third place position by getting a win against Illinois State.  However, they couldn’t get the win and the Redbirds are now 7-1 against the Bluejays over the past four seasons.  It is very possible they will meet again in St. Louis.  P’Allen Stinnett’s suspension is now permanent until the end of the season.  It will be interesting to see if he returns to the Bluejays next year.   The Bluejays hit the road against conference champs Northern Iowa before hosting Loyola (IL) in Bracketbusters this weekend.   
• Indiana State (1-1 this week)—The Sycamores are trying to stay afloat with their top three scorers already out for the season.  They hung around but did not have enough against Creighton.  However, it is always nice to play at home and they were able to get some confidence in a win against Drake while only committing three turnovers.   Bradley comes to town this week before hitting the road against Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Bracketbusters.
• Southern Illinois (1-1 this week)—The Salukis are not finishing the season strong and are again headed towards a disappointing season.  They just hope they do not finish with a losing record again.  Not finishing games has been their main problem this season.  Nick Evans, who had not played since the Creighton game on January 13, has left the team due to personal reasons.  SIU heads to Drake before hosting Western Michigan in this weekend’s Bracketbusters.
• Evansville (1-1 this week)—At long last, Evansville got a conference win and it was against one of the better teams in the conference in Wichita State.  In the process of beating the Shockers, Colt Ryan broke the  school’s freshman scoring record.  The Aces play the Shockers again this week, but on the road.  Illinois-Chicago pulls the short straw and gets to go to Evansville for their Bracketbuster game.
• Drake (0-2 this week, 4-game losing streak, lost 5 of 6)—Drake has now gone on a big slide after earlier threatening to become a contender in the conference.  Seth VanDeest will be quite the player to contend with over the next few seasons for Drake.   A battle of the bottom with Southern Illinois on the slate before taking a trip out to California to take on Cal-State Northridge for their Bracketbuster game.  How that matchup is good for both schools is beyond me and is one of the examples of the bad things that can happen because of the Bracketbuster format.   

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

The few Valley teams on TV for Bracketbuster weekend hope to make some noise.  At the same time, almost one Valley team on the tube all week long. 

• 2/16, Creighton @ Northern Iowa (Fox Sports Net)—This game has a lot less significance than it did at the beginning of the season, but still should be a good one to watch. 
• 2/17, Evansville @ Wichita State (No TV)—The Shockers hope to give a little payback after Evansville notched their first conference win of the season against them last week. 
• 2/17, Missouri State @ Illinois state (Fox Sports Net)—A positioning game for the MVC Tournament
• 2/19, Old Dominion @ Northern Iowa (ESPN2)—A featured game of Bracketbusters with two of the top teams in the field.  It is the Valley vs. the Colonial conferences. 
• 2/20, Nevada @ Missouri State (ESPN2)—A middle of the road Bracketbuster game that may not mean anything at the end of the season as both teams probably need to win their conference tournaments to get into the Big Dance. 
• 2/20, Wichita State @ Utah State (ESPN2)—The final game of Bracketbusters should be a key one for either team and many may stay awake for this one.

Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Current Records and My Standings (Conference Standings) (Last Week)

1. Northern Iowa  21-2  (12-1) (1)
2. Wichita State 20-5 (9-4) (2)
3. Illinois State  16-8 (7-6) (3)
4. Indiana State  14-10 (6-7) (7)
5. Missouri State  16-8 (6-7) (6)
6. Creighton  12-12 (7-6)  (5)
7. Bradley  12-11 (7-6) (8)
8. Drake  11-14 (6-7)  (4)
9. Southern Illinois   13-10 (5-8) (9)
10. Evansville 6-17 (0-13) (10)  

STORIES OF THE WEEK

2010 Bracketbusters—The people in Bristol announced the  11 TV matchups for this season’s Bracketbusters for  Friday and Saturday, February 20^th and 21^st, while the other conference commissioners matched up the rest of the games of the other 76 teams.  Here are the matchups for the Valley teams and TV info for those selected to play on the ESPN family of networks:

• Northern Iowa vs. Old Dominion, Friday, February 19^th, 6PM, ESPN2
• Wichita State  @ Utah State,  Saturday, February 20^th, 11PM, ESPN2
• Nevada @ Missouri State, Saturday, 2PM, ESPN2
• Morehead State @ Ilinois State, Saturday, 4PM
• Indiana State @ Green Bay, Saturday, 7PM
• Loyola (Ill.) @ Creighton,  Saturday, 8:35PM
• Drexel @ Bradley, Saturday, 7PM
• Drake @ Cal State-Northridge, Saturday, 9PM
• Western Michigan @ Southern Illinois, Saturday, 2PM
• Illinois-Chicago @ Evansville,  Saturday, 7PM

Valley coaches in favor of expanded tournament—On the weekly Missouri Valley Conference teleconference, the question of expanding the NCAA Tournament to 96 teams was deemed pretty favorable by the coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference.  With the Valley looking at a one bid for the third straight year, I guess you could understand why they would like it.  However, I still think it takes away from the integrity of the hard work done throughout the season and the build-up would not be the same when teams are expecting to go to the NCAA Tourney by default every year. 

Northern Iowa declared MVC champs—Ok, so mathematically several teams have a chance to catch up and tie or overtake Northern Iowa, but come on,  with five conference games remaining, Northern Iowa has basically run away with the Valley regular season crown while all the other teams are just beating each other up.  When the Panthers knocked off Wichita State last week, they staved off their final threat in the regular season.

Rivalry Week in Full Swing—The known rivalries in the Valley will all be in action this week.  Creighton heads to Carbondale to take on Southern Illinois where the Salukis are looking to respond to the blowout the Bluejays handed to them last season on SIU’s home floor.   The Battle of I-76 between Bradley and Illinois State will be played again with Bradley seeking revenge for getting run off the court a couple weeks ago at Redbird Arena.  Drake and Northern Iowa hook up again as well in an in-state matchup.

TEAM BREAKDOWNS

CRUISE CONTOL

Northern Iowa (2-0 this week, 20-1 in last 21 games, 5 game win streak)—The Panthers are getting every team’s best shot, but they are continuing to find ways to win.  Against Wichita State on Wednesday, the Panthers survived a late rally by the Shockers to get the win.  Saturday they came from behind to beat Southern Illinois and Adam Koch scored the team’s last 11 points.  They hope to continue their domination against Drake and Bradley this week.

BUMPY HIGHWAY FOR  2^nd-9^th

Bradley (2-0 this week) – After going 0-2 last week, Bradley turned things around to go 2-0.  This is just one example of how the rest of the Valley has played this season.  A winning shot by Will Egolf gave Bradley a thrilling victory over Drake.  It is a big week for the Braves this week as they get a shot at the top of the conference with Northern Iowa and Illinois State.  The other good news for them is that both games are at home. 

Wichita State (1-1 this week)—The Shockers just seem to be coasting through under the radar for the most part.  After losing a heartbreaker against Northern Iowa  for their chance to try and catch them, the Shockers had to rally from 15 down in the final nine minutes against a shorthanded Indiana State team to pull out a victory.  It’s the little things that players like Aaron Ellis bring to the court for the Shockers that has helped them become so successful this season.  Games against Evansville and Missouri State should give Wichita State the opportunity to lock down their second place standing in the Valley.

Illinois State  (1-1 this week)— Win one, lose one….that is the mantra of the Valley over the past several weeks and the Redbirds have not been left out.   The big troubles have been road games with last week’s loss coming at Indiana State.  Illinois State is now 1-5 on the road.  With Bradley and Creighton on tap this week, can they get a road victory?  The other question—is Osiris Eldridge not playing as well this season compared to last?   Appears that way. 

Missouri State (1-1 this week)— The Bears are the highest scoring team in the Valley as well as trying to be a great defensive team as well.  In their win against Creighton this week, they displayed both as they went on 11-1 and 17-0 runs to take the Bluejays behind the woodshed, 70-52.  Creighton only had 30 points with nine minutes to go.  Southern Illinois and Wichita State give the Bears opportunities  to move up this week.

Creighton  (1-1 this week)—Creighton, like Illinois State, has big problems winning a road game.  After getting crushed at Missouri State this week, the Bluejays are now 2-11 in road/neutral games this season and it looks like they may not get a road victory the rest of the year.  Luckily they have two home games this week against Indiana State and Illinois State.  It is so dire for Creighton fans now, that the focus is almost off the men’s basketball team as fans find the Creighton Dance Team more interesting. 

Indiana State (1-1 this week)—The Sycamores took a big blow this week losing point guard Harry Marshall along with Dwayne Lathan to injuries suffered during the Illinois State game that will pretty much take them out until the end of the season.   They had a valiant effort against Wichita State on the road, but didn’t have enough gas to keep the Shockers from stealing the victory down the stretch.  Creighton and Drake are on the schedule this week.

Southern Illinois (1-1 this week)— The Salukis couldn’t upset the Panthers even though they hoped their depth would be key this week, so they continue to be an average team.  Tony Freeman had weird feelings playing a game in the state of Iowa again.  They got a victory against Missouri State, but cannot relish in it too much because they turn around and play them again this week along with doormat Evansville

Drake (0-2 this week)—Drake had a nice run, but they have now lost three of four games.  The three losses have all come on the road.  Josh Young keeps getting accolades before he is crowned the school’s all-time scoring leader.  They host conference leaders Northern Iowa this week and travel to Indiana State. 

BLEW A TIRE AND ENGINE BROKE DOWN

Evansville (0-2 this week, 14 game losing streak)— Colt Ryan averaged 24 points in his two games this week against Creighton and Bradley. Before the end of the season, Ryan will shatter the freshman scoring record for this school.  Unfortunately, the Purple Aces continue to lose.  With the City of Evansville building a new Arena and the Aces expected to play there, will there be enough people in the seats to make the switch?  Wichita State and Southern Illinois the next ones to beat up on the Aces.

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

Pretty much every game is key in the Valley this week, but here are the best matchups and a couple most people should be able to watch on TV.

• 2/9—Illinois State @ Bradley (Local TV)—Yes, most won’t be able to watch this one, but Bradley has declared a “Blackout” as the Redbirds try to come in and sweep their home-home series this season.
• 2/10—Northern Iowa @ Drake (Local TV throughout Iowa) –This game has to get mentioned because of an in-state rivalry and the Panthers are ranked in the top 25 so every game is important for them.
• 2/13—Illinois State @ Creighton (Local TV in Omaha and Illinois)—This game will determine who will likely play on Thursday night in St. Louis in the MVC Tournament. 
• 2/13—Northern Iowa  @ Bradley (Fox Sports Net)—Either at home or on the road, the Panthers have been dominating the Valley.  Can it continue in Peoria?
• 2/14—Missouri State @ Wichita State (ESPNU)—The Shockers hope to lock in second place in the Valley with this game

1. Northern Iowa  19-2  (10-1) (1)
2. Wichita State 19-4 (8-3) (2)
3. Illinois State  15-7 (6-5) (3)
4. Drake  11-12 (6-5)  (4)
5. Creighton  11-11 (6-5)  (6)
6. Missouri State  15-7 (5-6) (7)
7. Indiana State  13-9 (5-6) (9)
8. Bradley  10-11 (5-6) (5)
9. Southern Illinois   12-9 (4-7) (8)
   
10. Evansville 6-15 (0-11) (10)

STORIES OF THE WEEK

Northern Iowa wrapping things up—The Panthers are sitting pretty at 10-1 in the conference and survived a threat from Missouri State this weekend.  Northern Iowa’s ability to hang on and finish games will make them a tough out.  As they head into February, they are setting themselves up for an at-large bid to the Big Dance whether they win the conference tourney or not.  Keep an eye on this team down the stretch.  Many coaches in the Valley feel they will be a multiple bid league this season.

Bracketbusters pairings announced this week—Once again for the 8^th year, the made for TV Bracketbusters event is ready to be promoted throughout this month leading up to Bracketbuster Saturday on February 19^th.  Out of the 98 teams in the event this season, 22 teams will get on TV and those pairings will be announced this week.  Here are some predictions and here are some others.

P’Allen Stinnett Suspended indefinitely—Big news this week was the announcement by Dana Altman of the Creighton Bluejays that P’Allen Stinnett has been suspended from the team indefinitely.  Stinnett was highly regarded as a freshman and made an impact early with 23 points in the second half off the bench in his first collegiate game against Depaul to bring Creighton back to victory.  Over the past couple of seasons, Stinnett’s stats have leveled out and has had problems holding in his emotions, gathering nine technical fouls (including one this week against Missouri State in where he “felt like he needed a T”)  in two and a half seasons.  There has been no explanation on how long he has been suspended and if he will eventually return to the team.

Free throw shooting Valley—The Missouri Valley conference is pretty stable at the free throw line.  Four MVC teams are in the top 20 in the nation at the stripe. Indiana State (76.7%) is fifth, followed by Wichita State in eighth (75.5%), Drake at 13th (75.1%), and Missouri State in 19th (74.8%).

SEPARATING THEMSELVES

Northern Iowa (2-0 this week)— As mentioned above, Northern Iowa is just cruising through the league getting victories against in-state rival Drake and then surviving down in Springfield against Missouri State.  They are eagerly anticipating their Bracketbusters opponent which some say could be Old Dominion, while others are saying Louisiana Tech.  They hope to return a favor to Wichita State this week as they host the Shockers who have been the ones to defeat the Panthers so far in the conference season.  They will also host a struggling Southern Illinois team.

Wichita State (1-0 this week)—The Shockers are trying to keep pace with Northern Iowa by getting victories over Illinois State and Southern Illinois.   Wichita hopes to have a chance at the league title by trying to beat Northern Iowa for the second time this season.  But it will be a lot tougher on the road.   They do not want to be like the 2004-05 team down the stretch.  The Sycamores of Indiana State will be visiting Koch Arena this week as well.  It is very likely the Shockers will be one of the Bracketbuster TV games.

MEDIOCRE AT BEST

Illinois State  (1-1 this week)— The Redbirds are one of several Valley teams that cannot seem to find consistency, causing a huge logjam in the middle of the conference.  They missed an opportunity to move up the ladder by losing to Wichita State earlier in the week, but then just completely demolished in-state rival Bradley this past weekend.  If the Redbirds are to be a factor, they need someone else other than Osiris Eldridge to be on the court making plays and that guy is Lloyd Phillips.  They hope the momentum gained from the Bradley win will take them to victories against Indiana State and Drake this week.

Missouri State (1-1 this week)—Missouri State lost a couple close contests this week against Creighton and split seconds from taking down Northern Iowa.  The Bears are now sitting on the outside looking in on the conference race.   They are the top scoring team in the league, but last in scoring defense.   It will not be any easier for them as they will take on conference stalwarts Southern Illinois and Creighton this week.

Drake (1-1 this week)—Drake is a bit of a surprise in the conference.  After losing their first four conference games, they have reeled off six wins in their last seven games and are coming together quite well as a team.  Against Creighton, they had their largest crowd of the year.  Josh Young will become Drake’s all-time leading scorer before the season is over.  They will be tested on the road this week at Bradley and Illinois State.  They get two wins this week, and this will be the Valley turnaround of the year.

Creighton  (1-1 this week)—With the suspension of P’Allen Stinnett, the Bluejays overcame some adversity to get the win in Peoria.  But the additional loss of Darryl Ashford for the  game at Drake was a little too much. Stinnett had this to say to the Omaha World Herald in a text message. “I need to find some way to play hard and channel my emotions in a positive way. I apologize to Creighton, to my team and my coaching staff in my failure to represent the university with the respect and attitude that I should.”  Creighton tries to stay alive with games against Evansville and a trip to Missouri State this week.

Indiana State (2-0 this week)—Subject to streakiness, the Sycamores have been one of the more confusing teams in the conference.  This week they won two games against Southern Illinois and Evansville breaking a 5-game losing streak tradition that they seem to have every season at some point in the conference season.   That probably means they will go 0-2 against Wichita State and Illinois State.

MAKING AN APPEARANCE

Southern Illinois (1-2 this week)—Southern Illinois started a three game week by getting an out of conference visit by Western Kentucky which they won and thought they were turning a corner, but then they could not get by Indiana State and lost to Wichita State at home.  Could Creighton and Southern Illinois both finish with a losing record and at the bottom of the conference?  That could be a possibility.  With Missouri State and Northern Iowa on the slate this week, Southern Illinois has a lot to worry about.

Bradley (0-2 this week) – At the beginning of the season, I saw Jim Les squarely on the hot seat and many people including Bradley fans couldn’t believe I would say that.  But how do things look now in Peoria?  First they come out cold against Creighton starting the game 2-17 from the field, and although they came back, it was not enough to get the win.  Then they travelled along I-76 to take on rival Illinois State and were basically run out of the gym.  They could look on the bright side, but I don’t know if it will help.  It will be interesting how they do against a surging Drake and really down Evansville team this week.

Evansville (0-2 this week, 12 game losing streak)—The Aces are working hard, and they keep games fairly close, as evidenced by losses against Missouri State and Indiana State this past week, but they just cannot get a win.  Injuries are not a concern — the team’s all healthy.   A visit to Creighton and at home against Bradley are on the slate this week. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are able to pick up a win against the Braves.

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

The battle for the middle of the pack and staying out of Thursday in St. Louis continues this week

• 2/3, Wichita State @ Northern Iowa (Local TV in both markets)—Wichita’s last chance to make a run at UNI for the conference championship. Too bad this game isn’t available to a wider audience.
• 2/6,  Creighton @ Missouri State (Local TV in Omaha)—Both teams need a win badly.
• 2/6,  Drake @ Illinois State (Local TV in Illinois)—Drake is on a roll but a win here would really be a surprise.   The Redbirds, on the other hand, still want to be in the running and talked about.
• 2/6, Southern Illinois @ Northern Iowa (ESPN2)—The Panthers aren’t the flashiest team in the world, but they find ways to win.  The Salukis are not the Salukis of old.
• 2/6, Bradley @ Evansville (Fox Sports Net)—Interesting in that it’s a chance for Evansville to get their first conference win of the season.

Standings & Records (Conference Standings) (Last Week)

1. Northern Iowa  17-2  (8-1) (1)
2. Wichita State 15-4 (6-3) (2)
3. Illinois State  14-6 (5-4) (3)
4. Drake  10-11 (5-4)  (8)
5. Bradley  10-9 (5-4) (6)
6. Creighton  10-10 (5-4)  (4)
7. Missouri State  14-6 (4-5) (5)
8. Southern Illinois   11-7 (4-5) (9)
9. Indiana State  11-9 (3-6) (7)
10. Evansville 6-12 (0-9) (10)
    

STORIES OF THE WEEK

Wichita State/Northern Iowa game was as expected—The matchup of the top two teams in the conference was quite the game this week.  Getting the TV exposure is needed for the MVC.  Wichita State came out fast against the Panthers to take a dominant lead in front of a raucous home crowd to halftime.  Maybe it was the extra attention that Northern Iowa was getting by being ranked the day before or the fact that the Shockers hosted another ranked team at home in the same season for the first time in almost 15-20 years.  But the Panthers erased the deficit early in the second half and seemed as though they were going to pull out the victory the same way they have all season, but did not have enough as the Shockers upset the Panthers and once again put the Valley race back in play for several other teams.

Opportunities lost, others gained—With Northern Iowa losing this week, Wichita State, Creighton and Illinois State could have taken advantage of the situation in the MVC standings.  However, Creighton lost to Illinois State, Illinois State lost to Southern Illinois and Wichita State turned around and lost to Drake.  Bradley and Drake, who have been struggling this season, have taken advantage of those losses to move up the Valley standings.   It is now anyone’s game, but it is extremely important that either Wichita State or Northern Iowa decide to take over the league and somebody else win the Valley tournament if they expect to get more than one team into the NCAA Tournament this season.

Saint Louis wants to be part of the Valley?—Saint Louis head coach Rick Majerus made it quite clear that they would rather be a part of the Missouri Valley Conference instead of the A10.  The question is, could that really happen?  And if so, would they drop a team or add another to make the conference twelve?  Butler? Western Kentucky?  Apparently there are no plans for any MVC expansion, but does make an interesting discussion.

POSITIVE WEEK

Drake (2-0 this week, 5 game winning streak) — Drake has been on fire, now on a five-game winning streak including a dominating win against Wichita State on Saturday.   Players are stepping up while Craig Stanley is out with an injury.   The Bulldogs will be squarely in the conference race with wins against Northern Iowa and Creighton this week. What a turnaround this might be after having a horrible non-conference season and losing to teams like SIU-Edwardsville at home.

Bradley (2-0 this week, 3 game winning streak) – Bradley all of a sudden is making a turnaround with a three-game winning streak with wins this past week against Southern Illinois and Evansville.  Defense has been the key to their resurgence.   Bradley could move up into the top three of the conference with wins over Creighton and Illinois State this week.

CAN’T DECIDE

Northern Iowa (1-1 this week) — The Panthers ranking and Sports Illustrated article were probably a little too much to handle this week heading into their game against Wichita State while opening the door to the rest of the conference to say they are beatable.  Northern Iowa is in no way guaranteed the NCAA tournament as their Athletic Director can attest after his participation in a mock NCAA selection committee exercise.   Jordan Eglseder looks like a different player this season and appears to be a dominant inside threat in the Valley.  The hottest team in the conference, Drake, is coming to town before a trip to Missouri State is on the schedule this week.

Wichita State (1-1 this week) — Wichita gave Northern Iowa their best shot and sent a message to the Panthers that they are contenders for the league, but then must have had a hangover in getting drilled by Drake.    You would have thought Wichita was completely out of the race after this loss.    They hope to get back on track against Illinois State and Southern Illinois

Illinois State  (1-1 this week) — The Redbirds came from behind Wednesday night against Creighton by dominating the inside with Dinma Okiakosa setting the standard, but then suffered an overtime defeat to Southern Illinois.   This will be a key week for them with games against Wichita State and Bradley.

Missouri State (1-1 this week) — Missouri State blew a 24-point second half lead against Indiana State before surviving in overtime.  They then lost a see-saw battle against Creighton.  A key to the Bears’ continued success is the health of Adam Leonard. He has been experiencing back spasms that may keep him out of games down the line.  They will need him for the games against Evansville and Northern Iowa this week.

Creighton  (1-1 this week) — Creighton let another halftime lead slip away, this time at Illinois State.  They were on the verge of collapsing but hit an amazing 15-15 from the free throw line in the second half to get a win against Missouri State.  Are the Bluejays playing scared?  Some are starting to think that including the players.  Road trips to Bradley and Drake won’t make things any easier this week.

Southern Illinois (1-1 this week)—Just when you thought the Salukis were about to pack it in for the second consecutive season (with a loss to Bradley at home), screams for Chris Lowery’s exit out of town grows louder and louder, and academic problems with Gene Teague,  they survived against Illinois State in overtime.   A road trip to Indiana State before hosting Wichita State are on the slate this week.

PACKING IT IN

Indiana State (0-2 this week) — Indiana State took 30 minutes to wake up against Missouri State and almost came back to defeat them, but came up short.   Although they were in range of Northern Iowa, they could not steal a win from there.  The loss of Dwayne Lathan has really hurt this team.   They have few opportunities left to make a conference run, but could have some success hosting Southern Illinois before heading to Evansville this week.

Evansville (0-2 this week, 10 game losing streak) — It doesn’t really matter who Evansville is playing anymore, they just don’t have enough to win games.  Rebuilding is hard, especially at Evansville.   Missouri State and Indiana State are on the slate this week and could be a spoiler for those teams.

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

The Wild and Wacky Valley.  You have to see it:

• 1/25, Western Kentucky @ Southern Illinois (Fox College Sports)—A very odd out of conference matchup for the Salukis and Hilltoppers during conference season that looked more attractive at the beginning of the season.  Not so much now, but still likely a good game.
• 1/27, Creighton @ Bradley (Local TV)—Great matchup for both teams that are looking to position themselves for St. Louis.
• 1/27, Drake @ Northern Iowa (Local TV)—Drake wants respect.  Best way to get it is against conference leader UNI.
• 1/27, Illinois State @ Wichita State (Fox Sports Net)—Koch Arena is a great college basketball environment.  See it in action on TV.
• 1/30, Bradley @ Illinois State (Fox Sports Net)—I think the loser of this game will end up playing on Thursday in the play-in games in the MVC tournament.
• 1/30, Creighton @ Drake (Local TV)—Even though Drake didn’t get the win in Omaha a couple weeks ago, the effort jumpstarted them into their current streak.  A great I-80 matchup.
• 1/30, Northern Iowa @ Missouri State—This game isn’t going to be on TV, but it will be a battle in Springfield by these two teams.
• 1/31, Wichita State @ Southern Illinois (ESPNU)—The Shockers want to separate themselves from the rest of the Valley contenders, but the Saluki’s may not let them at home.

Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Current Records and my standings (Conference Standings) (Last Week):

1. Northern Iowa  16-1  (7-0) (1)
2. Wichita State 14-3 (5-2) (2)
3. Illinois State  13-5 (4-3) (4)
4. Creighton  9-9 (4-3)  (8)
5. Missouri State  13-5 (3-4) (3)
6. Bradley  8-9 (3-4) (6)
7. Indiana State  11-7 (3-4) (5)
8. Drake  8-11 (3-4)  (9)
9. Southern Illinois   10-6 (3-4) (7)
10. Evansville 6-10 (0-7) (10)

STORIES OF THE WEEK

Big Game Week—Have your TVs tuned to ESPNU on Tuesday night as the top two teams in the conference have their first matchup of the season.  Northern Iowa  tries to take another road game in conference play, having already won at some of the toughest places in the conference—Southern Illinois, Creighton and Illinois State.  They will try to conquer probably the loudest and rowdiest crowd at Wichita State.    On the other side of the coin, Creighton and Illinois State who are tied right now for third in the conference will also be playing each other on Tuesday night.  If Northern Iowa wins Tuesday night, it looks like things will be coming down to a fight for second place in the conference, as UNI could run away with the Valley — and we are not yet into February.

Missouri State starting to slide—The Bears were the talk of the conference coming into conference season, but Cuonzo Martin probably wishes they weren’t so heralded, since they’re playing like most people expected them to play once conference season started.   They now have lost four out of their last five games and are essentially taking themselves out of the MVC race.

Creighton and Drake surging—The Bulldogs and Bluejays have both had some struggles winning games this season but are now on a roll.  Creighton has won four of their last five games  and Drake has won three straight, with surprising wins over Southern Illinois, Illinois State and Missouri State.

Lets take a look at the MVC at just about the halfway point to see where teams are headed:

TEAMS TO BEAT

Northern Iowa (2-0 this week, 15 game winning streak)—Northern Iowa just keeps winning and have their longest winning streak in school history.   They are the toast of not only the Valley but of the state of Iowa as well.  They aren’t the fastest, the best-shooting, or the most imposing team on the court, but they keep finding ways to win with different players stepping up on different nights.  They survived against Bradley and then decimated Indiana State this week.  Wichita State will be big game for them, but they can survive if they don’t win that one.  That could, however, set up a trap game in the return game against the Sycamores later in the week.

Wichita State (1-1 this week, won 5 of last 6)—Wichita had been flying high until they came into the Qwest Center Saturday to take on Creighton.  After jumping out to an early lead the week before and turning on the cruise control the rest of the way, in the return game it looked like the same thing would happen.  But the Shockers were called for too many fouls, and Creighton hit their charity shots to give Wichita State their first loss in six games and keep a losing streak in Omaha intact since 1992.  They don’t have time to sulk on this one as Northern Iowa comes to town on Tuesday and then WSU hits the road again to Drake.  Toure Murry is on his way to being one of the elite Shocker players if he continues his play.

ON THE RUN

Creighton  (2-0 this week, won four of last five)—Considering the way that Creighton played in their two games  this week, you wish they could have played like this since the beginning of the season.  First was a dramatic last second shot by Antoine Young to get the victory against Southern Illinois earlier in the week, and then they had to shrug off a really bad shooting night to hit 22-of-30 free throws and survive the final seconds to edge out a one point victory against Wichita State.  Creighton received a late Christmas gift as Rutgers big man Greg Echenique decided to transfer to the Bluejays and will be eligible in December.  He cannot wait to get started. This week doesn’t get any easier for the Bluejays as they travel to Illinois State before returning home to host Missouri State.

Drake (2-0 this week, three game winning streak)—This feels weird putting Drake up in this spot, but they are two seconds away from a four-game winning streak and the Bulldogs are now playing their best basketball of the season with victories over Missouri State and Illinois State.  The big reason is coach Mark Phelps decision to give his senior players more minutes on the court.  Drake is setting themselves up for a victory over Evansville this week, and could surprise Wichita State, especially if they lose against Northern Iowa earlier in the week.  Fear the Drake.

HEADING DOWN THE WRONG PATH

Illinois State  (1-1 this week, two of four conference wins against Evansville)—Don’t be fooled by the Redbirds at this point in the conference season.  If Osiris Eldridge is not putting up his normal points, this team may not be able to have other people step up all the time like they did against Evansville , but if he does, then no one else gets involved and they are having problems winning games, like against Drake Sunday night.   The easy wins are gone with their series against Evansville completed.  Creighton comes to town this week and then they head to Carbondale to take on Southern Illinois.  Illinois State could be headed for a freefall if they aren’t careful.

Bradley (1-1 this week, 3-7 in their last 10)—Bradley is the most inconsistent team in the conference to this point in the season.  The PJ Star outlines this pretty well.  They have a lot of problems winning on the road as they are 1-3 on the road so far in conference play.  They just missed a big win against Northern Iowa, losing by a deuce.  They may go 1-1 again this week when they go to Southern Illinois and then host Evansville.

Indiana State (0-2 this week, lost threfo of last four)—Just as I was about to jump aboard the Indiana State bandwagon, the Sycamores lost out on a great opportunity to put themselves in a great position in conference play.  The losses to conference leaders Wichita State and Northern Iowa is a big blow.  Instead of getting ahead of others in trying to get to the top of the MVC, they are now in a six-team race to not have to play one of the dreaded Thursday night play-in games of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.  Harry Marshall has stepped up his game, and now we will have to see if the rest of the team steps up as well.    They have an opportunity to redeem themselves on the road against Missouri State and when they host Northern Iowa in the return game.

Missouri State (0-2 this week, lost four of last five)—Missouri State is well on its way to a freefall, unable to win games on the road.  Like Bradley, the Bears are 1-3 on the road in conference play. But they were able to go 3-1 on the road in non-conference play.  That is the difference between non-conference and conference play; it is a lot harder to win on the road against teams in your own league.   The first half has been the key for the Bears as they keep “laying eggs.”  They are in a lot of trouble if they lose both games against Indiana State and Creighton this week.

Southern Illinois (1-1 this week, lost four of last five)—The Salukis are pretty lucky they didn’t lose at Evansville Saturday night.  With rumors of head coach Chris Lowery headed to Depaul at the end of the season and Lowery seemingly losing his players during a four game losing streak, they were still able to salvage a win against Evansvile.  Against Creighton on Wednesday night, Nick Evans got into a little altercation with Creighton’s Chad Millard which led to Evans’ ejection.  He was also out for the Evansville game because of that.  It is important for SIU to beat Illinois State and Bradley at home this week if they expect to return to the postseason.  Otherwise they are headed for their second consecutive losing season.

Evansville (0-2 this week, eight game losing streak)—Evansville can only play spoiler mode at this point in the season, though their seven point loss to Southern Illinois was the closest they have come to winning a conference game.   Colt Ryan is the best thing going for the Purple Aces right now — oh, and how they conduct themselves.  Can they get their first conference win against Drake or Bradley this week?

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

This week, the Valley’s two top teams finally meet up, and there are several other intriguing matchups this week.

• 1/19, Northern Iowa @ Wichita State (ESPNU)—Easily the game of the week as the matchup of the two top teams of the conference takes place.
• 1/19, Indiana State @ Missouri State (Fox Sports Net)—Who will step up to the plate to turn things around for either team?
• 1/20, Bradley @ Southern Illinois (Local TV)–Both teams need a win badly to stay in contention.
• 1/20, Creighton @ Illinois State (Local TV)—Although Creighton has been struggling this season as a whole, they are right in the conference race and can score a key win against Osiris Eldridge and the Redbirds.  Eldridge tears Creighton apart every time he plays them.
• 1/23, Wichita State @ Drake (ESPNU)—Drake hopes to continue their surge while Wichita State tries to stay at the top. Things will be turned upside down in the Valley if Drake wins this one.
• 1/24, Missouri State @ Creighton (Local TV)—Two teams headed in the opposite direction.  Can the Bears steal one in Omaha or is their early season start going to become irrelevant?
• 1/24, Northern Iowa @ Indiana State (Fox Sports Net)—The Sycamores need this win, and could give Northern Iowa their first conference loss — if UNI is still undefeated in conference play at that time.

Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Current Records and my standings, (Conference Record) (Last Week):

1. Northern Iowa  14-1  (5-0) (1)
2. Wichita State 13-2 (4-1) (2)
3. Missouri State  13-3 (3-2) (3)
4. Illinois State  12-4 (3-2) (4)
5. Indiana State  11-5 (3-2) (6)
6. Bradley  7-8 (2-3) (7)
7. Southern Illinois   9-5 (2-3) (5)
8. Creighton  7-9 (2-3)  (8)
9. Drake  6-11 (1-4)  (10)
10. Evansville 6-8 (0-5) (9)

STORIES OF THE WEEK

Valley sitting 10^th — The Missouri Valley Conference is sitting 10^th right now in the Pomeroy ratings with Northern Iowa sitting up on top at #33 with Wichita State and Missouri State at #62 and #68 respectively.  In 2006 when the Valley had so much success and got four teams into the NCAA Tournament, six teams were in the top 60.  It will be interesting to see what kind of rankings they can end up with at this rate.  The conference is getting back to the national scene, but the numbers still are not where they were a few years ago and they are just hoping to get at least more than one team in the Big Dance this season.

Northern Iowa ready to run away — Speaking of Northern Iowa, the Panthers look like they could run away with the Valley this season.  With road victories already at Southern Illinois, Illinois State and Creighton, they have set themselves up for a chance to run away with the conference.  However, they still have all those teams at home.  Last season the Panthers struggled down the stretch, losing a lot of games in their own building.   A game in Wichita on January 19^th is one to circle on the calendar as you may see the first game between the two leaders in the Valley.

Teams separating themselves — There are several other teams in the Valley trying to separate themselves from the rest of the pack to make the Valley less weird and wacky compared with past seasons.   Wichita State is playing extremely well right now along with Missouri State and Illinois State wanting to have a say.  A dark horse could be Indiana State.

Historically top teams need to check into rehab — Last season it was Southern Illinois suffering a losing record for the first time in ten years.  This season it may be Creighton headed to a losing season, sitting at 7-9 right now.   Southern Illinois may still end up joining them by the time the season is over as they have now lost three straight.  It is very unusual to see one of these two teams heading to the bottom of the league, but if both end up down there by season’s end, then there will be a lot more questions going forward.

TEAMS TO BEAT

Northern Iowa (2-0 this week)—As mentioned above, the Panthers are getting a lot of attention especially with a 13 game winning streak, but also as the only undefeated team in conference play after big road wins at Southern Illinois and Illinois State this past week.  Some feel that UNI deserves to be ranked.  They better be careful for what they wish for.  This week Northern Iowa gets to host Bradley and Indiana State which looks like an easy enough task, but there might be an upset in there that could turn things upside down.

Wichita State (2-0 this week)—The Shockers keep plugging along, getting wins against Creighton and Missouri State.  Wichita State had a 25 point lead at Missouri State before barely holding on at the end to get the win.  The Shockers, however, still look to play a full 40 minutes but have a lot of weapons.  The controversy in that game was that a fan in the Missouri State crowd shoved Toure Murry to the ground.  Likely no punishment for the fan.  They might have found that full 40 minutes on Saturday night as they took revenge against Creighton over last season’s MVC tournament game shocker with a rowdy home crowd and took Creighton out right from the beginning of the game.   They will be tested this week as they hit the road for both of their games against Indiana State, and a return game with Creighton in Omaha.

AVERAGE WEEK

Missouri State (1-1 this week)—Missouri State thought they could just show up to their JHQ Arena home court and notch a win, but Wichita State kicked them in the mouth to remind them that their non-conference success was nothing on which they could hang their hat.  Though they made a valiant effort to come back, it wasn’t enough, and they lost their first one at home.  They were able to rebound from that game to pound Bradley this week as Kyle Weems led the way with 30 points in that win.  Road trips to Drake and Bradley this week await the Bears.

Illinois State (1-1 this week) –The Redbirds got off on a good note this week to defeat Evansville as expected, but then laid an egg in front of a national television audience in their loss to Northern Iowa.  Though they remember the troubles with Northern Iowa over 300 days ago in the MVC Tournament finals, it was not enough for them to pull the upset.   Illinois State will fly under the radar this week against Evansville and Drake.  If they expect to be in the Valley race, they need to win both of these games this week.

Indiana State (1-1 this week)—The Sycamores have to be kicking themselves in that they had an opportunity to get a win at Bradley before losing in overtime after a furious comeback in the second half.  At least they were able to turn it around to blow out Evansville.  Indiana State is increasingly looking like a better and better team and could be in the mix in the conference race, but they cannot let games like Bradley slip away.  They also need to avoid the injury bug.  Last week it was Jake Kelly, now they hold their breath on leading scorer and rebounder Dwayne Lathan and a leg injury.   With Wichita State and Northern Iowa on the schedule this week, this could be a make or break point for Kevin McKenna and his team.

Bradley (1-1 this week)—Bradley needed overtime to get past Indiana State and then  lost at Missouri State this week.  There are doubters on whether this Bradley team can improve the rest of the season, but do not count them out.  With games against Northern Iowa and Missouri State this week Bradley needs to wake up now if they want to stay in the race.  Really, Sam Singh is in his final year at Bradley.

Creighton (1-1 this week)—Funny how both teams that have the most veteran coaches (Jim Les – Bradley), have teams on which they aren’t sure what they really have.  Creighton survived after a pesky Drake team took them to the wire earlier in the week, and then they were “not ready” for the Koch Arena crowd in Wichita.  In addition, Creighton forward Casey Harriman said, “We think we have it, but we don’t.  We need to recognize our record and where we’re at in the league. We have to do something about it.  Yeah, we are Creighton, but we’re not the Creighton of old. We’re not getting it done, and we need to pick it up.”  They need to do it in a hurry; Southern Illinois and Wichita State come to town this week.

Drake (1-1 this week)—Drake almost pulled out a win at Creighton this week, but then was able to come back against Southern Illinois to steal a victory in Carbondale.  The Bulldogs were looking to turnaround their season against SIU, and that is exactly what happened.  Drake is going to be one of those teams throughout the rest of the season that could play spoiler to other teams’ conference hopes.  This week, Missouri State and Illinois State get to head to Des Moines to play with the Bulldogs.

STRUGGLING THIS WEEK

Southern Illinois (0-2 this week)—Is Chris Lowery’s job really on the line in Carbondale?  Yes, Southern Illinois struggled mightily last season, but they were on their way back up, right?  Well, this week after the loss to Northern Iowa, there were quotes from Lowery criticizing the crowd for not getting behind his team.  Then, a writer at ESPNChicago called for Lowery’s job.  People on the Salukitalk message board were talking about bringing Lowery boo signs to the arena, as well.  There was just a full explosion on that board about Lowery.  With the collapse in the final minutes against Drake this past Saturday to give them a three game losing streak, there are probably even more boo birds out there, and questions as to whether or not Lowery’s job is secure.   They hit the road to Creighton and Evansville this week.

Evansville (0-2 this week)—Another week and another couple of Evansville losses.  But they also lost another player as Bryan Bochie decided to leave school and basketball all together.  But coach Marty Simmons thinks Bochie leaving will be a positive on the team.   Will they show up to play Illinois State and Southern Illinois this week?  Probably, but don’t expect them to walk away with a win.  Maybe when they host Drake in a couple of weeks.

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

The Valley does not have a lot of compelling matchups this week due to many top teams playing bottom feeders, but here are the best of the crop (or at least the ones you can watch on TV):

• 1/12, Bradley @ Northern Iowa (ESPNU)—The Panthers try to stay undefeated in conference play.
• 1/13, Southern Illinois @ Creighton (Fox Sports Net)—These two teams have historically sat at the top of the conference, but these rivals are fighting to just stay relevant in the conference race.
• 1/16, Indiana State @ Northern Iowa (Local TV)—The Sycamores want to be in the race, and a win at Northern Iowa would be huge.
• 1/16, Wichita State @ Creighton (ESPN2)—The second matchup in a week, this time on ESPN2 as the Bluejays try to make it a closer game at home.
• 1/17, Illinois St. @ Drake (ESPNU)—The Redbirds have been flying a little under the radar with Wichita State, Northern Iowa and Missouri State getting all the attention.  This is a chance to showcase what they bring to the table.

Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Current records and my standings (Conference Standings) (Last Week):

1. Northern Iowa 12-1 (3-0) (3)
2. Wichita State 13-2 (2-1) (1)
3. Missouri State 12-2 (2-1) (2)
4. Illinois State 11-3 (2-1) (5)
5. Southern Illinois 9-3 (2-1) (4)
6. Indiana State 10-4 (2-1) (6)
7. Bradley 6-7 (1-2) (8)
8. Creighton 6-8 (1-2) (9)
9. Evansville 6-7 (0-3) (7)
10. Drake 5-10 (0-3) (10)

STORIES OF THE WEEK

Northern Iowa mowing down the Valley — Those that don’t consider Northern Iowa the class of the Valley need to have their head examined (including myself, before now).  The Panthers are on an 11-game winning streak after following a tough road win against Creighton in Omaha with victories against Evansville and Missouri State to race out to a 3-0 conference record in the first week.

Should be an interesting Conference Season — After the first week, six teams have gotten out to 3-0 or 2-1 records.  The games have all been mostly competitive so far and it will be interesting to see if a few teams will break out of the pack or if they will be spending the season beating up on each other, which may hurt their postseason plans.  If this conference is going to have multiple bids this season, there will need to be a few teams that need to separate themselves, or it could end up being a one-bid league again.  I am sure Bradley and Creighton still think they have something to say about things as well.

TEAMS TO BEAT

Northern Iowa (3-0 this week) — As mentioned above, the Panthers have won three games to start the conference season.  Their shooting percentage against Creighton was not that great, but they left Omaha with a win.  It took a second half rally to get past Missouri State.  The next big test for them will come this week with a road trip to Southern Illinois and Illinois State.

SOLID WEEK

Southern Illinois (2-1 this week) — The Salukis are trying to re-establish themselves as the cream of the Valley once again.  They are definitely starting off better than they did last season.  Things looked pretty good when they took out Indiana State and Bradley earlier this week, but then they played mediocre basketball against the Illinois State Redbirds and couldn’t get over the hump to steal a victory there.  Luckily for the Salukis they get some home cooking this week as they host conference leader Northern Iowa and Drake.

Missouri State (2-1 this week) — Missouri State will be interesting to watch during conference season.  They have been a surprise so far with their non-conference record as well as two victories over Evansville and Illinois State to start conference season.  A loss against Northern Iowa was a bit expected.  The jury is still out on this team and it will be interesting to see how they react by hosting Wichita State and Bradley this week.  Adam Leonard has the nickname “Iceman” now with his cool demeanor and free throw shooting ability with the game on the line.

Wichita State (2-1 this week) — Wichita had been riding high after getting some votes for the Top 25 and several feature articles on them.   They started off the conference season, however, at Illinois State, and had their nine-game winning streak snapped.  They then summoned the moxie to turn around and get wins at home against Bradley and Drake.  This week will be an important week for them as they go to conference surprise Missouri State and host Creighton.   If Wichita is going to continue to be successful, it falls on the shoulders of David Kyles and Garrett Stutz.   In other news, the city of Wichita is excited to open a brand new arena in town, but the Shockers are probably only going to play once or twice a year there.

Indiana State (2-1 this week) — Kevin McKenna is really starting to show why he was hired to take over the reins of the Indiana State team a couple seasons ago.  This team is really playing at a high level right now.  After starting off on the wrong foot against Southern Illinois and losing Iowa transfer Jake Kelly for the season with a torn ACL, they were been able to turn things around and knock off Creighton (where McKenna used to be an assistant for Dana Altman) and then Drake on the road.  If the Sycamores get wins against Evansville and Bradley this week, look out MVC.  Another family tie for McKenna and Altman is that Altman’s son, Jordan, is the Graduate Assistant at Indiana State this season.

Illinois State (2-1 this week) — The Redbirds were another team flying high after knocking off Wichita State to open conference play with their defense, but then stumbled at Missouri State.  They were able to respond with a nice home victory against Southern Illinois.  A trip to Evansville and then hosting conference leader Northern Iowa is on the slate this week.

ROCKY START

Bradley (1-2 this week) — Bradley broke a three-game losing streak by defeating Drake on the road with Andrew Warren giving the Bulldogs nightmares to start off the conference season, but then suffered two losses against Southern Illinois and Wichita State.  Bradley was also without one of their better players in Taylor Brown against Wichita State on Sunday due to a decision by coach Jim Les.   It doesn’t get any easier for Bradley this week as they have Indiana State and Missouri State waiting in the wings for them.

Creighton (1-2 this week) — Creighton was hoping to start the slate clean after a disappointing non-conference season by getting the first crack at the Northern Iowa Panthers.  But the problems that were plaguing Creighton throughout the season against quality competition hit them again.   Bad free throw shooting and not being able to hold on to leads led to their downfall.  A road trip to Indiana State did not bring any relief either as they lost that one, as well.  This led to a two-hour players-only team meeting.  A salvaged win against Evansville on Sunday might be a start of something.  Some people are a bit too concerned about P’Allen Stinnett’s Facebook status, rather than basketball.  Drake and Wichita State are on the slate this week for the Bluejays.

ALREADY IN TROUBLE

Evansville (0-3 this week) — Evansville has started 0-3, but have been right there the whole way in each of their games, losing by small margins.   One big bright spot for the Purple Aces has been the play of freshman Colt Ryan.  In the game against Creighton on Sunday, he single-handedly kept Evansville in the game with his 26 points on 8-16 from the field and 6-11 from three-point range to go along with five assists.   They could be the spoiler in the conference this season, especially if they get their low post problems solved.  Indiana State and Illinois State probably aren’t looking forward to seeing the Aces this week.

Drake (0-3 this week) — Drake is destined to be the doormat of the league this season, evidenced by losing to Bradley, a second half breakdown against Indiana State at home and then just getting completely dismantled at Wichita State.  They now hit the road to visit Creighton and Southern Illinois, two venues that don’t like to let road teams walk away with victories.

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

Conference season is well underway and there are a few great matchups this week.

• 1/6, Wichita St. @ Missouri State (Local TV)—Missouri State is undefeated at home this season. Can Wichita go in to Springfield to get what would look to be a solid win at this point?
• 1/6, Northern Iowa @ Southern Illinois (ESPNU)—Both teams are at the top of the Valley right now and this winner gets a leg up in the early MVC race.
• 1/9, Northern Iowa @ Illinois State (ESPN2) —If Northern Iowa gets past SIU earlier in the week, it will be interesting if they can continue the road run. The Panthers already have three big road wins already against the historically tough Valley home venues.
• 1/9, Bradley @ Missouri State (Local TV)—Bradley had high expectations heading into the season, but have some very disappointing performances. The winner here will have a turnaround of sorts, whereas the loser could spiral down quickly.
• 1/9, Creighton @ Wichita State (ESPNU)—Many say that Creighton vs. SIU is the rivalry of the Valley, but I really think that Creighton vs. Wichita State is a bigger rivalry between the fan bases and it has spilled over to the court as well. The first meeting of two within a week of each other.
• 1/10, Evansville @ Indiana State (Fox Sports Net)—If Indiana State wants to consider themselves a contender, they should win this nationally televised game. For Evansville, it is a chance to showcase their phenom, freshman guard Colt Ryan.

Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Current records and my standings (Last Week):

1. Wichita State (11-1) (2)
2. Missouri State (10-1) (1)
3. Northern Iowa (9-1) (3)
4. Southern Illinois (7-2) (4)
5. Illinois State (9-2) (5)
6. Indiana State (8-3) (6)
7. Evansville (6-4) (7)
8. Bradley (5-5) (8)
9. Creighton (5-6) (10)
10. Drake (5-7) (9)

STORIES OF THE WEEK

Valley wins the first MVC-MWC Challenge — Northern Iowa defeated Wyoming to take the Valley to win 5-4 the first ever MVC-MWC Challenge.   UNI, Illinois State, Missouri State, Indiana State, and Wichita State were the winners while Creighton, Southern Illinois, Bradley, and Drake lost.  But you look at who they lost to (New Mexico, BYU, San Diego State, and UNLV) and it still provides some questions on which conference is actually better.   But for this season, the Valley can claim they are better than the Mountain West Conference.

Surprises at the top — A year ago, you would not have seen Missouri State and Wichita State at the top of the conference with Creighton and Bradley towards the bottom.  But this is how the crazy Valley non-conference season has gone so far.  The Valley is an impressive 80-32 (.714) in non-conference play with some nice wins against top level conferences that have been missing over the past few seasons.

Conference Play starts this week — Missouri Valley Conference play starts with each team playing three games over the next week.  It will start out fast and furious and there will be some teams that will jump out of the pack early, but will be down to the wire this season as most teams feel that they can win the conference.

NON-CONFERENCE EVALUATION

• Missouri State – 10-1 is a lot better than the 6-5 record I predicted before the season started.  The Bears have been the surprise of the Valley so far this season.  It has been behind the solid play of Kyle Weems and Eastern Kentucky transfer Adam Leonard.  They have wins over Auburn, Tulsa and Air Force with their only blemish being an overtime loss to close out the non-conference at Arkansas last week.  The conference slate starts fast for them with Evansville, Illinois State and Northern Iowa this week.
• Wichita State — The Shockers are not much of a surprise to me because they have done exactly how I expected them to this season.  Fans in Wichita are excited about seeing what they were expecting when Gregg Marshall came in to run the program after Mark Turgeon left. Wins over Iowa, Texas Tech, and TCU are their big wins with a loss to Pitt in the CBE Classic their only faltering.  A trip to Illinois State awaits and then they host Drake and Bradley this week to open Valley play.
• Northern Iowa — After losing against Depaul in the opening round of the Paradise Jam, many were skeptical that the Panthers could be as good or better as they turned out to be last season.  However, they turned things around rather quickly and have garnered wins over Boston College and Siena and swept the State of Iowa series against Iowa St. and Iowa.   They are on an eight game winning streak as they visit Creighton to open conference play before hosting Evansville and Missouri State.
• Southern Illinois – At times, Southern Illinois look like they are back on track this season.   They haven’t gotten key wins against UNLV and St. Louis to make me feel like they are the Salukis of old.   They will be tested early as Indiana State comes to town, then they hit the road to Bradley and Illinois State.
• Evansville — With all the rebuilding Evansville has had to do this season, they are actually playing like I expected with their 6-4 record.   They took Butler and Western Kentucky to the limit, but came up a little short in those upset bids.  The Purple Aces, however, could start off 0-3 in the conference with Missouri State, Northern Iowa and Creighton on the slate.
• Indiana State — The Sycamores are an interesting team sitting at 8-3.  They won against Colorado State, Western Kentucky and Oral Roberts, but then lost winnable games against Coastal Carolina and Ball State.  With the on-again/off-again suspension of point guard Harry Marshall, the rollercoaster season could continue.  Three of the first four games are on the road in MVC play with Southern Illinois, Creighton and Drake on the slate this week.
• Bradley — Expectations were high in Peoria to start the season, but while a season-opening road loss at BYU and another to Oklahoma State in Las Vegas were somewhat expected, their three game losing streak to close out the non-conference season was not.  Injuries have plagued the Braves but there are enough veterans on the team to pick up the slack.  A win against Illinois will look nice down the line and will help the Valley as a whole, but their non-conference record will hurt them in the long run.  Bradley will try to get back on track with a game at Drake, but then next up on the slate is Southern Illinois and Wichita State.  I still question whether a Bradley team can finish in the top four in the Valley.
• Creighton — Creighton has probably been the most disappointing team in the Valley so far this season with the highest expectations.  Creighton scheduled up this season by playing in a solid Old Spice Classic field and going on the road against Dayton, George Mason and New Mexico.  Unfortunately all of those road games turned into losses.  What made it even worse is that all of those games were winable and Creighton had leads late in the game that they couldn’t close out.  Their five wins at home have been against patsies like Houston Baptist, Savannah St. and Florida A&M.  So unless Creighton end up winning the Valley decidedly, there is a chance they will not fulfill the annual expectation of a 20-win season.  They open up with Northern Iowa at home and then hit the New Year’s road trip to Evansville and Illinois St.
• Illinois State — Many were skeptical about the Redbirds’ non-conference slate again this season to really know how tough this team might be.  Well, the gravy train stopped with a loss against the Bracketbuster return game with Niagara and then the next game at Ohio.  Illinois State learned from those losses with a nice road win at Utah as part of the MVC/MWC Challenge.  The Redbirds host Wichita State and Southern Illinois and then head over to Missouri State this week.  Will they start 3-0, 0-3 or somewhere in between?
• Drake — Drake shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone how they have been this season.  Other than their dream season a couple of years ago, Drake has performed at its normal bottom-of-the-conference ways.  Losing to SIU-Edwardsville in Drake’s own tournament was the low point so far, and losing to Iowa who has struggled heavily this season really doesn’t make the Bulldogs look very good.  Bradley, Wichita State and Indiana State start the conference season for them.

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

Conference season goes into full swing this week and there are some intriguing matchups to kick things off.

• 12/29, Northern Iowa @ Creighton (Local TV)—This is the first time the top two conference teams from the previous season have met to kick off the following conference season in about 20 years. Creighton needs to get off on an early start against the conference favorites and needs the win at this point in the season more than the Panthers.
• 12/29, Wichita State @ Illinois State—This will be a key early matchup between two teams who want to be in the conversation at the end of the season. The Shockers have had problems on the road in conference play. They will need to turn that around to be in the race.
• 1/1, Southern Illinois @ Bradley—Both teams are going in opposite directions and it will be interesting to see if Bradley can rebound from a disappointing non-conference season.
• 1/1, Illinois St. @ Missouri State—The Bears are undefeated at home this season so far and the surprise team of the Valley gets its first big conference test.
• 1/3, Missouri State @ Northern Iowa—Both teams are in the running for the MVC crown at this point. The Panthers want to prove that they are the cream of the Valley.
• 1/3, Southern Illinois @ Illinois State—Already after one week, one of these teams could be in a lot of trouble after this game is over as both teams have a challenging first week of conference play.

]]> http://rushthecourt.net/2009/12/28/checking-in-on-the-mvc-4/feed/ 0 http://rushthecourt.net/2009/12/21/checking-in-on-the-mvc-3/ http://rushthecourt.net/2009/12/21/checking-in-on-the-mvc-3/#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:37:58 +0000 rtmsf http://rushthecourt.net/?p=14468

Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Current Records and my standings (Last Week)

1. Missouri State  (10-0) (1)
2. Wichita State (10-1) (2)
3. Northern Iowa  (8-1) (3)
4. Southern Illinois (7-2) (5)
5. Illinois State (8-2)  (4)
6. Indiana State  (7-3) (7)
7. Evansville (6-3) (8)
8. Bradley  (5-5) (6)
9. Drake  (5-6)  (9)
10. Creighton  (4-6)  (10)

STORIES OF THE WEEK

• MVC-MWC Challenge winding down—The Valley continues to lead the challenge against the Mountain West Conference 4-3 heading into the final weekend of games.  Illinois State went on the road to defeat Utah and Creighton had a chance to close out the conference’s victory but lost a huge lead on New Mexico and left Albuquerque with a loss.  Now it is up to Drake and Northern Iowa this coming weekend to close out the first year of a several year agreement for each conference to play one another.  In the coming years all of the Challenge games will be played in a one-week time period instead of throughout the non-conference season.
• Wichita State takes down ranked team—Wichita invited a ranked Texas Tech team into Koch Arena, the first non-conference ranked team to visit since Kansas in the 1991-92 season, and sent them home with a loss.  That must be why teams like that don’t come back or want to play Wichita at home. 
• Missouri St.  heading to undefeated non-conference record—Missouri St. defeated St. Louis Saturday night and Rick Majerus is ready to anoint the Bears as the winners of the Valley for this season.  Well, they are still undefeated and could stay that way if they can steal a win in Arkansas Tuesday night.   Could this be Drake version 2.0?

TEAMS DOING WELL

• Missouri St (1-0 this week)—As mentioned above, Missouri St. is one of a few undefeated teams in the nation right now.  It is due to their defense.  The Bears finish out the non-conference slate in Fayetteville with a “lucky they still have a team”  Arkansas squad.   About the only thing wrong with Missouri State is Will Creekmore’s jersey.
•  Wichita St (1-0 this week)—Wichita continues to be on a roll.  Andy Katz asked whether Wichita would be undefeated if they had Clevin Hannah and he was able to play against Pitt at the CBE Classic.  Either way, the Shockers are the real deal this season.    They host North Dakota State this week to complete their non-conference slate.
•  Northern Iowa  (1-0 this week)—Head Coach Ben Jacobson went back home to North Dakota this past week, but brought his UNI team in to take a victory.  Northern Iowa is at about the same point as Wichita right now.  Coach Jacobson is pretty happy with his team now, but he wasn’t at the beginning of the season.  They host Wyoming this week as a part of the MVC/MWC Challenge. 
• Southern Illinois (2-0 this week) –You can tell the reputation of the Salukis has taken a hit when they went out to Vegas this week in an invitational but their games were overshadowed by the women’s matchups in the same tournament.   However in both games this weekend against San Diego and San Francisco, SIU pulled out one point wins to complete a solid non-conference slate until a late January game against Western Kentucky.  Southern Illinois is off for the holidays until conference play starts in a week and a half. 
• Evansville (2-0 this week)—Evansville is continuing to build themselves back up with two wins this week.  They took a blow with Kavon Lacey, one of their emerging team leaders, going out for the season with knee surgery.  However, they are really spreading the scoring around and starting to come together.  A big road test at Austin Peay this week will see how far they have actually come. 
• Indiana St. (1-0 this week)—The Sycamores escaped with a win in Toledo this week on a Jake Kelly basket with  six seconds left and they are now again without point guard Harry Marshall who has had a lot of discipline problems at Indiana State.  The Sycamores look like a solid team, but they don’t need these distractions.  A trip to IUPUI this week will test them.

TEAMS WITH WORK TO DO

• Drake (0-1 this week)—Drake lost to Iowa this week and they sort of have to feel bad that a key player for the Hawkeye team that beat them was then arrested later that evening for public intoxication.  However, Coach Phelps feels pretty good about the recent recruiting classes, but can they produce on the court?    San Diego State comes to town as the possible deciding game of the MVC/MWC Challenge.
• Bradley (0-2 this week)—This team is on the verge of collapse.  Not only is Dodie Dunson out for the year with a broken arm, but they also lost Dyricus Simms-Edwards to a foot injury for 3-6 weeks.  Bradley lost this week to Loyola on a crazy off-balance half court shot and then got absolutely blown out by Iowa State Sunday.    The Braves now sit in limbo with a three-game losing streak for nine days until conference season starts at Drake.
• Creighton (1-1 this week)—Many do not have a good read on this Creighton team this season.  They have been so close in so many games against tough competition, but lack the killer instinct to finish the games.  The latest collapse was in New Mexico this weekend.  Creighton was up 15 points at one point in the first half, shooting almost 75%, but then New Mexico finished the first half cutting into the lead and by the middle of the second half the Lobos made the adjustments needed and pulled out a come-from-behind win.   They get a snoozer in Houston Baptist this week with their only wins this season coming so far on their home court. 
• Illinois State (1-1 this week)—Illinois State has had enough chinks in their armor exposed to lose on the road to Ohio, but then came back to get a big win at Utah as part of the MVC/MWC Challenge.   The Redbirds need another player to step up to help Osiris Eldridge and that player might be Austin Hill.  The Redbirds get a snoozer of their own with Grambling State this week.

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

A light week due to the holidays and very few key games except for the conclusion of the MVC/MWC Challenge, but also the last week of non-conference action for the MVC.  Conference play will start after the Christmas holiday.

• 12/22, San Diego St. @ Drake—Drake is starting to turn things around, but this will be a tough game against the Aztecs that could decide the MVC/MWC Challenge. 
• 12/22, Missouri St. @ Arkansas—Although Arkansas has so many problems, this could be a nice road win for the Bears and a great close to their amazing non-conference season. 
• 12/23, Northern Iowa @ Wyoming—A key matchup in the MVC/MWC Challenge’s final games.  UNI is on a roll lately.

Patrick Marshall of White and Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Current Records and My Standings (Last Week’s Rank)

1. Missouri St. (9-0) (1)
2. Wichita St. (9-1) (2)
3. Northern Iowa (7-1) (5)
4. Illinois St. (7-1) (3)
5. Southern Illinois (5-2) (8)
6. Bradley (5-3) (4)
7. Indiana St. (6-3) (6)
8. Evansville (4-3) (7)
9. Drake (5-5) (10)
10. Creighton (3-5) (9)

STORIES OF THE WEEK

• Missouri St. wins two more games.  The Bears are continuing to win, much to the chagrin of my pre-season rankings. I thought they would have at least 3 losses by now. Home court advantage was probably a help to their early success, but they also have two wins on the road and are in the middle of a three-game road trip. It would be pretty amazing if they finish the non-conference season undefeated by getting road wins at St. Louis and Arkansas, both very winnable games.
• Creighton loses on the road again.  Creighton is now 0-5 on the road this season and could finish 2009 with a losing record which would be the first time in a long time. This week it was to George Mason as they led most of the game and collapsed in the last few minutes of the game, helped by a technical foul on coach Dana Altman with 18 seconds left in the game with Creighton up by two.  Creighton lost the game, 75-72.
• Shockers looking pretty good.  Other than the loss to Pittsburgh in the CBE Classic, Wichita State  is playing some good basketball lately and have gained a lot of confidence with a couple road wins at UMKC and Cleveland State as well as some guarantee games at Koch Arena.  They will be a force come conference play.
• UNI sweeps Iowa teams.  For the first time since 2006-07 season, UNI beat both Iowa and Iowa St. in the annual matchup between the Iowa schools. The Panthers are on a roll as of late and creating quite the resume’ with wins over Iowa, Iowa St., Boston College, and Siena.

TEAMS DOING WELL

Missouri State (2-0 this week).  Missouri St. has to be taken seriously at this point. They are undefeated and have winnable games to finish the non-conference season. Kyle Weems and Adam Leonard continue to team up to lead the Bears. Arkansas St. gave them their biggest test this past week and they overcame the adversity.  They will have another road test against St. Louis this week.

Wichita St (2-0 this week).  The Shockers have been winning games, but a lot of them lately haven’t been very close.  A couple of closer games might not be bad for this team, to see how they’d react.  TCU was supposed to be a bit of a test and it was an interesting game that had three technical fouls against TCU and a warning to the crowd to cool down.  This week Wichita St. hosts Texas Tech for their next test.

Northern Iowa (2-0 this week).  With the way UNI disposed of Siena Saturday night, it is time for people to lose the notion that Northern Iowa won’t be tough this season. All five starters finished in double figures; UNI is poised to make a splash and others will have to take notice.  The Northern Iowa players are starting to talk about how they want to be the impact team in this year’s NCAA Tournament.  They have an interesting matchup this week as the Panthers take a trip to North Dakota.

Southern Illinois (2-0 this week).  Southern Illinois turned their road woes around this week with a victory at Southeast Missouri State.  Unfortunately, they will be without JUCO transfer Jack Crowder for two weeks after strained his right shoulder.  Everyone expected Tony Freeman to make an impact for the Salukis and he is doing just that as he is on a torrid shooting pace right now.  In the two games this week, he shot 14-22 from the floor and 10-17 from three-point range.  Southern Illinois is flying under the radar right now, so look out for them.  This weekend they head to Las Vegas to play San Diego and San Francisco.

Drake (2-0 this week).  Josh Young has been working his way back from a hip pointer injury and he and the other seniors on this team decided to carry the Bulldogs on their shoulders this weekend as they won their Hyvee Classic tourney.  Drake hits the road to in-state rival Iowa this week and anything can happen in that one.

TEAMS WITH WORK TO DO

Bradley (0-1 this week).  Bradley not only lost this week, but also lost one of their assistant coaches. Steve Merfeld left the team unexpectedly this week amid some weird circumstances. It is interesting that you would ask one of your assistants to leave the team in the middle of the season. It must have affected the team enough that they lost to Western Carolina soon after. This week Bradley tries to rebound with games against Loyola-Chicago and Iowa State.

Creighton (0-1 this week).  There must be something in the air with referees doing Missouri Valley Conference games this week (in reference to the Wichita St. game mentioned above) as Creighton lost in the final minutes against George Mason. During the breakdown, Coach Dana Altman was called for a technical foul with only 18 seconds remaining in the game and the Bluejays were up 2 points. They ended up losing by three and head back to Omaha now 0-5 on the road this season.

Evansville (0-1 this week).  Evansville started off strong but lost a winnable game against Western Kentucky this week, 63-57, but out of it is the continued emergence of freshman Colt Ryan as a leader for the Purple Aces as he finished with a career high 23 points. Georgia Southern and Tennessee-Martin come into Roberts Stadium this week.

Illinois St. (1-1 this week).  Niagara exposed the Redbirds weakness that Osiris Eldridge is the one-man show for the Redbirds this season as he went 5-of-18 from the field and 2-of-11 from three, and they beat the Redbirds, 76-68. Even though Illinois St. outrebounded them 49-28, it wasn’t enough. Going into the Sunday’s game Dinma Odiakosa was second in the nation in field goal percentage.  They now have to regroup for a two-game road trip at Ohio and Utah this week.

Indiana State (1-1 this week).  Indiana State lost to Ball State this week, but rebounded to beat Oral Roberts. With all the newcomers Kevin McKenna has brought to this team this season, two players that played significant minutes last season, Jordan Printy and Aaron Carter, have had their minutes go down significantly this season.  Indiana St. hits the road to Toledo this week.

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

The Valley has another week to get into the spotlight:

• 12/19—Drake @ Iowa (Big 10 Network)—With the struggles both teams have had this season, it should be an interesting game.
• 12/19—Illinois St. @ Utah (The Mtn.)—Illinois St. gets its first quality opponent in this game. It could establish more credibility for this team.
• 12/19—Missouri St. @ St. Louis (Local TV in both markets)—Missouri St. tries to stay undefeated as they are on a three game road trip.
• 12/19—Creighton @ New Mexico (The Mtn.)—Creighton has another road game with a quality opponent. This time, it is against undefeated New Mexico as one of the final games of the MVC/MWC Challenge heats things up.
• 12/19—Texas Tech @ Wichita St. (Local TV in Kansas)—A chance for the Shockers to get a quality win against the Big 12.
• 12/20—Bradley @ Iowa St. (ESPN FC)—Iowa St. took two tours already with the MVC in the annual matchups with Drake and UNI, but now Bradley gets in on the action.

Patrick Marshall of the White and Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley conference.

MY STANDINGS (current record/last week’s)

1. Missouri St.  7-0 (1)
2. Wichita St.   7-1 (2)
3. Illinois St.  7-0 (4)
4. Bradley  5-2 (3)
5. Northern Iowa  5-1 (7)
6. Indiana St.  5-2 (5)
7. Evansville  4-2 (8)
8. Southern Illinois  3-2 (6)
9. Creighton  3-4 (10)
10. Drake  3-5 (9)

STORIES OF THE WEEK

• Still two undefeated teams — Missouri St. is still undefeated seven games into their season.  The Bears have had some nice wins against Tulsa and Auburn along with some outside sharpshooting.  They are shooting almost 42% from three point range and holding opponents to under 60 points per game.
• The Redbirds on the other hand are also 7-0, but against some questionable competition.  As expected, though, the veterans of Osiris Eldridge, Lloyd Phillips and Dinma Odiakosa have led the way for Illinois St. in scoring and minutes played.  At the same time this team has also escaped some close calls.  We may not know more about the Redbirds until their trip to Utah in a couple of weeks.
• Evansville double OT thriller — Evansville went into Tennessee Tech this week trying to rebound from a couple of losses.  Who knew it would be one of the more dramatic games of the season so far.  Freshman Colt Ryan hit a 12-foot shot with five seconds remaining in the second overtime to lead the them to a thrilling 91-90 victory.  Ryan played a game high 47 minutes of the contest.
• Drake hits new low — Usually when you setup your own tournament, schools usually set it up so they are likely to win it.  With Drake opening up against SIU-Edwardsville who is playing a full D-1 conference slate this season, you expected Drake to advance to the next day final at home.  Well instead, SIU-E knocked off the Bulldogs, 60-58.  SIU-E, by the way, went on to win the Drake weekend tourney.

TEAMS IMPRESSING

• Missouri State (2-0 this week) — Missouri St. went on the road this week to knock off Arkansas-Little Rock.  Through that game, the Bears had scored at least 70 PPG.  They grinded out a 58-48 win, however, against Air Force in the MVC/MWC Challenge.  A new player keeps emerging each game for Missouri State.  This time it was Jermaine Mallett and his defense.  A home game against Tennessee-Martin and then a roadtrip to Arkansas State will be this weeks’ tests.
• Wichita State (3-0 this week) — Wichita continues to roll with three home games this past week.  Right now, Jerry Palm’s CollegeRPI.com ranks WSU’s strength of schedule No. 323 out of 347 Division I schools.  The big story of the week during this guaranteefest is what the redshirt players are doing this season.  A road trip to UMKC and a home game against TCU are on the schedule this week.
• Illinois State (1-0 this week) — Illinois St. won their only game against Central Michigan.  Osiris Eldridge put himself on top of the Illinois St. all-time three point shooting list but didn’t have a good offensive night otherwise.  A return game from the Bracketbusters against Niagara is on the schedule this week.
• Bradley (1-0 this week) — Bradley didn’t have a letdown as they hit the road to defeat Northern Illinois.  As well as Taylor Brown has been playing, there are some looking at Chris Roberts as the most steady player.  Bradley gets some props on the academic side of things as they are tops in the Valley in graduation rate of their athletes.   Western Carolina comes to town this week.
• Northern Iowa (1-0 this week) — After the early stumble in the Paradise Jam, Northern Iowa has settled down to play some solid basketball.  This week they went to Ames and knocked off Iowa State as Ali Faroknamesh hit a three-pointer towards the end of the game to give them the win.  But it has been the play of Jordan Eglseder that has helped UNI turn things around.  His 20 points and 14 rebounds made Iowa St.’s solid frontcourt look silly.  They continue the Iowa rivalry games as they host the Hawkeyes this week.
• Creighton (1-0 this week) — Creighton rose out of the doldrums to establish an inside game this week against Nebraska as Kenny Lawson scored 25 points and grabbed 10 big rebounds to help Creighton get a win they desperately needed after the poor showing at the Old Spice Classic.  They hit the road this week for the return game of the Bracketbusters with George Mason.
• Evansville (2-0 this week) — Evansville got two nice wins this week including the thrilling double OT win against Tennessee Tech mentioned earlier, but if it wasn’t for some key free throw shooting at the end of the game against Alabama State, it would have been a big let down for this young team before they go back on the road against a tough Western Kentucky team this week.
• Indiana State — Indiana St. did not play this week.  They prepare for Ball State and Oral Roberts this week.

TEAMS WITH WORK TO DO

• Southern Illinois (0-1 this week) — Going on the road looks like it might be a huge problem for the Salukis this season as they lost their second in as many road games to the youngest team in basketball, St. Louis.  They had a great first half, but fell apart in the 2nd half to lose, 71-61.  Kevin Dillard was the one bright spot as he had 23 points, but it has to be more than Dillard for the Salukis to have a successful season.  They get another chance to try and get a win on the road with a trip to Southeast Missouri State before hosting Alabama State next weekend.
• Drake (1-1 this week) — It is looking to be a long season in Des Moines as Drake cannot win the close games, including letting SIU-E score the final eight points in the loss mentioned above.  They did salvage the weekend to defeat North Dakota, but at this point it is hard to tell what to expect from the Bulldogs this season.  One piece of good news is that Drake’s recruiting class has been ranked first in the Valley by ESPN.

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

A few decent games this week.  Unfortunately, you won’t see them unless you live in a Valley territory:

• 12/8 — Iowa @ Northern Iowa — The Panthers continue their in-state rivalry tour to host the horrible Hawkeyes. UNI is coming off a dramatic win against Iowa St. last week which could keep the momentum going for them this week.
• 12/8 — Evansville @ Western Kentucky (Local TV) — Evansville has been playing some drama-filled basketball these days and a young roster is stepping up to play big for the Purple Aces.  This will be a good test for the Aces as they play a historically tough Hilltopper team.
• 12/12 — Creighton @ George Mason (Local TV) — Creighton hits the road again and this time to Fairfax to take on George Mason in a return from last season’s Bracketbusters.  This will be a bit of a homecoming for Justin Carter as he grew up just a couple hours away.  Earlier this summer, MVC Commisioner Doug Elgin tried to get this game moved to next season as Creighton was trying to schedule a home date with Georgetown, but George Mason coach Jim Larranaga would have nothing to do with that.
• 12/12 — Drake vs. Binghamton (Local TV) — This could be an upset special.  With SIU-Edwardsville coming into Des Moines last weekend to take home the “Made for Drake” tourney, this sets up well with Drake’s Hy-Vee classic set for this weekend.  I’m sure this was originally going to be the biggest game on Drake’s home schedule this coming season before the whole Binghamton scandal.  Now it is a game to determine who has the best remaining roster.
• 12/13 — Niagara vs. Illinois St. — This will be the first real test for the Redbirds in a return of last season’s Bracketbusters game.  Illinois St. is 7-0, but their opponent’s average RPI so far is 258, including four opponents currently in the 300s.

Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Current Records and My Standings:

1. Missouri State  (5-0)
2. Wichita State  (5-1)
3. Bradley  (4-2)
4. Illinois State  (6-0)
5. Indiana State  (5-2)
6. Southern Illinois  (3-1)
7. Northern Iowa  (4-1)
8. Evansville  (2-2)
9. Drake  (2-4)
10. Creighton  (2-4)

STORIES OF THE WEEK

Creighton lays an egg.  Creighton had Michigan on the ropes in their opening game of the Old Spice Classic with a five point lead in the closing minutes but let Michigan back.  It took a full court drive by Creighton’s Antoine Young to send the game to overtime, but the Bluejays could not stop Manny Harris from taking over the OT period and sending Creighton to a loss. They then looked like they were stuck in quicksand against Xavier in the losers’ bracket and then finished things off with a loss against a young Iona squad. Many thought Creighton had a chance to really make some noise in this tournament and even an opportunity to win it all, but they had the worst possible scenario happen to them, going 0-3 in the tournament and creating only negative buzz for themselves on the national stage.

Missouri St. On Fire.  Missouri St. took out an undefeated Tulsa team to up their record to 5-0.  They already have two nice wins on the season with their first road contest coming up this week.

Performance in tourney play.   The Valley had varying degrees of success in the holiday tourneys held last week. Wichita St. lost to Pittsburgh, but then came back to defeat Iowa in the CBE Classic.  Bradley kept Oklahoma St. close before losing to them, but turned around to defeat Illinois.  Creighton, as mentioned earlier, went 0-3 in the Old Spice Classic.  The conference is now 36-17 in the non-conference season.

TEAMS IMPRESSING

Missouri State — Missouri State has been the most impressive so far and one of only two teams in the conference still undefeated.  Eastern Kentucky transfer Adam Leonard has continued to make an impact for Missouri St. with 24 points in the win against Tulsa.  Maybe the critics will be silenced.  Arkansas-Little Rock and Air Force are on the slate for the Bears this week.

Southern Illinois —  The Salukis are quietly doing pretty well so far.  After an unfortunate road loss at UNLV last week, they were able to rebound to defeat Illlinois-Chicago.  The problem with Saluki fans is that they aren’t exactly sure about what they would rather have—more points or tough defense.  They hit the road again this coming weekend at St. Louis.

Indiana State – The Sycamores have a lot going for them right now.  After stumbling against Coastal Carolina in the NIT Consolation bracket, they turned around the next night to defeat Western Kentucky and then got a victory over Arkansas State on Sunday afternoon.  The Sycamores don’t play a game this week, and won’t play again until a week from Wednesday.  But this is quite a turnaround for them after starting 0-6 last season.

Wichita State — Wichita wasn’t sure what to expect going into the CBE Classic.  They stuck close to a young Pittsburgh team but didn’t have enough to get to the finals.  They did, however, have success against Iowa in the consolation and then went on the road to take out Cleveland State, so things are looking pretty good for the shockers.  Is a win against a BCS team still a good win even if it is Iowa?  They get a little home cooking this week with Alcorn St. and Texas Southern coming to town.

Illinois State – They’re the other undefeated Valley team, but preseason Valley POY Osiris Eldridge has been struggling.  He did get x-rays on his hip earlier this week, and this past weekend he struggled on the offensive end for the Redbirds — until Sunday.  Eldridge got a benching after a missed 360-degree dunk attempt  in Saturday’s game, but came back on Sunday with 28 points in 6-10 shooting from three point range and 10-16 shooting overall.  His health is a big key in their success this season.  The Redbirds have a light week this week with Central Michigan coming to town on Saturday.

Bradley — Bradley is continuing to quietly impress.  Though they couldn’t defeat Oklahoma State in the Las Vegas Invitational, they were able to bounce back and defeat Illinois the next evening.  Bradley had four games in the past seven days winning three out of the four.  They stay on the road against Northern Illinois this week.  The other big news of the week for Bradley is that their university President will be serving on the NCAA athlete certification committee.

Northern Iowa — UNI turned their lemons into lemonade as they were able to defeat Boston College from the ACC in their consolation game in the Paradise Jam tournament.  But they were almost surprised by Northern Illinois while struggling with scoring.  They now head into their annual game against Iowa State hoping to build on their past two wins.

TEAMS WITH WORK TO DO

Creighton —  Obviously, Creighton has some work to do after their winless performance in the Old Spice Classic.  But they do not have time to sulk.  In-state rival Nebraska comes into the Qwest Center Sunday afternoon.  I see it as a lack of veteran leadership on this team.  The bright spot has been the play of Freshman Ethan Wragge who is shooting quite well from three and currently second on the team in scoring in limited minutes.  Creighton ends November with a losing record for the first time since 1997.

Evansville —  Evansville is still a work-in-progress.   After falling behind way too early at Miami (OH) this week, they continue on the road this week at Tennessee Tech before hosting Alabama State at the end of the week.

Drake —  Drake rebounded from their terrible performance at the Glenn Wilkes Classic by garnering a win on the road against Austin Peay in their return game from last year’s Bracketbusters.  They get some home-love as they host the first of two weekend tournaments this next weekend against SIU-Edwardsville (who will now be playing three Valley teams) and either North Dakota or Texas-Arlington.

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

After all of the Thanksgiving play, the Valley has a light week this week, but here are some matchups of interest:

• 12/2—Missouri St. @ Arkansas-Little Rock — Can Missouri St. continue their surprising start?  This will be their first game on the road this season.  Last season they were 2-12 on the road.
• 12/2—Northern Iowa @ Iowa St. (ESPN FC) – These in-state rivals always put on a nice game.  UNI has a lot of confidence coming into the game with a win over Boston College while Iowa St. just lost in the Chicago Invitational championship game to Northwestern.
• 12/5—Southern Illinois @ St. Louis (Local TV, St. Louis and Carbondale) — The Salukis try to get their first road win of the season.
• 12/6—Creighton vs. Nebraska (Local TV, Omaha) — Creighton left Orlando with a lot left to figure out.  Will they get it together in time against in-state rival Nebraska?  Over the past several meetings, the home team has won the contest, so that may be in Creighton’s favor.

Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.

MY STANDINGS (current records)

1. Missouri State  (4-0)
2. Wichita State (2-0)
3. Illinois State (2-0)
4. Indiana State (2-1)
5. Southern Illinois (2-1)
6. Creighton  (2-1)
7. Bradley  (2-1)
8. Northern Iowa  (2-1)
9. Evansville (2-1)
10. Drake  (1-4)

STORIES OF THE WEEK

Injuries, Illness and Suspensions—The Valley has started out with several injuries, illnesses and suspensions this season, causing some teams to play without some veteran leaders including:

• Bradley lost Dodie Dunson for the season with a broken arm suffered in their game against Idaho State while Taylor Brown is serving a suspension for  an offseason battery charge.  Brown was the team’s leading scorer during the Labor Day trip to Brazil. 
• Creighton lost Justin Carter to an MCL tear for 2-4 weeks, Casey Harriman was hospitalized with swine flu that turned to tonsillitis that turned to strep throat that turned into mononucleosis, while Chad Millard has been out with a foot injury since September.
• Drake was without Josh Young due to a hip pointer injury.
• Wichita St. was without Clevin Hannah for the first three games (including the upcoming CBE Classic game against Pittsburgh) due to a “paperwork” error on his amateur status. 

Early season impressions—If the MVC wants to say they are back in the national picture, they need to start winning some games with name recognition above, as Kyle Whelliston calls it, the “Red Line.”  MVC teams had games against Dayton, LSU, Depaul, Iowa State, BYU, UNLV and Butler without walking away with a win.  The only win for the Valley against the Red Line was Missouri State’s win against Auburn.   The Valley has several more opportunities this week with Bradley, Wichita State and Creighton getting a chance to make noise. 

Tournaments—As mentioned above, the holiday tournaments are upon us.  Wichita State is getting ready for Pittsburgh and Texas/Iowa to start the week in the CBE Classic while Creighton faces off against Michigan (Thanksgiving Day) and Xavier/Marquette (Black Friday) in the Old Spice Classic with a third opportunity in (Baylor, Florida State, Alabama or Iona) on Sunday.  Bradley travels to Vegas for the Las Vegas Invitational to go against Oklahoma State Friday with Illinois or Utah waiting for them on Saturday.  

RTC Live—To start off your week right, join us for live coverage from courtside of the CBE Classic with Wichita St/Pittsburgh and Texas/Iowa Monday night with the consolation and championship games on Tuesday evening from Kansas City. 

INITIAL TEAM IMPRESSIONS

• Missouri State—Who would have thought Missouri Statea would be the team that started off the season on the right foot above the rest of the Valley at 4-0?  With an opening night win against an “ultra-athletic”  Auburn team, the Bears are the only ones in the Valley who have beaten a name school.  Kyle Weems is building off of his freshman season and Eastern Kentucky transfer Adam Leonard is hitting big shots for Missouri St.    Their next big test comes Saturday as they host Tulsa. 
• Southern Illinois—Southern Illinois was looking to rebound from last season’s disappointment and they got on track with easy wins over Tennessee-Martin and D2 Indianapolis, but went into Las Vegas to take on UNLV in the MVC-MWC Challenge and missed out on an important win for them.   Iowa transfer Tony Freeman is going to be an important piece to the puzzle for the Salukis this season.  SIU is off for a week before hosting Illinois-Chicago. 
• Indiana State—The Sycamores have a lot going for them after the first week of competition.  In the opening round of the Preseason NIT, they gave LSU a big scare holding the Tigers to 0-15 from three point range but just coming up short in the win column.  But they bounced back to beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee the next night.  They have the only win for the Valley in the MVC-MWC Challenge, beating Colorado St. this past Friday.   Dwayne Lathan started out the season going 10-10 from the field in the first two games and led the team in the win against the Rams.   Keep Lathan’s name in the back of your mind as an impact player for the Valley.  Coastal Carolina and Western Kentucky are on the slate in the consolation rounds of the Preseason NIT this week.
• Wichita St.—Gregg Marshall knows that expectations are high this season and with Kansas City in the back of their minds came out and beat the teams they were supposed to in Fairleigh Dickinson and D2 Arkansas-Monticello in the early games of the CBE Classic.  JT Durley looks like a different player this season and they will need him to be dominant on the boards.  They now head to KC to face Pitt Monday in the championship rounds and either Texas or Iowa Tuesday night.  But with Clevin Hannah out for the Pitt game finishing his 3-game suspension, will the Shockers still have the pieces needed to get by the Big East whose teams have lost only a couple of games to start the season? RTC Live will be there to see. 
• Illinois State-Again Illinois State has started undefeated, and again the schedule is light on top-notch competition to see how this team functions without the supporting cast that was there last season.  The two wins against SIU-Edwardsville and North Florida were against teams that were in the 330s of D1 basketball last season.   Even the local ISU sportswriters aren’t too pleased with how this team has looked so far.  But you have to give them credit that two of the first three games are on the road with a trip to Illinois-Chicago early this week before hosting their own three-day round robin tourney over Thanksgiving weekend. 
• Creighton—A somewhat shorthanded Creighton had Dayton on the ropes with a chance to get a great win to start the season.  RTC’s coverage of the game reflected the exciting game that took place.  However, the Bluejays came up a bit short.  They were able to come back and take out Florida A & M and Arkansas-Little Rock at home.  One big positive is that the newcomers of Wayne Runnels, Darryl Ashford and Ethan Wragge have stepped up big time and have led the offense for the Bluejays.   The other good news is that heading into this week the MASH unit that was the Creighton roster might be almost back to full strength.  This week is the Old Spice Classic in Orlando and an opening round game against the top 15 Michigan Wolverines. 
• Bradley—The Braves started the season with a tough assignment to take on BYU on the road as the opening game of the MVC/MWC Challenge.  They almost pulled it off, but the Braves probably learned a lot about themselves after that game.  Bradley also received some bad news in their win against Idaho St. as Dodie Dunson suffered a broken arm and is now out for the season.  Bradley survived against Wofford Sunday night and finishes hosting the first two rounds of the Las Vegas Invitational this week against Presbyterian before heading out to Vegas over the weekend for a date with Oklahoma St.  
• Northern Iowa—There is a reason I did not pick the Panthers to win the Valley this season.  It ended up showing as they lost to Depaul (picked last in the Big East) by only shooting 22% in the second half and scoring one basket in the last seven minutes of the game.  They might have been looking ahead to the potential matchup with Tennessee.  Instead they got East Carolina who they came back to defeat and will play Boston College on Monday to close out the tourney.   Then they are off until they meet Northern Illinois next Saturday.
• Evansville—For everything that Evansville lost personnel-wise, they have been able to start the season off on a good note by winning against D2 Oakland City and D1 transition team SIU-Edwardsville.  Then they were able to compete with Butler but came up just a bit short.  Evansville may surprise more people than we realize.  The Aces take their first road trip after Thanksgiving to play Miami (OH) on Saturday. 
• Drake—Keno Davis picked a good time to leave two seasons ago after their dream season as the Bulldogs are basically back to where they were before that magical run.  They are 1-4 after getting blown out by Iowa State at home and losing to IUPUI,  Akron and Central Florida as a part of the Glenn Wilkes Classic.  Playing five true freshman extended minutes will cause Drake to endure some growing pains.  Drake now has to regroup before heading on the road to Austin Peay next Saturday. 

WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH

The Valley has not helped itself by losing games it should not lose and not coming up big against the  BCS conference teams.  However, there are several opportunities over this next week for the Valley to get some good wins.

• 11/23—Northern Iowa vs. Boston College (Paradise Jam)—Northern Iowa tries to salvage their appearance in this event.  After missing out on the opportunity to play Tennessee, they at least did enough to get a chance to play the Golden Eagles. 
• 11/23 and 11/24—Wichita State @ CBE Classic—Wichita State faces Pittsburgh in the championship round semifinal at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.  A spirited “home” crowd should be a factor for the Shockers.  The hope for fans and players is that they get the opportunity to play Texas the next night rather than play Iowa who probably shouldn’t even be there.  But a win against a name team is a win against a name team, right?  Anyway, I will be down at this event for RTC Live both nights. 
• 11/25—Indiana State. vs. Western Kentucky—In the consolation rounds of the Preseason NIT in Bowling Green, the Sycamores get a chance for a nice win.  The Hilltoppers have several MVC teams on their schedule this season and should just join the Valley. 
• 11/26, 11/27 and 11/29—Creighton @ Old Spice Classic.  (ESPN Family of Networks)—Creighton missed out on a big win at Dayton, but now they get to focus on three days of games against name teams.  The first opportunity will be against top 15 Michigan on Turkey Day and then either Xavier or Marquette on Black Friday.  Alabama, Florida St., Baylor or Iona will await the Bluejays on Sunday.  Justin Carter may be back for these games.
• 11/27 and 11/28—Bradley vs. Oklahoma St. (Las Vegas Invitiational)—Bradley gets the opportunity to play the Cowboys from the Big 12 out in Las Vegas.  The following day, the Braves will get Illinois or Utah.  Unfortunately both games will not be on TV and the best you can do is watch it online or join the Bradley-sponsored viewing parties.  Both of these games will be important for Bradley to make a name for themselves this season.
• 11/28—Missouri St. vs. Tulsa—The Bears are hoping to continue the early success by hosting a tough Tulsa team.  Get this win and many fan and media opinions may change on the Cuonzo Martin rebuilding project.