Indiana State does SIU a favor by beating Northern Iowa, albeit at home. Huge for SIU in my opinion bc we hold the tiebreaker against Belmont and Northern Iowa has been the only team, to date, that beat us by double digits.
KenPom projections have SIU and Belmont tied for 1st at 15-5 with Bradley, Drake, and Indiana State in a 3 way tie at 13-7. They expect Northern Iowa to drop off with their tough schedule.
@salukiworld They probably will drop off with the upcoming schedule but I think it’s still good to see Indiana State win here. They already have 5 losses. Just in case UNI surprises people in February, it’s nice to see them pickup a 4th loss themselves.
@salukiworld They probably will drop off with the upcoming schedule but I think it’s still good to see Indiana State win here. They already have 5 losses. Just in case UNI surprises people in February, it’s nice to see them pickup a 4th loss themselves.
Hopefully it doesn't matter and SIU wins but things could get shaky with UNI already winning the first game and basically picking up 2 games on SIU with another win.
No Tucker DeVries at Belmont today (recovering from infection).
Not helpful for Salukis.
Doesn't seem to be bothering the Bulldogs as they are up 16 with 2 minutes to go in the 1st half
Drake up 39-26 over Belmont at the half.
Bradley 36-28 over UIC at the half.
Drake wins 79-61 over Belmont
Updated KenPom projections have a 3-way tie at the top and Bradley/Indiana State one game back
The only thing surprising about the Drake win is no Devries.
I seriously doubt Belmont will end up in first. Seen them play several times. Sheppard's good, they have a good 3 pt shooter, but I don't think they're that physical.
I think SIU going 6-2 gets it done. Man Wednesday is huge…
https://twitter.com/WyattWheeler_NL/status/1620419144121475072
A long read, but some interesting stuff in here, and it A) Makes you appreciate the recent homecourt advantage rejuvenation we've seen at Southern, and B) Makes you wonder if NJ Benson is second-guessing his decision to head to the Ozarks. 😛
Everyone in the Missouri Valley in action tomorrow:
Valparaiso @ Missouri State 7:00 PM ESPN+ (Missouri State favored by 10.5)
UIC @ Illinois State 7:00 PM ESPN+ (Illinois State favored by 6)
Belmont @ Murray State 7:00 PM ESPN+ (Murray State favored by 1.5)
Indiana State @ Evansville 7:00 PM ESPN+ (Indiana State favored by 12.5)
Northern Iowa @ Drake 8:00 PM ESPN+ (Drake favored by 9)
I’m watching Loyola vs Dayton…Loyola are so bad on defense…it appears Moser and Mullins did not rub off on Valentine at all.
