College Insider released their first Mid-Major Top 25:
http://collegeinsider.com/mens-mid-major-top-25
Belmont comes in at #2, Drake #4, Loyola #9, Missouri State #11, and Northern Iowa RV
Belmont being #2 seems a little high. I'd put Drake over them pretty easily. Can't wait for that game!
College Insider released their first Mid-Major Top 25:
http://collegeinsider.com/mens-mid-major-top-25
Belmont comes in at #2, Drake #4, Loyola #9, Missouri State #11, and Northern Iowa RV
We play #12 San Francisco on the road. I think we will crack the top 25 of this poll eventually this season. We aren't getting any respect due to last years record. That will change barring any major injuries.
I'm pretty sure that former SIU head coach, Joe Gottfried, came to SIU from Ashland. I was at SIU for his 3 miserable years at SIU including 0-18 in the Valley his last.
Sounds like there's a chance Tyreke Key could have season-ending shoulder surgery. Needless to say, the Sycamores need him.
Valpo loses another exhibition. This time to Flagler..
https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball/status/1456424407434399751
Ooph
Valpo loses another exhibition. This time to Flagler..
https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball/status/1456424407434399751
Lottich's days are numbered
Valpo loses another exhibition. This time to Flagler..
https://twitter.com/ValpoBasketball/status/1456424407434399751
Lottich's days are numbered
Lottich was praising the tough D2 competition they scheduled postgame. I mean Flagler is a top 5 D2 team but not sure there's an excuse losing to 2 division 2 teams.
Jeff Sagarin's College Basketball ratings are posted for 2021-22. Here's how the Valley shapes up:
http://sagarin.com/sports/cbsend.htm
74. Loyola Chicago
75. Drake
114. Northern Iowa
116. Missouri State
145. Bradley
149. Southern Illinois
164. Valpo
173. Indiana State
201. Evansville
239. Illinois State
Bonus: 106. Belmont
Here is KenPom's preseason rankings for the Valley:
32 -- Loyola
66 -- MoState
74 -- Drake
110 -- UNI
134 -- SIU
171 -- Evansville
174 -- Bradley
187 -- ISUblue
202 -- ISUred
236 -- Valpo
Oh yeah, and ...
77 -- Belmont
https://twitter.com/IndStBasketball/status/1457739886354645000
Rough news for Indiana State and should put them in the cellar of the MVC this year
https://twitter.com/IndStBasketball/status/1457739886354645000
Rough news for Indiana State and should put them in the cellar of the MVC this year
Thought it was too good to be true for the Sycs that he was coming back for another year, especially given the coaching change. Alas …
Missouri Valley Games for Tuesday, November 9th:
170. Evansville @ 117. Cincinnati 6:00 PM ESPN+ (Cincinnati favored by 7.5)
Tough opener for Evansville at Cincinnati. The Bearcats are expected to be in a built of a rebuilding year in the first year of Wes Miller who came over from UNC Greensboro after being passed over for the North Carolina job. Cincy saw a bunch of players leave which led to an investigation and firing of previous head coach John Brannen. Maybe Evansville can go into Cincy with a Senior-heavy lineup and pull out a win?
116. Toledo @ 235. Valparaiso 6:00 PM ESPN+ (Toledo favored by 3)
Valpo is coming off 2 exhibition losses to D2 schools so interested they're only 3 point underdogs against a solid Toledo team especially with Ben Krikke's status unknown.
226. Nicholls @ 109. Northern Iowa 7:00 PM ESPN+ (No line yet)
AJ Green is back and it's important for the Panthers to get off to a good start this year after struggling out of the gate last year even with Green. Nicholls was a 18-7 team last year and went 14-2 in the Southland before losing to Abilene Christian in the Southland Championship.
268. Southeast Missouri State @ 66. Missouri State 7:00 PM ESPN+ (Missouri State favored by 16)
Brad Korn's Redhawks head to Springfield where there are high expectations this season with two of the best players in the Valley in Prim and Mosley. Missouri State is obviously good but surprised SEMO are heavy dogs here.
186. Indiana State @ 306. Green Bay 7:00 PM ESPN+ (Indiana State favored by 2.5)
With the news that Tyreke Key is going to miss the entire season, I'm expecting the Sycamores to be a 10th place team this season in the Valey. They do get a favorable matchup on the road at Green Bay to start the season, a team predicted to finish 11th in the Horizon.
277. UNC Wilmington @ 202. Illinois State 7:00 PM ESPN3 (Illinois State favored by 7)
Illinois State starts their season at home with a UNC Wilmington team that has struggled since the departure of Kevin Keatts to NC State after 2017. The Seahawks were picked 9th of 10 in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll.
351. Coppin State @ 32. Loyola Chicago 7:00 PM ESPN3 (No line yet)
Haven't found a line on this one yet but I'm guessing it'll be massive. KenPom has Loyola beating Juan Dixon's Coppin State team by 34 points. The Eagles went 8-4 in the MEAC last year with a senior-heavy team but KenPom has them as the 8th worst team in the nation to start this season.
D3 Coe College @ 74. Drake 7:00 PM ESPN3
Drake gets to start their season with Coe College, a Division 3 liberal arts college from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
173. Bradley @ 89. South Dakota State 8:15 PM ESPN+ (South Dakota State favored by 10)
Maybe the most interesting game of the night in the Valley as new-look Bradley goes to Brookings, South Dakota to face an impressive South Dakota State team that's picked to win the Summit League in the preseason polls. No Ville Tahvanainen for the Braves will put a bit of a damper on things and a lot of new pieces that might take time to gel.
Stat of the day:
There are 120 men's basketball games on the ESPN family of networks tomorrow. Close to the same amount of women's games, too.
Outside of Loyola, the entire MVC is very uninspiring so far tonight.
--Insert something witty here--
