Missouri Valley games for December 9th, 2020:
1-0 Loyola-Chicago vs 0-5 Chicago State 2:00 PM ESPN+ (Loyola Chicago favored by 34.5)
The Ramblers get Chicago State after beating Division 2 Lewis. Should be an easy one for the Ramblers as Chicago State might be the worst team in D1 College Basketball, thus explaining the 34.5 point line.
1-3 Northern Iowa @ 3-0 #19 Richmond 5:00 PM ESPN+ (Richmond favored by 10)
The game of the night in the Valley but Northern Iowa needs AJ Green to play to have any shot here. Richmond has quality wins over Kentucky and Wofford this year.
1-3 Valparaiso vs 2-3 SIU Edwardsville 6:00 PM ESPN3 (Valpo favored by 12)
Valpo is coming off a win against Judson. Little E is #328 in Kenpom and has wins over St. Louis Pharmacy and Northern Illinois. Should be another game for Valpo to get right.
0-3 Evansville vs 2-3 Eastern Illinois 6:00 PM ESPN+ (Eastern Illinois favored by 4.5)
Evansville again looks for the first win since December 21st of last year. I don't really see it coming here because Eastern Illinois is one of the most experienced teams in the country. The Panthers have 7 Seniors getting major minutes and their 3 losses are to Wisconsin, Marquette and Dayton. They have wins over Chicago State and Green Bay in double OT.
4-0 Drake vs McKendree 7:00 PM ESPN3
Drake getting another Division 2 matchup here.
Loyola 88 Chicago State 51
Shaky first half for the Ramblers but they end up winning the 2nd half by 29 points. Krutwig led all scorers with 22 points.
#19 Richmond 78 Northern Iowa 68
Northern Iowa got off to a good start and won the first half but things fell apart in the second half and the Panthers move to 1-4. Without AJ Green, they went 3-19 from 3.
Valpo 80 SIUe 58
Valpo takes care of Little E. Freshman Sheldon Edwards had 20 off the bench with 8 rebounds.
Evansville 68 Eastern Illinois 65
Congrats to the Purple Aces! Evansville had an impressive first half and then blew their 15 point lead but were able to hold on and get their first win in nearly a year. Every Purple Aces starter was in double figures, they only got 1 point from their bench. Depth is gonna be an issue with the back to backs but they'll take a win!
Drake 90 McKendree 66
ShanQuan Hemphill had 23 points on 11-13 shooting. I know scheduling this year is hell and they beat Kansas State in their first game but I wish Drake was playing a tougher schedule. They played back to back non-D1 teams and Kansas State will be their best non-conference opponent this year (K State is 151 in KenPom now).
Bummer about UNI's subpar start to the season and loss of AJ Green. They created a nice schedule where had they won some of these games, and then done well during Valley play, would have had a strong contender for an at-large bid.
I think based off the rest of the league's inability to play in MTE's and schedule enough OOC games, the Valley is most definitely a 1-bidder again this year.
Missouri Valley Basketball games for December 12th, 2020:
1-3 Evansville @ 4-0 Saint Louis 2:00 PM NBC Sports Network (Saint Louis favored by 23.5)
Evansville gets a Saint Louis team on the verge of being in the Top 25 coming off their first win in almost a calendar year.
2-3 Valparaiso @ 1-3 Central Michigan 3:30 PM ESPN3 (Valpo favored by 3)
Valpo goes to Mount Pleasant, Michigan to get KenPom's 241st ranked team in college basketball. Central Michigan has a 19 point loss to Division 2 Flagler on their resume when they were at their Miami MTE.
2-2 Illinois State @ 2-2 Ball State 6:00 PM ESPN3 (Ball State favored by 6.5)
Illinois State travels to Muncie, Indiana to take on a pretty good Ball State team, ranked 132 in KenPom. Ball State has a 2 point win over UIC and an overtime win in their conference opener against Northern Illinois. They're led by Seniors Ishmael El-Amin and KJ Walton.
1-0 Indiana State @ 3-2 Purdue 6:30 PM Big Ten Network (Purdue favored by 13.5)
The Sycamores get their first D1 game of the year as they travel to West Lafayette. Purdue has wins over Liberty, Oakland, and Valpo and losses to Clemson and Miami. I was watching Tuesday's loss to Miami and it was a complete meltdown for the Boilermakers. I actually wouldn't be surprised if the Sycamores kept this one close for awhile.
0-3 day for the Valley with Evansville getting canceled.
Missouri Valley basketball games for December 13, 2020:
2-0 Loyola-Chicago @ 3-1 UIC 1:00 PM ESPN+ (Loyola favored by 8.5)
Loyola heads to UIC to take on Luke Yaklich's Flames. UIC has wins against NIU, Central Michigan, and Valpo and a loss to the Ball State team that beat Illinois State today.
5-0 Drake vs 2-1 Air Force 1:00 PM ESPN+ (Drake favored by 12)
Drake looks to move to 6-0 against an Air Force team that's ranked 243 in KenPom.
HUGE NEWS.....................
AJ Green out for the season with hip surgery. This is a huge blow to the Valley. I am saddened by this for him, his family, Northern Iowa and the conference as a whole.
Good Luck and God Bless AJ !!!!
HUGE NEWS.....................
AJ Green out for the season with hip surgery. This is a huge blow to the Valley. I am saddened by this for him, his family, Northern Iowa and the conference as a whole.
Good Luck and God Bless AJ !!!!
UNI also has opted out of its remaining noncon games against Wisconsin and Marshall.
Loyola is the clear favorite now with Bradley probably next in line, and teams like SIU, Drake and Indiana State positioned to challenge.
Missouri State has still yet to take the floor.
Still think UNI can regroup and potentially finish middle of the pack, as there are some weak teams they remain better than.
Loyola hanging with #12 Wisconsin, only down 31-26 at the half. In watching, Wisconsin is the better team, but Loyola has a shot in this one if the chips fall just right. Go MVC !!!!!!!!!
Evansville is about to beat SEMO at home in OT
Loyola got down double digits to Richmond but ends up falling by 2. Valley looking more and more like a one bid league again.
Drake beat 1-5 South Dakota on the road by 18 to go to 7-0
Loyola got down double digits to Richmond but ends up falling by 2. Valley looking more and more like a one bid league again.
Drake beat 1-5 South Dakota on the road by 18 to go to 7-0
SIU and Drake are both undefeated. Don’t count them out yet 😁
yes I do know they have not played anybody
Bradley down 7 to Miami (OH) with 4:00 left at home. Bradley doesn't have a bad loss yet this year, this would be a bad loss. Miami (OH) is #208 in KenPom.
Bradley down 7 to Miami (OH) with 4:00 left at home. Bradley doesn't have a bad loss yet this year, this would be a bad loss. Miami (OH) is #208 in KenPom.
Bradley with a nice comeback and they win 69-68 with a 9-0 run to end the game
MVC needed that win. I wish it wasn't so hard to be happy about it.
Did not need it that bad 😁
