Four Missouri Valley Conference Games Saturday

One Postponed and One Rearranged

(St. Louis, MO) – With fingers crossed we’re hoping for four Missouri Valley Conference games on Saturday. Illinois State and Indiana State are unable to field teams so the league re-shuffled the deck so that Drake and Evansville (their opponents) could play a game.

There are four games, four networks and conference standings will start to take shape after Saturday’s contests. Two teams (Loyola and Southern Illinois) are undefeated but have played just one conference game each. Two teams are 2-1 and face one another on Saturday.

Of course we’re not guaranteed any of these games will be played! The daily covid damage is disrupting the American way of life and college basketball schedules constantly.

Illinois State was supposed to play at Evansville and Drake was supposed to entertain Indiana State. Covid issues for those two road teams changed all that and now Drake (1-1) will travel to Evansville (0-2) to face the Aces. There are no sure things when it comes to who, might be playing whom and where.

When Loyola’s Wednesday game with Illinois State was cut off, the Ramblers went to Salt Lake City to play San Francisco. That highly productive trip landed LUC a Quad 1 victory and greatly enhanced their post season resume. The Ramblers (10-2) are now 2-2 in Quad 1 games and 18^th in the NET rankings.

Saturday’s Games

Bradley (7-8, 1-2) @ Loyola (10-2, 1-0) – 3 pm – NBC Sports Chicago

Bradley lost on a buzzer beating shot on Wednesday against Missouri State. Brian Wardle’s team continues to play without Ja’Shon Henry (concussion protocols) but are playing their typically suffocating defense. They lead the Valley in defensive field goal percentage (.397) and in rebounding (39.2 per game). They are a tough and physical team.

Loyola is the cream of the Valley crop. They are second in scoring defense (SIU is first) and second to Bradley in defensive field goal percentage. Offensively they lead the league in field goal percentage (.509) and in 3-point percentage (.418). LUC’s 17.3 assists per game not only lead the conference, but tell a story of selfless basketball.

Not one Loyola player is ranked in the top 20 of the Valley’s leading scorers, but seven Ramblers average over seven points per game. Leading scorer Ryan Schwieger comes off the bench.

Drake (10-5, 1-1) @ Evansville (4-9, 0-2) – 4 pm – MVC TV Network

Preseason favorite Drake has been shuffled to Evansville. Roman Penn’s return from injury is huge. How much coach Darian DeVries uses his all conference guard will be something to watch in this game. UE’s best players are speedy and talented guards Shamar Givance and Jawaun Newton, so Penn’s ability to stay in the game and defend will be important.

Drake’s top seven is as talented as anyone in the league, but they are extremely thin after that. Evansville will look to exploit that with their constant motion offense and wear down Penn and get deeper into the Drake bench.

UNI (6-7, 2-1) @ Missouri State (11-5, 2-1) – 5 pm – CBS Sports Net

This is a great matchup of two teams that seem to be jelling at the right time. Both are talented, athletic, and are finding their stride as conference play is on full display. After losing to nationally ranked BYU, Missouri State has won seven of its last eight games. MSU has outstanding talent at all five positions and Dana Ford’s bench is awfully good too. When the Bears are on, they are scary good.

UNI battled the flu in Hawaii and lost a pair of two-point games to good competition. Sickness seems to be behind them and Trae Berhow’s full return to duty is a huge plus. They’ve won two straight on the mainland while still waiting for center Austin Phyfe to fully recover from long term covid effects. His ability to play against MSU’s Gaige Prim would be a huge help to the Panther hopes.

Southern Illinois (8-5, 1-0) @ Valparaiso (8-7, 1-2) – ESPN+

SIU hasn’t played a game this calendar year and they too have a player returning from injury. Trent Brown participated in his first game (12/28). The Salukis lead the Valley in scoring defense (59.3 ppg) while Valpo leads the league in steals. Matt Lottich’s Beacons are second to Loyola in assists and turnover margin.

The veteran Valpo team beat Illinois State and lost to Northern Iowa without starting center Thomas Kithier. During his two game absence the team has allowed 84 points per game after not allowing over 70 points over the previous five contests. I’m told Kithier is questionable for Saturday’s contest. Six Beacons are double-digit scorers led by newcomer Kobe King.

These four Missouri Valley Conference games will start to set the stage for the conference race.

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