Missouri Valley
Fours and Milestones
(St. Louis, MO) – Four game leads, four-way ties and more landmarks for the elite level seniors in the Missouri Valley Conference.
As Northern Iowa and Wichita State won home games and Illinois State was winning at Loyola, some crazy things took place in last night’s MVC schedule. Because of those results, Wichita State (17-5, 11-0) is in first place by four games. They lead (you guessed it) FOUR TEAMS that are tied with FOUR LOSSES.
Marshall Takes the Top Spot
Wichita State ran their home winning streak to 43 games, their current winning streak to 12 and handed head coach Gregg Marshall his 221st Shocker victory, making him the all-time coaching wins leader at WSU. He moved into sixth place on the Valley’s all-time list.
SIU (18-6, 7-4) has dropped three straight games. The final was 76-55 as Wichita’s Fred VanVleet recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists. Southern’s Anthony Beane scored 20 points and moved past Darren Brooks into fifth place on the Saluki all-time scoring list.
Panthers Are Back
Northern Iowa has won three straight and are once again a factor in the Valley race. The Panthers (13-11, 5-6) dropped Evansville 57-54. The Aces (18-6, 7-4) have lost two-in-a-row and three of four to fall into that previously mentioned second place tie.
Senior Wes Washpun scored 14 points and handed out four assists. Those four helpers moved him into a tie with Kwadzo Ahelegbe for eighth on the all-time UNI list with 342 career assists.
Redbirds Bounce Back
Illinois State jumped into that second place tie with a 78-70 win at Loyola. The Redbirds (13-11, 7-4) have won four of their last five games and have been receiving outstanding play from sophomore MiKyle McIntosh. By scoring 21 points in the win, McIntosh has now scored 16 or more points in six of the last eight ISU contests.
What’s Next?
All ten teams play on Saturday. The two most intriguing games find Missouri State (10-13, 6-5) at Evansville and Illinois State’s home date with the 21st ranked Shockers.
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