Missouri Valley Conference’s Packed Peloton

(St. Louis, MO) – While we await ‘Epic Battle Two’ (Saturday’s game between Illinois State and Wichita State) the bulk of the Missouri Valley Conference is battling for position in the peloton.

Six teams are battling for four spots in the Valley standings to avoid a Thursday night game at Arch Madness 2017. Three games separate the six teams with eight games left. Every game seems like the entire season is riding on it. Saturday’s overtime win by Southern Illinois over Missouri State was nothing less than a play-off game with a play-off atmosphere.

As the Salukis came from behind to defeat the Bears, the tight race between the regional rivals pointed out how thin the margin of error remains for these competitors.

Loyola leads the peloton with a 6-4 record, one game in front of four teams standing at 5-5. Despite Missouri State’s third overtime loss in four extra session conference games, they are one of those teams. The Bears are hanging on, trying to overcome the loss of potential newcomer of the year Ronnie Rousseau, who left the program for ‘personal reasons’.

SIU is one of those teams, strengthened by their 2-1 record in OT games. After the come-back victory, head coach Barry Hinson told SIUSalukis.com that every win is critical.

“In all honesty, if there’s any kind of win you can draw up, this is the best one,” Hinson said. “Something that we had to come back, earn. Something that put us in a deficit where you had to come back and make big plays, confident plays. We had to get out of here with a win — that was the most important thing. Didn’t matter if it was ugly. You had to earn the victory and we earned it. It wasn’t given to us. With our level of confidence, I can’t complain at all.”

Northern Iowa is one of those teams after becoming just the third team in Valley history to lose their first five games and then win their next five games to reach the .500 level. The Panthers had to make history, the last team to do it was Washburn in 1936, just to get back into the pack.

The Panthers’ defense has improved recently, but look no farther than Bennett Koch for the UNI turn around. The 6’9 junior and third Koch brother to play in Cedar Falls has broken out of a season long scoring drought. Koch averaged 7.4 points per game through the first 16 games, but during the five-game winning streak, Koch is scoring more and rebounding at a higher level. He’s scoring ten more points (averaging 17.4 points) and cleaning the glass at a three times higher level. Prior to ‘the streak’ Koch was averaging 1.9 rebounds per game and during the quintet of games he’s hauling in just under seven.

One player’s improvement can change one team’s destiny. Head coach Ben Jacobson says Koch’s confidence is growing and he’s player at a quicker pace.

 

 

Two critical mid-week games to the peloton standings, include Loyola’s game at Missouri State (Tuesday) and Bradley’s (8-15, 3-7) Wednesday visit to SIU. Before we get to Saturday’s huge game between first place Illinois State and defending champion Wichita State that could determine the regular season champion, the two league leaders have Wednesday night tests to pass. The Shockers travel to Drake and Illinois State hosts the surging UNI Panthers.

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