MVC – Parity Has Run Amuck

Nine Teams Separated by Two Games

(St. Louis, MO) – If you want extremely tight conference races the Missouri Valley Conference is the league to watch! Nine Valley teams are within two games of first place and parity has run amuck.

Preseason polls told us the four Illinois schools (Loyola, Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Bradley) were significantly better than the rest of the conference. That same poll led us to believe Drake and Evansville weren’t very good.

Seven games into the league schedule there is absolutely nothing certain about the 112^th season of MVC basketball. Parity has run amuck. Last year’s last place team (Valparaiso) is tied for first place. Only 28 teams in league history have won the title after finishing in the cellar the year before.

Just when we in that settle Loyola is the cream of the crop and will take over the race, they lay an egg in Springfield, Missouri. As soon has we give Bradley last rites they win two straight games. We wrote a story about the historic success of road teams this season and Wednesday every home team won.

There is no figuring out this year’s MVC race.

There are three games Saturday and two on Sunday. The standings shift significantly with every decision. With that in mind, every game seems to be ‘do or die’.

Bradley (2-5) @ Missouri State (3-4) – 3 pm – MVC TV & ESPN3

Bradley has won two straight games and the Bears just pulled off the upset of the conference season. Braves’ coach Brian Wardle has changed his starting lineup and his rotation and the early results are positive. By getting Luuk van Bree into the starting lineup and by giving Luqman Lundy more minutes, BU has knocked off both SIU and Illinois State.

The Bears are one of five Valley teams with 3-4 records. They are all tied for fifth through ninth place! Parity has run amuck! Since the bottom four teams have to play an extra round of games at Arch Madness, the Bears need to win this home game against current number ten Bradley. MSU leads the league in steals and turnover margin, with three of the league’s top ten pick-pockets playing for first year coach Dana Ford.

Evansville (3-4) @ Northern Iowa (3-4) – 7 pm – PSN & ESPN+

Both teams fell below .500 with Wednesday road losses. The Purple Aces will be without the services of head coach Walter McCarty. The first-year coach was suspended by the league for criticizing officials after UE’s loss at Drake. Todd Lickliter will fill in.

Two of the league’s most prolific three-point shooting teams will be tested in this contest. Evansville converts 8.6 triples per game (tied for first) and UNI 8.1 (third). However, the Aces own the league’s best defensive three-point shooting percentage and the Panthers hold the opposing teams to a league best 62.6 points per game.

UNI freshman A.J. Green has led the Panthers in scoring ten times this season and has topped the 20-point mark five times, including the last two games.

Drake (4-3) @ Valparaiso (5-2) – 7 pm – ESPN3

Drake at 15-and-5 has the best overall record in the league and despite losing their best player (Nick Norton) in their first conference game and dropping their first two Valley affairs, lead the conference in scoring (72.6 ppg), free throw percentage (.760) and rebounding margin (+3.6). Senior center Nick McGlynn is second in scoring (16.7) and first in rebounding (9.6) while senior guard Brady Ellingson is the most accurate (.585) and prolific (3.4 per game) three-point shooter.

The Crusaders won their opener on a Markus Golder buzzer beating half-court heave and are winning with balance. Five different players average better than 9.2 points per game. They’re leading scorer, Ryan Fazekas (12.7 ppg) was injured during their third conference game. They won that game and have split four games without the Providence transfer. Coach Matt Lottich calls Fazekas ‘day-to-day’ but is in no hurry to rush him back into the lineup.

Sunday, Indiana State (3-4) visits Illinois State (4-3) and Loyola (5-2) entertains SIU (3-4). Parity has run amuck and we love the chaos. It sets up for a wild conference season and an intriguing tournament at Arch Madness.

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