MVC Teams Looking for Momentum

(St. Louis, MO) – We’re heading into what some college coaches call the ‘dog days’ of the basketball season. The newness has worn off, the conference tournament is a long way away, and teams are in need of that extra spark of motivation.

Several Missouri Valley Conference teams are looking for some rhythm or momentum to jump start their seasons. Even mighty Wichita State is struggling to find their typical invincible reputation. Saturday’s games provide some opportunities for Valley teams to patch some potholes in their season and to move forward.

Bradley (8-12, 3-4) @ Missouri State (13-7, 4-3) – 2 pm – ESPN3

Every win for Bradley is a bonus. They have already won more games than last season and Brian Wardle’s ‘Baby Braves’ have accumulated as many conference wins as last year. For the Bears, however, this is a ‘must win’ game. Sixth year head coach Paul Lusk is still looking for his first winning season in conference play, and a two game home stand provides the Bears with an opportunity to build momentum, the fan base and push their conference record three games over .500. The Bears continue to play without the departed Ronnie Rousseau.

(read our original story on Rousseau’s departure from Bears’ basketball)

Indiana State (7-12, 1-6) @ Wichita State (16-4, 6-1) – 2 pm – ESPN3

Greg Lansing’s team has lost six of its last seven games and the chore before them is daunting. Their next two games are on the road against the Valley’s two best teams. Today they travel to Wichita and Wednesday they play in Normal, Illinois against the Redbirds of Illinois State. The Sycamores have played an inordinate amount of close games and overtime contests (5) and it seems to be wearing on them. Gregg Marshall’s team’s record is just fine, but doubts have crept into the minds of the faithful, as they don’t seem to have that old swagger. Why? They are a young and inexperienced team. The Shockers want to go on a dominating run while they wait for Illinois State to show up at Koch Arena on February 4.

Evansville (10-10, 1-6) @ Loyola (13-7, 3-4) – 3 pm – ESPN3

These are two teams in serious need of a run of success. The Purple Aces are in free fall, losing five in a row after a 10 and 5 start to the season. Their need of a third scorer behind Jaylon Brown and Ryan Taylor is painfully obvious, but searching for that part of the puzzle has been unfruitful. Similarly, the Ramblers raced to a 10 and 2 start, but have scuffled since then, winning just three of their last eight games. So Porter Moser’s team, that is still looking for its first winning MVC season, could utilize some home cooking (Bradley visits on Wednesday) to reestablish themselves in the conference race.

Northern Iowa (7-11, 2-5) @ Southern Illinois (11-9, 4-3) – 7 pm – ESPN3

The suddenly scary Northern Iowa Panthers have won two straight and are making other Valley teams nervous. It was at this precise time, last season, when Ben Jacobson’s team caught fire and went all the way to win the conference tournament and an NCAA Tournament game. With the emergence of Bennett Koch, UNI is now a threat. SIU is a difficult team to figure out, and finding momentum has been elusive for Barry Hinson’s team. Two of their league wins came on the road, and they played well, but lost tight game at home to Illinois State. SIU can be very good. The Salukis are trying to make SIU Arena a tough place to play, and three of their next four games will be played in Carbondale.

Drake (6-13, 4-3) @ Illinois State (15-4, 7-0) – 7 pm – MVC TV Network

Drake is an interesting study of midseason coaching changes (see our story ‘Jeff Rutter – Growing Bulldog Confidence’ for more). However, Drake travels to Normal, Illinois where one of the hottest teams in college basketball plays their home games. Illinois State has won eight straight games and the Redbirds are playing suffocating defense with the fourth best defensive field goal percentage in the nation. The Redbirds are 9-0 at home and Drake is yet to win a road game.

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