Pivotal Valley Weekend

(St. Louis, MO) – A year that started with such promise for the Missouri Valley Conference has not been what Valley watchers had hoped for. Today the league can take a large step to turn the arrow the other direction.

If the MVC wants to be more than a ‘one-bid-league’, Saturday and Sunday may be the most important days of the season. League members have done an incredible job of scheduling, but they haven’t yet found the on the court success they had hoped for.

Northern Iowa’s victory over then Number One North Carolina aside, the league has struggled against ‘money conference’ teams (they’re 3-17) and possess some bad losses.

The revival of the Challenge Series with the Mountain West Conference is a scheduling boon and the Valley has performed fairly well, winning three of the seven games played. As a part of that series, Drake (4-5) plays at 6-3 Nevada. The Bulldogs are winless in two road games this year and the Wolf Pack are 3-0 at home. Nevada is 145 in the latest Real Time RPI rankings. With Drake sitting at 247, this would be a monumental win for Drake and the league if Ray Giacoletti’s team could turn the trick.

League standard bearer, Wichita State hosts number 25 Utah (2:30 – ESPN 2). Another top 25 win would be gigantic for the Shockers and the MVC. The Utes currently carry an 11 RPI into the contest with the slowly recovering 4-4 Shockers. WSU has won two straight with guard Fred VanVleet back in the line up. Kansas transfer Conner Frankamp has recently joined the team and is rounding into shape.

Northern Iowa’s (6-2) game at New Mexico (5-2 & 4-0 at home) is another MVC opportunity. New Mexico has a 31 RPI. With both teams averaging around 79 points per game, this could be a track meet and worthy of a viewing on ESPN 3 (8:00 p.m.). New Mexico is part of the Mountain West Conference, but this game is not a part of ‘the Challenge’.

Sunday has equally juicy opportunities. Loyola travels to (48 RPI) Notre Dame, Missouri State entertains (47) Tulsa, Illinois State hosts Ohio Valley power Murray State (67), while Indiana State (3-5) visits (132) Western Kentucky. In virtually every game this weekend, Valley schools are playing teams with better power indices. Opportunities abound.

As a conference, the Valley is currently ranked 16^th by Real Time RPI, but to their credit the league owns the 10^th best strength of schedule. But currently the MVC is behind such luminaries as the Summit (11), Colonial Athletic (12) and Horizon (15). If there is any hope of the for the Valley to be more than a one bid league, this weekend is a crucial time for some on court success.

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