Slipping Away

(St. Louis, MO) – High hopes for the Missouri Valley Conference to receive multiple bids to the NCAA tournament are slipping away in late November. Wichita State’s mounting injuries and loss totals are a big part of the disappointing start, but Valley teams are regularly missing out on RPI building opportunities.

Northern Iowa’s upset win over North Carolina is the singular non-conference MVC moment and with that win in the bank, Valley teams headed into multi-team events with high hopes of building on that high profile event and creating a league reputation that couldn’t be denied by the Big Dance selection committee. However, the Panthers’ upset is the Valley’s only win in nine opportunities against ‘power five’ teams.

Evansville’s loss to Providence, Illinois State’s disappointing early season performances, Missouri State losing their first four games (all against good competition) and Bradley being dominated by superior competition has dampened the spirits of Valley fans.

Wichita State has dropped three straight games with all-American guard Fred VanVleet out of the line-up. Outstanding freshman Landry Shamet is now out with a stress fracture and in the Shocker loss to Alabama, transfer post player Anton Grady sustained a head injury. The Shockers are the poster child for the walking wounded.

There are still opportunities in front of MVC teams, but they must right their collective ship immediately. Drake and Northern Iowa still have RPI building chances when they play Iowa and Iowa State respectively. Both Evansville and Illinois State face Murray State, while the Aces get Arkansas and the Redbirds draw Kentucky from the Southeastern Conference.

Saint Louis University plays a large role in the Valley’s chances. Southern Illinois, Indiana State and Wichita State all travel to Chaifetz Arena to take on the Billikens. If the Shockers get healthy they have resume builders with  UNLV, Utah, Seton Hall, Nevada and New Mexico State.

Loyola’s battle for Catholic supremacy could be important. They have back-to-back games with Creighton and Notre Dame.

So post season opportunities aren’t completely out of the question, but Valley teams now have their collective backs against the wall. Recent wins against Division 2 teams are not the recipe for success. MVC teams won three such games lately and have more of those games still on their upcoming schedule.

December is a critical month for the Valley’s hopes of having multiple teams dancing in March.

Do Good