Wide Open Valley Race

(St. Louis, MO) – With the non-conference schedule about to come to a close we know one thing for sure. This will be a wide-open Valley race. No conference team has separated itself and the league is loaded with established talent and exciting newcomers.

A wide-open Valley race awaits and all ten teams have reasonable expectations to compete for an MVC title. No team seems relegated to the Thursday night ‘play-in round’ of Arch Madness. This may be the most wide-open race in recent history.

Preseason favorite Loyola (7-5) has struggled to find last season’s magic, but still believes last year’s ‘Player of the Year’ Clayton Custer, ‘Freshman of the Year’ Cameron Krutwig and senior Marques Townes can perform at a high level and rise to the top of the league race. Newcomers Aher Uguak, Franklin Agunanne and Cooper Kaifes are still working their way into the Rambler system.

Plaguing Injuries

Loyola is missing Lucas Williamson and Illinois State has been without and assortment of players. Taylor Bruninga has been out all season and Matt Hein and Matt Chastain have missed extensive periods.

Those injuries have damaged the top two teams in the preseason poll. Illinois State (7-5) is loaded with talent, but returning senior point guard Keyshawn Evans is yet to find last season’s success. Forwards Milik Yarbrough and Phil Fayne have had spectacular moments and Yarbrough continues to be the best ‘stat stuffer’ in the league.

Zach Copeland and Josh Jefferson have shown flashes of the production expected of them, but the blending of the returners and newcomers has been uneven. The Redbirds have tons of talent.

Bradley and Southern Illinois are loaded with returners and at times have looked like the best teams in the Valley. Then there are those times when as SIU coach Barry Hinson says, “I don’t recognize that team.”

Southern Illinois (7-5) is 1-2 since the suspension of leading scorer Armon Fletcher, but those two losses were to two outstanding teams (Murray State and Buffalo).

Bradley raced to a 6-1 record including the Valley’s only win over a ‘power 6’ team (Penn State) but their defense has sprung a leak and have dropped four of their last five games. They are allowing over 80 points per game in those four losses. If Brain Wardle’s team can solve it’s defensive problems they can make a run for the top spot.

Insert Talent Here

Indiana State and Missouri State are receiving midseason upgrades. The Sycamores (6-3) have started the season well and at semester added transfers Christian Williams and Cooper Neese (see ‘Indiana State Has Reinforcements on the Way‘). Williams recorded a double-double in his first game, Neese struggled shooting.

Several weeks ago, Missouri State (4-7) was able to add Tulio Da Silva and now at the semester they too have added a red shirt freshman in Jared Ridder. The Springfield, Missouri native could be an outside threat do help the Bears’ offense to get untracked. He is averaging 8.5 points in his first two games. Da Silva is averaging 15.5.

Ben Jacobson

The biggest surprise to this season has been the lack of competitiveness at Northern Iowa. The Panthers record (4-7) is poor, but their deficiencies on offense are glaring. The Panthers are last in scoring, shooting percentage, long range accuracy and assists. When you think of a Ben Jacobson-coached team, you think of hard nosed defense, making threes and every game being a grind to the buzzer.

UNI is last in steals and last in blocked shots. It’s a credit to Jacobson that his team has the record it has. Watch out for the Panthers in this wide-open Valley race.

New Coaches

Dana Ford at Missouri State, Drake’s Darian DeVries and Evansville’s Walter McCarty have all had their moments. As noted above the Bears are getting and infusion of some fresh talent.

DeVries has done wonders in Des Moines. The Bulldogs (8-2) lead the Valley in scoring (78.6 points per game) and are the best team in the MVC in defending the three. They rebound well and Drake leads the league in steals and in assists. Transfer point guard Nick Norton has been the perfect quarterback for a team of interchangeable wings. Senior center Nick McGlynn has become one of the Valley’s best players.

With all the transfers and defections, McCarty seemingly had no chance to have a competitive team. However, his team competes and their narrow loss to Ohio Valley power Murray State left them with 5-6 record and outsiders noticing the Aces can perform.

Under the Radar

At 6-5 Valparaiso has gone a bit under the radar. In this wide-open Valley race, the Crusaders have recorded some impressive wins (UNLV, George Washington) and played both Wake Forest and West Virginia tough. Valpo ranks third in scoring and second in assists. Head coach Matt Lottich can coach offense. Their inside-outside game with Derrik Smits and Ryan Fazekas presents matchup problems for many teams.

First Wednesday

The first Wednesday of the New Year launches this edition of the Valley race and it will be a wide-open Valley race. It seems as though every game will have league-wide implications. A fast break out of the gate could be the determining factor.

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