Winning Close Games in the Valley

MVC Coaches Give Us the Keys

(St. Louis, MO) – College basketball, like no other sport is filled with ‘buzzer beaters’ and demonstrates the thrill of sports. Close games in the Valley are decided by a key defensive stop, clutch free throws and the buzzer-beating bucket.

How do those plays happen and what are the key ingredients to success in those tight #SportsCenterTop10 highlights? We wanted to know, so we quizzed Missouri Valley Conference coaches about winning tight games and who were the greatest clutch players.

Evansville has lost two straight games on buzzer-beating triples, but the Purple Aces are 4-2 in single digit conference games this season. Northern Iowa is an outstanding 6-1 in those tight league contests and during Southern Illinois’’ 15 Valley scrums, ten have been decided by single digits.

Close Games – Players & Experience

Winning close games often comes down to ‘players making plays’ and Valley coaches tell me confident and competitive players make those plays. Gaining experience and having success in those situations seems to be the best way for players to obtain that confidence.

Belmont’s Casey Alexander says when a team has experienced success, they tend to expect to win and success becomes a little easier.

“The status of the program factors in there a little bit,” said Alexander. “If your program is used to winning, there’s a different belief level. We don’t have a lot of guys that have been here and to have Belmont experience.“

Drake’s Darian DeVries believes corporate belief is a big key to prevailing in tight situations. He says you have to expect to succeed or else too many nerves and ‘what ifs’ arise.

“There’s just a kind of confidence within your group that you’re gonna win,” said DeVries. “I think you have to believe (that you’re going to win), otherwise you get caught up in (the situation).“

Illinois State’s Ryan Pedon says ‘winning experience’ might be the most important factor in being able to prevail in games with narrow margins.

Josh Schertz believes that handling expectations during ‘money time’ is essential. During crunch time, the Indiana State coach says teams have to be ‘connected’ to have a chance to succeed.

“The number one key to being successful in this league is being able to find a way of being at your best when it’s all in,” said Schertz. “Your guys have to be together and connected.“

Dana Ford is a ‘players, make plays’ proponent. The Missouri State coach says some players ‘live for that moment’ and some don’t.

“I always think that the playmaking aspect is kind of what ends up getting you over the top,” said Ford. “I’m just a big believer that players win games.”

Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson says preparing his team for those situations creates the confidence the players need to be successful. ‘Jake’ admits the results can vary, but confident and prepared players will often succeed.

“I think the preparation part of it is very important,” said the Dean of the Valley coaches. “The guys need both and understanding and a confidence in what we may run.“

First year coach Roger Powell Jr is excited that his young team is gaining experience and expects Valparaiso to be better in tight situations as the season progresses and will be still better next season.

“The biggest thing about winning those games is experience,” said Powell. “There is nothing like real game experience.”

Murray State assistant coach Jonathan Mattox says the little things add up to big results.

“You really go back to the basics,” said Mattox. “I always think it starts with the defensive end. You’ve got to be able to get stops and you’ve got to be able to take opposing teams out of what they want to go to.”

Winning Close Games At Practice

Each Valley coach discussed things they do in practice to prepare their teams for those ‘buzzer-beating’ opportunities. They want to stress-test their players at practice, so they don’t fold when the lights are on.

Schertz puts his team through ‘money time’ scenarios during daily practices.

“I think the biggest thing you can do is drill it,” said Schertz. “We do it almost every day, playing a money time scrimmage and put guys in (different) situations.“

UIC coach Luke Yaklich says his teams practice various defensive alignments for end of game situations and he knows which plays he wants to run for which players.

“I think it’s so important to have those three or four ‘go to’ plays that your team is comfortable with,” said Yaklich. “We like having two plays for each player that you’d like to go to, depending on how the game flow goes.”

Bradley coach Brian Wardle says players have to learn how to win and make big plays, so he puts them in stressful practice situations. He uses creative ways to put his players at a disadvantage so they have to compete under duress.

He thinks in terms of his team taking away their opponents’ tendencies and making the opposition uncomfortable. Wardle says it seems like every MVC contest is decided during the last four minutes of the game.

“For us it’s always about defense.”

Keeping it Simple

Illinois State coach Pedon tells his team to ‘do your job’ rather than trying to make a heroic play. Schertz says most tight games are ‘lost’ rather than won. Mistakes lose games more than great plays winning them. Murray State assistant Jonathan Mattox talks about getting back to basics.

Evansville’s David Ragland says there are a lot of things that go into winning those kinds of games, long before those final moments. Paint points, turnovers and making free throws throughout the game is equally important key, end-of-game situations.

Jacobson doesn’t surprise his players.

“Some of the times we’re running that that we have practiced a lot,” said Jacobson. “But sometimes we just draw something up that we haven’t had to do in awhile.“

Bryan Mullins says winning close games comes down to discipline and the minor details.

Close Game Closers

Former Valley greats like Fred VanVleet, Doug McDermott, A.J. Green, Darrell Brown and Paris Lee were mentioned when we asked coaches about former players that were great in clutch situations.

When answering the question, DeVries said his answer was easy. Why was Creighton great Doug McDermott the top of his list?

“When you never miss a shot, it’s easy to be clutch.”

Ford helped recruit VanVleet to those great Wichita State teams and he says VanVleet was a monster.

“I mean he was a monster,” said Ford. “He was just a playmaker and a competitor. His emotions never changed and he’s always under control and tough.“

Yaklich coached Lee at Illinois State. He said the Larry Bird Trophy winner could win a game in several different ways.

“He just had a knack for getting the big steal at the right time,” said ‘coach Yak’. “Lee could get the key pass, the key read and then he was clutch at making free throws. It was something he had to grow into.“

Like McDermott and VanVleet, Northern Iowa’s A.J. Green plays in the NBA and Jacobson says he, Wes Washpun, Trae Berhow and of course Ali Farokhmanesh all had their successful moments at the buzzer.

Alexander says former Bruin Grayson Murphy gets his vote.

“Grayson Murphy is easily the guy that I would want in any situation to try to figure out how to win a game for our team whether we were on offense or defense.”

Mattox says former Racer Tevin Brown could influence tight games on each end of the floor.

Former Saluki Jamaal Tatum would be near the top of Bryan Mullins’ list. His former teammate could shut down an offensive player or go make a shot. Mullins said there were too many Loyola Ramblers from their Final Four run to name.

Wardle said Darrell Brown became a great clutch player, but he had to learn how to play in those pressurized situations.

Schertz mentioned some of his players from Lincoln Memorial, but said his team has a nickname for current star Robbie Avila. They call him ‘Big Shot Rob’.

Former Gonzaga players and Valparaiso stars were on Powell’s mind. Jalen Suggs, Alec Peters and Broekhoff were some of his most memorable clutch players.

Cleveland Cavalier Sam Merril was mentioned by Ragland, saying his big shots in conference tournaments were huge.

Pedon noted former Butler player Kamar Baldwin and former Illinois (and Drake) star Ravonte Rice were key to winning close games.

“Rice was a cold-blooded competitor,” said Pedon. “He was never afraid at the moment and can really score it late in games. Rice was gonna make something happen.“

With just a handful of games left leading to Arch Madness, don’t just read the box scores, look deeper and see who is performing at crunch time. Who performs when the games are tight, are the players I want on my team.

Do Good

Editor: Cover photo courtesy of goracers.com (David Eaton).