7:05 PM EST-ESPN3
8-6 (2-0) Missouri State
at 6-8 (2-0) Indiana State
Team Resumés
8-6 (2-0) Missouri State
Solid Wins:
-Southern Illinois 53-50 (Road)
"Should Not Have Happened" Losses:
-Washington State 89-84 in Overtime in 5th Place Game of Great Alaska Shootout
-Oral Roberts 80-61 (Road)
Last Game:
-Win Against Drake 62-37 (Home)
Players to Watch:
---#11 Marcus Marshall (JR)
-20.9 PPG & 3.3 RPG.
---#2 Austin Ruder (SO)
-8.9 PPG & 2.2 RPG.
---#23 Cameron Boyce (JR)
-7.6 PPG & 6.1 RPG.
6-8 (2-0) Indiana State
Solid Wins:
-Illinois State 63-61 (Road)
"Never Should Have Happened" Losses:
Eastern Illinois 60-56 (Home)
Missouri-Kansas City 73-70 in Double Overtime.
Last Game:
-Won against Evansville 79-75 in Overtime (Home)
Players to Watch:
---#1 Khristian Smith (JR)
-12.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, & 2.1 APG.
---#11 Devonte Brown (JR)
-11.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, & 2.8 APG.
---#4 Brenton Scott (FR)
-10.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, & 1.0 SPG.
Prediction:
Indiana State has shut down some of the top scorers in the Missouri Valley Conference this season but they will have their hands full with the second leading scorer in the conference, Marcus Marshall. Marshall had nineteen points on eight for seventeen shooting last Saturday in Springfield against Drake and will look to get back into the twenties tonight. Other Bears looking to continue their good play is Austin Ruder, who shot four for six from beyond the arc Saturday after a one for nine performance in Carbondale against Southern Illinois, and Cameron Boone, who had twelve points and eight rebounds against Drake. Boone and Ruder led a great team performance that added to Missouri State's production while taking some of the scoring pressure off of Marcus Marshall. I will say this up front, the Sycamores have surprised me a lot this season. Not only has Indiana State defeated Illinois State on the road and Evansville at home but they have held Redbird guard and "The Valley's" fifth leading scorer, Daishon Knight to one of eight shooting and five points while holding MVC's leading scorer D.J. Balentine to four for fourteen shooting and fifteen points. Indiana State 2014-2015 Valley offensive stopper? Well, if so then maybe the Sycamores can defeat Marcus Marshall's Missouri State club tonight at the Hulman Center. My biggest concern though with the Sycamores is that they do not have a go-to scorer down the stretch that can score at will unless Khristian Smith counts. Yes I know they have prevailed in two tight games so far but how long will they be able to? Ultimately, I refuse to go with Indiana State tonight because of Marcus Marshall. I feel Marshall will have a very good game and will break the trend the Sycamores have of holding big time scorers to low amounts of points.
---Missouri State 67, Indiana State 63
8:00 PM EST-ESPN3
6-9 (1-1) Bradley
at 12-2 (2-0) 15. Wichita State
Team Resumés
6-9 (1-1) Bradley
Solid Wins:
-Central Michigan 84-73 (Home)
"Never Should Have Happened" Losses:
-Texas-Arlington 86-75 (Home)
-Robert Morris 68-61 (Home)
-UC Irvine 55-47 in the Semi-Final of the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
-Arkansas-Little Rock 64-54 in the Consolation Championship of the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
Last Game:
-Win Against Southern Illinois 63-44 (Home)
Players to Watch:
---#5 Tramique Sutherland (JR)
-13.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, & 3.3 APG.
---#4 Auston Barnes (SR)
-11.5 PPG & 4.3 RPG.
---#24 Omari Grier (JR)
-10.1 PPG & 2.5 APG.
12-2 (2-0) 16. Wichita State
Solid Wins:
-Memphis 71-56 (in Sioux Falls)
-St. Louis 81-52 (Home)
-Seton Hall 77-68 (Home)
-Alabama 53-52 (Home)
Losses:
-#25 Utah 69-68 in Overtime (Road)
-George Washington 60-54 in the Championship of the Diamond Head Classic.
Last Game:
-Won against Illinois State 70-62 (Home)
Players to Watch:
---#31 Ron Baker (JR)
-16.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, & 2.2 APG.
---#12 Darius Carter (SR)
-11.5 PPG & 6.1 RPG.
---#23 Fred Van Vleet (JR)
-11.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, & 5.2 APG.
---#32 Tekele Cotton (SR)
-10.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, & 2.8 APG.
---Wichita State 65, Bradley 53
8:00 PM EST-Full Court/ESPN3
7-8 (0-2) Southern Illinois
at 12-2 (1-1) Northern Iowa
Team Resumés:
7-8 (0-2) Southern Illinois
Solid Wins:
-SIU-Edwardsville 79-67 (Road)
"Should Not Have Happened" Losses:
-Southeast Missouri State 55-54 (Home)
-New Orleans 56-52 (Home)
Last Game:
-Loss to Bradley 63-44 (Road)
Players to Watch:
---#25 Anthony Beane (JR)
-17.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.5 SPG.
---#33 Sean O'Brien (SO)
-9.9 PPG & 5.2 RPG.
---#14 Jordan Caroline (FR)
-9.2 PPG & 6.6 RPG.
12-2 (1-1) Northern Iowa
Solid Wins
-Stephen F. Austin 79-77 in Overtime (Road)
-Virginia Tech 73-54 in Semi-Final of Cancun Challenge.
-Northwestern 61-42 in Championship of Cancun Challenge.
-Iowa 56-44 (in Des Moines)
Losses:
-VCU 93-87 in Overtime (Road)
-Evansville 52-49 (Road)
Last Game:
-Win Against Loyola (IL) 67-58 (Home)
Players to Watch:
---#10 Seth Tuttle (SR)
-13.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, & 3.2 APG.
---#11 Wes Washpun (JR)
-11.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, & 2.8 APG.
---#20 Paul Jesperson (SO)
-5.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, & 1.0 SPG.
---Northern Iowa 62, Southern Illinois 47
8:00 PM EST-ESPN3
3-11 (0-2) Drake
at 8-6 (0-2) Illinois State
Team Resumés
3-11 (0-2) Drake
Wins:
-IUPUI 73-60 (Home)
-Jackson State 76-66 (Home)
-Simpson (Non-Division I) 84-62 (Home)
"Should Not Have Happened" Losses:
-North Dakota 63-62 (Home)
Last Game:
-Loss to Missouri State 62-37 (Road)
Players to Watch:
---#2 Gary Ricks Jr. (SR)
-10.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, & 2.3 APG.
---#12 Reed Timmer (FR)
-10.5 PPG & 2.8 APG.
---#3 Jordan Daniels
-9.2 PPG.
---#11 Jacob Enevold Jensen (SR)
-8.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, & 1.0 BPG.
8-6 (0-2) Illinois State
Solid Wins:
-Old Dominion 64-45 in the Semi-Final of Paradise Jam.
-DePaul 78-72 (Road)
"Never Should Have Happened" Losses
-Utah State 60-55 (Home Opener)
Last Game:
-Loss to #16 Wichita State 70-62 (Road)
Players to Watch:
---#3 Daishon Knight (SR)
-15.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.6 APG, & 1.3 SPG.
---#4 Bobby Hunter (SR)
-9.2 PPG, 1.7 RPG, & 1.8 APG.
---#22 Reggie Lynch (SO)
-8.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, & 3.0 BPG.
---Illinois State 70, Drake 52
8:05 PM EST-Full Court/ESPN3
11-3 (1-1) Loyola (IL)
at 11-3 (1-1) Evansville
11-3 (1-1) Loyola (IL)
Solid Wins:
-Kent State 69-61 (Road)
-Texas Tech 62-44 in the Semi-Finals of the Las Vegas Classic.
-Boise State 48-45 in the Championship of the Las Vegas Classic.
-Bradley 64-49 (Home)
"Never Should Have Happened" Losses:
-Tulane 83-70 (Home)
Last Game:
-Loss to #23 Northern Iowa 67-58 (Road)
Players to Watch:
---#32 Christian Thomas (SR)
-12.9 PPG & 4.2 RPG.
---#35 Milton Doyle (SO)
-12.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, & 3.9 APG.
---#4 Devon Turk (JR)
-7.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, & 1.1 SPG.
11-3 (1-1) Evansville
Solid Wins:
-San Francisco 79-72 in Third Place Game of Gulf Coast Showcase.
-Wright State 86-78 (Home)
-Belmont without Craig Bradshaw 65-62 (Road)
-Ohio 81-69 in Overtime (Home)
-#23 Northern Iowa 52-49 (Home)
Losses:
-Green Bay 64-62 in Semi-Final of Gulf Coast Showcase.
-Murray State 81-79 (Home)
Last Game:
-Loss to Indiana State 79-75 in Overtime (Road)
Players to Watch:
---#31 D.J. Balentine (JR)
-21.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, & 3.5 APG.
---#55 Egidijus Mockevicius
-13.8 PPG, 10.6 RPG, & 2.4 BPG.
---#5 Mislav Brzoja (SO)
-8.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, & 3.3 APG.
Prediction:
Both teams are coming off road losses so this game could come down to which team wants it more. Initially, one may think this game is a no brainer and that Evansville should win solidly but let's not underestimate the Ramblers. Loyola was defeated by the twenty-third ranked Northern Iowa Panthers on Sunday behind big scoring from Panther guards, Jeremy Morgan (18 points) and Deon Mitchell (13 points). Rambler star Milton Doyle came out strong in the first half against UNI and scored eleven points but later struggled and scored only two points in the second half. Speaking of stars that struggled, UE scorer D.J. Balentine had a tough performance in Terre Haute as he shot four from fourteen from the field while scoring only fifteen points. Luckily, Evansville received a huge lift from Mislav Brozja who had seventeen points for the Purple Aces. Will the duo of Doyle and Thomas receive enough team support to get the job done on the road? As much as I like the Ramblers, I feel Evansville will ultimately prevail because of home court advantage. Also, I am not sure how Loyola will be able to guard a 6'11" center in Egidijus Mockevicius. Nevertheless the result, this truly is the Missouri Valley Conference Game of the Night...why else would it be on MVC TV.
---Evansville 70, Loyola 65
THE ROAD TO ARCH MADNESS
It is never to early to begin looking ahead to March so here is the seedings and matchups if the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament started today.
Arch Madness if it Started Today
1. Wichita State 12-2 (2-0)
2. Missouri State 8-6 (2-0)
3. Indiana State 6-8 (2-0)
4. Evansville 11-3 (1-1)
5. Northern Iowa 12-2 (1-1)
6. Loyola (IL) 11-3 (1-1)
7. Bradley 6-9 (1-1)
8. Illinois State 8-6 (0-2)
9. Southern Illinois 7-8 (0-2)
10. Drake 3-11 (0-2)
Thursday Night
G1: ILST vs SIU
G2: BRAD vs DRAKE
Friday Afternoon
G3: WSU vs W-G1
G4: UE vs UNI (UE First Meeting at Ford Center (UE))
Friday Night
G5: INST vs LOY
G6: MOST vs W-G2
PW's Prediction Record Coming into Today: 53-27 (7-3 in the MVC)
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