State of the Conference

by **Blers** » December 11th, 2016, 3:51 pm

Just curious what everyone thinks of the conference as a whole right now. I came into this year expecting it to be down across the board for most teams but I really don't think that's been the case:

-Drake and SIU look to be likely Thursday teams this year... but that said i haven't seen/heard much about SIU so i could be wrong with this
--Bradley's slowly moving toward the right direction.... they'll get their as long as people stay patient with Wardle
-Evansville, Indiana State, and Loyola have all surprised some (looking at you Evansville) with some quality play
-Missouri State has competed well despite two brutal loses...if they can finish games more consistently they're a nice team as well
-Illinois State's talent is carrying them to some nice wins despite Muller (no disrespect to Red Bird fans, but Muller's lack of control/discipline with this team frustrates the hell out of me. It's about more than basketball)
-UNI still has Jake and the Jeremy Morgan show going strong right now
-PWichita is Wichita. They're likely the regular season conference winners for the foreseeable until someone knocks them off.

While we may very well only have one bid this year I think the quality of play has actually been raised significantly. We lost a lot of nice players last year but it seems to improved overall team play. Furthermore we only lose a few noteworthy seniors following this year off the top of my head:

Jeremy Morgan
Milton Doyle
Paris Lee
Deonte Hawkins
Sean O'Brien
Dequon Miller

From my perspective it looks like the arrow is pointed up!

**Sponsor**

by **shockalot** » December 11th, 2016, 4:54 pm

I actually thought the MVC would be better this year as a whole and that seems to be the case. Of course, part of my feeling toward that was that WSU would not have a fall off and that has turned out to be true. But I figured the middle teams would be stronger.
At this point the MVC is now the 10th ranked conference according to Nolan, and that seems about right. So that is an improvement. (Somehow the Big East is currently ranked first, can't explain that since weak sauce knows they shouldn't be included in the top 6, so Nolan must not be very accurate ; ).
WSU is currently number 17 in Kenpom, but while no other MVC school is in the top 50, UNI and ISUr are in the top 100, and several others are in the top 150. (But here again Kenpom must not be too reliable as it has 4 teams in the top 20 from the crappy Big East).
As pointed out, not too many top players will be leaving the MVC after this year, so I'm hoping the conference might make it back to a top 6 ranking next year.

by **specialsauce** » December 11th, 2016, 5:02 pm

Your hard-on for the Big East leads me to believe that you're masking behind a fake name. At this point, if you're still grinding on that axe after several weeks, the only real conclusion is that you're really a BJ fan.

Weird.

by **shockalot** » December 11th, 2016, 5:26 pm

The reason it's weird, meat, is because it has no reality to it. It is in your delusional mind.
I am a life long Shocker fan, saw Dave the Rave play when I was just a kid and haven't cared for any other team or conference ever. Your fixated hatred of the BJ's means that anyone who merely points out the realities of analytical ratings that don't fit your twisted reality must be a fan of who you hate. It's pathetic. However it fits the type of personality that becomes a big fan of a winning team only once they have become a winning team.

by **AceMatt** » December 11th, 2016, 5:52 pm

The main thing holding the Valley back is the 9-20 record in games decided by 5 or fewer points. Despite that Loyola and Wichita should still have a shot for at-large bids.

Add Evansville's Jaylon Brown (20.4 ppg) to the list of seniors that will be missed.

by **alap3** » December 11th, 2016, 6:28 pm

AceMatt wrote:Despite that Loyola and Wichita should still have a shot for at-large bids.

I doubt Loyola has a shot for an at-large unless they run the table which won't happen. I think fellow Rambler fans will agree that Loyola hasn't played exactly the toughest schedule. Their 2 losses aren't necessarily bad ones but they have only one real meaningful win which was against SD State who is struggling as of late. I'm not very knowledgeable about Wichita State's schedule so I will let their fans comment on their chances of an at-large.

by **MissouriValleyUnite** » December 11th, 2016, 6:32 pm

For this season, it's best to hope Wichita goes 17-1 and either Northern Iowa/Loyola catch lightning in a bottle at Arch Madness.

Moving forward, Marshall/Jacobsen/Wardle are the only 3 coaches who inspire confidence in me. I do like that Loyola and Evansville are exceeding expectations. I think Indiana State under Lansing will eternally be 100-200. I really thought Muller and Hinson would be the answers in Normal and Carbindale but they're scaring the heck out of me. Sandy and Lusk need to vacate the premises ASAP.

by **Wufan** » December 11th, 2016, 6:33 pm

AceMatt wrote:The main thing holding the Valley back is the 9-20 record in games decided by 5 or fewer points. Despite that Loyola and Wichita should still have a shot for at-large bids.

Add Evansville's Jaylon Brown (20.4 ppg) to the list of seniors that will be missed.

Does Loyola really have a shot at an at large short of 16-2 in the MVC? Not seeing the OOC statement wins. UNI could make a case by winning their next two.

by **specialsauce** » December 11th, 2016, 6:39 pm

shockalot wrote:The reason it's weird, meat, is because it has no reality to it. It is in your delusional mind.
I am a life long Shocker fan, saw Dave the Rave play when I was just a kid and haven't cared for any other team or conference ever. Your fixated hatred of the BJ's means that anyone who merely points out the realities of analytical ratings that don't fit your twisted reality must be a fan of who you hate. It's pathetic. However it fits the type of personality that becomes a big fan of a winning team only once they have become a winning team.

See.

Weirdly defensive mechanisms.

by **specialsauce** » December 11th, 2016, 6:42 pm

AceMatt wrote:The main thing holding the Valley back is the 9-20 record in games decided by 5 or fewer points. Despite that Loyola and Wichita should still have a shot for at-large bids.

Add Evansville's Jaylon Brown (20.4 ppg) to the list of seniors that will be missed.

Maybe it's the Evansville in you, but the Evansville-like schedule that Loyola has played will prevent them from getting an at-large. You should know this based on last year.