Old School MVC wrote:I agree with AceMatt, but think the Aces may slip down to that 7 spot for the Sycamores. ISUb is hurt by Bell leaving the team, but as far as coaching goes, I will take Lansing over Marty all day long. Evansville has played good at times this Non Con but so has ISUb. I will differ from most, and put LU in this conversation of Thursday. If it takes OT to beat U of I Chicago then things are not as rosy as many project. Time will tell, but I think we have overlooked the poor schedule that LU has played,and the fact that most their games have been either neutral or home games (UIC is basically a neutral floor just a couple miles from LU). Throw out the UIC game and tonights game at Toledo was only their 2nd away game of the year.
As a realistic LU fan I understand the thought but I do think this is a bit extreme. For one UIC is a talented team on the rise. They took GCU to the brink at GCU, beat DePaul, and just won again tonight. If you watch the game tonight the refs were out of control in terms of how ticky tack they were. I don't know if us being small they pay extra attention to how physical we are or what, but the past two games have been abysmal from referees. That said Loyola put themselves in position to win late but couldn't get the rebound and Toledo had a second shot roll in, out, then back in. Just a little more spin and who knows what woulda happened
The team does have genuine concerns on the boards tho. When you looked at Toledo and LU next to each other it was insane. We looked puny. We'll match up really well with some teams in the valley, but others could be really tough for us. Illinois State in particular seems poised to just wreck us with Hawkins/McIntosh. I still have us finishing around the 4 or 5 spot this year. I wouldn't be surprised anywhere from 3-6 though. Valleys gonna be a close race 2-7 regardless! Who knows.