Today In The Valley (Nov. 30)
Wichita State (3-2) vs. #5 Michigan State (3-1)
11:30 a.m.
The Milk House; Lake Buena Vista, Florida
The Shockers wrap up their Thanksgiving break trip to Disney with today’s fifth-place game in the Old Spice Classic. Friday they rallied to beat Siena 72-70, one day after they played nationally ranked Georgetown tough for most of the afternoon.
As Paul Suellentrop from the Wichita Eagle writes in his blog, Greggggggg Marshall considers today’s game a no-lose scenario. Whatever. I’m sure Raymar Morgan and the rest of the Spartans have other ideas, if their 94-79 romp over Oklahoma State on Friday is any indication. Morgan didn’t play well against Maryland in the opening-round loss, lost his starting spot against the Cowboys, and came off the bench to score 29 points in 23 minutes to lead Tom Izzo’s team.
Both teams are full of newcomers, and both squads are looking to gel a bit as the early season progresses. The Spartans are giving 14 points to the Shox, according to Vegas, but if the WSU guards can knock down some shots and play stifling perimeter defense, we could see a repeat of Thursday’s close game against Georgetown.
Or Wichita State will get rolled. Probably the second one.
~ Creighton Otter
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Illinois State (6-0) vs. UC-Santa Barbara (3-3)
3:30 p.m.
Redbird Arena; Normal, Illinois
Another ISU game, another instance of Champ Oguchi leading the Redbirds in scoring. That was the case in a rather boring 53-33 win against Winston-Salem on Saturday. The Redbirds played solid defense against an overmatched opponent, forcing Winston-Salem to shoot 27% from the field. Both teams struggled early, with the halftime score of 22-17 I’m sure giving the ISU faithful thoughts of a dramatic letdown.
In fact, Tim Jankovich told reporters after the win he is concerned his team won’t have much energy in the tank for today’s World Vision Classic championship game against the Gauchos. They’ll need to dig deep, though, as UC-Santa Barbara poses some tough matchups at multiple spots on the court.
One to watch will be Oguchi, the best player in the Valley early this season, squaring off against senior forward Chris Devine. He averages more than 13 points and 6 rebounds per game and is just outside the top 10 on the Gauchos’ all-time scoring list.
No matter how much they have left in the tank, ISU should win this game at home. I’m sure Osiris Eldridge and the rest of the Redbirds will make sure to continue one of the MVC’s only positive early-season storylines.
~ Creighton Otter
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Drake (2-2) vs. New Mexico (3-3)
7:15 p.m.
Moon Palace Resort; Cancun, Mexico
This morning’s headline in the Des Moines Register left little to the imagination regarding Drake’s early-season test against Vanderbilt: the Commodores humbled the Bulldogs in all ways possible. And that was even without an effective A.J. Ogilvy, who was plagued by foul problems in the first half. Vandy had four players score in double figures, while Drake countered with three in double figures.
In what could have been a solid opportunity to show his mettle against a BCS conference and NCAA tournament team, Josh Young made just 1 of 9 field goals (10 points total, thanks to 7-7 from the free throw line) and turned the ball over 4 times. His Bulldog buddy, Jonathon Cox, spent the night in foul trouble (only played 21 minutes) and scored 12 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.
New Mexico suffered one of their 3 losses at the Qwest Center against Creighton. Another defeat came yesterday at the hands of Virginia Commonwealth University, 67-55. It was a game of runs, according to Steve Alford.
They lost in part because their senior and veteran players suffered mightily in Mexico. Tony Dandridge, who gave the Jays fits all afternoon in the two teams’ matchup, had more fouls (5) than points (2) and recorded ZERO rebounds in 21 minutes. The younger Lobos fared better, with Phillip McDonald (14 points) and Nate Garth (12) leading the way.
This will be an interesting comparison game for Jays fans. Circumstances are different, of course, but seeing how Drake plays against an athletic Lobos team that gave Creighton fits will definitely give CU fans something to talk about with two games against Drake coming up in conference play.
~ Creighton Otter
11:30 a.m.
The Milk House; Lake Buena Vista, Florida
The Shockers wrap up their Thanksgiving break trip to Disney with today’s fifth-place game in the Old Spice Classic. Friday they rallied to beat Siena 72-70, one day after they played nationally ranked Georgetown tough for most of the afternoon.
As Paul Suellentrop from the Wichita Eagle writes in his blog, Greggggggg Marshall considers today’s game a no-lose scenario. Whatever. I’m sure Raymar Morgan and the rest of the Spartans have other ideas, if their 94-79 romp over Oklahoma State on Friday is any indication. Morgan didn’t play well against Maryland in the opening-round loss, lost his starting spot against the Cowboys, and came off the bench to score 29 points in 23 minutes to lead Tom Izzo’s team.
Both teams are full of newcomers, and both squads are looking to gel a bit as the early season progresses. The Spartans are giving 14 points to the Shox, according to Vegas, but if the WSU guards can knock down some shots and play stifling perimeter defense, we could see a repeat of Thursday’s close game against Georgetown.
Or Wichita State will get rolled. Probably the second one.
~ Creighton Otter
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Illinois State (6-0) vs. UC-Santa Barbara (3-3)
3:30 p.m.
Redbird Arena; Normal, Illinois
Another ISU game, another instance of Champ Oguchi leading the Redbirds in scoring. That was the case in a rather boring 53-33 win against Winston-Salem on Saturday. The Redbirds played solid defense against an overmatched opponent, forcing Winston-Salem to shoot 27% from the field. Both teams struggled early, with the halftime score of 22-17 I’m sure giving the ISU faithful thoughts of a dramatic letdown.
In fact, Tim Jankovich told reporters after the win he is concerned his team won’t have much energy in the tank for today’s World Vision Classic championship game against the Gauchos. They’ll need to dig deep, though, as UC-Santa Barbara poses some tough matchups at multiple spots on the court.
One to watch will be Oguchi, the best player in the Valley early this season, squaring off against senior forward Chris Devine. He averages more than 13 points and 6 rebounds per game and is just outside the top 10 on the Gauchos’ all-time scoring list.
No matter how much they have left in the tank, ISU should win this game at home. I’m sure Osiris Eldridge and the rest of the Redbirds will make sure to continue one of the MVC’s only positive early-season storylines.
~ Creighton Otter
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Drake (2-2) vs. New Mexico (3-3)
7:15 p.m.
Moon Palace Resort; Cancun, Mexico
This morning’s headline in the Des Moines Register left little to the imagination regarding Drake’s early-season test against Vanderbilt: the Commodores humbled the Bulldogs in all ways possible. And that was even without an effective A.J. Ogilvy, who was plagued by foul problems in the first half. Vandy had four players score in double figures, while Drake countered with three in double figures.
In what could have been a solid opportunity to show his mettle against a BCS conference and NCAA tournament team, Josh Young made just 1 of 9 field goals (10 points total, thanks to 7-7 from the free throw line) and turned the ball over 4 times. His Bulldog buddy, Jonathon Cox, spent the night in foul trouble (only played 21 minutes) and scored 12 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.
New Mexico suffered one of their 3 losses at the Qwest Center against Creighton. Another defeat came yesterday at the hands of Virginia Commonwealth University, 67-55. It was a game of runs, according to Steve Alford.
They lost in part because their senior and veteran players suffered mightily in Mexico. Tony Dandridge, who gave the Jays fits all afternoon in the two teams’ matchup, had more fouls (5) than points (2) and recorded ZERO rebounds in 21 minutes. The younger Lobos fared better, with Phillip McDonald (14 points) and Nate Garth (12) leading the way.
This will be an interesting comparison game for Jays fans. Circumstances are different, of course, but seeing how Drake plays against an athletic Lobos team that gave Creighton fits will definitely give CU fans something to talk about with two games against Drake coming up in conference play.
~ Creighton Otter
posted by Creighton Otter at 11:24 AM
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