Today In The Valley (Feb. 15)
Drake (15-11; 6-8, 7th) vs. Illinois State (20-5; 9-5, 3rd)
6:00 p.m.
Knapp Center; Des Moines, Iowa
ESPNU
Coaches will tell you that neither they nor their teams can worry about what other schools in their conference do; we can only worry about ourselves and our effort, they say.
That might be true, but don’t tell that to the fan bases of these two schools (or any others in the Valley, for that matter). One perk of playing in the MVC ESPNU game on Sunday night is knowing what the rest of the Valley did during the weekend. And in a year featuring plenty of twists and turns among the conference’s teams, it leaves Bulldog and Redbird fans more than curious as to how their schools’ fortunes will play out following another crazy conference weekend.
The home court means so much in college hoops, as evidenced by Drake giving a little more than one point to ISU per Vegas. The Bulldogs pushed the Redbirds to the edge in Normal, dropping in defeat 65-61. Unfortunately for Josh Young and Bucky Cox, that loss started a downward spiral that finds DU 2-7 in their last 9 games.
Illinois State lost their point guard earlier in the week, then went out and lost a 26-point lead against Evansville. The mark of a solid team is bouncing back from difficulty, and Tim Jankovich’s Redbirds did just that (thanks to their most valuable player). After blowing a two-dozen point lead on the road in Evansville, Osiris Eldridge hit the game-winning bucket as time expired against the Purple Aces, allowing Illinois State to pick up a critical road win.
The Redbirds weren’t very deep before last week’s roster turnover, with Lloyd Phillips taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team, and now must replace their starting point guard (and also one of the MVC players who logged the most minutes per game). It will be critical for Drake to pressure the basketball for the full length of the court, as whomever plays point for ISU won’t be extremely comfortable doing so.
Picks
Creighton Otter: Drake
Panon: Illinois State
Dance Cam Guy: Illinois State
~ Creighton Otter
6:00 p.m.
Knapp Center; Des Moines, Iowa
ESPNU
Coaches will tell you that neither they nor their teams can worry about what other schools in their conference do; we can only worry about ourselves and our effort, they say.
That might be true, but don’t tell that to the fan bases of these two schools (or any others in the Valley, for that matter). One perk of playing in the MVC ESPNU game on Sunday night is knowing what the rest of the Valley did during the weekend. And in a year featuring plenty of twists and turns among the conference’s teams, it leaves Bulldog and Redbird fans more than curious as to how their schools’ fortunes will play out following another crazy conference weekend.
The home court means so much in college hoops, as evidenced by Drake giving a little more than one point to ISU per Vegas. The Bulldogs pushed the Redbirds to the edge in Normal, dropping in defeat 65-61. Unfortunately for Josh Young and Bucky Cox, that loss started a downward spiral that finds DU 2-7 in their last 9 games.
Illinois State lost their point guard earlier in the week, then went out and lost a 26-point lead against Evansville. The mark of a solid team is bouncing back from difficulty, and Tim Jankovich’s Redbirds did just that (thanks to their most valuable player). After blowing a two-dozen point lead on the road in Evansville, Osiris Eldridge hit the game-winning bucket as time expired against the Purple Aces, allowing Illinois State to pick up a critical road win.
The Redbirds weren’t very deep before last week’s roster turnover, with Lloyd Phillips taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team, and now must replace their starting point guard (and also one of the MVC players who logged the most minutes per game). It will be critical for Drake to pressure the basketball for the full length of the court, as whomever plays point for ISU won’t be extremely comfortable doing so.
Picks
Creighton Otter: Drake
Panon: Illinois State
Dance Cam Guy: Illinois State
~ Creighton Otter
posted by Creighton Otter at 9:34 AM
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