Today In The Valley (Feb. 18)
Northern Iowa (18-8; 12-3, 1st) vs. Drake (15-12; 6-9, t-7th)
7:00 p.m.
McCleod Center; Cedar Falls, Iowa
The Drake Bulldogs won't have to look far to find motivation for this game. They could consult a map, as UNI is one of their in-state rivals and one of Iowa’s Big Four college basketball programs.
They could look at the standings, as the Panthers are in first place and a Bulldog win mean taking down the top squad in the Valley. Meanwhile, Drake’s currently in 7th place in the MVC and trying to make a late push to stay out of the Thursday night play-in games in a few weeks. They need a win to try and keep pace with an Evansville team that lost last night and Wichita St., a squad that is currently one game ahead of DU.
Finally, they can look for revenge. Northern Iowa embarrassed Drake on national television one month ago, going into the Knapp Center and catching the Bulldogs sleeping in an 81-59 win.
The Panthers have lost a bit of their swagger during the past week or so, though. They come into tonight’s game the losers of 2 of their past 3. The trap game I mentioned last week came true in the form of a road loss in Wichita. A few weeks ago UNI seemed well on their way to a MVC crown; now they have two tough games remaining after tonight (at Illinois State; vs. Evansville) they must win with both Creighton and Illinois State breathing down their backs.
DU coach Mark Phelps has had his ups and downs in his first season in Des Moines. Lately it has been more down than up, though; he comes in losing 5 of 6 since Drake’s win in Omaha. That game lit a fire under the Bluejays, but the Bulldogs have seen theirs extinguished. Right now they're standing in 7th and tied in the loss column with Evansville. Their remaining Valley games are hosting Southern Illinois and at Bradley. There's still time, although it is running out, to make a run and play Friday in St. Louis.
Picks
Creighton Otter: Northern Iowa
Panon: Northern Iowa
Dance Cam Guy: Drake
~ Panon
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Southern Illinois (11-15; 6-9, t-7th) vs. Indiana State (7-19; 5-10, 9th)
7:00 p.m.
SIU Arena; Carbondale, Illinois
Indiana St. is riding a three-game win streak coming into Carbondale. Coach McKenna has his team playing its best ball late in the season. Maybe it's something he learned from Dana Altman? On the other end of the spectrum, the Salukis are struggling without senior Bryan Mullins. They have lost three of four and have slipped into a tie for 7th in the Valley and a half a game back of Evansville after the Purple Aces’ loss in Omaha last night.
During their win streak, the Sycamores won a dramatic game at Illinois State, held serve at home versus the Drake Bulldogs, and pulled out a roadie at Missouri State. In Springfield, Harry Marshall had 16 of his 19 points in the second half to lead them to victory, their first in Springfield since 1976. Senior Jay Tunnell has put on a shooting display as of late. In the two games against ISU and Drake, he combined for 53 points on 19-23 shooting, and a blazing 13-15 from 3-point land. Even Booker Woodfox has to be impressed with those numbers. The Sycamores’ last win in Carbondale was in February 2006, a win that snapped the Salukis 33-game home win streak.
Southern Illinois is coming off a big loss at home against Creighton. Their largest crowd of the season, 9,081, witnessed the shellacking. How will they respond? This young team could go in either of two directions. Will they put it behind them, move on, and finish the year strong? Or will they throw in the towel, consider the year over, and look forward to next year? A typical Chris Lowry team won't throw in the towel. Well, this isn't a typical Chris Lowry team. There are new and young players. There's a depleted roster due to transfers, injuries, and quitters. Will he find enough offense to pull out a win?
Picks
Creighton Otter: Indiana State
Panon: Indiana State
Dance Cam Guy: Indiana State
~ Panon
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Illinois State (21-5; 10-5, 3rd) vs. Wichita State (13-13; 7-8, 5th)
7:00 p.m.
Redbird Arena; Normal, Illinois
Greggggg Marshall takes his Surprising Shox on the road tonight to test their mettle (and their 7-2 record in the past 9 games) against the Illinois State Redbirds, one of their victims during their ascension from the bottom of the Valley to a possible top-6 seed in Arch Madness.
After starting conference play 0-6, the Shox beat the league’s 2nd-place teams in back-to-back games at Koch Arena (74-61 vs. Creighton on 1/17/09 and 64-58 vs. Illinois State on 1/21/09). They followed that with a last-second win versus Evansville (the heartbreak kids of this year’s MVC season), and have won 4 of their past 6 games.
They have only one conference win on the road, however, and tonight travel to Redbird Arena to face an ISU team that has lost only one conference game at home (Indiana State’s miraculous comeback in overtime). The Redbirds have had some adversity to overcome the past 10 days, with the loss to the Sycamores and the subsequent loss and the reinstatement of starting point guard Lloyd Phillips to “undisclosed personal reasons.” They blew a 20-plus point lead on the road at Evansville and had to rely on an Osiris Eldridge charge … errr, I mean … no call on a jump shot to clinch the victory in the waning seconds.
They responded to that near-miss with a thorough thrashing of Drake in Des Moines on Sunday in front of an ESPNU audience that just one week earlier had seen them give away a game against the visiting Trees. And with a road game this weekend for Bracket Buster Saturday, followed by two final MVC games against teams they currently trail in the standings (at home vs. UNI, on the road at CU), this seems like a possible trap game for the ‘Birds.
But I just don’t see it happening against a WSU that has yet to go to any of the toughest places to play on the road in conference and pick up a win.
Picks
Creighton Otter: Illinois State
Panon: Illinois State
Dance Cam Guy: Illinois State
~ Creighton Otter
7:00 p.m.
McCleod Center; Cedar Falls, Iowa
The Drake Bulldogs won't have to look far to find motivation for this game. They could consult a map, as UNI is one of their in-state rivals and one of Iowa’s Big Four college basketball programs.
They could look at the standings, as the Panthers are in first place and a Bulldog win mean taking down the top squad in the Valley. Meanwhile, Drake’s currently in 7th place in the MVC and trying to make a late push to stay out of the Thursday night play-in games in a few weeks. They need a win to try and keep pace with an Evansville team that lost last night and Wichita St., a squad that is currently one game ahead of DU.
Finally, they can look for revenge. Northern Iowa embarrassed Drake on national television one month ago, going into the Knapp Center and catching the Bulldogs sleeping in an 81-59 win.
The Panthers have lost a bit of their swagger during the past week or so, though. They come into tonight’s game the losers of 2 of their past 3. The trap game I mentioned last week came true in the form of a road loss in Wichita. A few weeks ago UNI seemed well on their way to a MVC crown; now they have two tough games remaining after tonight (at Illinois State; vs. Evansville) they must win with both Creighton and Illinois State breathing down their backs.
DU coach Mark Phelps has had his ups and downs in his first season in Des Moines. Lately it has been more down than up, though; he comes in losing 5 of 6 since Drake’s win in Omaha. That game lit a fire under the Bluejays, but the Bulldogs have seen theirs extinguished. Right now they're standing in 7th and tied in the loss column with Evansville. Their remaining Valley games are hosting Southern Illinois and at Bradley. There's still time, although it is running out, to make a run and play Friday in St. Louis.
Picks
Creighton Otter: Northern Iowa
Panon: Northern Iowa
Dance Cam Guy: Drake
~ Panon
---
Southern Illinois (11-15; 6-9, t-7th) vs. Indiana State (7-19; 5-10, 9th)
7:00 p.m.
SIU Arena; Carbondale, Illinois
Indiana St. is riding a three-game win streak coming into Carbondale. Coach McKenna has his team playing its best ball late in the season. Maybe it's something he learned from Dana Altman? On the other end of the spectrum, the Salukis are struggling without senior Bryan Mullins. They have lost three of four and have slipped into a tie for 7th in the Valley and a half a game back of Evansville after the Purple Aces’ loss in Omaha last night.
During their win streak, the Sycamores won a dramatic game at Illinois State, held serve at home versus the Drake Bulldogs, and pulled out a roadie at Missouri State. In Springfield, Harry Marshall had 16 of his 19 points in the second half to lead them to victory, their first in Springfield since 1976. Senior Jay Tunnell has put on a shooting display as of late. In the two games against ISU and Drake, he combined for 53 points on 19-23 shooting, and a blazing 13-15 from 3-point land. Even Booker Woodfox has to be impressed with those numbers. The Sycamores’ last win in Carbondale was in February 2006, a win that snapped the Salukis 33-game home win streak.
Southern Illinois is coming off a big loss at home against Creighton. Their largest crowd of the season, 9,081, witnessed the shellacking. How will they respond? This young team could go in either of two directions. Will they put it behind them, move on, and finish the year strong? Or will they throw in the towel, consider the year over, and look forward to next year? A typical Chris Lowry team won't throw in the towel. Well, this isn't a typical Chris Lowry team. There are new and young players. There's a depleted roster due to transfers, injuries, and quitters. Will he find enough offense to pull out a win?
Picks
Creighton Otter: Indiana State
Panon: Indiana State
Dance Cam Guy: Indiana State
~ Panon
---
Illinois State (21-5; 10-5, 3rd) vs. Wichita State (13-13; 7-8, 5th)
7:00 p.m.
Redbird Arena; Normal, Illinois
Greggggg Marshall takes his Surprising Shox on the road tonight to test their mettle (and their 7-2 record in the past 9 games) against the Illinois State Redbirds, one of their victims during their ascension from the bottom of the Valley to a possible top-6 seed in Arch Madness.
After starting conference play 0-6, the Shox beat the league’s 2nd-place teams in back-to-back games at Koch Arena (74-61 vs. Creighton on 1/17/09 and 64-58 vs. Illinois State on 1/21/09). They followed that with a last-second win versus Evansville (the heartbreak kids of this year’s MVC season), and have won 4 of their past 6 games.
They have only one conference win on the road, however, and tonight travel to Redbird Arena to face an ISU team that has lost only one conference game at home (Indiana State’s miraculous comeback in overtime). The Redbirds have had some adversity to overcome the past 10 days, with the loss to the Sycamores and the subsequent loss and the reinstatement of starting point guard Lloyd Phillips to “undisclosed personal reasons.” They blew a 20-plus point lead on the road at Evansville and had to rely on an Osiris Eldridge charge … errr, I mean … no call on a jump shot to clinch the victory in the waning seconds.
They responded to that near-miss with a thorough thrashing of Drake in Des Moines on Sunday in front of an ESPNU audience that just one week earlier had seen them give away a game against the visiting Trees. And with a road game this weekend for Bracket Buster Saturday, followed by two final MVC games against teams they currently trail in the standings (at home vs. UNI, on the road at CU), this seems like a possible trap game for the ‘Birds.
But I just don’t see it happening against a WSU that has yet to go to any of the toughest places to play on the road in conference and pick up a win.
Picks
Creighton Otter: Illinois State
Panon: Illinois State
Dance Cam Guy: Illinois State
~ Creighton Otter
posted by Creighton Otter at 6:19 AM
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