MVC Week 5

[isumvc1]

MSU @ VU VU
UNI @ LU LU
BU @ UE UE
ILST @ DU DU
INST @ SIU SIU

SIU @ BU BU
VU @ UE UE
DU @ INST DU
MSU @ UNI UNI
LU @ ILST LU

[pafan]

Overtime in frosty Valparaiso. Tied at 49.

[MSUDuo]

What a freakin' gutsy win by the Bears. You could tell that they were absolutely gassed at the end and they found a way!!!

[MissouriValleyUnite]

Dana Bennett makes it 3 in a row to join the upper half. Bears grind one out as DaSilva/Dixon shoot 2-17 and the team 30%. Held the 7 footers to as many fouls as points and rebounds.

Valpo should never put the ball in #4’s hands with the game on the line again. Give it to the gutsy freshman who pulled down a monster 12/15.

[ValpoTX]

Evelyn is a shell of what he was last year. We all suspect that he has been playing with a nagging injury all year, as he is not even close to the player that he was. He did have surgery in the offseason.

It's tough to win any league game without your top 2 1/2 players, as Smits was obviously still recovering, so this will have to be a moral victory.

[VUGrad1314]

No moral victories. We blew this game. Make your_______________________free throws and learn to close out a ______________________________half. Maybe box out a bit more often and don't dribble the ball off your _______________foot or turn it over so__________much. Seriously though all credit to Missouri State. They battled they executed and you can see the good things coming for them very soon. Ridder is really coming into his own and will be a force.

[Go4Valley]

With a slow down pace and ability to play defense I would not want to play the Bears at Arch Madness early. Cook is finding himself, Webster more aggressive and now Ridder is feeling confident. Dixon and Da Silva eventually will get back to scoring. I picked this team to be 6th in conference

[MSUDuo]

No moral victories. We blew this game. Make your_______________________free throws and learn to close out a ______________________________half. Maybe box out a bit more often and don't dribble the ball off your _______________foot or turn it over so__________much. Seriously though all credit to Missouri State. They battled they executed and you can see the good things coming for them very soon. Ridder is really coming into his own and will be a force.

Yeah. I really have no clue how we won that...

To be fair, I don't really care.

Is it Saturday yet? It's fun to be looking forward to Bears games again

[ValleyFAN]

With a slow down pace and ability to play defense I would not want to play the Bears at Arch Madness early. Cook is finding himself, Webster more aggressive and now Ridder is feeling confident. Dixon and Da Silva eventually will get back to scoring. I picked this team to be 6th in conference

The funny thing is that up until a few gMsa ago the Bears ranked top 10 in the country in “pace of play”, basically meaning they were playing uktra fast. Dana slowed it down for Loyola because he thlught we couldnt run with them, now theyve been playing that way ever since.

[BEARZ77]

I give Ford alot of credit: not too many coaches dramatically change a teams style of play half way into a year and can pull it off. While the defense is getting the attention, it's actually a change in offensive strategy that is fueling the success. With injuries, defections, and just seeing where we were offensively, Ford pulled the plug on trying to play up-tempo. The result is we limit possessions, run out opportunities, and have more energy on the defensive end. It allows us to get by with basically 7-8 players most nights. We are holding our own on the boards despite starting 4 guards and a forward[ but our top 7 are all 6'4 -6'8] , but obviously can be beat down low at times. Our margin for error remains pretty thin , but he reduced it significantly with the changes. I imagine we will still be a bit up and down, but again, we are seeing what actual coaching looks like. Lusk didn't make a significant change in 7 years , not off season, preseason, mid season or mid game.