MVC Games Dec 10-18

[MissouriValleyUnite]

Those heading to Drake-Dayton, there are 7 unsold tix left. Good amount of cheap resale if you’re ok with no stub.

[Tom Servo]

Great win for UNI!

[ValleyFAN]

Missouri State clubbed Arkansas State 75-53. This is an Arkansas State team which came in at 7-2 with road wins against Colorado State and Tulsa, so a good showing from the Bears.

[Kyle@MOState]

Missouri State clubbed Arkansas State 75-53. This is an Arkansas State team which came in at 7-2 with road wins against Colorado State and Tulsa, so a good showing from the Bears.

Not gonna lie, after years of being a Bears fan I got a little worried once Arkansas State got within 10, but the Bears tightened up on D and stopped the bleeding.

Apparently things got contentious between staffs when actually scheduling the game, and this will be the end to this series for the time being. It's kind of a shame, I thought it was a good game that got a little chippy which would add to the intrigue if they continued or signed a new deal. Also a shame because it's a half way respectable team that is close regionally. It made sense to start a new agreement, but Arkansas State wouldn't budge on playing MO State during our finals week this year, so they burned that bridge.

[BEARZ77]

Scheduling is so difficult sometimes as coaches all have different agendas and perspectives. Supposedly Coach Ford was told by the Murray State coach they wouldn't continue the series because he thinks it's better to play weak at home and majors on the road, but that h/h with comparable mid majors hurts you . He seemed caught up in the efficiency numbers and margin of win aspects of the NET and was basing his thoughts on that. In other words he wants to win big at home and if he loses on the road he wants it to be a high profile team. I think he's given too much sway to those aspects of the NET, but that was what we were told his thinking was. Again, beating a team by 20-30 may help those numbers a bit, but you can't get q-1 or q-2 wins against bad teams no matter what the spread is.

[BCPanther]

UNI blew the doors off of Grand Canyon in Phoenix tonight, 82-58.

Going to start picking up some Top 25 votes this week. Off for 10 days and come home to Marshall. Barring a giant upset, UNI is going to be 11-1 in the non-conference and legitimately in a spot where an At Large is feasible.

[usmcsaluki]

I would have thought UNI would be higher in KenPom after winning at Colorado and GCU, but sitting at 79 with one non-conference game left doesn't give UNI with any more chances to really move up. It looks like Marshall is up in the 200's, and everyone else in the Valley is 100+.

But still, if UNI can run through the league without any collapses they should be in the discussion for an at-large, which would be stellar.

[VUGrad1314]

That West Virginia loss stung but I would hope that their resume if they can avoid major pitfalls would be enough to carry them through. The case of Loyola two years ago makes me wonder since even a victory over Florida wouldn't have been enough for them at the time had they not won in St Louis but then I remember that they had that rough stretch when Custer was hurt that ultimately did them in for at large consideration. If UNI can avoid that, I think they will probably be fine.

[Mikovio]

I would have thought UNI would be higher in KenPom after winning at Colorado and GCU, but sitting at 79 with one non-conference game left doesn't give UNI with any more chances to really move up. It looks like Marshall is up in the 200's, and everyone else in the Valley is 100+.

But still, if UNI can run through the league without any collapses they should be in the discussion for an at-large, which would be stellar.

I might be wrong but I think Kenpom is still factoring in its preseason rankings (based mostly on last year's results, which for UNI was poor). It's not until January that it completely reflects this year.

[BCPanther]

I would have thought UNI would be higher in KenPom after winning at Colorado and GCU, but sitting at 79 with one non-conference game left doesn't give UNI with any more chances to really move up. It looks like Marshall is up in the 200's, and everyone else in the Valley is 100+.

But still, if UNI can run through the league without any collapses they should be in the discussion for an at-large, which would be stellar.

I might be wrong but I think Kenpom is still factoring in its preseason rankings (based mostly on last year's results, which for UNI was poor). It's not until January that it completely reflects this year.

Yep. Everybody has to have 12 or 13 games in, minimum, before it's a total reflection of this year.