2 weeks of conference play and

by **Go4Valley** » January 13th, 2019, 6:40 pm

I have zero idea what to make of things...and that is perfect!

Valpo is undefeated
Loyola still good but not unbeatable
Illinois St has looked good yet are .500(could be 3-1)
SIU had a very bad week after good opening week
Missouri St has played well on the road in 2019
Evansville better than we all expected
Indiana St is hard to figure out
Drake loses Norton yet still very competitive
UNI is one gritty outfit
Bradley WTF?

Wow! We are truly blessed because league is wide open. Going to be crazy wars before we even get to STL

**Sponsor**

by **MissouriValleyUnite** » January 13th, 2019, 7:07 pm

At long last we can watch games on Thursday night in STL with meaning and think “this could impact who goes to the NCAA Tournament”.

by **Jsnhbe1Birds** » January 13th, 2019, 8:49 pm

1. Dan Muller is not a good coach but isntbgoing amywhere.
2. Evansville hired a decent coach.
3. Drake hired a good coach.
4. Not sold on Dana Ford at all and never was.
5. Lansing probably gained another year.
6. Moser is showing last season the stars just aligned.
7. Say goodbye to Hinson.
8. Jacobson won't but needs to go. He's lost it.
9. Wardle just isn't the right guy.
10. Lottich probably saved his job.

by **TheAsianSensation** » January 13th, 2019, 11:27 pm

This feels like a "just get out of Thursday" year. The tournament can be won from any of the 6 bye spots.

First two weeks established that the conference race will have no meaning in the national bubble race. At least every other year, we could pretend at least 1 team was on the bubble. Not so this year. This is uncharted territory for the conference. Kinda sucks, really.

by **Adunk33** » January 15th, 2019, 9:13 am

MissouriValleyUnite wrote:At long last we can watch games on Thursday night in STL with meaning and think “this could impact who goes to the NCAA Tournament”.

For the first time in several years I haven't purchased all-session tickets. Primarily because the size of our group continues to grow and the spouses don't have an interest in watching outside of the Redbird games. However, with how wide open the league is, I may reconsider. It may not be "good" basketball but all of the games will be competitive, and dramatic. It'll be a really fun 4 days of hoops.

by **hot nuts** » January 15th, 2019, 9:22 am

After the underwhelming non-conf results and the "one-bid" reality setting in...let's hope these teams beat each other up and whoever wins Arch Madness will be be toughened and ready to make another run. We're in this together this year. :Cheers:

by **Saluki 4 Life** » January 15th, 2019, 11:29 am

Adunk33 wrote:
MissouriValleyUnite wrote:At long last we can watch games on Thursday night in STL with meaning and think “this could impact who goes to the NCAA Tournament”.

For the first time in several years I haven't purchased all-session tickets. Primarily because the size of our group continues to grow and the spouses don't have an interest in watching outside of the Redbird games. However, with how wide open the league is, I may reconsider. It may not be "good" basketball but all of the games will be competitive, and dramatic. It'll be a really fun 4 days of hoops.

That's where I am at with it. I think any team could win, even whoever ends up being the 10 seed. I highly doubt my Salukis will, but it should be a really fun long weekend of basketball. Should be loads of drama from Thursday night all the way through Sunday.

by **Kyle@MOState** » January 15th, 2019, 12:44 pm

TheAsianSensation wrote:This feels like a "just get out of Thursday" year. The tournament can be won from any of the 6 bye spots.

First two weeks established that the conference race will have no meaning in the national bubble race. At least every other year, we could pretend at least 1 team was on the bubble. Not so this year. This is uncharted territory for the conference. Kinda sucks, really.

Yeah, I agree with the kinda sucks. Just a few short years ago we had two teams ranked in the top 25 heading in to St. Louis. This year, we will be lucky to have two teams in the NET top 100. I wonder how the attendance will be? I had a positive outlook last year, and thought that a number of teams could win it. There were a lot of positive attitudes heading in last year. This year, everyone outside of Valpo at the moment, has reasons to be down on their team... :Beer:

As the season chugs along, we will get more clarity, but it really does feel wide open at the moment. That uncertainty creates intrigue, but I don't know about enthusiasm.

by **Redbirds4Life** » January 16th, 2019, 8:36 am

This is the worst the Missouri Valley Conference has been in years. Loyola, who is by far the best team, shouldn't have any trouble winning this league, but with the way the year has gone, they will lose games they shouldn't.

After the game last night, I am fully convinced that both Illinois State and Southern Illinois are average teams, with little to no prayer to win 3 games in St. Louis. Love him, but Dan Muller is just not a good coach, but I highly doubt anyone has the guts to do anything about it. ISU has some talent, but just look lost out there at times, and go through these lulls in the game where there is absolutely no one moving without the ball. SIU's problem has been the problem for the last couple years, get away from Barry. He isn't a good coach either, and like ISU, has talent being wasted. It's a shame. Last Night's game was pretty disgusting.

by **Go4Valley** » January 16th, 2019, 9:25 am

That was some brutal basketball in Normal last night. SIU was my pick to win league but lord are they one confusing team to watch. Illinois St has talent but just cant show consistency.

I disagree with the notion that Loyola will not have any trouble winning league. Long way to go and they clearly arent as good as they were last year. They were 15-3 in conference and wont even come close to that this year. Give it time...February you will see that top spot hotly contested