Lunardi Bracketology

by **MVCfans** » November 10th, 2010, 7:48 pm

Two MVC bids:

WSU - 7 seed
MSU - 13 seed

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

**Sponsor**

by **MVCfans** » November 11th, 2010, 7:36 pm

Also from ESPN - Article on the best of each mid-major conference:

Missouri Valley: Wichita State
The Valley is the best mid-major conference from top to bottom in the country again. Five of the 10 MVC schools have at least four starters returning from last season, including Wichita State (4), Bradley (4), Creighton (4), Evansville (4) and Missouri State (5). Seven of the top 10 scorers and 14 of the top 20 rebounders return. Of the 23 conferences that we consider mid-majors, the Valley was the top-rated RPI conference at No. 9.

It is a new season, and Northern Iowa will still be a very good team with the return of Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Johnny Moran, Jake Koch and Lucas O'Rear. But the team to watch this season is the Wichita State Shockers. This Wichita team could rival the great teams of Ralph Miller, Gene Smithson and Mark Turgeon. Although last season's leading scorer, Clevin Hannah, will be missed, the Shockers return junior POY candidate Toure' Murry. They also return three other starters, including Garrett Stutz, who is the key to Wichita State separating itself from the pack. This 7-footer can run, has great hands and has shown consistent, quantifiable improvement. If Stutz takes the next step in his developmental process, watch out for the Shockers.

Also, Cuonzo Martin welcomes back all five starters for Missouri State. New Creighton coach Greg McDermott returns to the MVC and has Kenny Lawson Jr. as a scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking inside intimidator. Plus, three other starters return. The Bradley Braves return four starters and Andrew Warren is now completely healthy, which is bad news for MVC opponents.

Others in the hunt: Creighton, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Bradley

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/preview20 ... id=5788744

by **MVCfans** » November 11th, 2010, 7:38 pm

Also from ESPN, 10 programs on the rise:

Missouri State
2009-10 record: 8-10 MVC, 24-12 overall
Reason for optimism: The Bears tasted championship success by winning the CollegeInsider.com tournament last season and they bring back their top seven scorers, including Kyle Weems, a redshirt junior forward who led them in scoring and rebounding. For a team with experience and size -- and one that more than doubled its win total from the previous year -- there will be an expectation this season to challenge Wichita State for the Missouri Valley title and possibly get to the NCAA tournament.

http://espn.go.com/blog/CollegeBasketba ... g-programs

by **MVCfans** » January 31st, 2011, 9:36 pm

As of January 31:

Missouri St - 11 seed playing Georgetown
Wichita St - 12 seed playing Washington St in a play in game

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

by **RoyalShock** » January 31st, 2011, 10:17 pm

How good is Lunardi? You might want to check this link:

http://bracketproject.50webs.com/rankings.html

by **pafan** » January 31st, 2011, 10:33 pm

The Valley is the best mid-major conference from top to bottom in the country again.

Too bad Joe didn't hear about the MWC until it was too late.

by **MVCfans** » February 1st, 2011, 12:11 pm

Latest from bubble watch: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bubblewatch

Missouri State [17-5 (9-2), RPI: 47, SOS: 134] We'll see how things play out, but Missouri State might end up being one of those classic test cases for the committee. The three Valley road wins the Bears piled up in a 12-day span at Northern Iowa, at Creighton and at Wichita State were extremely impressive. But there?s just not a whole lot of meat on that 225th-ranked nonconference schedule. MSU played well at Tennessee, but also posted double-digit losses to mediocre teams like Oklahoma State and Tulsa. But with an expanded field and a weak bubble, the MVC regular-season champ has a pretty solid chance of getting in and the Bears should be easily favored in their five league games before the regular-season finale against Wichita State.

Wichita State [18-4 (9-2), RPI: 49, SOS: 111] The preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley, the Shockers missed a golden opportunity out in Hawaii when they narrowly lost 83-79 to Connecticut in the Maui/Kemba Invitational. It was considered a heartbreaking loss back then because it relegated WSU to a consolation bracket that didn't help its power rating one bit, but UConn?s continued national success has made that near-miss even more excruciating. Wichita will have a chance to impress in a BracketBusters home game against VCU, but will anything less than at least a Valley regular-season title be enough for a team that has yet to record a top-100 win? Victories over major-conference teams like Virginia and LSU are fun and all, but no one is mistaking either of those teams for quality opponents this season.

Northern Iowa [17-6 (8-3), RPI: 51, SOS: 115] Can the Panthers recapture the magic that carried them past No. 1 Kansas and all the way to the Sweet 16? There's a ways to go before that happens, but you can be assured that UNI's current seven-game winning streak has opposing fan bases in the Valley biting their nails. This program has a "been there, done that" sort of feel to it and road wins at Missouri State and Wichita State showed the Panthers aren't going away. There was also that Las Vegas tournament title that included wins over the suddenly feisty squads at New Mexico and Indiana. Still, there is plenty of work to be done. Home games against WSU and George Mason loom large.