Who replaces Creighton?

by **Wufan** » April 14th, 2013, 8:49 pm

I'm curios, with CU gone, which Valley team is most likely to step up on a national stage? The last two years WSU and CU both went to the tourney. Indiana State and Drake had some flash in the pan seasons. UNI had a couple of good years. SIU was dominant for a 5-7 year period in the last decade. Who is poised to make the next step?

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by **CaseyGarrisonforPrez** » April 14th, 2013, 9:01 pm

It is pretty wide open.

I'd go with Missouri State but I am biased. Good young team with a handsomish younger coach, recruiting to a great facility in JQH. That's a lot of positives. Sustained success requires stability and good fortune in terms of injuries and just things going your way in general. I think we can hold onto Lusk longer than Cuonzo. If that happens and he continues to recruit well then we are in the conversation.

Bradley would also be a good pick. Maybe UNI as well. Bradley is on a good trajectory overall, but I think UNI has already plateaued. The rest of the conference I just don't have as good of a feel for. Too early in the regime to really speak to Illinois State, Drake, or SIUC.

The great thing about this conference is that it is almost like the NFL. There are plenty of good teams and the margin is so razor thin between success and failure. It gives most of us hope each year and the overall parity means that any number of schools can put it all together and go on a magical run.

by **Snaggletooth** » April 14th, 2013, 9:02 pm

you forgot none of the above.

by **unipanther99** » April 14th, 2013, 9:45 pm

I don't really understand the premise. UNI has been to as many NCAA tournaments in the last 10 years as Creighton, with Back to back (to back) appearances. UNI and others on this list have also advanced further in the tournament.

If you want to say who is going to replace Creighton and use a criteria that actually made them somewhat unique (money, attendance, etc.), that's fine. But back to back NCAA tournaments? I think many on the list are capable of doing that (or repeating that feat in the case of a few).

by **rlh04d** » April 14th, 2013, 9:50 pm

I agree with the above. I don't consider Creighton special at all for making back-to-back tournaments. Creighton was important for being consistently good RPI wise and a major fan draw.

If this is about which team will be consistently at the top of the conference and having the best shot at the NCAA tournament, I'd hope for Bradley, but common sense says UNI.

by **CBB_Fan** » April 14th, 2013, 9:56 pm

Creighton didn't really bring NCAA success. A lot of schools (even in the Valley) have been more success in the tournament than they have. What they really did bring was money and fan support.

I'd say Bradley and UNI probably have the best shot of capturing some of that, with MSU probably in the race as well. Who knows, maybe 10-20 years from now it will be Drake and Loyola.

by **RoyalShock** » April 14th, 2013, 10:28 pm

Getting to one NCAA tournament didn't do much for Drake (2010) or Indiana St (2011) in terms of building the program. Each one took steps down the following year. They caught the proverbial lightning in a bottle. Stringing multiple bids together shows the strength of a program and an ability to transcend the typical story of when a non-power team has that one year with a lot of upper-classmen to lead them.

It's possible that Indiana St isn't so far removed that they won't see some returns on a recruiting bump, but they've basically got one more year to prove it.

So I think it is reasonable to point to back-to-back NCAA tournaments as an achievement (one, but not the only one) that sets a program apart from others in the conference who aren't doing it.

by **RoyalShock** » April 14th, 2013, 10:31 pm

To the poll itself I picked Bradley just over Missouri St because while MSU has two solid freshman to build around I have a feeling BU will get there sooner by bringing in some good jucos to jumpstart things.

If MSU were to somehow get two good juco post players I'd give them the nod.

by **TNMSUFAN** » April 15th, 2013, 6:55 am

RoyalShock wrote:To the poll itself I picked Bradley just over Missouri St because while MSU has two solid freshman to build around I have a feeling BU will get there sooner by bringing in some good jucos to jumpstart things.

If MSU were to somehow get two good juco post players I'd give them the nod.

Getting Gulley back is very important for us along with the development of the frosh and Kirk. Kirk played very well down the stretch scoring double figures 7 of the last 11 games. We will sign a juco WG on Wed that averaged 19pts 8rbs and a high school guard from Arkansas that will get minutes from day 1. Fall class was Quick lefty PG, SG (Austin Ruder who was a top 10 shooter on Rivals) and a C 6'10" 260lbs high school kid. Still have 1 ship left and that will be for a big...either a 1 yr or 2 yr. Coach Lusk has built things the right way and we will be much improved next year.

by **matter_of_fact** » April 15th, 2013, 7:58 am

The toughest part about replacing Creighton is finding a team with the consistency that Creighton brought to the MVC. During the past 17 years that the MVC membership was unchanged, Creighton had the highest regular season MVC win percentage (.673), won the most MVC tournament championships (8 in 17 years), had the most 10-win MVC conference seasons (17 in 17 years), had the most 20 win seasons (14 in 17 years), received the most NCAA invitations (9 in 17 years), and led the MVC in attendance for the past 10 years. Replacing that type of legacy does not take place over night.