Creighton @ Drake & ISU @ Missouri State

[tornado]

Creighton is killing Drake 45-17, and near half MSU is up 10 over ISU 30-20..
getting Anthony Downing back from injury has made a huge difference for Missouri State

[Da Coach]

ISU is struggling to score against Missouri State. The game was close until the last 3 minutes of the half, and Missouri State pulled out to a 32-25 halftime lead. Only 3 ISU players have scored so far- Carmichael with 6, Johnny Hill with 11, and Jon Ekey with 8.-

http://www.missouristatebears.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mbaskbl.html?event=1189137&school=mosu&sport=mbaskbl&camefrom=&startschool=&

[tornado]

Creighton 49 - Drake 25 at half
Missouri State 32 - ISU 25 at half
For ISU - Johnny Hill 11, Carmichael 6, Ekey 8
For MSU - Downing 11, Marcus Marshall 9, Christian Kirk 7

[shaunguth]

I'm still trying to figure out why the expectations were seemingly so high for isu this season. They were a .500 team in conference last season, their starting point guard transferred, and they have a first-time head coach.

[SFP]

I'm still trying to figure out why the expectations were seemingly so high for isu this season. They were a .500 team in conference last season, their starting point guard transferred, and they have a first-time head coach.

They played Louisville very tight and could of won!

[shaunguth]

They played Louisville very tight and could of won!

OK.....so why were the expectations so high before the season even started given what I stated above?

We played Michigan pretty close too, but we weren't picked 3rd in the conference.

Just wondering if their preseason hype was by default because the Valley is weak or if they were really supposed to be that much better this season having lost a starting point guard and going with a first-time head coach.

[SFP]

Personally I did not pick them that high. Perhaps I did not have them playing on Thursday. UNI is one team that is not playing to the level I thought they would. MSU is starting to rebound from their horrible start but I had them with only 2-3 wins in conference. The real surprise team if they continue to play hard and within the their system is BU We can certainly finish in 3rd place. I'm not going to bet that we will, but we can!

[shaunguth]

Personally I did not pick them that high. Perhaps I did not have them playing on Thursday. UNI is one team that is not playing to the level I thought they would. MSU is starting to rebound from their horrible start but I had them with only 2-3 wins in conference.

This is why I think maybe it was by default that people thought they might be the best of the average teams. Still, I'm not sure why with a new pg and new head coach.

Missouri State can't beat a Division 1 team until they start playing Valley teams. That makes me sad!

According to RealTimeRPI, the Valley is 8th, but closer to 10th than 7th.

[lightsout]

Love seeing the Redbirds drop to 0-4 in the conference.

[Da Coach]

Final score-
Drake 61
Creighton 91

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201301080133

The other final
Illinois State 55
Missouri State 62

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201301080551

ISU (9-7) losing to Missouri State (5-11, RPI 282) essentially removes any last chance of an at large bid, IMO.

John Wilkins was scoreless in 4 minutes.

[Buesch N Chips]

John Wilkins was scoreless in 4 minutes.

He's saving all of his points for when he plays Bradley.

[Tulsa Brave]

Final score-
Drake 61
Creighton 91

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201301080133

The other final
Illinois State 55
Missouri State 62

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201301080551

ISU (9-7) losing to Missouri State (5-11, RPI 282) essentially removes any last chance of an at large bid, IMO.

John Wilkins was scoreless in 4 minutes.

Indiana State was already WAY ahead of Illinois State in the race for an at-large bid. We can really hurt their chances tomorrow...

[Tulsa Brave]

Creighton is killing Drake 45-17, and near half MSU is up 10 over ISU 30-20..
getting Anthony Downing back from injury has made a huge difference for Missouri State

Downing has played at least 21 minutes in every game this season. Missed no time due to injury.

[Bravesfan]

All of the sudden, Missouri St. is scaring me. How did they turn things around so fast?

Let's see. MSU wins the Valley at 15-3 plus their Bracketbuster game, and the Valley tournament to get into the Big Dance with a 21-13 record. Not bad after a 2-10 start!

Or they finish 9-9 with an overall record of 12-19. They win the Valley tournament to go 15-19. I wonder what seed in the NCAA Tournament they would get with that record!

Seriously though, it looks like there will be no such thing as a gimmie win this year for the Braves. But the way Drake, ISU red and UNI are playing lately, we could potentially win 4 or 5 games between these three teams.

Speaking of Drake, Creighton obviously played like a top 15 team just wiping the floor with a bad Drake team. I get the feeling there will be a coaching change at Drake after the end of the season.

[Bravesfan]

Final score-
Drake 61
Creighton 91

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201301080133

The other final
Illinois State 55
Missouri State 62

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201301080551

ISU (9-7) losing to Missouri State (5-11, RPI 282) essentially removes any last chance of an at large bid, IMO.

John Wilkins was scoreless in 4 minutes.

Indiana State is probably the only other team with a chance at an at-large bid, though they need a few quality Valley wins between the two ranked teams. Not good to only have two to three at-large contenders with the Valley ranked 8th again this year. We need someone other than CU and WSU to win the Valley tournament, as is usually the case.