9 MVC games today, Sat. 12/7

[Da Coach]

9 MVC teams are playing today, Saturday, Dec. 7-

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/scoreboard?date=20131207&confId=18

[tornado]

Evansville beats Miami (OH) 78-65, DJ Balentine 22

[tornado]

Loyola up 5 on UIC with 15 min left
SIU tied with WKU at 38 with 15 min left in a defensive battle

[tornado]

Loyola beats UIC 73-70
SIU is about to lose to Western Kentucky

MVC is 2-2 so far today...of the five remaining games at least three (ISU/Dayton, Drake/Iowa, UNI/Iowa State) look tough...the other two (WSU/ORU, InSU/EIU) look winnable.

[tornado]

Wichita trails Oral Roberts by 3 in 2nd half

Iowa State beat UNI in OT by 9

ISU lead Dayton and InSU leads EIu

[Da Coach]

Illinois State knocked off an extremely talented and undefeated #25 ranked Dayton tonight 81-75.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400500012

I watched this game (it's nice to see them on Comcast), and Coach Dan Muller has a great mix of talent with skilled and athletic big men, quick guards, excellent passers and shooters, and great athleticism and depth (31 points & 14 rebounds off their bench). They have virtually an entire new team this year, with only 2 holdovers from last year (minor contributors Kaza Keane & Nick Zeisloft), and they have no seniors, and only 4 juniors (all new juco kids). They look like they will be a factor in the MVC this year, and even moreso in the next couple years. Their students just went a little crazy storming the floor.

This makes those people saying it takes years to rebuild a team after a coaching change look silly. ISU was headed nowhere with the players that Muller inherited, so he did what he needed to do to stock his roster with the right mix of talent to win at the midmajor level. Hopefully we can do the same.
Let's hope out

[Da Coach]

Wichita State had a sub-par shooting night and did not play well and struggled at home with Oral Roberts tonight. ORU lead much of the game, but Wichita State took control late and won 71-58. Wichita State was able to pull back into the game and pull away with their superior rebounding (46-29 margin).

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400500015

Indiana State beat an outmanned Eastern Illinois team 66-48 -

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400500013

In the first game of a doubleheader, Iowa State beat UNI in overtime 92-81. Neither team used many bench players, as several of the starters for both teams played big minutes-

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400498295

In the 2nd game of the doubleheader at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa leads Drake 49-40 at halftime-

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400500011

[Chico]

Except for the upper bowl it looked like they had a good crowd at ISU tonight. Maybe because it was on TV, but the student crowd was impressive and had to give the team a boost.

[MacabreMob]

ISU > Dayton by 3
Dayton > @ Georgia Tech 10
Georgia Tech > UIUC 3

ISU > UIUC



Redbirds looked really good tonight - fun game to watch.
(but the announcer with the redneck accent was brutal to listen to)

[wily coyote]

Hate to say it but it looks like ISU has out recruited us again.

[bu fan 9]

I think every team in the Valley out recruited us.

[Old Coach]

I think every team in the Valley out recruited us.

It would surprise me if that were the case.

[tornado]

ISU definitely has a bunch of DI-ready guys but they are playing wildly and out of control at times... that will lead to inconsistency but they have a good start

[bu fan 9]

In 3 years Geno has recruited one player that can play and that is Pickett. The rest are bench players at best.

[Old Coach]

In 3 years Geno has recruited one player that can play and that is Pickett. The rest are bench players at best.

Omari Grier's shooting percentage needs to improve, but I like his 13 ppg, and Auston Barnes's 10 ppg and 7 rpg are pretty solid. I think they're above average to good players. I think Xzavier Taylor will be an all-MVC player before his career is over. Swopshire is kind of an unknown right now, but I'm not ready to discard him 9 games into his college career. Arguably, the others are role players.