3 MVC games Saturday, Jan. 20

[Da Coach]

There are 3 MVC games Saturday, January 20-

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/scoreboard/_/group/18/date/20180120

Evansville at Bradley- 7:00 PM CST (Bradley is a 4?? point favorite) ESPN3.com
Illinois State at Indiana State- 1:00 PM CST (Indiana State is a 4 point favorite) ESPN3.com
Missouri State at Drake- 3:00 PM CST (MSU is a 2?? point favorite) MVC TV Network/NBCSports Chicago & FoxSports Midwest and ESPN3.com outside of IL, IA, IN, & MO

[braves16]

There are 3 MVC games Saturday, January 20-

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/scoreboard/_/group/18/date/20180120

Evansville at Bradley- 7:00 PM CST (Bradley is a 4?? point favorite) ESPN3.com
Illinois State at Indiana State- 1:00 PM CST (Indiana State is a 4 point favorite) ESPN3.com
Missouri State at Drake- 3:00 PM CST (MSU is a 2?? point favorite) MVC TV Network/NBCSports Chicago & FoxSports Midwest and ESPN3.com outside of IL, IA, IN, & MO

ISUblue-30
ISUred-13 7 left till half.
Yarbrough didn't start for the Redbirds.

[braves16]

Blue-42
Red-27

Half

[braves16]

under 12 TO

SYCS-63
Birds-38

[Da Coach]

Unbelievable. Now 84-44, a 40 point lead for Indiana State over Illinois State with just a couple minutes left in the game!
And Indiana State now has all their deepest reserves in the game now.

[braves16]

84-54 final

[Da Coach]

Illinois State kept multiple starters in the game until the end against Indiana State's reserves, and scored the final 10 points to narrow the final score to a mere 30-point difference, 84-54, but it was an incredible butt whipping-

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400989705

ILSU's top player, Milik Yarbrough, played only 17 minutes. Is he in the coach's doghouse again?
ILSU had only 4 assists for the game and 16 turnovers.

[tornado]

April Fool's, right?? nope, just life on the road in the MVC........
I guess even tho we lost to them, we musta taken all the fight out of them, and destroyed their morale.

boy -is Muller gonna be pi**ed and make them work this week -

anyone know why Yarbrough started the game on the bench? Sounds like a little discipline issue - LINK
It may have hurt his performance - only 9 pts, zero assists

Final score - Indiana State 84 - ISU 54 - that probably knocks them off the bubble

[Da Coach]

...

Final score - Indiana State 84 - ISU 54 - that probably knocks them off the bubble

That bubble burst a long time ago.

There is no explanation for why Yarbrough didn't start, but according to someone who was at the game, there were a couple different issues with Yarbrough during the game itself. He and Muller got into lively discussions a couple times on the bench with Muller clearly displeased with his play.
But he also came down hard on his right knee on one occasion early in the 2nd half and was worked on by the ISU trainer on the bench. He returned to the game after the apparent injury, but was not very effective, and eventually came out for good.

[tornado]

from their beat writer Jim Benson's reports...

-still no reason given why Yarbrough didn't start
-when he did enter ISU was up by 4, but he played lazy defense when he did get in and then got yanked and hollered at by Coach Muller (Bruninga getting ripped, too)
-Indiana State pulled away to a 15 pt lead at half largely on bad turnovers & lack of effort & Yarbrough was key to that - LINK
-in the 2nd half, Yarbrough fell & hurt his knee
-they worked on him and sent him back in hobbling - even tho they didn't have a prayer even with him in the game
-but he couldn't go and finally came back out

Interesting read over on the Redbird board - I know we have our own problems but who'd have thunk ISU would, too?
...not only are they melting down but..
the entire game discussion seems to de-volve into a discussion of melting down
...amazing how fast the discussion went from "ISU has the best talent and will draw NBA scouts" to "ISU has the worst talent in the league and are gonna be in trouble next year, too" ...to several statements like this ".. this is year 6 for Muller and we are worse than when he started.... it's not looking good for the next few years with this group. ..recruiting went way down hill." that suggest they oughta fire Dan Muller!!!
They also unload on several players - including Yarbrough who some say are sure won't even be at ISU next year because of what appears to be friction between him & the coach (deja vu - same thing happened at Saint Louis) - and the other half of their roster who all come from small high schools that never played much competition (Leroy, Colfax, Illini Bluffs, Ottawa, Clarance, Mahomet)


btw- Alize Johnson is scoreless at halftime vs. Drake but Missouri State still leads 28-23 - Drake just 2-13 from 3-pt

[Da Coach]

As noted, Drake is the highest scoring team in the MVC by far (76.3 ppg) but managed just 23 points in the first half at home today against Missouri State. Both teams shot poorly
Missouri State 28 Drake 23

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400989704

Drake 31% overall and 2-13 from three
Missouri State 38% overall and 2-11 from three

MSU's Alize Johnson, who is the 2nd leading scorer in MVC games, was scoreless in the first half. Drake's Reed Timmer, the MVC's overall 2nd leading scorer, had only 6 points and was just 1-5 from three.

[Da Coach]

Drake came back with a strong 2nd half, and a great defense, which they have not been known for (they are 9th in scoring defense), to beat Missouri State 61-58.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400989704

The leading candidate for Player of the Year, MSU's Alize Johnson, was held to just 2 points and was 0-9 from the field.
Drake's Reed Timmer, who had just 6 first half points, ended up with a game-high 24. Drake goes to 6-2, Missouri State falls to 5-3.

[braves16]

That bubble burst a long time ago.

There is no explanation for why Yarbrough didn't start, but according to someone who was at the game, there were a couple different issues with Yarbrough during the game itself. He and Muller got into lively discussions a couple times on the bench with Muller clearly displeased with his play.
But he also came down hard on his right knee on one occasion early in the 2nd half and was worked on by the ISU trainer on the bench. He returned to the game after the apparent injury, but was not very effective, and eventually came out for good.

Yarbrough and a couple others were late for the team bus. That's why he didn't start.

[Da Coach]

Troublemaker...

[tornado]

renegade