2021 Arch Madness

[bigjimmy]

I would expect Missouri State to beat Drake. Without their two best players it’ll be a tough road to hoe for the Bulldogs. I hope they can pull it off.

[Da Coach]

Final score- Drake 71 Missouri State 69-

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=338293&confid=mvc

What a tremendous game. Too bad someone had to lose this game. I actually think Missouri State would have given Loyola a real test if they had advanced to Sunday's final. But it will be Drake vs. Loyola with the hope of getting 2 teams into the NCAA Tournament.
Joseph Yesufu, who spent last year and nearly all this year as a backup, was the star of the game. He played all 40 minutes, was the game's leading scorer with 25 points, and made the clutch shot on the final possession to give Drake the win. Interestingly, he did not have a single assist in today's game. Drake played only 7 players and did not shoot the three well (3-16), but they scored 48 points in the paint against MSU and had only 2 turnovers for the game.

[bigjimmy]

This was a fantastic game from beginning to end. Neither team led by more than 6, and that was Drake at 6-0, and their were 9 ties and 17 lead changes in the game. Isiaih Mosley had a terrible game for the Bears as he scored just 5 points on 2-9 shooting. In fact they never really looked to him in the last 5:00. Tremell Murphy for Drake also had an outstanding game as he had 20 points on 8-10 shooting and hopefully he’s ok as he got fouled hard in the nose by Gage Prim late in the game, no foul was called, and were fortunate to stop the bleeding. Yesufu was cramping in the second half as well but sucked it up and answered the call wonderfully. Looking forward to the game and just hope Drake can find something to bring a championship home.

[Dub]

Having fans at the game is a big deal.

Having a lot of fans rooting on a team is a very big deal. I knew these things before this year, but now I see it even more clearly. The players and coaches are obviously the most important “characters in the play” but having someone there who cares to watch (ie fans) is a very close second. I’ve been to 25 of 31 arch madness-es, and this one was super lame.... and not because my team lost, but because there were just a handful of fans spread out in a 16,000 seat arena. It truly made me realize how important crowds are to college sports.

We are more valuable than we realize.

[bigjimmy]

Arch Madness Championship Day! What great memories from the last 2 years! The EPIC comeback against UNI in 2019 and last year DB’s refusal to lose helping carrying us to a second straight championship. Hopefully we’ll be back there next year. This years game seems inevitable that Loyola will win. They are playing really well and just seem extra motivated. Drake is coming off an exhausting yet exhilarating game that probably took a lot out of them. Joseph Yesufu has played 40 minutes the last 4 games and has averaged 25 points in their last 6 games and as great as his performance was against Missouri State he was cramping up in the second half and Loyola will be even more physical against him. They played 3 weeks ago with Loyola laying a 50-20 2nd half smackdown to win Game 1 81-54. Game 2 was a back and forth bar room brawl that Drake won 51-50 in OT. This game should be another low scoring physical affair and I lean towards Loyola winning because of their depth but if Drake can hit their 3’s and stay out of foul trouble, let them play MVC refs, they’ve got a shot. I hope for a good game and I look forward to seeing both of them in the big dance.

[Tommy]

This year's tournament was almost the exact opposite of last year's where every game but the finals was an upset (thankfully). This year, the favorite has won every game (not counting play-in games).

Hoping Drake can pull off the win as that gives us our best chance at 2 MVC teams in the NCAA, but honestly, I don't see any way they beat Loyola with their depleted and worn down roster.

[bigjimmy]

Loyola/Drake game starting on time as Houston hit a 40 foot shot at the buzzer to beat Memphis.

[bigjimmy]

The second Loyola/Drake game was different for Loyola in that they had 4 starters play more than 30 minutes which I don’t think they did during the season and they wore down late in the game and in overtime. Just a thought

[bigjimmy]

Just 2 fouls called in the first 4:00. But one is on Drake’s big man Brodie who has to stay in the game for Drake to have any chance to win. Things have been physical and the players are already chirping with one another. Hopefully a T at the wrong time won’t hurt either team. Game tied at 7.

[bigjimmy]

Loyola on a 9-0 run in the last 5:00 now leading 14-7 with 11:34 left. Drake just seems to be a little lethargic so far like they don’t quite have their legs under them.

[bigjimmy]

Drake had to take another timeout as Loyola’s defense forced 2 straight turnovers and a blocked shot and scored 6 straight to now go up 24-14 with 9:00 left

[bigjimmy]

7:27 left Loyola up 24-18. They are shooting 10-16 overall, 3-7 from 3 while Drake is shooting 6-17 overall and 1-5 from 3

[bigjimmy]

This has been a game of runs as Drake went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 24-24 then Loyola scored 7 straight in a minute and are now up 34-26 with 3:30 left in the half.

[basketball nut]

1. Good first half. One thing I noticed is how every player seems to be hustling for every ball. It seemed like our leaders early in the valley season didn't do. Once we got to all freshman and sophomore players they were all diving for loose balls.

[bigjimmy]

Loyola leads at the half 36-31. They really should be up by more as they shot 15-24 overall, 5-10 from 3 and had 11 assists. Drake started slow but made 4 if their last 7 shots, all 4 from 3 and they are 7-7 from the FT line. Krutwig, Clemons and Norris all have 8 for Loyola while Yesufu leads Drake with 10 and Murphy and Wilkins both have 8. Loyola is doing a good job of stopping Drake’s penatration into the lane while Drake is having a hard time getting through screens. Looking forward to the second half.