7 MVC games Saturday, Dec. 4

[Da Coach]

7 MVC games Saturday, Dec. 4

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/scoreboard/_/group/18/date/20211204

[Da Coach]

The MVC is 3-0 in completed games with 3 in progress and one tonight

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/scoreboard/_/group/18/date/20211204

[Da Coach]

Missouri State played #12 ranked BYU at home. MSU stayed close, but BYU pulled away in the final minutes to win 74-68-
https://missouristatebears.com/sidea...s/mbball/media

Something strange that even the announcers on CBSSports Network were baffled by- Missouri State's Isaiah Mosley, the MVC's leading scorer last year and 1st team All MVC, started and played only the first 5 minutes in the first half. Then he started and played only the first 2 minutes of the 2nd half. He was scoreless in his 7 total minutes, sat down and never played again. There is no apparently injury issue. Their beat writer tweeted it appeared to be a coach's decision.

And Loyola beat DePaul 68-64 in a close, physical game. DePaul's leading scorer, Javon Freeman-Liberty, who played his first 2 years at Valpo, fouled out with only 7 points. DePaul went 1-10 from three in the 2nd half and it allowed Loyola to pull ahead.
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...meId/401371991

The one disappointing result was Illinois State losing at home to 1-6 Jackson State 61-55-
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...meId/401372289

This was Jackson State's 8th straight road game to start the season, and they still have 4 more road games to play (including games at UNI & Drake) before they finally play their first home game.

[Da Coach]

Southern Illinois leads Southern Mississippi at halftime 32-23
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...meId/401372808

SIU is only 11-33 from the floor in the 1st half. 20 of their 33 shot attempts were 3-point shots (they are just 5-20 from three)
Marcus Domask is in a shooting funk so far. He is 0-4 from the floor, and 0-3 from three, including an air-ball and a couple bricks.
But thanks to 11 Southern Miss turnovers, SIU built a lead of 32-23.

SIU has 2 players that head coach Bryan Mullins was counting on, junior guards Trent Brown and Ben Harvey.
Trent Brown started every game for the Salukis last season, but hasn't played in any games this season. He has been battling a back problem.
Ben Harvey started most of their games last season, but came off the bench in their first 2 games this season and hasn't played since with a foot injury.

Mullins planned to redshirt 2 of his freshmen, forward Scottie Ebube and shooting guard Foster Wonders. But he is now rumored to be considering taking one or both off their redshirt if they have any more injuries or struggle with depth issues.

[Da Coach]

SIU got their offense going in the 2nd half and outscored Southern Miss 34-18 to win 66-41
SIU 66 Southern Miss 41

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401372808

Marcus Domask, who was scoreless in the first half, got going in the 2nd half and ended up being the game's top scorer with 14 points.
So the MVC is 5-2 today-

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/scoreboard/_/group/18/date/20211204

[Tommy]

The one disappointing result was Illinois State losing at home to 1-6 Jackson State 61-55-
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...meId/401372289

Maybe not THAT disappointing!

[Dub]

Maybe not THAT disappointing!

Agreed bro. I’m good w/ it.

[Bradley3342]

Agreed bro. I’m good w/ it.

For sure. You always want your conference to win but they really are hard to like…

[Da Coach]

For sure. You always want your conference to win but they really are hard to like…

Seems more and more like this could be Dan's last season.
Here is just a sampling of the tweets I saw calling for him to be fired or resign after yesterday's home loss to Jackson State, and this doesn't include multiple threads on their message board.
https://twitter.com/steveblair33/sta...30751700115456
https://twitter.com/YuhBoi523/status...97383902060546
https://twitter.com/n__lun/status/1467268576268763142
https://twitter.com/ni_lo_doe/status...72094580981762
https://twitter.com/firedanmuller5/s...78336107892737
https://twitter.com/FireDanMuller/st...79488941711364
https://twitter.com/SinceISUDanced/s...51852772855813

[Da Coach]

By the way, some fans are angry and baffled why Dan Muller benched his 2nd leading scorer, best big man, and top rebounder Sy Chatman yesterday. He played only a few minutes in the 2nd half, then sat the rest of the game while ISU struggled to score and rebound against the much smaller and less-talented Jackson State. I didn't see the game, but obviously Muller was sending a message. Chatman has been an enigma, to be kind. He played with Sean East at UMass, then left and stayed in the Transfer Portal many months without an offer until Muller offered him late in the 2020 recruiting cycle because he was desperate for a big man. Then last season, he quit the team after 5 games and opted out. He was reported to be in the Transfer Portal again, but he was eventually coaxed to come back by Muller. Muller then rewarded Chatman by starting him and giving him far more playing time this season than any other big man on their roster. He has been productive, averaging 16.4 ppg and 8.0 rpg prior to yesterday. But he wasn't effective yesterday (6 points & 3 rebounds in 23 minutes) and apparently ticked off his coach, resulting in the benching. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
Muller, of course, has a long history of coddling malcontents, head cases, thugs, and felons. Players like Zach Lofton, MiKyle
McIntosh, Deontae Hawkins, DJ Clayton, Reggie Lynch, drug dealer Geoffrey Allen, and many more who were constantly in and out of trouble under Muller, as well as numerous DUI's and other arrests. And of course, there was Milik Yarbrough, one of the biggest head cases, domestic abusers, and jailbirds of all. He has always valued athletic talent over character, and that flaw has sabotaged a lot of his seasons.