It’s a Grind in the Valley

Tight Games Abound

(St. Louis, MO) – Nearly 80 percent of Missouri Valley Conference basketball games are very tight affairs. Night after night, it’s a grind in the Valley. The home court used to be an MVC safe haven, but it is safe no more.

After winning four of five games Saturday, the home teams still own just a .577 winning percentage. As teams vie for the top five spots in the Valley race to earn byes at Arch Madness, every game has very big implications.

We are in the middle third of the conference season, and just four teams have winning records. Slumping Northern Iowa and streaking Illinois Chicago are tied for fifth with .500 records of 4-4.

It’s a Grind in the Valley – Defense & Coaching

Ten of eleven MVC teams rank in the top half of KenPom.com’s adjusted defensive rankings. Four teams, UNI, Southern Illinois, Illinois State and Belmont are top-100 teams. Belmont and UNI are top-fifty teams in defensive field goal percentage.

Valley teams don’t give opponents extra offensive opportunities. They (collectively) rank third among all conferences in cleaning the defensive glass, allowing just over 28-percent of offensive rebounding opportunities.

Known as a ‘coaches league’, Murray State’s Ryan Miller is the only rookie among the eleven Valley coaches. UNI’s Ben Jacobson is coaching in his twentieth season in Cedar Rapids, but he is far from being the only coach with deep and extensive experience. Jacobson has earned five MVC ‘coach of the year’ awards and SIU’s Scott Nagy  earned three Horizon League notifications. He has won over 350 Division 1 games. Bradley’s Brian Wardle is coaching in his eleventh MVC season, sixteenth overall and he has earned two ‘COY’s’. Casey Alexander is working on his seventh year at Belmont and fifteenth overall. Alexander has a COY trophy too.

Two-time Summit League ‘coach of the year’ Eric Henderson is in his first year in the Valley (Drake) and seventh overall.

While Miller, Evansville’s David Ragland, Illinois State’s Ryan Pedon and Valparaiso’s Roger Powell Jr are working their first D1 jobs, each enjoyed long and very successful assistant coaching opportunities.

The scouting reports in this league are as extensive as any and these coaches are excellent game planners.

Valley teams average between 67.8 and 87.8 points per game overall and between 61.8 and 84.1 during league play. Nine of eleven Valley teams are scoring fewer points during league play than they did previously. Indiana State and Bradley being the exceptions.

Significant Injuries

Injuries to key players is always an important factor in league races and in the narrow margin of game outcomes. Northern Iowa’s recent skid has largely coincided with the absence of forward Tristan Smith. Evansville has been without the league’s reigning defensive player of the year, Connor Turnbull and Belmont has been missing league assist leader Nic McClain.

Earlier in the season, Drake was missing Owen Larson and UIC’s recent surge can be tied to the return of previously injured Elijah Crawford. Southern Illinois stayed close with Belmont on Saturday despite the absence of starters Quel’Ron House and Isaiah Stafford.

Indiana State gave Murray State a run for its money Saturday without center Markus Harding and just four minutes out of center Derek Vorst.

It’s a grind in the Valley as teams head towards St. Louis and Arch Madness. They need to get healthy, defend the home court and steal some of those close encounters if they want to reach those top five spots.

Do Good

 

Editor: Cover photo of Belmont players celebrating, courtesy of BelmontBruins.com.