What To Expect
(St. Louis, MO) – All ten Missouri Valley Conference teams are in action today. After an opening round of games there were a couple of surprise results, as a result there are already intriguing matchups today.
Tournament Rematch
Defending Arch Madness champion Bradley (10-4, 1-0) visits Northern Iowa (11-2, 0-1) in a rematch between the Braves and the team they defeated to earn their NCAA Tournament bid. UNI roared into Valley play at 11-1 only to fall at Illinois State. The Panthers are in need of a bounce back win and Bradley is still playing without leading scorer and rebounder Elijah Childs. UNI guard A.J. Green scored 23 points in their conference opening loss. An 0-2 start for UNI could be too much to overcome for a conference crown. Game time: 7:00 pm – ESPNU
Heavyweights Collide
Preseason favorite Missouri State (7-7, 1-0) travels to Chicago to battle two-time champion Loyola (9-5, 1-0) in the only game between 1-0 squads. Loyola was the only Valley team to win a road game. An intriguing subplot will be the matchup between outstanding centers Gaige Prim (MSU) and preseason ‘Player of the Year’, Cameron Krutwig. Game time: 7:00 pm – MVC TV
Avoiding 0-2
Valparaiso (7-7) and Evansville both dropped their league openers and square off in Indiana in a game to avoid dropping to 0-2. Superb sophomores DeAndre Williams (UE) and Javon Freeman-Liberty (Valpo) are two of the MVC’s most exciting players. Freeman-Liberty leads the Valley with a scoring average of 20.9 points per game and Williams is the fourth at 16.1. Drake was the first team since 1992-93 to drop its first two games and earn regular season title. Game time: 6:00 pm – ESPN+
Road Teams Looking for 2-0
Illinois State’s upset of Northern Iowa reminded Valley watchers that anything can happen. Freshmen guards DJ Horne and Antonio Reeves high-lighted the Redbirds (6-7, 1-0) come-from-behind win. Southern Illinois (6-8, 0-1) has been without the services leading scorer Aaron Cook. He has begun to practice and could return soon. Game time: 3:00 pm – ESPN3
The Valley’s hottest team is Indiana State (8-4, 1-0). Greg Lansing’s team has won eight straight and visits defending co-champion Drake (10-4, 0-1). The Bulldogs lost at Bradley despite 21 points by the blossoming sophomore center Liam Robbins. Indiana State’s Tyreke Key is the league’s second leading scorer (18.2 ppg). Game time: 5:00 pm – ESPN+
Twitter Feed
As we near the closing of the portal window, we've reached 1900. Some of them never to play college basketball again, earn a college degree and some to play at a much lower level than they did last season.
I guess we'll be seeing this in a @RacersHoops uniform this year. Glad AJ is staying in the @ValleyHoops.
