SIU & Indiana State Shine
(West Africa) – Southern Illinois earned another victory over a ‘money conference’ team and Indiana State keeps on soaring. Those two programs are the bright spots in a some great and some bad Tuesday in the Valley.
At the beginning of the week, Valley fans were encouraged by outstanding NET (national evaluation tool) rankings and improvement in the league’s KenPom status. With several games against teams with solid NET rankings of their own in store, the Valley faithful were looking for more good news.
While Bradley, Evansville, Indiana State and Southern Illinois played games of great opportunity, on the other hand Missouri State needed to take care of business against an inferior opponent.
Some Great
SIU hosted Oklahoma State and for the second straight season the Salukis took down the Cowboys. In what is becoming a regular event Xavier Johnson topped the 30-point mark, scoring 32 as the Salukis won a nail-biter 70-68 at SIU’s Bantera Center. Johnson has reached the 30-point mark three times this season and has accomplished that feat in two straight games.
OK State came into the game with a poor NET rating of 196 and the 6-2 Salukis entered at 108. Clarence Rupert contributed 13 points and Trent Brown 12. Freshman Kennard Davis added eight rebounds, several of them with the game on the line.
(See our preseason interview with Xavier Johnson)
Indiana State traveled to Northern Illinois to battle the 5-2 Huskies. After a tight first half the Sycamore offense and defense kicked into high gear and came away with a convincing 90-67 road win. NIU entered the game with an impressive NET ranking of 77. Josh Schertz’s team has now reached the 90-point mark six times.
All five starters reached double digits with Southern Indiana transfer Isaiah Swope recording his first double-double with 27 points and ten rebounds. The Sycamores tallied 50 second half points and held the Huskies to 28. ISU made all 13 of its free throw attempts.
Now 8-1 the Sycamores entertain Swope’s old team on Saturday night.
Some Bad
Five minutes into its game against the nation’s 14th ranked BYU (NET of 2) Evansville led by a score of 10-9. The Cougars went on a 17-0 run and the game was over. BYU dominated the Purple Aces 96-55. BYU (8-0) has won all five of its home games and UE fell to 7-2, with both of their losses coming on the road. Yacine Toumi led the Aces with 13 points and seven boards.
Some great was Alston Mason (28) and Donovan Clay (24) combining to score 52 points Tuesday. But some bad the Missouri State Bears dropping their second straight game. Middle Tennessee (5-5) is a team the Bears expected to defeat.
After trailing by five at the half the Bears forced overtime on a driving shot by Mason at the end of regulation, but fell 77-73. Chance Moore added a double-double (13 points & 11 rebounds). While the Bears were strong on the boards corralling 44, they recorded 13 turnovers to just seven assists.
Missouri State is 6-3.
Bradley played its first full game without guard Connor Hickman (ankle) and it showed. Playing on the road against an Akron team that carried a 141 NET ranking wasn’t going to be easy and the Braves lost 67-52. The Bradley offense never got in gear.
Bradley who started the season 6-0 but have now dropped three straight games were out performed on the glass, struggled from the free throw line and from deep. Duke Deen scored 14 points in the loss.
Some Great On Tap
There are five Valley games tonight with more outstanding profile building opportunities. Belmont, Drake and Northern Iowa probably have the best opportunity to make statements tonight. Their opponents carry more weight than do the teams Illinois State and Valparaiso meet.
Belmont (151 NET) hosts neighborhood rival Lipscomb (144). The 6-3 Bruins have won four straight games.
While Saint Louis’ NET is a deserved 258, their membership in the Atlantic Ten gives Drake another opportunity to advance the Valley cause nationally. The 7-1 Bulldogs are 4-0 at home and this is just the second road game of the season for the 5-4 Billikens.
Northern Iowa’s struggling season (2-6) could turn upward with a win over another Atlantic Ten team. The Richmond Spiders (5-3 & 85 NET) visit the McLeod Center.
Illinois State entertains Northern Kentucky and Valpo visits Central Michigan. The Redbirds have won two straight games and the Beacons have dropped two straight.
Do Good
Editor: Cover photo of Xavier Johnson courtesy of siusalukis.com.
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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.
