Feast Week\November Tournaments: A Valley Retrospective

[VUGrad1314]

How 'bout this conference huh? Sure, the MVC hit some pot holes:  Indiana State has had a really tough time since they surprised the Hoosiers in Assembly Hall to open the season. The Sycamores have lost every D1 game they've played since, including getting swept out of the Gildan Charleston Classic and losing to Ball State at Home, while Missouri State lost two winnable games  at home against North Dakota State and in a tournament to Georgia Southern. To their credit, the Bears did rebound with victories over Manhattan and Florida Atlantic so their time at the Gulf Coast Showcase, while disappointing, wasn't a total washout. In addition, Illinois State fell tonight in overtime against the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern, and the Salukis of Southern Illinois  went 0-2 in Kentucky with losses to Louisville and Murray State, both of which are entirely forgivable.

Yet despite these mostly minor setbacks, the Thanksgiving Tournament season was a rousing success for the conference as a whole as seven Valley members recorded at least a third place finish   in their tournaments.  Valley victories included 3 Power 5 schools (South Carolina Wake Forest and NC State) 2 AAC schools (Tulsa and SMU) 1MW school (Fresno State) and several quality mid major wins. The Valley's success could have been even greater had a few teams gotten a few bounces to go their way.Here the rundown:

Bradley Braves: 3rd place Bahamas Showcase
Record: 2-1

Following a heartbreaking one-point loss to eventual champion Vermont, the Braves rebounded nicely with victories over UTSA 71-69 and Weber State 70-64 to claim third place in the tournament. Making their feat more impressive the Braves were without starting Center Koch Bar who missed the tournament due to paperwork issues.

Drake Bulldogs: 3rd place Paradise Jam
Record:2-1

Drake began the tournament with a surprise 77-74 victory over the ACC's Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Bulldogs nearly erased a double digit deficit in an 86-81 loss to Colorado, but they bounced back in a big way using a balanced attack to notch a thrilling 90-88 double overtime victory over the Drexel Dragons for third place. Reed Timmer was his usual high-scoring self, but it looks as though they've assembled a strong supporting cast around him in Des Moines. Look for this team to be much improved this year. The signs are already showing.

Illinois State Redbirds: 3rd Place Puerto Rico Tipoff
Record: 2-1

Extensive hurricane damage across the island of Puerto Rico, which was devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, forced this tournament to relocate to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Some observers cried foul, as this move placed the tournament squarely in the backyard of one of its participants the South Carolina Gamecocks. This didn't seem to bother the Redbirds much as they shocked their SEC foe 69-65 in the opening round. Round 2 saw the Redbirds, tired and undermanned, thumped by the Mountain West's Boise State Broncos 64-46. Dan Muller's bunch closed out their tournament slate in fine fashion defeating the Tulsa Golden Hurricane of the AAC 84-68. Throughout the tournament the Redbirds were led by the trio of Keyshawn Evans Phil Fayne and Milik Yarbrough

Evansville Purple Aces: Cancun Challenge Runner-Up
Record: 1-1

The Aces began their stay in Cancun with a thrilling 59-57 victory over the Fresno State Bulldogs of the Mountain West, paced by Ryan Taylor who also scored the winning basket. The shoe was on the other foot in the championship game vs C-USA foe Louisiana Tech as a late 3 sunk the Aces and claimed the championship for the Bulldogs.

Northern Iowa Panthers: Battle 4 Atlantis Runner-Up
Record 2-1

No, unlike the two MVC schools to be profiled next, the Panthers didn't win their tournament. Nevertheless, their performance was probably the most impressive of any MVC team, because it came against the toughest field. True to their identity, Northern Iowa gutted out two tough wins against SMU of the AAC  (61-58) and NCST of the ACC (64-60). Bennett Koch and Tywhon Pickford led the Panthers in round 1, along with a significant contribution off the bench from Spencer Haldeman, while the Panthers used a balanced attack led by an 18 point and 18 rebound performance from Pickford to take down the Wolfpack. Despite being only 6'4, Pickford averages an eye-popping 11 rebounds per game. In the Final against #5 Villanova, the difference in overall roster depth between the Panthers and the Wildcats proved key in Villanova's 64-50 victory. The win delivered the fifth consecutive November tournament title for Jay Wright's club and their second in the  Battle 4 Atlantis.

Loyola Ramblers and Valparaiso Crusaders: Savannah Invitational Co-Champions
Combined Record: 4-0

Realignment threw a wrench into this tournament's format as the Crusaders' move from the Horizon League to the Missouri Valley placed them in the same conference as the Ramblers, who made a similar transition four years prior. This precluded the two teams from playing each other this early in the season and forced the tournament to adopt a quasi round robin format whereby the two MVC representatives would each play Kent State from the MAC and UNC-Wilmington from the CAA. Both teams represented the Valley well and handled their business; as they each scored two victories in Savannah to run their records to 7-0 and claim the title of co-champion. The road through Savannah proved a bit easier and kinder to Loyola which defeated UNC-Wilmington 102-78 and followed that up by beating Kent State 75-60. Valpo for their part struggled offensively at times, but a strong defensive effort propelled the Crusaders to victory  77-67 over the Golden Flashes and 79-70 over the Seahawks. Both teams were represented on the all-tournament team and with tournament MVP honors, with Tevonn Walker of the Crusaders making the All-Tournament team, joined by Aundre Jackson of the Ramblers. MVP honors went to Valpo's Bakari Evelyn and Loyola's Donte Ingram. The success of the Valley's two newest members against common opponents  and their torrid start to the season only adds more intrigue as the season winds toward conference play and these two teams that couldn't play now, yet appear evenly matched, get two looks at each other to renew their rivalry. Their first meeting will be on January 21 at the ARC with the second following in Chicago on Valentine's Day.

[VULB#62]

Fantastic summation 1314!  Now it is on to the MVC/MWC challenge.