MVC Hoops: 2017-18

[VU2014]

Wonder who the 12th is

Belmont please. I'd like the conference to remain a 50-50 Public-Private split.

[VUGrad1314]

Hope one of the private schools (Belmont or SLU) comes to their senses but I feel increasingly certain that #12 will be a public school from the Horizon League (Milwaukee or Northern Kentucky Probably Milwaukee).

[wh]

Hope one of the private schools (Belmont or SLU) comes to their senses but I feel increasingly certain that #12 will be a public school from the Horizon League (Milwaukee or Northern Kentucky Probably Milwaukee).

If the MVC operates on the premise that promotions should be earned, Milwaukee has no chance.

[VUGrad1314]

Hope one of the private schools (Belmont or SLU) comes to their senses but I feel increasingly certain that #12 will be a public school from the Horizon League (Milwaukee or Northern Kentucky Probably Milwaukee).

If the MVC operates on the premise that promotions should be earned, Milwaukee has no chance.

They don't though (see: Loyola) Milwaukee offers many of the same potential draws as Loyola. And if Belmont and SLU keep saying no what's the conference to do?

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/Catch_N_Shoot/status/946083247452250112

[valpotx]

It looks like the MVC is going to hold steady at #8 in the conference RPI rankings, as we held a 0.010 lead over the MWC for the better part of a month, but are now increasing that lead.

[VUGrad1314]

https://twitter.com/FatherHarry1/status/948999136757641218

[VUGrad1314]

Here's the article. Some key points:

Murray State has to be a frontrunner Commissioner Elgin stated that Murray State felt like an MVC institution and even had the support of some of the coaches.

Basketball success is a driving factor but so are academics

11 teams is a no-go Any expansion will be to 12 teams

Expansion process will be slow methodical and well thought out Not necessarily taking effect next year

Possibility of not expanding at all exists but is unlikely

SLU NOT mentioned as viable option

Public\Private split purported to be important to commissioner Elgin but not listed as important factor in article

Geography and proximity to  St Louis matter For conference tournament and missed class time purposes

Market size is important but not as much as you might think

Schools with easy air travel options will be considered

Teams mentioned in article: Milwaukee NKU Belmont  UT-Arlington Denver  Grand Canyon South Dakota State  Oakland SEMO I assume there are even more schools not mentioned here that are under consideration and that this list is not exhaustive. I think UT-Arlington is a name to watch here.

http://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/whats-next-on-mvc-expansion/

Personally although Arlington and GCU are appealing I'm all for just keeping it simple: Murray and Belmont and if Belmont says no take NKU and call it a day.

[VUGrad1314]

Missouri State and Northern Iowa play tonight at 8:00CT on CBSSN If anyone's interested in watching them.

[FieldGoodie05]

Missouri State and Northern Iowa play tonight at 7:00CT on CBSSN If anyone's interested in watching them.

Glad you posted, I'm tuning in.  Shows 8PM CT though?

[VUGrad1314]

My mistake. It's 8

[VU2014]

UNI is pulling a Valpo on offense...
https://twitter.com/ValleyHoops/status/949113301837012993

[VUGrad1314]

Alize Johnson is incredible. I feel a lot less bad about the beating the Bears handed us on New Year's Eve. They look like they're going to do that to a lot of teams in this conference. This game also shows what a brutally physical league the MVC is. You need to bring your physicality and your defensive intensity every single night or you're gonna get whupped.

[EddieCabot]

Alize Johnson is incredible. I feel a lot less bad about the beating the Bears handed us on New Year's Eve. They look like they're going to do that to a lot of teams in this conference. This game also shows what a brutally physical league the MVC is. You need to bring your physicality and your defensive intensity every single night or you're gonna get whupped.

After seeing MSU handle UNI like this, I'm thinking a sweep against UNI looks pretty probable. 

[talksalot]

62-55 the final out of Springfield...

[VUGrad1314]

This game was a good one for us all to watch for perspective. I'm glad I did:

The dismantling by Missouri State had much more to do with how good Missouri State is than how bad Valpo is.
Even the preseason darlings have thrown up some clunkers (Loyola UNI Illinois State)
Any team in this league is capable of beating anyone else every night
Teams like Indiana State are better than most gave them credit for
0-3 sucks but we have plenty of company there and something in me doubts we'll be the last MVC team with a bagel in the win column
This really is a baptism by fire for these freshman and sophomores. They'll adjust as the season goes on and for next season (they need to)
I know moral victories don't count for much but we really aren't that far from being  2-1. The wins will come. I think we can beat Southern Illinois.
As good as Drake has looked I wouldn't be surprised if we handed them a loss

I know that this is a huge departure from my posts usually. I'm passionate, emotional and wear my heart on my sleeve. So I say a lot of things when I'm fired up. But sometimes it's good on an off day to watch the competition and get a feel for how good they are. You might learn as I did that a lot of our struggles have more to do with the strength of the league and aren't the product of a letdown by the program. I'll be there Saturday and next Tuesday and I hope many of you will be as well. Keep packing the ARC. The wins will come and I believe they'll start to come soon. If there's one thing I've always believed was true that Coach Lottich said it's this: We're going to be a good tough team come March. Go Valpo!

[VUGrad1314]

All teams in top 165 All on the + of AdjEM Just beautiful numbers
https://kenpom.com/

[valpotx]

UT-Arlington needs to quit being mentioned as an expansion candidate.  They are completely irrelevant in DFW.  The MVC will not gain relevance in TX, just because they bring in UTA.

[VUGrad1314]

Here are some of my thoughts on MVC expansion taken from some of my posts on MVCFans:

Maybe Belmont was just playing it cool and just wanted to see how we'd adjust post-Wichita and now they like what they see and want to join. I say keep it simple: Murray and Belmont and if Belmont says no add NKU.

I would be absolutely shocked if Murray State got left at the altar after how intense the courtship between them and the MVC got last year. The article even took time to mention that Murray State "fel like an MVC Institution" and even had the support of some MVC Coaches. Schools are always going to choose a school closer to their footprint than schools further away especially if that school would be isolated. Plus the further you stray from your footprint the more likely it is that a school gets poached. Murray State is already in at #11. Accept it. Embrace it. It's going to happen. I think it'll be between Belmont NKU and Milwaukee for the 12th spot. Quite frankly, that wouldn't make for a bad 14 team league if they were all on board. For all their warts Milwaukee is rising and would be a great upside addition to gamble on amid multiple quality additions.

SEMO and Denver are barftacular. SDSU GCU Oakland and UT-Arlington just don't make sense without another team The article spoke about Murray State as though they were a frontrunner. If they wanted Milwaukee they could have just taken them. This is between Belmont and Northern Kentucky. I take this article as a sign that Belmont may be coming around or that they are beginning to take NKU seriously, Either outcome is brilliant for the MVC.

I'll believe the notion that the MVC is considering the membership of far-flung teams accessible by airports or just one Dakota school when GCU UT-Arlington or SDSU join the conference Until then I'm going to assume that geography matters as much as academics and basketball and that this is a four horse race between Murray State (the frontrunner) Belmont Northern Kentucky and Milwaukee. If they really wanted Milwaukee we'd be at 12 already. This is all a ploy to shake Belmont loose (hence the reason public private split wasn't mentioned. They are perfectly content as they should be to take Northern Kentucky as #12 and call it a day. They just want to give Belmont one final chance to come to their senses. Frankly they should take site visits to both if it gets to that point and if you like NKU too and both are interested take a 14th team (Milwaukee or UIC). At that point it really wouldn't matter who you add as long as it makes geographic sense. I'd probably go for the new market although UIC would be a boon to everything but hoops and might mean even greater broadcast presence in Chicago.

[valpopal]

Here are some of my thoughts on MVC expansion taken from some of my posts on MVCFans:

Maybe Belmont was just playing it cool and just wanted to see how we'd adjust post-Wichita and now they like what they see and want to join. I say keep it simple: Murray and Belmont and if Belmont says no add NKU.

I would be absolutely shocked if Murray State got left at the altar after how intense the courtship between them and the MVC got last year. The article even took time to mention that Murray State "fel like an MVC Institution" and even had the support of some MVC Coaches. Schools are always going to choose a school closer to their footprint than schools further away especially if that school would be isolated. Plus the further you stray from your footprint the more likely it is that a school gets poached. Murray State is already in at #11. Accept it. Embrace it. It's going to happen. I think it'll be between Belmont NKU and Milwaukee for the 12th spot. Quite frankly, that wouldn't make for a bad 14 team league if they were all on board. For all their warts Milwaukee is rising and would be a great upside addition to gamble on amid multiple quality additions.

SEMO and Denver are barftacular. SDSU GCU Oakland and UT-Arlington just don't make sense without another team The article spoke about Murray State as though they were a frontrunner. If they wanted Milwaukee they could have just taken them. This is between Belmont and Northern Kentucky. I take this article as a sign that Belmont may be coming around or that they are beginning to take NKU seriously, Either outcome is brilliant for the MVC.

I'll believe the notion that the MVC is considering the membership of far-flung teams accessible by airports or just one Dakota school when GCU UT-Arlington or SDSU join the conference Until then I'm going to assume that geography matters as much as academics and basketball and that this is a four horse race between Murray State (the frontrunner) Belmont Northern Kentucky and Milwaukee. If they really wanted Milwaukee we'd be at 12 already. This is all a ploy to shake Belmont loose (hence the reason public private split wasn't mentioned. They are perfectly content as they should be to take Northern Kentucky as #12 and call it a day. They just want to give Belmont one final chance to come to their senses. Frankly they should take site visits to both if it gets to that point and if you like NKU too and both are interested take a 14th team (Milwaukee or UIC). At that point it really wouldn't matter who you add as long as it makes geographic sense. I'd probably go for the new market although UIC would be a boon to everything but hoops and might mean even greater broadcast presence in Chicago.

This exactly reflects my thinking as well. 

[VU2014]

Yikes. The MVC down all the way at #18 in the ranking. 4–20 record for Adj. Eff. During Specific Periods vs. top teams.

http://barttorvik.com/trankslice.php?year=2018&sort=&conlimit=All&conyes=1&begin=20171101&end=20180501&top=&quad=1&mingames=3&venue=All&type=N

https://twitter.com/totally_t_bomb/status/949379168957030401

[a3uge]

Yikes. The MVC down all the way at #18 in the ranking. 4–20 record for Adj. Eff. During Specific Periods vs. top teams.

http://barttorvik.com/trankslice.php?year=2018&sort=&conlimit=All&conyes=1&begin=20171101&end=20180501&top=&quad=1&mingames=3&venue=All&type=N

https://twitter.com/totally_t_bomb/status/949379168957030401

Every night I go to bed worried about our conference's Adj. Eff. During Specific Periods vs. top teams (adj. for venue) Minimum 3 games ranking.

[FieldGoodie05]

Yikes. The MVC down all the way at #18 in the ranking. 4–20 record for Adj. Eff. During Specific Periods vs. top teams.

http://barttorvik.com/trankslice.php?year=2018&sort=&conlimit=All&conyes=1&begin=20171101&end=20180501&top=&quad=1&mingames=3&venue=All&type=N

https://twitter.com/totally_t_bomb/status/949379168957030401

Every night I go to bed worried about our conference's Adj. Eff. During Specific Periods vs. top teams (adj. for venue) Minimum 3 games ranking.

Boom. Face!

[VULB#62]

Me too a3uge.  BTW, anyone notice Drake is 4-0 going into our game with them this coming week?

[a3uge]

Me too a3uge.  BTW, anyone notice Drake is 4-0 going into our game with them this coming week?

The conference winner is going to be 9-7 in the regular season and end up with at least a 13 seed. That's pretty amazing since we won the conference easily in 2014 and got a 13, whereas the 3-10 teams would be 15 seeds at best.