Evansville (6-12,0-8) @ Bradley (9-9,4-4)
Carver Arena
Peoria, Ill. 2:05 CT
TV: NONE
The Braves will be looking to continue their success after a 57-55 win in Carbondale for the first time since 2001. Bradley was able to bring both their conference and overall records to .500 for the year and is hoping to keep it on the upswing. Thanks to a season-best 21 points from Sam Maniscalco, Bradley snapped an eight games losing skid in Carbondale. They should not have much of an issue, as they will play host this afternoon to an Evansville that has pretty much locked up their reservations for Thursday night in St. Louis.
The Purple Aces were picked at the start of the season to end up at the bottom of the Valley this season, and so far they have not disappointed. With their most recent loss coming at the hands of the Drake Bulldogs, it just seems that Evansville can not put together an entire game. They have had a few games that were closer than the others, but I do not envision this one to be close. Look for Bradley to make a statement in this one, as it could get ugly.
– Paul Liberty
Wichita State (17-3, 6-2) @ Drake (9-11, 4-4)
Knapp Center
Des Moines, IA 1:05 CT
TV – ESPNU
Drake isn’t the same team as it was when the two first met. In Wichita the Bulldogs were blown out, 61-38, which included a 26-5 run to end the game. Drake went on to lose two more games after that and then wwon four in a row. Adam Templeton is averaging 17.3 ppg during the streak. Josh Young has also provided the Bulldogs with a lift. He’s climbing high on the all-time Drake scoring list. He moved into fifth against Evansville and is just four points from fourth place.
Wichita State picked up a nice win at home against UNI to keep their hopes of a regular season title within reach. They can’t look ahead on the calendar with Illinois State (currently in third place) coming to Wichita on Wednesday. The Shocker defense will be challenged today. The Bulldogs have gotten off to hot starts from the field in home games against Missouri State and Illinois State.
– Panon
Illinois State (14-5, 5-3) @ Southern Illinois (10-7, 3-5)
SIU Arena
Carbondale, IL 2:05
TV – Comcast-Bloomington
Good news for Saluki fans, Gene Teague is academic eligible to play today. The bad news, he’ll be one of the Salukis trying to guard Dinma Odiakosa. We all saw Kenny Lawson having a tough time here and there against him. The Salukis are in need of a big win against an in-state rival. As we hit the halfway mark of the conference season this weekend, SIU may be looking to play a dreaded Thursday night game in St. Louis, something (along with a down CU squad) that may effect the overall attendance at the tournament.
Illinois State rebounded from their loss at Drake with a home win against Creighton. Coach Jankovich needs a way get his team off to a good start or anything better than what he’s seen the last two games. At Drake, they were down 20 at half and lost by 10. Against the Jays, they turned a 10-point halftime deficit into a 9-point win. Freshman Justin Clark had a career-high 13 points against the Jays. Is that the freshman’s breakout game? We’ll see how he responds today.
– Panon
