Missouri State (12-1, 2-0) @ Northern Iowa (11-1, 2-0)
McLeod Center
Cedar Falls, Iowa 1:05 PM CT
TV: Mediacom-Missouri & KWWL
Creighton and Northern Iowa played on Tuesday as the top 2 team from the preseason poll. Based on the non-conference records and the way these two teams are playing now, two of the hottest teams meet in Cedar Falls in what could be a preview of the Valley championship in St. Louis. Northern Iowa now owns the 5th longest win streak in the nation at 10 games trailing Kentucky, Purdue, Kansas and Texas (who happen to be the four remaining teams yet to suffer a loss). Entering the Creighton game, UNI was shooting 65% from the line when they came to Omaha. After a 19-21 performance against the Jays, they followed it up against Evansville with a 16-16 game in a win over Evansville at home. They are a veteran team and make them when they count.
Missouri State got a big win at home on Friday against Illinois State. Less than two days later they travel to Cedar Falls. With the quick turn around, will Coach Martin have enough time to get his team prepared. What a difference a year makes. If they win today, they’ll get their third conference win of the season which will equal their win total from last season. Coach Martin is right up there when talking about the mid-season coach of the year in the Valley.
– Panon
Indiana State (9-4, 1-1) @ Drake (5-9, 0-2)
Knapp Center
Des Moines, Iowa 6:05 PM CT
Des Moines can’t complain that Drake games are too expensive. What a deal on Sunday Drake is giving fans. Tickets are $1 as well as pop and popcorn. We have all heard the saying “you get what you pay for.” This may hold true today. Drake has yet to win a conference game in two attempts. They shot 23% in a loss against Wichita State while only scoring 38 points. Give some credit to WSU’s defense and a hostile Koch Arena. They will have to regroup here against a Jake Kelly-less Indiana State team.
Indiana State is coming off a big win against Creighton. They can’t overlook the Bulldogs. Rashad Reed picked up the slack with the loss of Jake Kelly. Reed scored 18 and fellow backcourt mates Harry Marshall (10) and Dwayne Lathan (13) gave Reed enough help to get past the Bluejays. Those three are showing they are as good of a backcourt as we have in the league. They can’t have a let down on Sunday when trying to improve to 2-1 early in the conference season.
– Panon
Bradley (6-6,1-1) @ Wichita State (12-2, 1-1)
Koch Arena
Wichita, KS 2:05 CT Cox-Kansas/Comcast-Illinois
Well, it didn’t take long for Gregg Marshall and his team to bounce back from their loss to Illinois State, as they put a whooping on Drake 61-38 on New Years day. This team is good, and they will be a force to be reckon with all season long. They should have a pretty easy job today, as they will play host to a struggling Bradley Braves squad.
After a heartbreaking loss to Southern Illinois, the Braves will have a tough task with a hostile Shocker crowd on top of them all afternoon. Jim Less has had some issues getting his team to play consistent basketball this season, and will need a miracle to pull out a win this afternoon. I like the home team in this one and wouldn’t be surprised if WSU had another nine game win streak in their sights.
– Paul Liberty
Southern Illinois (9-2,2-0) @ Illinois State (10-3,1-1)
Redbird Arena
Normal, Ill. 7:00 CT ESPNU
Illinois State hit another bump in the road as they entered the new year, and theat bump was the Bears of Missouri State. The surprise team of the year was able to play a tough game against Illinois State who was coming off a solid win over WSU. With the nation watching, the Redbirds will need to refocus, as they will host another hot Valley team in SIU.
The Salukis, now 2-0 in Valley play, should be able to give the Redbirds all they can handle, as they will look to continue their 6 game winning streak in a very hostile arena. This one should be a good one, and similar to the previous post, I like the home team again.
– Paul Liberty