UNI (18-2,9-1) @ Missouri State (15-6,5-5)
JHQ Arena
Springfield, MO. 2:05 CT
TV: NONE
Despite their loss to the Shockers last weekend, the Panther’s from UNI were able to keep their top 25 ranking for at least another week as they now sit at #25. UNI was able to get back to their winning ways with a victory over Drake in Cedar Falls which they hope is the start of another winning steak. They should be in good shape in their quest to make it two in a row as they will travel down to Springfield, MO to face the struggling Missouri State Bears.
It has been a bit of an up and down week for the Bears; as they were unable to put away our beloved Bluejays, and then faced the “guaranteed w” Purple Aces of Evansville. The Bears have a ton of potential on a very young and talented team, and should be a force in the next few years, but this may be one of those rebuilding years. I would love to call the upset this afternoon, but I just don’t see it happening, as the Panthers should win this battle, but it may be close.
– Paul Liberty
Bradley (5-5) @ Illinois State (5-5)
Redbird Arena
Normal, Ill. 4:35 CT
TV: FSN
If I was an ESPN name guy, I may call this one “Separation Saturday” in the MVC as this match up will have two of the teams currently in the cluster of schools holding a 5-5 conference record. This game could go a long way for either school to emerge out of the pack as a solid fourth place team. Bradley is coming off a tough home loss to a Creighton team that had many watching with the loss of P’Allen. The Bluejays were too much for the Braves as a freshman, Josh Jones, made that his coming out party. The Braves will hit the road this afternoon as they head out to face in state rival Illinois State.
The Redbirds will be looking to bounce back after a tough loss at Wichita, where it seemed like they may have been able to crack the code and hand the Shockers their first home loss. Unfortunately, they were not able to handle the environment or the Shockers and ended up fall 74-66. The loss not only allowed WSU to separate themselves a bit from the rest of the field, but put the Redbirds in a large group of 5-5 squads looking to break out.
This game is a huge rivalry for each team, and when it comes to games like that, I tend to throw the records out and look for a hard fought game from both sides. I am going to have to home with the home squad in a tight one.
– Paul Liberty