THE VALLEY (The Missouri Valley Conference) THREAD

McDermott scores 33, No. 23 Creighton beats Tulsa

Austin Chatman filled the scorer's role for Creighton until Doug McDermott could get going.

McDermott scored 21 of his 33 points in the second half to lead the 23rd-ranked Bluejays in an 82-72 victory over Tulsa on Saturday.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400499278

 

Baker paces No. 12 WSU in 90-72 rout of DePaul

Wichita State had been having trouble getting started, stumbling against overmatched teams such as William & Mary and Tennessee State before pulling away in the second half.

The Shockers didn't waste any time putting away DePaul on Monday night.

Led by 21 points from Ron Baker and 17 from Tekele Cotton, the No. 12 Shockers used a big first-half run to seize control. Wichita State coasted over the final 20 minutes to a 90-72 victory in the semifinals of the CBE Classic.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400499996

 

Ron Baker, No. 12 Wichita State edge BYU on free throws down stretch

Bodies were flying all over the floor. Bumps and bruises gave way to cuts and blood.

It was exactly the kind of game Wichita State loves to play.

Ron Baker took the biggest blow when he was walloped in the jaw by a flying elbow from a BYU player late in the second half, but the Shockers' star guard calmly made the free throws, spurring his team on to a 75-62 victory Tuesday night in the championship game of the CBE Classic.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400519538

 

No. 12 Wichita State holds on at Saint Louis

Plenty of times, Wichita State looked vulnerable. The Shockers stayed unbeaten by doing enough things right at the finish.

Ron Baker capped a nice overall game with the go-ahead basket after getting left unguarded on the baseline and Fred VanVleet had two free throws and an assist in the closing seconds as No. 12 Wichita State edged Saint Louis 70-65 on Sunday.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500006

 

Early, Lufile lead No. 11 Wichita St. past ORU

As Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall started recounting his team's first-half baskets Saturday, he suddenly stopped himself.

"It's really bad when you know exactly how you scored each basket in a half," Marshall said,

Indeed.

No. 11 Wichita State made only six field goals in the first-half against Oral Roberts and trailed by eight at halftime before storming back for 71-58 win Saturday night.

read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500015

 

Daishon Knight scores 20 as Illinois St. beats No. 25 Dayton

Daishon Knight had 20 points and six rebounds as Illinois State beat No. 25 Dayton 81-75 on Saturday night.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500012

 

No. 12 Wichita State holds off Tennessee to improve to 10-0

Midway through the second half Saturday, Tennessee was following dunks with dunks and holding No. 12 Wichita State without a field goal for nearly 6 minutes.

"I thought we were in good shape," Volunteers coach Cuonzo Martin said.

Then Wichita State's Tekele Cotton took over.

Cotton scored all 19 of his points in the second half, pushing Wichita State to a 70-61 victory.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500023

 

No. 11 Wichita State edges past Alabama to run record to 11-0

Cleanthony Early and Wichita State never ran out of answers for Alabama.

Early scored 26 points and Fred VanVleet made two free throws with 11 seconds left to lift the 11th-ranked Shockers to a 72-67 victory over the Crimson Tide on Tuesday night.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500028

 

No. 10 Wichita St. extends best start, rolls to 13-0

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall spent much of the week trying to convince his unbeaten, 10th-ranked Shockers that Davidson was much better than the 4-8 record it was bringing into Sunday's game.

The Wildcats would be facing their fifth ranked opponent and played much of the season without leading scorer De'Mon Brooks.

So Marshall was adamant he did not care a bit about style points after Wichita State outlasted Davidson 81-70 behind Cleanthony Early's 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500051

 

Fred VanVleet, No. 8 Wichita State handle Southern Illinois

Southern Illinois was inspired offensively by coach Barry Hinson's return to the bench following a death in the family, and the Salukis shot 54 percent.

It wasn't nearly good enough against No. 8 Wichita State.

Fred VanVleet had 17 points, seven assists, two steals and no turnovers, and the Shockers remained unbeaten behind 62 percent shooting, opening Missouri Valley Conference play with an 82-67 victory Thursday night.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500056

 

MVC Men's Basketball Notebook - Dec. 30


And It Begins
 The nation’s second oldest Division I athletic conference begins its 107th season of basketball on Jan. 1, with three conference games scheduled on New Year’s Day. By Sunday (Jan. 5), each league team will have played two MVC games.

Still Perfect
 Through games of Sunday, Dec. 29, a total of eight Division I teams are unbeaten:

13-0: Arizona, Ohio State, Wichita State, Wisconsin
12-0: Oregon, Syracuse, Toledo
11-0: Iowa State

Best Starts Ever
 Wichita State (13-0) will next look to extend a school record with a 14th victory to start a season when the Shockers open conference play at Southern Illinois. Counting WSU, a total of 18 MVC teams have started a season 13-0 or better; the last was Illinois State in 2008-09 (The Redbirds started 14-0 that year). Only 11 teams in the MVC’s 106-year history have started a season with 14 straight wins.

Perfect on Jan. 1 ... ?
 Since 1994-95 (the previous 19 seasons), there have been 114 total NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams that were unbeaten on Jan. 1. Notably ...
•90 of those 114 made the NCAA Tournament
•52 of those 90 teams reached the Sweet 16
•17 of those 52 reached the Final Four
•5 of those 17 won the national title

Picked Last, Great Start
 Drake has the league’s second-best RPI (71) and fourth-best non-conference schedule strength (143). Drake’s three losses have been at Saint Mary’s (by 4 points), to nationally ranked Iowa, and an overtime loss to New Mexico State. The Bulldogs were 3-1 on the road; the last time Drake won three road non-league games was during 2007-08 (when it went 28-5, won the league, and went to the NCAA Tournament).

Shockers at No. 7 This Week
 Wichita State is ranked No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 8 in the AP Poll this week (Dec. 30). The Shockers finished 2012-13 ranked No. 4 in the coaches poll but were not ranked in the final regular-season AP poll. Only five MVC teams have cracked the AP Top 10 in the past 20 years, and before this year (Dec. 23) Wichita State was the last to do it -- in 2006.

Valley of Doom?



For the first time in its history, Illinois State defeated a Big East school, a ranked school, and a Big Ten school in the same year. Wichita State’s resume includes two SEC wins and a Big East win. A list of key wins in 2013-14:

N17 -- Indiana State 83, #21 Notre Dame 70
N17 -- Illinois State 68, Northwestern 64
N25 -- Wichita State 90, DePaul 72
N29 -- Missouri State 73, Texas A&M 67
D7 -- Illinois State 81, #25 Dayton 75
D14 -- UNI 77, VCU 68
D14 -- Wichita State 70, Tennessee 61
D17 -- Wichita State 72, Alabama 67
D22 -- Illinois State 69, DePaul 64

http://www.mvc-sports.com/mbasketba...weekly-mvc-mens-basketball-notebook---dec-30/

 

No. 8 Wichita State beats Northern Iowa to reach 15-0

Wichita State forward Chadrack Lufile has almost grown bored with the Shockers' winning streak. Honest.

"I mean, at 5-0, we were talking about it," he said of the school-record start to the season, "but at this point of the season, we are just worried about these games. We're not comfortable at all. We know we can get better, and we know there's doubters."

Fred VanVleet scored a season-high 22 points and No. 8 Wichita State beat Northern Iowa 67-53 on Sunday as the unbeaten Shockers extended their winning streak to 15 games.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500060

 

No. 6 Wichita State stifles Illinois State, 66-47

After his team won its 14th straight game, Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall challenged his players to make vast improvements on defense.

Two games later, he will need to find something else to harp on. The sixth-ranked Shockers cruised past Illinois State 66-47 Wednesday night, holding the Redbirds to 32.7 percent shooting (18 of 55).

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500062

 

Down 19, Wichita State rallies to win in OT, stay perfect

The No. 6 Shockers needed a huge second-half rally to stay unbeaten.

Cleanthony Early had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Wichita State rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit, knocking off Missouri State 72-69 in overtime on Saturday night.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500070

 

No. 5 Wichita State beats Bradley 72-50

The stat that caught Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall's eye Tuesday night was minutes played.

Wichita State remains unbeaten with win over Bradley The SportsXchange
Wichita State 72, Bradley 50

Read more http://sports.yahoo.com/news/no-5-wichita-state-beats-031610510--ncaab.html

 

Marcus Marshall out indefinitely

Missouri State guard Marcus Marshall, the team's leading scorer, is out indefinitely after tearing the meniscus in his right knee during a weekend overtime loss to No. 5 Wichita State.

Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...ouri-state-guard-marcus-marshall-knee-surgery

 

MVC Men's Basketball Notebook - Jan. 6


And Then There Were Six
 Just six Division I teams remain perfect, through games of Jan. 5. At 15-0, Wichita State is tied with Arizona, Ohio State and Wisconsin for the nation’s best record:

Shockers at No. 6 This Week
 Wichita State is ranked No. 6 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the AP Poll this week (Jan. 6). The Shockers finished 2012-13 ranked No. 4 in the coaches poll but were not ranked in the final regular-season AP poll. Only five MVC teams have cracked the AP Top 10 in the past 20 years, and before this year (Dec. 23) Wichita State was the last to do it -- in 2006. The last MVC team to climb as high as No. 6 was Tulsa on Feb. 16, 1982.

MVC’s Top 10 (AP) Teams in Last 20 Years
J5, 2014 - No. 6 - Wichita State
D30, 2013 - No. 8 - Wichita State
D23, 2013 - No. 10 - Wichita State
D18, 2006 - No. 8 - Wichita State
D11, 2006 - No. 8 - Wichita State
D4, 2006 - No. 10 - Wichita State
J20, 2002 - No. 10 - Creighton
M4, 1986 - No. 9 - Bradley

Last 5 Years With an MVC Team in Top 5 (AP)
1981-82 -- Wichita State (highest rank at No. 2)
1978-79 - Indiana State (highest rank at No. 1)
1977-78 - Indiana State (highest rank at No. 4)
1974-75 - Louisville (highest rank at No. 2)
1972-73 - Louisville (highest rank at No. 4)

Welcome to the MVC
 Loyola University Chicago is the 33rd member all-time in the MVC, and the first from the city of Chicago. The Ramblers picked up their first MVC win on Sunday, Jan. 5, in their first ever home MVC game (against Missouri State). Here’s what the last five new MVC members did in their first seasons in the conference.

http://www.mvc-sports.com/mbasketball/news/2013-14/7085/weekly-mens-basketball-notebook---jan-6/

 

No. 5 Wichita State wins easily to hit 19-0

Midway through the second half Wichita State guard Ron Baker senses the expected battle for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference was not going to happen.

As the fifth-ranked Shockers kept adding to their lead and Indiana State appeared to become more frustrated, the eventual 68-48 blowout seemed inevitable.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500078

 

Cleanthony Early scored 23 points as No. 5 Wichita St. improves to 20-0

Cleanthony Early and No. 5 Wichita State now have something else in common with Larry Bird's Indiana State team.

Wichita State beat Illinois State 70-55 to remain unbeaten, along with No. 1 Arizona and No. 2 Syracuse.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500084

 

No. 5 Wichita State moves to 21-0 with rout

Wichita State soared past yet another overwhelmed Missouri Valley Conference opponent on Saturday night.

Now the Shockers could be in line for another leap in the national polls.

Cleanthony Early scored 19 points, Ron Baker added 14 and fifth-ranked Wichita State stayed perfect with a 78-61 win over Drake.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400500090