Valpo beat Cedarville (D2) today 83-79.  

Last year Cedarville lost their exhibition by 34 points to Dayton. Not an encouraging start for Valpo.

Drakey

Yikes, Cedarville is not a D2 powerhouse. That bodes very badly for Valpo. 

Valpo had plenty of injuries last year.  Maybe, like Drake, the top players sat this one out and Valpo just doesn't have the depth.


DP

Evansville beat Miami (Ohio) 78-74 tonight
Evansville projected 12th in the Valley and 315th according to SI's preseason rankings, Miami (Ohio) projected 10th in the MAC and 276th by SI

Kenny Strawbridge Jr looks like a legit player for Evansville, got a couple other guys that look really long and athletic. Some questionable shot selection and decision-making by both teams down the stretch. 

--- Forever True Blue

Saw Belmont won on a last second shot v Ohio. Ohio made a 3 pointer with 1.4 seconds left to take the lead and Belmont hit a three at the buzzer.

Drakey

- https://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=34976504

I watched the second half and Belmont has 2 talented freshman. Tyson is the kid who hit the game winning 3 and he was impressive.  Honestly reminds me a bit of Tucker as for as skill set with less of handle.  Best part of the win was the play to get the ball to half court in order to set up the winning shot.  Makes me even more excited to make the trip to Nashville for the game!

A few years ago, me and the Mrs. were in Nashville, and I got to sing a few bars of Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain on the Grand Ol’ Opry stage. Highlight of my life.

You could have been a contender.

Drakey

Nice win for SIU tonight, 61-60 @ Oklahoma State

BIG WIN for SIU and the Valley!!!  OSU expected to finish 7th in conference was 34th in Kenpom and were favored by about nine against the 84th Kenpom ranked Saluki squad.

Lance Jones was awesome in the second half!  From behind the three... was taking each Cowboy defender one-on-one to the hoop.  I think he finished with 19.

OSU is awful offensively.  SIU's 6'10 Center, Scottie Ebube, who played high school ball with Conor, broke his finger, yesterday, and did not play.

GO VALLEY!!!!


DP

I know it’s a long ways away but arch madness is going to be good this year. The Drake SIU game last year in the tournament was extremely physical. They’re going to be a problem this year.

I only watched the last three minutes of the SIU/OKST game, but when I saw SIU have three empty possessions I thought they were toast. Made enough stops, got the fourth possession to get something, and there you have it.
When one of their guys missed the front end of some free throws that could have got them up 2 or 3, I also thought they were toast.
Not toast!

I think what makes DU (The University of Drake)  and SIU (THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS)  so special for this year is that both schools were able to keep their top players. There is a 4-5 year history with these guys.  Drake we know, but Domask and Jones are great leaders for their team. The other programs in the Valley, overall, saw top players pretty much jumped ship. Credit to Mullins and DeVries.

I understand OSU isn't Kansas.  However, the Cowboys are the type of school that will get an invite to the dance because they play (and lose) teams with an inflated NET.  This is a big win for the Valley since they get few opportunities against POWER5.  OSU will probably finish 7-10 in the BIG10, I mean BIG12.  Still, they might catch a top team on an off night and OSU players might hit a free throw (8-16) and get a victory. They dropped to 84 in KENPOM.  Sorry, they are still ranked too high.
The broken finger to Ebube is huge. Out six to eight weeks!  SIU was crushed on the boards and still one.  A healthy Saluki team?  One could argue they would have won by double digits.

Drakenoation mentions how Samake might not be available this year.   A reminder, this is huge for Drake.  We saw some real progress in the kid.  He didn't have to be a scorer, but a solid body in the paint, who can run the court, and give a foul prone Brodie time on the bench.  I'm loving the way Brodie is running the floor and how might be taking some yoga classes.  Northweather is a nice start, but, like any big, he will need time to develop.














DP

So four Valley teams play tonight and all Four are underdogs by at least 6.5 points. Be nice to get a couple of upsets.

+1

Some good reality tests!


DP

Terrible results.

Drakey

Even prior to injuries, reality bites for half of the Valley.  


 


DP

With 8:25 remaining in the first half.... St Louis 28  14 Evansville
HALFTIME>>......................................St Louis  37  39 Evansville


Aces are well coached!  Eye test tells me they are going to be better than ILL ST.


DP