Missouri Valley Basketball: Injury updates for Demarcus Sharp, Mark Freeman

Covid Winding Down & Injuries Mounting Up?

Several Missouri Valley Basketball teams are dealing with typical mid-season injury issues and all ten Valley squads are on high alert related to the omicron variant of the Coronavirus. Our Missouri Valley Conference injury updates involve both ‘normal’ difficulties and pandemic problems.

Injuries are a part of sports and how teams navigate the loss of key players for periods of time determines their ability to succeed. When you add the unpredictability of the Coronavirus to the equation, Missouri Valley Conference coaches need medical degrees, psychological skills, and prophetic gifts.

Last year Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois had their whole seasons derailed by injuries to their respective star players. Drake’s post-season was mangled by the loss of two key starters. Covid stoppages were a part of every teams’ press release and somehow the MVC managed to play all 90 of its conference games, only to have UNI’s visit to Arch Madness cut short due to covid-related issues.

Indiana State was dealt the same kind of blow when the program’s sixth all-time leading scorer Tyreke Key’s shoulder problems made it impossible for him to play this season.

It appears we may have hit the peak of the omicron surge of the Coronavirus, but that remains to be seen. This could be the first week of the Valley’s conference season that is unaffected by the virus. Our fingers are crossed.

But who is injured and how does that affect each team’s chances for conference success? There are very significant players missing time with injuries and others playing at a diminished capacity due to lingering physical struggles.