Tier Three
Three of the bottom four teams lost their home openers in MVC play. Evansville, Valparaiso and Missouri State were victimized on their home court and find themselves in tier three.
No. 12 - Evansville – 3-6 (0-1)
The Purple Aces are twelfth in three of four key Valley statistical categories. While Pozzato is the league’s fourth leading scorer and teammate Cam Haffner is fifth (15.6), the Aces are the lowest scoring MVC team. UE is a league worst in three-point-percentage (.299) and rebound margin (-3.22).
Tanner Cuff is the Valley’s top assist/turnover-ratio (4.83) and the Aces lead the league in blocked shots (4.9 per game).
No. 11 - Valparaiso – 4-4 (0-1)
The Beacons are playing this season without last year’s leading scorer, Isaiah Stafford. That is an obvious blow and the ripple effect has been significant. Opponents can lock in on the league’s reigning ‘Freshman of the Year’ Cooper Schwieger. No Valpo player is ranked among the league’s top-20 in scoring.
While Schwieger continues to rebound at a high level (7.6 per game), his three point shooting is way down (.207) and his scoring is still a respectable 11.5 points-per-game.
Valpo has four players averaging double-digits in scoring and gave Drake all they could handle during a six-point defeat. However, their four wins consist of three wins over teams with over 300 rankings at kenpom.com and one over a sub-D1 team.
No. 10 – Missouri State – 5-4 (0-1)
Both the Bears and our ninth ranked Illinois Chicago teams have scheduled well and have been truly competitive against pretty good competition, but the Bears’ loss to Indiana State at home drops them into this lowest tier.
We ranked them twelfth during the preseason power rankings. This team may still make plenty of noise during the regular season. Cuonzo Martin’s team has explosive players in White, Vincent Brady (14.1 ppg) and outstanding rebounders in Hampton and Osei-Bonsu but lack a true ‘quarterback’ and rank last in the Valley in assists and assist/turnover ratio.
No. 9 – Southern Illinois – 4-6 (0-1)
SIU’s metrics are better than some other more highly rated Valley teams but losing by 23 points at home to Bradley and noting that two of their wins are over sub D1 teams, they can be no better than ninth.
The Salukis are tenth in the twelve team Valley in scoring, defense and three-point-percentage. First year coach Scott Nagy has been vocal about his team’s lack of defensive efficiency. The Egyptian Dawgs are eleventh in stopping the three-point basket.
There are bright spots. Sophomore Kennard Davis is having a breakout season. The 6’4 guard is leads the Valley in steals (2.4 per game) and is sixth in scoring (14.8 ppg). Newcomer Ali Dibba is seventh (14.5).
The season-ending injury to Elijah Elliott was a huge blow. The senior guard was averaging 14 points per game when a knee injury ended his campaign. SIU is still looking for someone to quarterback the offense. Sheridan Sharp has recently returned to the lineup and could become that player.