Around the Valley

[01grad]

Bradley is absolutely imploding, losing to Illinois State (again) tonight.

Their last two games are against Drake. Which presents a potential nightmare scenario for the MVC: all the Bradley suspended players are reinstated before next weekend, they pull out a win against Drake (ruining Drake’s at large resume), and then pull off an upset or two in the tournament.

I didn’t think I could dislike Bradley more than I already do, but that would do it.

[ToledoRambler]

I need someone to tell what to root for. My priorities, in order, are:

1. Loyola Regular season title;
2. Loyola 1 seed in arch madness;
3. Loyola At large bid.
4. 2 teams from the valley go to the tournament.

If I was in Drake both went out, we will each be 16-2. I was under the impression that the NET ranking was the tiebreaker (which would be us). Now I’m seeing it’s some convoluted common opponent in descending order (which I think would be drake since we lost to ISUb). Can someone give me a definitive answer who gets the 1 seed if we both went out?

My instinct is to root for drake to go 3–1. Is that correct ?

[Chiguy14]

I think we need to add in Loyola getting a favorable seeding for the NCAA tournament. I DO NOT want to be playing Gonzaga in the second round like Andy Katz is predicting.

[ramblermgr9599]

This article thought we were still hosting Indiana St yesterday as the first Valley scheduled called for!
https://www.oaoa.com/sports/indiana-st- ... l?mode=jqm

[ToledoRambler]

Obviously the 8 or 9 would not be great for us, but despite what the “bracketologists” say, I don’t think we get higher than a 10 seed no matter what

[ToledoRambler]

With that being said... after watching the Ohio State Vs. Michigan game... I think we would match up decent with Ohio State. If OSU got a 1 seed, I would not hate being in their bracket .... Gonzaga or Baylor is another story

[WestCoastFan]

I need someone to tell what to root for. My priorities, in order, are:

1. Loyola Regular season title;
2. Loyola 1 seed in arch madness;
3. Loyola At large bid.
4. 2 teams from the valley go to the tournament.

For 1 and 2, root for Drake to lose 1 game. As I understand it, Drake owns the tiebreaker due to the convoluted formula.

For 3, root for Richmond, North Texas, and Wisconsin obviously. That makes the nonconference schedule stronger. If Richmond finishes strong, that loss might bump from Q2 to Q1. They're currently 59 and getting in the top 50 makes that a Q1 game. Also, root for Missouri St. They're currently 84 in the NET, but if they can get to 75, those 2 wins move from Q2 to Q1.

Other than that, the rest of the MVC games are more or less a wash in my mind.

[swellafelon]

Drake guard Roman Penn sustained a non-contact injury to his left ankle/foot yesterday in their win against Evansville.

I watched the video and it didn't look good. He was driving to the lane by the top of the key and just yelled out in pain and began hopping forward on his right foot while keeping his left elevated. He didn't roll his ankle or even plant his foot to make a cut; he was more or less just running a straight line. Eerily similar to Hemphill's injury.

Penn to visit doctors today.

[Mudville21]

Hmm. I have seen guys who have torn their Achilles tendon and this could be what happened to Penn. It was a noncontact injury and it is extremely painful when it happens. I did not see his injury, I tuned in late. I happened to see him when the telecast cut over to the sideline and showed him. He seemed devastated. With him and Hemphill out, it will really hurt Drake's chances in their last three games and Arch Madness. I do not know if you can count on a guard scoring 30 on 12-14 shooting everyday to wins games.

I think there are a lot of pollsters and people that may not think Drake was as good as their record and this won't help them.

[Dansen]

According to Drake’s Twitter account, Penn is out for the year. Brutal loss, feel bad for Drake. Such a good player.