The MVC non-conference schedule is now fully completed, and a number of question marks about the relative strength of the Valley have been sorted out. There have been a few pleasant surprises in the league and a couple of disappointments—especially for Loyola fans.
The MVC wraps up non-con play as the 11th strongest conference in men’s basketball, ranked just below the new American Athletic Conference (composed mostly of the football-playing former members of the Big East) and the Mountain West. The MVC comes in just ahead of the Mid-American– having an exceptionally strong year with 11-0 Toledo—and the Horizon League ranked at 13th.
If not for a few of Loyola’s epic 2nd half double-digit collapses, the MVC might have squeezed into the top 10 in Conference RPI strength. The Ramblers had double-digit leads well into the second half against Tennessee Tech, Tulane, Portland State, and Northern Illinois. There were also overtime losses to UC Davis and Mississippi State. If Loyola could have held on in half of those six excruciating losses, the Ramblers could have finished non-con play with an RPI around 200, instead of a dismal 318—second lowest in the MVC. But the long anticipated conference season begins on January 1, and offers the Ramblers an opportunity to show they belong in their first year in the Missouri Valley.
