My two cents worth

[UNI92]

A couple things to share after reading the posts the past 24 hours.

1) I think that we got a great draw in playing MSU. Other than Wichita or SIU, there is no other team I'd rather play. I think that we match up well with them. I would rather play them right now than Bradley. Who is this tourney would want any part of Bradley right now? We also miss Creighton, who seem to have our number.

2) This team is very capable of running the table in the MVC Tourney. Is it going to happen? Doubtful. But these guys seem to play their best when they are a wounded animal in a corner.

3) With that said below, given the right seed and matchup in the NCAA tourney, this team could do some serious damage. Even if we got a 10-12 seed, who the hell would want to play one of MAC's team after having a solid week to prepare and being rested?

4) I think that we will still get in the tourney regardless of what happens in STL. My reasoning? No team since 1999 has missed the field with an RPI at 30. The closest miss was MSU with 34. Our resume is still pretty good and the whole season does matter.

5) With that being said, our biggest challenges for the selection committee may be our own MVC league members. The million dollar question will be how many MVC teams will they take? Last night on Sports Center, Alex Van Pelt brought up the MVC standings and said something like "6 teams vying for a spot in the Big Dance...I better keep my mouth shut!" Obviously some East Coast bias. I think 6 teams have a legitimate case and if Bradley wins the tourney, then who are you going to leave out? Creighton?? (They beat us twice and have a good RPI and tournament history) Wichita? No way.. SIU.Maybe..MSU..Maybe UNI..Maybe

6) This is the year for the Valley to put up or shut up in the dance. With most of the teams returning a lot next year and with the league's popularity growing, it is imperative that the league makes some noise in the tourney.

7) Let's leave Brooks out of the bashing department. It's not cool to slam amateur athletes. He is still a college kid, not a pro athlete. I'm sure that going through this situation has not been a lot of fun for him, but I'm sure it will make him stronger in the long run. Let's get behind everyone and support them all. We win as a team and lose as a team. It is not one player's fault.

Winning cures everything doesn't it! Let's do it in STL!!!

[Mudrafan]

hibernation

have you been in hibernation these last three weeks? Getting Miss St is the worst draw outside of Bradley. We lose & it's hello NIT.

[UNI92]

No, have you been in hibernation?

MSU beat us when we played terribly and with Crawford playing about 10 minutes (first game back from the leg injury). We handled them easily at their place earlier in the year. They play a 4 guard rotation that matches up well with us.
So what if they are hot, we match up well with them.

Would you rather play Creighton who has beaten us the last 7 out of 8 times or Bradley who has beaten us twice this year? I don't think SIU would be a great draw now eithier.
What is your preferred match up Einstein?

[Panthers to the Bone]

I feel UNI matches up with Missouri State better than anyone right now. It took monster games from Bilyeau and Richards to knock UNI off...how many more times has UNI lost due to being outscored inside? I like this matchup.

[Newsbreaker]

I like playing a team that's recently taken us down. With the exceptions of Creighton and Bradley, we've proven we can beat everyone in the league. It's hard to beat someone twice, as we've seen, even harder to do it twice in a row.

[ejacobson]

I agree with MSU as a good match outside of one team, WSU, as CU has our number, we seem to have WSU's. We alwasy bring a solid game against them. But for seeding I think that a 6 MVC, 2 wins (at least, I want to win the whole darn thing), and a 10-12 seed in the NCAAs are good seeds for us right now.

Lets hope for the best, and cheer the boys one more time

GO PANTHERS!!!

[MGLD Panther]

No, have you been in hibernation?

MSU beat us when we played terribly and with Crawford playing about 10 minutes (first game back from the leg injury). We handled them easily at their place earlier in the year. They play a 4 guard rotation that matches up well with us.
So what if they are hot, we match up well with them.

Would you rather play Creighton who has beaten us the last 7 out of 8 times or Bradley who has beaten us twice this year? I don't think SIU would be a great draw now eithier.
What is your preferred match up Einstein?

You need anger management classes. Let people state their opinion without jumping down their throat. Jump off the steroids.

[MeOW!]

I personally want to play Duke...but since that's not an option this weekend, I like our chances against Missouri State!

[UNI92]

I consider myself a highly educated basketball fan and when someone asks me if I've been in hibernation, I'll let them know what is on my mind.
I've considered all of the facts and posted accordingly.

If he is going to state that MSU is a bad draw, tell me who else would be a better draw at this point.


To say "hello NIT????" Whatever...CBS Sportsline, ESPN, and FOX Sports all have us as a lock.

[PantherHawk]

espn took us off their lock list, we still are pretty high on the bubble which is a shocker, but i feel if we can just go win two in st louis we are in no doubt. I would rather just win the damn thing and leave nothing to chance and get a good seed. I feel we match up with Mo state based on the fact that they don't have an inside game. Now if we look at our last couple of losses, with the exception of the bradley game, we have been in every game. The comittee looks at blowouts and close games. We lost to Mo.State (2pts), Creighton (3pts), Indiana State (1pt), So. ILL (1pt). So we are close, i feel we are just saving up for a run in march.

[Newsbreaker]

I think 1 win in STL will make us feel better, two and we'll be confident. Only one win allows for upsets and runs the following weekend in the tournaments to take our spot, two wins probably puts us in very good position.

[uni1988]

I think if we win three games in St. Louis we'll make the tournament.

[DWadle1983]

I think if we win three games in St. Louis we'll make the tournament.

I think so too.

[panther2317]

THE "X" factor for MSU is Dale Lamberth. If he plays well off the bench...MSU is playing well. Also, MSU has 'bigs' that are about 6'5 and mobile and would rather face the basket (Bilyeu and Easley) and that poses a match-up problem. Now, if Crawford can play heavy minutes...he's the "X" factor for us...because he can guard Bilyeu and Easley.

Keep Ahearn from getting open looks and keep him off the free throw line.

Also, MSU's new favorite play out of a timeout is a screen-the-screener play to get a shot at the top of the key. (PTTB - wish you were around for that game too...lots of good stuff to see at Hammons Student Center)

[Matt Trump]

THE "X" factor for MSU is Dale Lamberth. If he plays well off the bench...MSU is playing well. Also, MSU has 'bigs' that are about 6'5 and mobile and would rather face the basket (Bilyeu and Easley) and that poses a match-up problem. Now, if Crawford can play heavy minutes...he's the "X" factor for us...because he can guard Bilyeu and Easley.

Thats pretty much what I was trying to get at in an earlier post. I just don't have the bball IQ to put it into words properly.

A healthy Crawford is really why I like our chances in this game.