MVCfans.com 2013 All-MVC teams and Player of the Year
Yesterday, we announced our choices for Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year. Today, we are pleased to recognize the finest players in the Valley with our All-MVC first and second teams, as well as those deserving of honorable mention.
Larry Bird Player of the Year
Doug McDermott – Creighton
Two years ago he became the first freshman named to the 1st team all-MVC team in 58 years. Last season he was the Valley’s first All-American since Creighton’s Kyle Korver in 2003. This season, he is among the leaders for the national player of the year award and he will become the first player since Darren Brooks of SIU to win back to back Larry Bird awards. If he chooses to return to Creighton, McDermott could pass Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins’ as the MVC all time lead scoreer (3008 points).
McDermott is currently second in the nation in scoring (23.4 ppg). In the Valley, McDermott is the league’s top scorer, third leading rebounder (7.6 rbg), fifth in FG% (.560), third in FT% (86.6%), and second in 3 point % (.481). Congratulations Doug McDermott on being selected as the winner of the MVCfans.com Player the Year award.
First Team All Missouri Valley Conference
Doug McDermott, Creighton
Colt Ryan, Evansville
Jackie Carmichael, Illinois State
Jake Odum, Indiana State
Cleanthony Early, Wichita St
Chris’ notes: I imagine the Top 4 choices will be near unanimous selections, but after that it’s very challenging to separate players 5-10. I chose Cleanthony Early for the last spot on the my 1st team. Beyond having a terrific season, I felt he was the key reason why the Shockers were able to rebuild after losing 75% of their scoring from last season.
Second Team All-Missouri Valley Conference
Walt Lemon Jr, Bradley
Tyler Brown, Illinois State
Jake Koch, UNI
Malcolm Arsmtead, Wichita State
Grant Gibbs, Creighton
Chris’ notes: It’s almost impossible to just pick five players for the second team and I would listen to arguments for any of the players listed below as Honorable Mention. Ultimately, there was no doubt about Lemon and Brown. Koch didn’t have tremendous stats, but was solid in every aspect of the game. Armstead played a critical role for the Shockers and hit big shots when needed while Gibbs provided savvy and basketball IQ while leading the Valley in assists.
Honorable Mention All-Missouri Valley Conference
Carl Hall, Wichita State
Jordan Clarke, Drake
Gregory Echenique, Creighton
Desmar Jackson, Southern Illinois
Anthony James, Northern Iowa
Anthony Downing, Missouri State
Jeff Early, Southern Illinois
Troy Taylor, Evansville
Manny Arop, Indiana State
Dyricus Simms-Edwards, Bradley
You can discuss this and more on the MVCfans.com message board:
MVCfans.com basketball discussion
MVCfans.com 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Awards and Honors – Part 1
Another Missouri Valley Conference basketball season is in the books, so it’s time that we start to hand out the hardware.
Below are our selections for Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year.
Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year:
Gregg Marshall, Wichita State
Others considered: Greg McDermott, Creighton; Barry Hinson, SIU
For the second consecutive season, Gregg Marshall of Wichita State is our selection for MVC Coach of the Year. The Shockers were predicted to finish 4th in the preseason media poll after losing major contributors from last season’s MVC championship team. Despite losing 3 starters to injury during the season, Marshall led the Shockers to a 12-6 MVC record. Congrats to Coach Gregg Marshall – our 2013 MVCfans.com Coach of the Year.
Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year:
Marcus Marshall, Missouri St
Others considered: Anthony Beane Jr, SIU; Gavin Thurman, Missouri St
Marshall earns this freshman of the year award based on strong play through the conference season. He averaged 10.3 ppg for the entire season, but scored in double figures 12 of the 18 Bears’ MVC games. Congratulations Marcus Marshall.
Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year:
Cleanthony Early, Wichita St
Others considered: Manny Arop, Indiana St; Desmar Jackson, SIU
Cleanthony Early took the early lead for this award following a 39 point outburst against SIU on January 9 and never let go. Early led the Shockers in scoring (14.5 ppg) and was second on the team in rebounding (5.2 rbg). Early scored in double fiures 17 times in MVC play. Congratulations Cleanthony Early.
Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year:
Dyricus Simms-Edwards, Bradley
Others Considered: Gregory Echenique, Creighton; Walt Lemon Jr, Bradley
A relentless defender, Simms-Edwards led the MVC with 84 steals, placing him 7th nationally at 2.71 steals per game.
Tomorrow I will post our All-MVC teams and Player of the Year Honoree.
Doug McDermott’s 41 points lead Creighton to 91-79 win over Wichita State
Creighton’s Doug McDermott saved his best for last – and what a performance it was. The junior forward scored 41 points on 15-18 shooting in leading the Creighton Bluejays to a 91-79 victory over Wichita State in front of 18,613 fans in Omaha on Saturday. In scoring a MVC season high, McDermott made 5 of 8 three point attempts, 10 of 10 two point shots taken, and all 6 free throws attempted.
With the victory, Creighton finished the season at 13-5 and secured sole possession of the Bluejays’ first outright MVC regular season championship since 2000-01. Wichita State finishes the regular season in sole possession of second place at 12-6.
Top seeded Creighton will face the winner of the Bradley-Drake winner at noon on Friday in St. Louis. Second seeded Creighton will play the winner of the Missouri State-Southern Illinois winner on Friday evening.
Full Arch Madness Bracket:
MVC Hoops Show – March 2, 2013
On this week’s MVC Hoops Show, we review the games from the past week and preview the CU-WSU game on Saturday with MVC TV analyst and Creighton color man Nick Bahe. Our spotlight team of the week is Illinois State. We have an interview with head coach Dan Muller and beat writer Jim Benson.
We also draw our MVC Hoops Show grand prize trivia winner who will receive 2 all-session club passes for Arch Madness and more. The MVC Hoops Show is sponsored by Complete Nutrition.
We hope you will listen and bookmark the MVC Hoops Show blog where we will post show information.
Follow us on twitter @mvchoopsshow for show information and to learn which guests you will hear each week.
Updated MVC #ArchMadness seeding scenarios
After a night of unexpected outcomes on Wednesday, The Missouri Valley Conference will play a game on Saturday between Creighton and Wichita State for an undisputed regular season championship.
Thanks to Hacksaw for his quick work in preparing the game by game breakdown for Arch Madness seeding.
MVCfans.com Arch Madness twitter feed – use #mvcfans
Going to try out a few things for Arch Madness and thought I would create a timeline so all the posts using #mvcfans would show up here on the main page. I’ll give it a try tonight as all the MVC teams are in action. Might be fun to see the commentary as the games go on. If people like it, we’ll activate for Arch Madness too.
You can follow MVCfans on twitter by clicking the button to the right —>
Updated MVC non-conference SOS and impact on Arch Madness probabilities
Outside of the MVC having a good day in the Bracket Busters event yesterday, the biggest news of the weekend was the impact that the games of the week had on non-conference strength of schedule. As you may recall, in the event of a two team tie where the teams split during the regular season, the next tiebreaker is non-con SOS. Heading into this week, Wichita State (66) had a seemingly insurmountable lead over Creighton (109) should the two finish the season deadlocked. The events of the weekend changed that dramatically, however as the Bluejays now own the tiebreaker despite losing at St. Mary’s. Creighton’s non-con SOS is now 48; Wichita St is 72.
Because of this potentially significant change, Hacksaw quickly reformulated the Arch Madness seeding probabilities for us tonight. It would appear that if Creighton could win at Bradley on Wednesday, the Shockers-Bluejays game on Saturday will be for the #1 seed in St. Louis.
Here are the updated probabilities (top) and weighted probabilities (bottom). Click “Read rest of entry” below for the full Valley RPI and non-conference SOS.
MVC goes 7-3 in final Bracket Busters
Several exciting finishes highlighted the 2013 Bracket Busters weekend as the Missouri Valley Conference went 7-3 in the final year of the event.
The opening game on Saturday morning saw Indiana State score with 4 seconds remaining to capture a 65-64 victory over Iona. Southern Illinois got 30 points from Jeff Early including a buzzer beater to send the Salukis game with Miami OH into overtime where SIU pulled away for a 74-68 win. And the game of the day might have been Bradley’s 63-62 come from behind victory over UIC. The Braves’ Jake Eastman scored with under a second to play to give Geno Ford’s squad the victory.
In games that might impact NCAA at large chances, Wichita State scored at will against Detroit and won 94-79. Creighton, on the other hand, never led at St. Mary’s and the Gaels defeated the Jays 74-66 in a game where the final score was closer than the game itself.
Full MVC Results:
Indiana State 65, Iona 64
Missouri State 57, Eastern Michigan 54
Evansville 70, Wright State 58
Southern Illinois 74, Miami 68
Wichita State 94, Detroit 79
Bradley 63, Illinois-Chicago 62
Saint Mary’s 74, Creighton 66
Denver 63, UNI 57
Drake 71, Green Bay 54
Utah State 80, Illinois St 71
You can discuss this and more on the MVCfans.com Message Board
MVC Hoops Show – February 23, 2013
On this week’s MVC Hoops Show, we talk to beat writers for Illinois State (Jim Benson) and Indiana State (Todd Golden). We discuss the up and down seasons for both teams and what to expect in STL. Our spotlight team of the week is the Northern Iowa Panthers and we have an interview with assistant coach Erik Crawford and beat writer Carson Tigges.
We also discuss flagrant fouls, have our last trivia question of the season, and preview the Bracket Busters games on Saturday. The MVC Hoops Show is sponsored by Complete Nutrition.
We hope you will listen and bookmark the MVC Hoops Show blog where we will post show information.
Follow us on twitter @mvchoopsshow for show information and to learn which guests you will hear each week.
Updated Arch Madness seeding probabilities – February 20
Updated after the conclusion of tonight’s games that saw Evansville defeat Illinois State and Drake defeat Bradley in OT, here are the updated MVC tournament seeding probabilities with each team having 2 games remaining in conference play.
Below are the weighted probabilities.
