Well. its about over for the year--KY--U CONN--Not us. It does appear that the MVC--our League has some real work to do. It seems to me that only So ILL and Ill St really improved--Maybe I am missing some other school--but....
LOYOLA's first year was a disaster--and THAT is putting a good face on it--That performance stops now.
Wichita State appeared to--no , it did regress.--Although I am of the opinion that the NCAA COMMITTEE stacked the deck--Maybe yes maybe no.

The other six teams either stood still or slipped back.

This is unacceptable--The Valley is far better than what we showed--Creighton notwithstanding ( They failed early as well.)

Actually I am looking for marked improvement all around starting with the RAMBLERS--This MVC of ours must be on a par with and even surpass the A-10--No reason why we should not--We must.

As for the RAMBLERS--next year we must truly make POSITIVE strides--starting with an improved non-con schedule and going on from there. No excuses--
For the moment Shockers must lead the way--NO excuses.

GO MVC !!

Much of the conference was young. I only find that a good excuse for new coaches in the league. Those that have been with their schools for 4+ years shouldn't get that excuse too much because that means that they've failed to recruit. There's a lot more experience returning next year and the conference as a whole should be much better. How much is yet to be seen.

And I don't think my Shox have any problem leading the way. I'm still pissed that Kentucky finally figured out how to play during the post season. That could just as easily be Wichita in the Championship game...

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The Roundhouse

Yea, I see it a bit different Brot. Not sure you can say WSU regressed. Sure they didn't make the Final Four, but they played probably one of the top 3 games of the tournament against a team favored to win it all tonight. Keep in mind that Cauley-Stein was only fully healthy against WSU. He hurt himself midway through the Louisville game and this Kentucky team still went on to beat Louisville, Michigan, and Wisconsin - all of which looked capable of winning it all.

Kentucky could have eight players drafted in the first round of the NBA draft this year. Talent doesn't always win, but these kids came together at the right time. There's a reason they were preseason ranked #1... and yet we wouldn't be talking about any of this if that VanVleet 3 finds its way into the net at the end of that game.

Blue--You are probably correct--but I am only looking at the final story--Shocks had the toughest way to go based on previous performance--We probably had the easiest---and those in between --well only Salukis and Ill St improved--The rest stood still at best.
Sub says we were young as a conf.--Probably-- BUT at the end of the day our Conf regressed for whatever reason. The debacle on Sheridan Rd was a disgrace.
I want this conference of ours to get a move on. First hurdle is to stop the bleeding--Second hurdle is to pass the A-10 or whatever it is called--The ONLY thing they really have going for them is that they mostly are East of us. Should not matter but it does.

As a conference, it will all commence with the Non Conf schedule--Schedule UP and beat those teams--whomever they are say 55 to 60 percent top to bottom
example--LUC MUST win at LEAST seven of twelve non-conf games against better teams over last year's tripe . (Our MVC detractors were correct in this)
Our AD's leaving does NOT aid PM at all--Lots of heat will be on him and his staff. BTW , THIS is where true winners rise--We shall see.

LET"S get this done MVC !! (Salukis and Ill St did their parts)

I think that only Indiana State really takes a hit and falls back next season. Everyone else should be just as good if not better. For Wichita, we may not be quite as strong due to questions inside, but we should still be plenty good.

I'll do more research over the summer/early fall as to what the official rosters are going to look like, but UNI returns a good group of JRs and has some young guys looking to step into their roles. They should be good next year and have a good shot at the NCAAs

Missouri State returns most of their best players and has a good young group and could put themselves into position to dance come March. Should definitely be at least an NIT team.

Illinois State has a lot of returning talent and a couple of RS FR that should contribute right away. They have a shot at dancing in March as well.

I don't know what to think about Evansville. I'm still convinced they need an offense that is less focused on one guy taking 40% of the shots. If they take a more balanced approach, I could see them being very competitive and being an NIT level team and a dark horse shot at the NCAA. I doubt they change enough and end up being a borderline NIT team and will end up in one of the CXX tournaments.

SIU should take another step forward even though they lose Jackson. Good young group and the add a little size next year with the Illinois transfer. I like Barry and see them improving again. Could get into a CXX tournament as they continue to build.

Indiana State takes a couple steps back and misses the NIT. Could still be a solid team, but I don't see them making near as much noise. Plus they have a history of fading in February anyway. Maybe a CXX game if they're lucky.

Drake should improve in their 2nd year under Giac, but no post season. But they're going to be respectable but still a year or two away from an NIT possibility.

I think Bradley gets better with Lemon gone. If not, Ford will be leaving. I think they have the ability to get into the NIT race.

I think you guys started to play a little better late. Young guys should have learned a lot and hopefully they're committed this offseason and hit the weight room and work on their game. So many young guys that it's hard to project out but I could see a scenario where you could be in the NIT race, but you should at least get into one of the CXX fields. Moser is going to have to show some sort of solid improvement or the new AD will find someone else.

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The Roundhouse

Amen. Considering that Illinois State and Missouri State got Cxx bids (UNI took themselves out of consideration) with .500 conference records, and Illinois State had a mediocre out of conference record, I would consider a Cxx bid a minimum benchmark for Moser's fourth year at Loyola and second year of his second go-round in the MVC.

With Doyle and King as sophomores; White, Osbourne, O'Leary, and Turk as juniors; and Thomas, Crisman, and Dokubo as seniors, the inexperience/youth excuse will not fly at all. If the team can't muster a .500 or better record in conference with two seniors, two juniors and an extremely talented sophomore in the starting lineup, it's not going to get much easier the following year without the consistent inside scoring/rebounding of Thomas and Crisman's defense. I think it will be a make-or-break year for Moser. If it isn't, it should be.