Tuesday night belonged to New Hampshire, the Big East and the Big Ten but there was one mid major conference holding court as well. The Missouri Valley played three games, highlighted by the most recent Jekyll and Hyde performance by Southern Illinois. When they lose, the Salukis shoot poorly and turn the ball over in bushels. Last night, they shot 67% in the first half and gave it away 11 times and, thus, cruised past Bradley 77-64 in Carbondale. Matt Shaw led the way with 18 points but five Salukis were in double-figures thanks to a focus on ball control. Bryan Mullins had seven assists, which led to good shots, trips to the free throw line and a key win in their attempt to make a run at the MVC crown. As always, their defense was in fine form.
Bradley, playing their fourth straight without point guard Daniel Ruffin, turned the ball over 18 times. Sam Maniscalco, playing more minutes in Ruffin's absence, had six of them. That's why, even as SIU's shooting dipped to 27% in the second half, Bradley couldn't cut into their 18-point halftime lead. Bradley's lost six straight and Ruffin's hernia surgery appears to be the nail in the coffin of their season.
Illinois State 51, Northern Iowa 46 - The Redbirds used a big first half to take control of the game and then held on late to improve to 4-0 in the MVC. ISU led 36-19 at the break but then saw their shooting go into the tank as the Panthers went on a 22-3 run to make it 47-46 in the closing minutes. The Redbirds hit their free throws to ice the game but must be concerned about their failure to make more than one shot over the final 13 minutes of play. Their lack of rebounding should also irk them but they can rest easy about a defense that caused turnovers on a quarter of NIU's possessions.
Missouri State 71, Wichita State 47 - Dale Lamberth had the best night of his career and the Bears routed the Shockers to improve to 2-2 in league. Lamberth came off the bench to score 27 points, including six three-pointers, and the Bears were never threatened on their home court. They made 11-of-23 threes overall, a shooting barrage all too typical against Wichita this season. Their defense has been abysmal and looks like it will keep them in the second tier of the MVC.
