If, for some reason, it hasn't crossed your radar screen just yet, the Drake Bulldogs are the best story of the 2007-08 basketball season. They haven't played in the NCAA Tournament since 1971 but are a six-point road loss at St. Mary's away from an undefeated season. They're 11-0 in the Missouri Valley and were led to their latest win by their walk-on point guard Adam Emmenecker, who scored 12 points in his career high high school performance. Emmenecker had 20, a college career best, and added eight assists yesterday to lead his squad to a comeback win over Indiana State. The Sycamores held a five-point halftime edge but the Bulldogs got back in the game when Emmenecker set up threes on three consecutive possessions at the start of the final 20 minutes. One by Josh Young and two by Leonard Houston was all the Bulldogs needed to get on track for another win. Drake's return to the tournament is all but assured, will they be joined by another conference team, though?
Illinois State had the inside track on the second spot before a 79-73 loss to Drake started them on a three loss in four game stretch. All the losses were roadies but still diminished the luster of another MVC team looking to end a long postseason drought. They recovered to win at Missouri State yesterday, though, and if they can beat Drake in Normal on Tuesday, they'll have restored their place near the front of the at-large line.
Creighton briefly stepped into the bubble picture with five straight wins last month but two losses to Drake and a miserable loss to Southern Illinois dropped them back into the pack. They held off Wichita yesterday but may be out of chances against teams good enough to make a difference to their chances. Northern Iowa beat Southern Illinois yesterday and both of them stand at 6-5 in league as well. Neither one has shown the mettle or ability to reel off a long winning streak that would make them a justifiable tournament choice.
While Illinois State is probably the only team with a chance at mounting a serious at-large run, the wild card in the whole mess are the Bradley Braves. 0-4 to start in conference, they got star guard Daniel Ruffin back on the 23rd when they beat Illinois State. They are now 6-5 in league and bolstered by a nonconference slate that included VCU, Butler, Michigan State and Vanderbilt. They may not be able to do enough to draw an at-large bid but they could be the best suited to knock off Drake in the MVC tourney and steal a seat at the dance.
