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MVC and FOFC Interactive Coaches Dynasty
Alright guys, thanks to britrock88 getting me a conference realignment mod, I am ready to begin this thing. I've got 4 FOFC coaches that will start in the MVC, so that's good enough. A few notes:
ntndeacon, britrock88, Zinto, and JAG, To be fair, I decided to start all FOFC coaches at level 7. This is an average coach level, and gave you guys 240 points to play with. I've adjusted the ratings that you gave me accordingly, and if you want to know what your new ratings are, I'll be glad to tell you. Every so often coaches get promoted a coach level which gives them 20 bonus points. If any FOFC coaches get this, I will come to you guys and you can tell me how you want to delegate those extra 20 points. Conference movement is set to limited. I have decided that after every 4th or 5th year, if there is no movement among the MVC, I will manually create some conference movement (after all, I am the commissioner of the MVC, so I can do that if I want. ;) ) At this time, I have no real life coaches in the game other than the MVC coaches, including the 4 that have been replaced by FOFC coaches. At some point I may go in and add some real life coaches, but I wanted to get this going. |
Here is a look at the 10 MVC coaches that now have their fate in my hands. FOFC coaches are in bold.
Bradley- Geno Ford Drake- Randolph Childress (ntndeacon) Evansville- Marty Simmons Illinois St.- Dan Muller Indiana St.- Greg Lansing Loyola Chicago- Jawouk Bafou (britrock88) Missouri St.- Score Galore (JAG) Northern Iowa- Patrick Hutt (Zinto) Southern Illinois- Barry Hinson Wichita St.- Gregg Marshall |
Just so everyone gets an idea, here are the starting prestiges for the MVC schools:
Bradley- 55 Drake- 57 Evansville- 54 Illinois St.- 67 Indiana St.- 57 Loyola Chicago- 43 Missouri St.- 65 Northern Iowa- 74 Southern Illinois- 56 Wichita St.- 81 |
2013 Season Tournaments
Southern Illinois is the 6th seed in the Alaska Invitational. They will open up against 3rd seed Texas A&M Northern Iowa is the 7th seed in the Coaches Invitational. They will take on 10th seed Ohio in their first game. Evansville is the 8th seed in the GDS Classic. They will open up against 9th seed Princeton. Missouri State is the 3rd seed in the Island Invitational and will start with 6th seed Western Michigan. Indiana State is the 6th seed in the Las Vegas Challenge. Interestingly, their first round opponent is former MVC member Creighton. Bradley is the 7th seed in the Las Vegas Shootout. Their first round opponent is 10th seed Northeastern. Illinois State is the 2nd seed in the Orlando Classic. Their first round opponent is 7th seed Bowling Green. Wichita State is the 6th seed in the Preseason NIT. Their first round opponent is 11th seed Vermont, Drake is the 1st seed in the 4 team Tennessee Challenge and will face 4th seed Delaware State in their first game. Loyola Chicago did not get a tournament. |
Cool stuff. Hopefully I can get in at some point in the future :)
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sirfozzie,
Since I won't be simming any of the season until tomorrow at least, I can get you in for the current season if you sign up in time. Just hit me up with a coaches name, what school you want to coach at, coaches age, hometown, alma mater. And you have 240 points to spread between offense, defense, recruiting, and scouting. Get me that info before the next time I load FBCB and I'll get you in for this season. :) |
Done :)
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sirfozzie has added a coach to the mix.
His coach is Alex Donovan, and he will be taking over at Bradley. That means Geno Ford will be unemployed this season. I have to work until very late tonight, so I don't know if I'll get anything done on this tonight. I'm hoping that this weekend I can get through November and December of the 2013-2014 season. Thanks to all who have signed up so far, hopefully we can add more to the mix over time! |
Nov. 2013 Tournament Wrap-Up
2013 Alaska Invitational Southern Illinois lost their first round game to (3) Texas A&M 62-52, then lost in the consolation semifinals to (7) St. Bonaventure 77-69. They completed the trifecta that nobody wants to complete by losing to (8) Rider 68-62 in the 7th place game. 2013 Coaches Invitational Northern Iowa dropped a heartbreaker in the first round to (10) Ohio 69-57. Since this is a 16 team single elimination tournament, their run is over after 1 game. 2013 GDS Classic Evansville lost to (9) Princeton 72-65 in the first round. This is also a 16 team single elimination tournament. 2013 Island Invitational Missouri State becomes the first MVC team to win an in-season tournament game in my tenure as commissioner, as they beat (6) Western Michigan 75-74 in the first round. In the winners bracket semifinals, they lost to (2) Boston College 77-65, but rallied to win the 3rd place game over (4) Marshall, 90-82. 2013 Las Vegas Challenge Indiana State lost their first round game to former MVC member (3) Creighton, 70-57. Then they surprised (2) Baylor in the losers bracket semifinals, beating the Bears 80-72. They won the 5th place game against (8) Wofford, 74-62. 2013 Orlando Classic Illinois State won their first round game over (7) Bowling Green 77-57. Then they beat (3) Rutgers 74-53 in the winners bracket semifinals. In the championship game, they beat (1) Virginia Tech 77-69 to bring home the first in-season conference tournament trophy for the MVC with me running the conference. Congrats to the Redbirds and head coach Dan Muller. 2013 Preseason NIT Wichita State won their first round game against (11) Vermont 85-76, then lost in the quarterfinals to (3) Arizona 94-71 in this 16 team tournament. 2013 Tennessee Challenge Drake beat (4) Delaware State 74-56 in the first round, then in the championship game they beat (2) Manhattan 66-50. Randolph Childress becomes our first FOFC coach to win an in-season tournament, albeit a 4 team tournament. A tournament championship is still the same whether it is a 4, 8, or 16 team tournament. While the 2 tournament titles is impressive for the MVC, we had 2 teams in 16 team tournaments that went one and done, and a team that finished in 8th place in their tournament. This is unacceptable. We've got one more team (Bradley) who will play their in-season tournament in December. It's also a 16 team single elimination tournament, and they have a very winnable first round game. |
Dec. 2013 Tournament Wrap-Up
2013 Las Vegas Shootout Bradley lost their first round game to (10) Northeastern 51-50. With our conference play starting on Dec. 25, and with me doing week by week reports during the MVC Conference schedule, the MVC standings will be through Dec. 22, 2013, and here they are: Code:
TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI PrestigeIllinois State and Indiana State have been the most impressive teams so far. Illinois State started undefeated before losing 2 tough games to top 25 ACC teams. Indiana State has also lost to a couple ranked teams, but they have a couple nice wins at Purdue and St. Louis. Bradley (Alex Donovan) has just 3 wins, against teams with RPIs of 225, 320, and 178. Their closest loss was the 1 point loss to Northeastern. Their other 5 losses have all been by 9 points or more. Drake (Randolph Childress) followed their tournament win by almost upsetting UCLA. They've played a solid schedule, with over half their games coming against teams from the BCS conference. They even got wins at Tulsa and Iowa State. Loyola-Chicago (Jawouk Bafou) is on an 8 game winning streak. Granted, their schedule hasn't been anywhere near as tough as Drakes has been (they've only played 3 schools that have a .500 or better record), but they are the lowest prestige team in the MVC, and its good for them to get a few wins under their belt headed into conference play. Missouri State (Score Galore) battled an Oklahoma State team who's RPI is 3. They lost to them by a bucket. They have the potential to be a strong team outside the MVC, but a lack of consistency has Mr. Score Galore scratching his head. This was never more evident in their game against Vanderbilt, which they were hammered by 21 points. Northern Iowa (Patrick Hutt) has the conferences best win so far, as they beat Notre Dame 73-70. At the time, the Fighting Irish were ranked 14th. However, inconsistency is an issue with the Panthers as well. After that upset of Notre Dame, they turned around and lost to a 5-5 Toledo team. However, they did defeat the Vanderbilt team that Missouri State lost to. |
Since none of our teams are ranked in the top 25, we have 1 team ranked in the mid-major poll, with 2 others receiving votes. So we'll take a look at that poll.
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# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference My first question right off the bat... where the heck is Indiana State? They have the third best record in the MVC to this point, and the second best RPI, and they can't even get one vote in the mid-major poll? I call bs on that. Also, one other note as I wrap things up for the moment... all coaches get a 1 year grace period, so unless an MVC (or FOFC) coach leaves for another school or retires, they will all be returning next year. In other words, I will not fire any MVC coaches in my first year as MVC commish. The second year is open season however. |
We only scored 50 points? UNACCEPTABLE.
This is the way I described my coach to CS.. "His game plan is basically "HAVE BALL? SHOOT BALL! DON'T HAVE BALL? GET BALL, SHOOT BALL!" |
MVC Dec. 23-30, 2013
Guys, this will be my format once conference play starts, keeping in mind there will be some non-conference games mixed in sometimes. When giving scores, any FOFC coached teams will be in bold. Game of the Week Indiana State @ #4 Tennessee - Dec. 25 -- This is the most important game of the week for so many reasons. I felt Indiana St. was slighted by not getting a vote in the mid-major poll. A good showing against undefeated Tennessee would go a long way. And if the Sycamores can pull the upset? That would be huge for the conference as a whole. Other Key Games Southern Illinois @ Loyola Chicago - Dec. 25 -- These 2 teams were picked to be at the bottom of the Valley standings. Southern Illinois is there, Loyola has been a pleasant surprise, but how well will they fare in their first MVC game? Indiana State @ Wichita State - Dec. 28 -- Depending on the result of the game against Tennessee, this could be another big chance for the Sycamores to earn some respect nationally, as Wichita State is the overwhelming favorite to win the Valley. Game Scores Dec. 24, 2013 Wichita State 82, at South Dakota 39 (non-conference) Dec. 25, 2013 at Northern Iowa 83, Missouri State 74 at Illinois State 88, Evansville 74 at Loyola Chicago 92, Southern Illinois 53 at Drake 72, Bradley 64 Indiana State 81, at #4 Tennessee 59 (non-conference) Dec. 26, 2013 Wichita State 68, at Nebraska Omaha 41 (non-conference) Dec. 28, 2013 at Wichita State 95, Indiana State 92 at Northern Iowa 52, Evansville 46 at Illinois State 72, Missouri State 63 Bradley 79, at Loyola Chicago 72 Southern Illinois 69, at Drake 56 Game of the Week Recap Indiana State @ #4 Tennessee -- This once looked bad early on, as the Sycamores went into the locker room trailing 39-21. I'm not sure what Coach Lansing said to fire up his guys in the locker room, but it worked. They outscored Tennessee 60-20 in the second half. Yes you heard right, 60-20. That led to an 81-59 shocking over the #4 team in the nation and a huge, huge win for the Valley. Key Game Recaps Southern Illinois @ Loyola Chicago -- Loyola took care of business in the second half, shooting 62.3% for the game as they rolled to a 39 point victory. Indiana State @ Wichita State -- The Shockers knew they would be in for a battle, and this one was a thrilling game. Neither team led by more than 7 at any point, and defense wasn't even a thing to think about in this one, but Wichita St. prevailed barely. Here are the standings after the first week of conference play: Code:
TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI PrestigeIt's unbelievable that even after that win at Tennessee, the Indiana State Sycamores still can't garner a vote in the mid-major polls. What are these people smoking? |
MVC Dec. 30, 2013-Jan. 5, 2014
Game of the Week Illinois State @ Wichita State - Jan. 4, 2014 -- The top 2 teams in the Valley to this point will battle. Illinois St. seems to have the best chance to unseat Wichita State at the top. Other Key Game Northern Iowa @ Indiana State - Jan. 4, 2014 -- These are the other 2 teams that could pose a threat to Wichita State early on. As far as the polls go, Indiana State may need this win more, as they don't seem to be getting the respect they deserve. Game Scores Dec. 30, 2013 Southern Illinois 76, at Saint Louis 68 Jan. 1, 2014 at Evansville 65, Drake 34 at Missouri State 72, Loyola Chicago 59 Northern Iowa 78, at Wichita State 70 Illinois State 76, at Indiana State 60 at Minnesota 79, Bradley 65 (non-conference) Jan. 4, 2014 at Evansville 66, Loyola Chicago 44 Drake 66, at Missouri State 63 Illinois State 76, at Wichita State 73 Northern Iowa 79, at Indiana State 75 at Southern Illinois 69, Bradley 61 Game of the Week Recap Wichita State @ Illinois State -- Despite 33 points from Richard Kennedy, the Shockers couldn't hang on in this one, as Illinois State comes from behind late to win. Key Game Recap Northern Iowa @ Indiana State -- Despite forcing 21 turnovers, Indiana State trailed by 15 at halftime. While their pressure defense led to a lot of turnovers, it also led to a lot of easy baskets, as Northern Iowa shot 51% from the field. MVC Standings: Code:
TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige2 dissapointments so far have been Indiana State and Wichita State. The Sycamores are winless early on in conference play after upsetting Tennessee, and Wichita State was the preseason Valley favorite, but they went 0-2 this week against teams that look to be top contenders to knock off the Shockers. Mid Major Top 25: # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Saint Mary's (72) 14-2 1800 1 West Coast Conference 2. Gonzaga 12-2 1728 2 West Coast Conference 3. New Mexico 10-2 1621 4 Mountain West Conference 4. UNLV 12-1 1598 3 Mountain West Conference 5. George Mason 12-1 1454 9 Atlantic 10 Conference 6. Massachusetts 13-0 1426 6 Atlantic 10 Conference 7. Ohio 11-1 1395 7 Mid-American Conference 8. Southern Mississippi 9-2 1338 8 Conference USA 9. Akron 11-2 1205 5 Mid-American Conference 10. Illinois State 13-2 1131 16 Missouri Valley Conference 11. George Washington 10-1 1006 13 Atlantic 10 Conference 12. VCU 8-4 1003 10 Atlantic 10 Conference 13. Saint Louis 9-2 852 11 Atlantic 10 Conference 14. Loyola Maryland 14-2 835 20 Patriot League 15. Northern Iowa 10-3 720 24 Missouri Valley Conference 16. UAB 9-2 650 18 Conference USA 17. Murray State 12-2 622 21 Ohio Valley Conference 18. UTEP 10-2 561 12 Conference USA 19. Saint Joseph's 10-3 542 14 Atlantic 10 Conference 20. San Diego 11-2 538 15 West Coast Conference 21. Davidson 10-3 367 NR Atlantic 10 Conference 22. Middle Tennessee 10-2 295 NR Conference USA 23. Old Dominion 7-3 284 NR Conference USA 24. Marist 12-2 280 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 25. Manhattan 11-3 70 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Others Receiving Votes: Montana 9-2 28 Big Sky Conference Kent State 9-3 26 Mid-American Conference East Tennessee State 12-3 18 Southern Conference St. Bonaventure 9-3 6 Atlantic 10 Conference Dayton 7-3 1 Atlantic 10 Conference |
For those FOFC coaches and any other readers, I have a question. I will post the conference standings every week, but how about polls? What kind of polls do you want to see every week? Do you want the AP Top 25 poll, the Mid-Major Poll, both polls, neither poll, or just polls that an MVC or FOFC coached team is receiving votes in? Personally I'm not sure if there is a need for the AP poll unless an MVC team is in it (or an FOFC, non MVC team), as the focus of this right now is the MVC. What do you guys think?
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MVC Jan. 6-12, 2014
Game of the Week Illinois State @ Northern Iowa - Jan. 11 -- A no-brainer here, as these are the only 2 undefeated teams early on in conference play. The winner will take a huge step forward early on in the conference race. Other Key Games Wichita State @ Drake - Jan. 8 -- Wichita St. needs this win to get back on track, a loss here would be huge for the preseason conference favorites. Missouri State @ Southern Illinois - Jan. 8 -- Southern Illinois is currently 3rd early on in the conference race. Both of these teams are expected to finish .500 in conference. Game Scores Jan. 7, 2014 at Illinois State 82, Dayton 46 (non-conference) Jan. 8, 2014 at Southern Illinois 70, Missouri State 60 at Bradley 81, Evansville 63 Indiana State 81, at Loyola Chicago 78 Wichita State 70, at Drake 37 Jan. 9, 2014 Northern Iowa 63, at Florida Atlantic 50 (non-conference) Jan. 11, 2014 Evansville 68, at Southern Illinois 66 Missouri State 77, at Bradley 74 at Northern Iowa 89, Illinois State 86 Wichita State 71, at Loyola Chicago 53 Indiana State 86, at Drake 58 Game of the Week Recap Illinois State @ Northern Iowa -- This game was everything I expected and then more. I personally attended this game, and all I saw were 9 ties and 16 lead changes. This game was won at the line, however, as UNI made 35 free throws. Wow! Key Game Recaps Wichita State @ Drake -- The Shockers came out with a vengeance tonight, forcing 19 Drake turnovers and holding them to just 26% shooting. Missouri State @ Southern Illinois -- The Salukis used 55% shooting from the field to win this game, as they led by 10 at halftime and held that lead all second half. MVC Standings: Code:
TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI PrestigeWe have 3 MVC teams in the top 25 of the RPI. Obviously its still early in January, but I'm hoping to get a minimum of 2 teams in the NCAA tournament this season. 3 or 4 would be great. Code:
Mid Major Top 25 |
It looks like I have been doing a pretty good job at Northern Iowas so far!
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Guys, I'm in a bit of a tough spot here. There is a chance that our internet service got infected area wide and we may have to reformat all the computers in the house to fix the problem.
So I can either do 1 of 2 things: I can hold off on this project, because if we do have to reformat stuff, I will have to start from scratch. And reformatting won't happen until this weekend at the earliest. Or, I can go ahead and finish this 2013-2014 season, since there will be no coach movement the first season anyways, and if I have to reformat I can just pick up at the 2014-2015 season, and edit our FOFC coach stats and records and team prestige records and everything. What would you guys rather have me do.. just wait it out and restart from scratch if need be, or go ahead and finish out the current season and then if I have to restart from scratch, edit the FOFC coaches to show their records for the 2013-2014 season that I did that wouldn't show up in the new game otherwise? Let me know what you guys think |
Do what's easiest. I wouldn't want to put conditions on your recreational pursuits. :)
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Agreed! |
Guys, I am hoping, 1 way or the other, to jump back into this project, if not this weekend, by sometime early next week. I make no guarantees. Thanks for your patience, I will get back to this one way or another.
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MVC Jan. 13-19, 2014
Game of the Week Southern Illinois @ Wichita State - Jan. 15 -- The pickings were slim this week, not a lot of key games, but these 2 teams are 4th and 3rd in the standings, respectively. On paper, the Shockers should win this game easily, but they have been on a slide as of late. Game Scores Jan. 15, 2014 Southern Illinois 80, at Wichita State 61 at Indiana State 77, Bradley 58 at Northern Iowa 79, Loyola Chicago 51 at Illinois State 71, Drake 64 Jan. 16, 2014 at Evansville 70, UW Green Bay 63 (non-conference) at Missouri State 58, Texas Christian 50 (non-conference) Jan. 18, 2014 Evansville 76, at Missouri State 56 at Wichita State 77, Bradley 57 at Indiana State 63, Southern Illinois 60 at Northern Iowa 64, Drake 57 at Illinois State 82, Loyola Chicago 65 Game of the Week Recap Southern Illinois @ Wichita St. -- The Shockers led by 4 at halftime, but Southern Illinois put up 52 points in the second half and forced 17 turnovers in the game, as they shock the Shockers in a big way. MVC Standings: Code:
Northern Iowa Panthers 7 0 1.000 14 3 .824 18 74Although it's still fairly early in the conference race, it's looking like a 2 team race right now, with a major log jam in the middle. Loyola got off to that hot start but since then have not had a warm welcome into the MVC. Code:
Mid Major Top 25 |
Guys, I am going to make a change in the format and eliminate the game of the week and game of the week recap. At this point I think keeping track of the week by week MVC games, standings, and polls is good enough. If you guys want to see the game of the week come back, let me know, and I'll put it back, but for now, I think I'll leave it out.
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Jan. 20-26, 2014
Game Scores Jan. 20, 2014 Loyola Chicago 76, at North Dakota State 52 (non-conference) Jan. 22, 2014 Indiana State 58, at Evansville 41 Wichita State 85, at Missouri State 74 at Southern Illinois 64, Northern Iowa 60 (1st conf loss for UNI) Illinois State 84, at Bradley 69 Jan. 25, 2014 Wichita State 82, at Evansville 72 Indiana State 76, at Missouri State 68 Illinois State 73, at Southern Illinois 65 Northern Iowa 81, at Bradley 74 Drake 79, at Loyola Chicago 69 Code:
2013 Missouri Valley Conference StandingsHalfway through conference play, and it's gonna be a doozy the rest of the way. Don't count out either Wichita St. or Indiana St. At this point, it looks like 4 of the MVC teams are a lock for the postseason. Code:
Mid Major Top 25 |
MVC Jan. 27-Feb. 2, 2014
Game Scores Jan. 27, 2014 Southern Illinois 65, at Central Florida 53 (non-conference) Jan. 29, 2014 Indiana State 81, at Northern Iowa 70 Wichita State 90, at Illinois State 84 Evansville 76, at Loyola Chicago 69 at Drake 75, Missouri State 71 at Texas 65, Southern Illinois 61 (non-conference) Feb. 1, 2014 at Bradley 65, Southern Illinois 53 Wichita State 89, at Northern Iowa 69 at Illinois State 57, Indiana State 43 at Loyola Chicago 97, Missouri State 80 at Drake 77, Evansville 75 Code:
2013 Missouri Valley Conference StandingsWhat a difference a couple weeks makes in the MVC conference race. Illinois St. is now on top, with 2 teams a game behind, and 1 team 2 games behind. This is definitely a 4 team race. Unfortunately, the rest of the MVC is way behind in picking up the slack. Code:
Mid Major Top 25 |
The first bubble watch is out, and let's take a look at how the MVC teams stack up (although this probably wont' be a surprise to anybody)
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MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE BUBBLE WATCHThe good news is that our top 4 MVC teams are expected to make the NCAA tournament, to this point. Obviously that could change. The bad news is that none of the other 5 MVC teams look to have a shot at postseason play in any of the other 3 tournaments. Loyola Chicago and Drake are the only other schools that even come close to having a winning record. |
We have another sign-up for an interactive coach. Grover has signed up to be the coach at the University of Maine for next season. He will become the first FOFC, non-MVC coach. If any of you guys in it want to add a second coach to the mix outside the MVC, you are more than welcome to. I will be able to do some more on this tonight when I get home from work.
I've been given the ok to move forward, it appears my internet/computer issues, if there were any, are gone now, so I will be hitting this project hard over the next few days. |
MVC Feb. 3-9, 2014
Game Scores Feb. 5, 2014 at Evansville 71, Southern Illinois 55 Bradley 79, at Missouri State 70 at Wichita State 71, Loyola Chicago 52 at Indiana State 58, Drake 50 Feb. 8, 2014 Bradley 69, at Evansville 57 Southern Illinois 64, at Missouri State 63 at Wichita State 82, Drake 73 at Indiana State 87, Loyola Chicago 59 at Illinois State 97, Northern Iowa 60 Code:
2013 Missouri Valley Conference StandingsStill a lot of congestion in the middle of the conference, as teams look to stay out of those play-in games. Sadly, our FOFC coached teams are leading the bottom of the pack. In fact, 4 of our 5 FOFC coached teams would be playing in the play-in games of the MVC tournament if it started right now. Code:
Mid Major Top 25 |
MVC Feb. 10-16, 2014
Game Scores Feb. 11, 2014 at Missouri State 66, Arkansas State 46 (non-conference) Feb. 12, 2014 Indiana State 61, at Southern Illinois 54 Wichita State 89, at Bradley 69 at Loyola Chicago 70, Illinois State 66 Northern Iowa 80, at Drake 72 Feb. 12, 2014 Missouri State 80, at Air Force 61 (non-conference) Feb. 15, 2014 at Evansville 85, Missouri State 66 Wichita State 66, at Southern Illinois 49 Indiana State 86, at Bradley 64 Northern Iowa 81, at Loyola Chicago 57 at Drake 64, Illinois State 59 Code:
2013 Missouri Valley Conference StandingsAfter a slow start, Wichita St. has started to take control of the conference race, having a 1 game lead over Indiana St. and a 1 1/2 game lead over Illinois St. and Northern Iowa. Getting into the top 2 spots is very important for the MVC tournament, as the top 2 seeds get a bye. Not having to play an extra game really helps teams out. On the other hand, it looks as if Loyola Chicago and Missouri St. are going to be the bottom 2 seeds in the MVC tournament. Code:
Mid Major Top 25 |
MVC Feb. 17-23, 2014
Game Scores Feb. 19, 2014 at Wichita State 77, Evansville 66 Missouri State 66, at Indiana State 63 at Northern Iowa 82, Bradley 70 at Illinois State 87, Southern Illinois 71 Feb. 20, 2014 at Drake 74, UW Green Bay 66 (non-conference) Feb. 22, 2014 at Wichita State 90, Missouri State 85 Evansville 67, at Indiana State 62 Southern Illinois 66, at Northern Iowa 65 at Illinois State 77, Bradley 52 Loyola Chicago 51, at Drake 39 Code:
2013 Missouri Valley Conference StandingsWith 1 week left in conference play, Wichita St. has clinched at least a share of the MVC title. The only team that can share with them is Illinois St., and that's only if they win both their remaining conference games and Wichita St. loses theirs. It won't be an easy week for the Shox though, as they play Bucknell in a non-conference game, then travel to Indiana St. A couple of wins would really help their NCAA seeding, but a couple of losses.. well Gregg Marshall doesn't even wanna think about that. Near the bottom, Loyola Chicago actually has a chance to finish the regular season with a winning record, which would bode will for Jawouk Bafou (britrock88). The top 4 spots in the MVC tournament are decided, and naturally, those 4 spots will go to the only 4 teams in the conference that have a winning record for the season. Still a lot to play for in the middle of the pack though, as teams could play their way out of play-in games, or play their way into a play-in game. Code:
Mid Major Top 25 |
We're in last place, but at least we'll have the first overall pick in the draft with which to rebuild.
...oh, right. |
MVC Feb. 24-March 2, 2014
Game Scores Feb. 24, 2014 at Indiana State 76, Coastal Carolina 44 (non-conference) at Wichita State 100, Bucknell 73 (non-conference) Feb. 25, 2014 at Evansville 83, Northern Iowa 74 Illinois State 67, at Missouri State 58 at Southern Illinois 66, Loyola Chicago 49 Drake 76, at Bradley 60 March 1, 2014 Illinois State 72, at Evansville 55 Northern Iowa 85, at Missouri State 68 Wichita State 86, at Indiana State 63 at Southern Illinois 64, Drake 63 at Bradley 91, Loyola Chicago 73 Code:
Final 2013 Missouri Valley Conference StandingsWichita St. wins the MVC regular season title and is assured at least an NIT berth. I can almost guarantee they'll be in the big dance, along with Illinois St. Poor Missouri St. heads up the rear of the conference. More often than not, newcomers to a conference end up last, but this time Loyola changed that by finishing 9th. No matter, they are still in a play-in game. Code:
Mid Major Top 25 |
1 more non-conference game before the MVC tournament starts, this took place on March 3, 2014.
at Wichita State 68, Northern Illinois 43 MVC Play-in Round (7) Drake beats (10) Missouri St. 83-65 (9) Loyola Chicago beats (8) Bradley 68-59. Congrats to Loyola for getting their first MVC conference tournament win. |
MVC Quarterfinals
(1) Wichita St. over (9) Loyola 72-63 (4) Indiana St. beats (5) Evansville 59-39 (3) Northern Iowa beats (6) Southern Illinois 59-53 (2) Illinois St. beats (7) Drake 75-65 No big shocks there as the 4 teams that pretty much dominated the Valley this season advance to the semifinals. |
2014 MVC Semifinals
(4) Indiana St. stuns (1) Wichita St. 94-84 (3) Northern Iowa gets by (2) Illinois St. 77-70. Most definitely not the results I was expecting, but as a whole, it's good for the Valley. |
2014 MVC Championship
(3) Northern Iowa wins the MVC tournament with an 81-74 win over (4) Indiana St. Congrats to Patrick Hutt (zinto) on the championship, 1 of what I hope will be the first of many for our FOFCers. Postseason Predictions We know that Northern Iowa has earned the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. I still think that Wichita St. is a lock, along with Illinois St. I can see Indiana St. get an at-large bid to the NCAA's as well, but it also won't surprise me to see them in the NIT. I don't see any of our other 5 conference teams playing another game this season. I guess the CBI does sometimes take teams with losing records, which is the only shot that our two 14-17 teams (Drake and Loyola Chicago) have. |
2014 Selection Sunday
Wichita St. is the 7th seed in the NCAA West Region and will open up against (10) St. Louis. Northern Iowa gets the 10th seed in the NCAA Midwest Region and will square off with (7) Oklahoma St. Illinois St. is the 6th seed in the NCAA South Region and will draw (11) Indiana in the First Round. Indiana St. sneaks in as the 11th seed in the NCAA East Region, and gets (6) Penn St. in the First Round. Interesting how we got 4 teams in the NCAA tournament, 1 in each region. How sweet would it be for all 4 of the MVC teams to square off in the Final Four? Ok, I'm dreaming now... No big surprise as Bradley, Drake, Evansville, Loyola Chicago, and Southern Illinois got no postseason. I'm pleased that we got 4 teams in the big dance, but it means nothing if we don't win a few games while we are there. It also is disheartening that we got NO teams in the other 3 postseason tournaments. Got to do better next year. |
2014 NCAA First Round
(10) St. Louis defeated Wichita St. 90-88. (7) Oklahoma St. defeated Northern Iowa 75-67. Illinois St. snuck by (11) Indiana 75-74. In a good old fashioned shootout, (6) Penn St. beat Indiana St. 99-85. |
2014 NCAA Second Round
(3) #9 Miami beats Illinois St. 98-88, ending the postseason for the MVC. Well, not a great first season, we had 4 teams reach the postseason and only 1 of those 4 teams won a game. Definitely a lot of improvement can be made. 2014 Postseason Wrap-Up The NCAA championship saw a bit of a Cinderella story, as the 8th seed out of the South, St. Josephs, beat the 3rd seed out of the East, Villanova, 65-62 to win the championship. The other 2 teams in the Final Four were the top seed out of the West, Tennessee, and Xavier, who was the 6th seed out of the Midwest. A pair of 5th seeds battled it out for the NIT Championship, as Washington beat West Virginia 59-49. South Florida and Vanderbilt were the other teams in the NIT Final Four. UC Santa Barbara kept the Cinderella postseason going, as they were the 13rd seed in the CBI, and won the CBI championship over (3) Hofstra in 2 games. UCSB won the first game 84-60, and the second game 72-41. (Remember guys, the CBI Finals are best 2 of 3.) To finish it off (6) Siena won the CIT championship, beating (12) Charlotte 63-55. |
We've got a few new coaches to add to the mix. bbgunn has added 2 coaches for next season. B.B. Gunn will take over Hawaii, and Kuji Chagulia will take over Florida Atlantic. thanks bbgunn.
Grover is also adding a coach. Cillian O'Reilly will take over the University of Maine next season. Thanks Grover. I am personally adding a coach as well. Rudy Arellano will take over Kansas St. This gives us 9 FOFC coaches now, 5 in the MVC and 4 outside the MVC. I feel it's only right to do a short recap on the 4 non-MVC schools that will have FOFC coaches next year. Let's start with Kansas St. They finished the season 21-12, 11-7 in the Big 12. They were the (6) seed in the NIT South Region, and got beat in the First Round by (3) Cincinnati, 95-76. U of Maine finished the season 11-19, and 7-9 in the America East Conference. No postseason for them. Florida Atlantic was 10-20, 4-12 in Conference USA. Of course, no postseason for them. Hawaii was 13-17, 7-9 in the Big West Conference. No postseason for them either. |
Let's take a look at the Missouri Valley Conference awards for the 2013-2014 season:
Code:
2013 MISSOURI VALLEY AWARDS |
Here is a look at the MVC recruiting rankings for the 2013-2014 season.
Code:
2013 Recruiting RankingsYi-yi-yi, that's bad, really bad. 2 teams in the top 100, 4 teams lower than 300, and Missouri St. didn't even get a recruit. I'm happy for Barry Hinson over at Southern Illinois, but Northern Iowa and Indiana State really, really disappointed me. Again, got to be better next season. |
There was no conference movement this season, and since all of the MVC coaches had a 1 year grace period, there was no coach movement. This is where I stop for the night. Next time I will get the 4 new coaches into the game, and give expectations for the coaches.
For those of you FOFCers outside the MVC, I have no control over your coaches being fired. That is on the game AI. The only coaches I will fire are all MVC coaches, FOFC or non-FOFC. |
I have added another coach into the mix. Shannon Elliott will be taking over the Washington Huskies.
Now it's time to take a look at coach expectations. I have broken this down into hotseat ratings. While there will be other ratings in the long run, for the time being, there are only cool and average hotseat ratings. GWAL Coach Hotseat Ratings Cool Hotseat Ratings Marty Simmons (Evansville) finished a surprising 9-9 in the MVC last season, including a couple wins over the big 4 teams. With the recruiting class he had, I'm expecting bigger things this season. Dan Muller (Illinois St.) was the MVC coach of the year last season and got the MVC their only postseason victory, coming in the NCAA tournament. No doubt his seat is very cool. Greg Lansing (Indiana St.) led the Sycamores to a big win over a top 5 team in the regular season last year, but didn't see the benefits of it from his recruiting class. I still think they can go back to the NCAA's. Patrick Hutt (Northern Iowa) led the Panthers to the MVC tournament title last season, but had 1 of the bottom 3 classes in the MVC. With the talent they have coming back, they should still compete for the MVC title again this year. Barry Hinson (Southern Illinois) had the 2nd best recruiting class in the MVC last season, and 78th best in the nation. I've always liked Barry (how can you not after his passionate rant about his team in real life earlier this year.) With that recruiting class, a .500 MVC record is very doable. Gregg Marshall (Wichita St.) won the regular season MVC title and put together a nice winning streak in MVC play last season. They should be in good shape to win the title again this year, whether it be the regular season, MVC tournament, or both. Average Hotseat Ratings Alex Donovan (Bradley) just missed the hotseat this season. I have a feeling he can do something with that roster, so he's gonna get a chance again this year without having to worry about his job. He has to stay out of the cellar though. Randolph Childress (Drake) was a couple games under .500 in conference play last season, and 3 games under .500 overall. I'd like him to build on that and get those records to .500 or better this season. Jawouk Bafou (Loyola Chicago) really had a nice first season with Loyola in the MVC. While they only won 4 conference games, that was about 3 more than most fans expected them to win. Now to keep building on that, and not slip back into the cellar of the conference. Score Galore (Missouri State) also just missed the hotseat. Worst conference record, worst MVC recruiting class.. so what is keeping this guy off the hotseat? 4 returning players that all have a chance to finish 1st team or even second team all-MVC. Non-GWAL Coach Hotseat Ratings We have 5 new coaches to this dynasty, all of them choosing to coach non-MVC teams. These coaches will have their fate in the hands of the AI. I will not decide whether they are fired or not. Let's take a look at those 5 coaches, who are all average ratings right now. Kuji Chagulia (Florida Atlantic) B.B. Gunn (Hawaii) Rudy Arellano (Kansas St.) Cillian O'Reilly (Maine) Shannon Elliott (Washington) |
2014 Preseason Tournaments
GWAL Indiana St. will be the 5th seed in the Alaska Invitational and will open up against (4) Georgia. Northern Iowa will be the 7th seed in the Coaches Invitational and will start against (11) Wright St. Evansville will be the 4th seed in the Island Invitational and will open up against (5) Montana. Illinois St. will be the 3rd seed in the Las Vegas Challenge and will open up against (6) Middle Tennessee. Bradley will be the 9th seed in the Las Vegas Shootout and will open up against (8) Vermont. Drake will be the 7th seed in the Maui Shootout and opens up against (2) Michigan St. Wichita St. will be the 6th seed in the Preseason NIT and will open up against (11) Colorado St. Southern Illinois will be the 4th seed in the Top of the Globe Invitational and will open up against (5) Western Kentucky. Missouri State will be the top seed in the 4 team Vision Classic and will open up against (4) Hartford. Non-GWAL Hawaii will be the 14th seed in the GDS Classic and will open up against (3) St. Louis. Washington will be the 2nd seed in the Las Vegas Shootout (also including Bradley) and will open up against (15) Cal Poly. Kansas St. will be the 4th seed in the Preseason NIT (also including Wichita St.) and will open up against (13) Pacific. No preseason tournaments for Loyola (again), Maine, or Florida Atlantic. |
Nov. 2014 Tournament Wrap-Up
2014 Alaska Invitational Indiana State beat (4) Georgia 72-66 in their opening game, then got hammered by (1) UNLV, 81-53. In the third place game, they got by (3) N.C. State 76-65. 2014 Coaches Invitational Northern Iowa won their first round game against (11) Wright State 79-52, then got beat by (3) Missouri 64-55 in the quarterfinals. 2014 GDS Classic Hawaii had a short stay at the GDS Classic, losing their first round game 64-51 to (3) St. Louis. 2014 Island Invitational Evansville won their first game 65-58 over (5) Montana, then shocked (1) George Mason 81-74, but couldn't win the title, as (3) Rutgers beat them in the championship game, 51-47. 2014 Las Vegas Challenge Illinois State was very disappointing in this this tournament, as they went OT in their first game, but beat (6) Middle Tennessee 90-82. In the winners bracket semifinals, they got blasted by (2) Memphis, 67-40. In the third place game, the effort was better, but they still lost to (4) Arizona State 79-73. An interesting note in this one, (8) Duquesne actually won this tournament. Shocking. 2014 Maui Shootout Drake lost their first game 79-54 to (2) Michigan State, then lost the loser bracket semifinal to (6) Providence 82-73. They became the first team not to win a game in a 3 game guarantee preseason tournament, losing the 7th place game to (8) Buffalo 75-69. Unacceptable. 2014 Preseason NIT Wichita State lost their first round game to (11) Colorado State 72-68 Kansas State won their first round game 78-66 over (13) Pacific 78-66, the lost their quarterfinal game 73-60 to (5) Cincinnati. 2014 Top of the Globe Invitational Southern Illinois beat (5) Western Kentucky 63-50 in their opening game, then beat (1) Dayton 69-58 in the winners bracket semifinals. In the championship, they fell short to (3) Iona, 54-45. 2014 Vision Classic Missouri State won their first round game of this 4 team tournament, beating (4) Hartford 77-52. They won the Vision Classic championship with a 63-50 win over (3) Northern Colorado. Congrats to Score Galore for bringing the MVC home their first piece of hardware in the 2014-2015 season. A tournament championship, a 2 second place finishes, and a 3rd place finish gives me hope for the conference, but I'm not at all happy at the way Drake and Illinois St. played in their tournaments. |
1 tournament to tell you about in December, so we'll start with it:
2014 Las Vegas Shootout Bradley lost their first round game to (8) Vermont 73-65. Washington hammered (15) Cal Poly in their first round game, then beat (7) Auburn 70-57 in the quarterfinals, but fell short in the semifinals, losing 72-69 to (3) Seton Hall. Here are the MVC standings through Dec. 24, 2014 (which is the first day of conference play.) Code:
TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI PrestigeAbsolutely dismal. Only 2 teams with winning records, although we do have 3 teams with RPIs in the top 30. Wichita State has not lost since their season opening tournament loss. Let's take a look more in depth at our 5 MVC teams coached by FOFCers. Bradley (Alex Donovan) has played 3 teams currently ranked in the top 10 (which bodes well for SOS and RPI). #1 Wisconsin blasted them by 28, but they lost by 1 point to #6 Villanova, and 3 points to #9 Louisville. Looks as if they are on the cusp of getting that big, marquee win, although they did beat Butler, who is 7-3 on the season. They have played an absolutely brutal schedule in non-conference, which is ok with me. Drake (Randolph Childress) has also played a pretty tough schedule, with lots of Midwest teams. Since that pitiful showing in the Maui Shootout, they've recovered somewhat, handing Notre Dame their only loss so far. Notre Dame was ranked 14th at the time. Losses to Buffalo and UW Milwaukee hurt the most. Loyola Chicago (Jawouk Bafou) has 2 wins on the season against Illinois-Chicago, and Miami (OH). They haven't exactly played a tough schedule, but they are still a newcomer to the MVC and I think they can find their grove eventually. Missouri State (Score Galore) won their first 3 games, and has since lost by single digits to Texas A&M, Purdue, and Vanderbilt, as well as Boise State. A few breaks, and they could easily be an 8 or 9 win team at this point. Northern Iowa (Patrick Hutt) got a nice win at previously ranked Arizona, as well as wins against Iowa State and Iowa, laying claim to one of the top teams in Iowa. However, that upset loss to Western Illinois at home, combined with a blowout loss to a 4 win Minnesota team, also at home, have me questioning the consistency of this team. |
Maine (Cillian O'Reilly) -- 3-7, 0-0 America East. It's been a rough go of it so far for young rookie coach Cillian O'Reilly, as his teams average margin of defeat is 19.1 points. They did, however, beat the Buffalo team that Drake lost to. Their other 2 wins are against teams with RPIs over 300.
Kansas State (Rudy Arellano) -- 7-2, 0-0 Big 12. Since their 24 point loss to Fresno State, the Wildcats have won 5 in a row, but 4 of those wins came against teams with a combined 5-33 record. They did get a nice victory in their last game against Missouri, who currently has a 32 RPI. Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 4-5, 0-0 Big West. There are some positives to look at for the Warriors, as their worst RPI opponent so far is UMKC at 252. Hawaii hammered them by 32, and also has good wins at DePaul, Oakland, and Pacific. But of the 2 teams they played that have RPIs of 100 or better, they lost to Tulsa by 18 points and lost to Robert Morris on a buzzer beater. Another team that with a few breaks could easily have a winning record. Florida Atlantic (Kuji Chagulia) -- 5-4, 0-0 Conference USA. While the Owls have a winning record, 2 of their wins have come against teams that haven't won a game yet, and another win came against a team that has only won once. Their only significant win was against Georgia Southern, and even their RPI is 230. I fear Mr. Chagulia might get a wake up once C-USA conference play starts. Washington (Shannon Elliott) -- 8-3, 0-0 Pac 12. The Huskies have 2 bad losses of their 3. You know about the loss to Seton Hall. They've also lost to Pacific.. well ok, I guess that one isn't totally bad. Pacific is a decent team. But they also have given Portland State their only win of the season thus far. Other than Seton Hall, their SOS hasn't really been impressive, so its hard to get a good read on them yet. The polls entering conference play look really bad. We've got 1 MVC team in the mid-major poll, and none of our other MVC or FOFC teams even sniffed a vote in the AP top 25, or the mid Major top 25. Code:
Mid Major Top 25 |
MVC Dec. 24-28
Although Dec. 24 falls in the middle of the week, any other games during the week before Dec. 24 were included in the previous report. Hopefully that doesn't confuse anybody! Game Scores Dec. 24, 2014 Missouri State 68, at Northern Iowa 57 at Southern Illinois 76, Loyola Chicago 59 at Drake 94, Bradley 75 Evansville 64, at Indiana State 55 Illinois State 72, at Dayton 70 (OT) (non-conference) at Wichita State 78, Texas A&M 67 (non-conference) Dec. 27, 2014 at Wichita State 79, Illinois State 70 at Northern Iowa 56, Loyola Chicago 44 at Southern Illinois 70, Missouri State 58 Evansville 78, at Drake 70 at Indiana State 79, Bradley 69 MVC Standings: Code:
TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige2 teams that had a good opening week of conference play are Southern Illinois and Evansville. It'll be interesting to see if they can keep pace all season long. |
Non-MVC Dec. 24-28
Maine (Cillian O'Reilly) -- 4-8, 0-1 America East. The Black Bears won their final non-conference game at Yale 65-64, then went to Hartford and lost their first conference game 75-61. Kansas State (Rudy Arellano) -- 8-2, 0-0 Big 12. Only 1 game for the Wildcats, as they hammered winless Alcorn State 80-50. Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 4-6, 0-0 Big West. The Warriors went to Kent State and lost 69-54, their only game of the week. Florida Atlantic (Kuji Chagulia) -- 6-5, 0-0 Conference USA. The Owls won at Florida Gulf Coast 61-50, then hosted Texas State and lost 83-75. Washington (Shannon Elliott) -- 8-3, 0-0 Pac 12. Nothing new to report this week, as the Huskies didn't have a game. The MVC is finally getting some votes in the AP Top 25, so I will be showing that poll first: Code:
Top 25Here is the mid-major poll for the week ending Dec. 28th: Code:
Mid Major Top 25 |
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