Even though Bradley is squeaking out all these close wins, it appears the valley is very tight 2-10. You can make valid arguments that Bradley, Drake, and UNI are maybe a tier above the middle, but they aren't world beaters by any stretch of the imagination. Southern and MSU look to bring up the rear. Basically, it's going to be a CLUSTER in the middle involving about 7-9 teams. I'd imagine it'll play out kind of like 2011-2012 MVC with 5 teams finishing 9-9; we were 8-10. IIRC we were a missed Dwayne Lathan jumper at the buzzer against Creighton away from the 3 seed but instead dropped to 8th place Thursday visit in STL.
This game is huge for momentum. We absolutely will have to play better defense tonight if we want to win. Valpo is coming off a huge win and are playing with confidence. Cooper Schwieger is a load, but they have other weapons too. I am hopeful our outside shooting is better tonight as they will help take some of the pressure of the defensive side. Defensive blockouts will be critical as Schwieger and Sepp crash the boards hard. Our guards will have their hands full with Schmidt, Wright and De La Cruz Manegro. All three of these guys can hit the 3 at a good clip and are capable of taking over at times. This isn't the Valpo of the past few years, they are much improved and have shown they can compete with the top of the Valley. This would be real nice road win!
