Other Sports **Missouri Valley Conference Title Game Thread**

ChiefaRoo · 03-07-2010, 12:43 PM

Wichita State vs. Northern Iowa - 1pm CBS

IT'S ON!! Winner gets their ticket punched.

Go WSU!!

Stewie · 03-07-2010, 12:44 PM

Go Shockers! We need three teams from Kansas in the tourney!

**Mr. Flopnuts** · 03-07-2010, 12:46 PM

Rock Chalk State Shock?

POND_OF_RED · 03-07-2010, 12:50 PM

Got to love championship week. These tournament championships for smaller conferences are walways fun to watch because most of the time it's lose and go home. Both of these teams have good records though. Does anyone know the bubble situation? Is only one MVC team getting through this year?

ChiefaRoo · 03-07-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by POND_OF_RED

Got to love championship week. These tournament championships for smaller conferences are walways fun to watch because most of the time it's lose and go home. Both of these teams have good records though. Does anyone know the bubble situation? Is only one MVC team getting through this year?

If WSU wins then the Valley is pretty much guaranteed two teams. If WSU loses it'll be a wait and see game for WSU as they would be squarely on the bubble. I've watched WSU closely the past few games. They're good enough to win a game or two in the NCAA. Lots of improvement in their game the past month.

ChiefaRoo · 03-07-2010, 01:02 PM

Wichita State advances to MVC championship game
BY PAUL SUELLENTROP
The Wichita Eagle

ST. LOUIS — It is the kind of play a team that expects to win makes. It’s the kind of play a team that wants to earn its way into the NCAA Tournament makes.

Illinois State went all-in on defense in a desperate situation, trailing by two points with 20 seconds to play after rallying to nearly catch Wichita State. The Shockers needed to make the Redbirds pay by busting the balloon and relieving the pressure, as coach Gregg Marshall said.

So the Shockers went for the home run. Toure Murry passed long to Graham Hatch, who made a contested layup. It took guts and trust, Marshall explained, envisioning the second-guessing if the play fails.

It worked. It worked because the Shockers expected it to, expected to win and expected to play in today’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game. Second-seeded WSU defeated third- seeded Illinois State 65-61 on Saturday.

“I’m not the smartest coach in the world, but I’ve got a lot of faith in these guys,” Marshall said. “Big-time players make big-time plays.”

The Shockers (25-8) proved that over and over again Saturday. Their reward is today’s game against top-seeded Northern Iowa (27-4). The winner takes the MVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It is WSU’s first appearance in the title game since 1987, ending 19 miserable seasons of frustration in St. Louis, the event’s home since 1991.

“We finished second, so we were supposed to be here,” WSU junior Gabe Blair said. “We’ve got expectations, and one of our expectations was to be here.”

These Shockers are unburdened by past failures in Arch Madness. They weren’t a part of most of them, and they play like a team intent on writing a new story in St. Louis for themselves and the 1,500-plus fans who made the trip.

“I think it’s a great thing for the whole Shocker nation,” Murry said. “They’ve been looking to go to a championship.”

They’ve got a chance to win one today, on CBS with Dick Enberg and Bill Raftery on the call. They watched Saturday’s game and saw the Shockers make the crucial plays to hold off the Redbirds (22-10). Illinois State cut the lead to one point five times in the second half. It never took the lead.

“That was the entire second half — how many times we had a chance to change the psychology of the game and were not able to,” Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich said.

Murry led WSU with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Garrett Stutz and Demetric Williams both added 12. The Shockers made 15 of 20 free throws and forced 16 turnovers.

The Redbirds missed 12 of 26 free throws. Center Dinma Odiakosa led Illinois State with 15 points, but he missed eight of his 13 free throws.

The Shockers did much more than watch the Redbirds miss at the line.

J.T. Durley took a charge from Osiris Eldridge with 4:28 to play, opening the door for WSU to add cushion to a four-point lead. Williams did just that with a three-pointer for a 55-48 lead.

Toure Murry’s free throw-line jumper, with the shot clock ticking away, gave WSU a 57-51 lead with 2:06 to play.

Durley put WSU up 58-51 with a free throw with 1:40 to play. He missed the second. Hatch threw himself into the rebounding scrum and tipped the ball to teammate Garrett Stutz. His layup gave WSU a 60-51 lead.

“Graham did a great job getting his guy low and he kept it alive.” Stutz said. “We have sets with the two guys on the free-throw line. We communicated to cross and tried to get under the basket.”

All that almost wasn’t enough. The Redbirds kept pressing and making baskets. They cut a 10-point deficit to two in 59 seconds.

Then WSU hit its home run.

Hatch’s layup gave WSU a 65-61 lead with 16 seconds to play. It changed the momentum after the Redbirds cut WSU’s lead from 62-54 to 63-61 by forcing two turnovers.

In a timeout, Marshall gave Murry the option to throw the pass.

“Graham Hatch, I know he can grab the ball because he’s an athletic player,” Murry said. “So I just threw it, and hopefully he’ll make the catch. I just trust him.”

Hatch saw Illinois State’s Lloyd Phillips hesitate just a moment when Hatch faked toward Murry before running to the opposite basket. Even with that edge, Phillips recovered and made a play on the ball. Hatch caught the pass, protected the ball from Phillips on his way to the basket and scored.

“I saw the ball coming, and I saw Phillips, he saw it, too,” Hatch said. “Toure made a great pass. It landed perfectly in my hands.”

Just like WSU expected.

“It’s been a long time coming for the Shockers,” Marshall said. “Now we have that stage.”

Pitt Gorilla · 03-07-2010, 01:31 PM

UNI is in and is playing for a better seed.

Jewish Rabbi · 03-07-2010, 01:37 PM

UNI will beat their ass.

ChiefaRoo · 03-07-2010, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jewish Rabbi

UNI will beat their ass.

I think not.

ChiefaRoo · 03-07-2010, 01:56 PM

Very good basketball game.

Pitt Gorilla · 03-07-2010, 01:58 PM

Wichita Fans on Koch's injury:

"hope your leg is broken in six places, Koch!"

"THATS WHAT YOU GET FOR FLOPPING HOMO!1!!!"

**Saulbadguy** · 03-07-2010, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Wichita Fans on Koch's injury:

"hope your leg is broken in six places, Koch!"

"THATS WHAT YOU GET FOR FLOPPING HOMO!1!!!"

Good for WSU fans. HBBIQ.

Jewish Rabbi · 03-07-2010, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Both Wichita Fans on Koch's injury:

FYP

ChiefaRoo · 03-07-2010, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jewish Rabbi

FYP

Shut yer' hole.

ChiefaRoo · 03-07-2010, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Wichita Fans on Koch's injury:

"hope your leg is broken in six places, Koch!"

"THATS WHAT YOU GET FOR FLOPPING HOMO!1!!!"

Listen, he is a flopper. He looks like a f**king euro soccer player on the court half the time. Good player though.

03-07-2010, 12:43 PM
ChiefaRoo MVP Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Austin,TX Casino cash: $3927505	Missouri Valley Conference Title Game Thread Wichita State vs. Northern Iowa - 1pm CBS IT'S ON!! Winner gets their ticket punched. Go WSU!!
Posts: 11,953

03-07-2010, 12:44 PM	#2
Stewie MVP Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: West of the Equator Casino cash: $-1830099	Go Shockers! We need three teams from Kansas in the tourney!
Posts: 13,871

03-07-2010, 12:50 PM	#4
POND_OF_RED The talking stonehead Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Blue Springs, MO Casino cash: $-1926854	Got to love championship week. These tournament championships for smaller conferences are walways fun to watch because most of the time it's lose and go home. Both of these teams have good records though. Does anyone know the bubble situation? Is only one MVC team getting through this year?
Posts: 6,016

03-07-2010, 01:02 PM	#6
ChiefaRoo MVP Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Austin,TX Casino cash: $3927505	Wichita State advances to MVC championship game BY PAUL SUELLENTROP The Wichita Eagle ST. LOUIS — It is the kind of play a team that expects to win makes. It’s the kind of play a team that wants to earn its way into the NCAA Tournament makes. Illinois State went all-in on defense in a desperate situation, trailing by two points with 20 seconds to play after rallying to nearly catch Wichita State. The Shockers needed to make the Redbirds pay by busting the balloon and relieving the pressure, as coach Gregg Marshall said. So the Shockers went for the home run. Toure Murry passed long to Graham Hatch, who made a contested layup. It took guts and trust, Marshall explained, envisioning the second-guessing if the play fails. It worked. It worked because the Shockers expected it to, expected to win and expected to play in today’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game. Second-seeded WSU defeated third- seeded Illinois State 65-61 on Saturday. “I’m not the smartest coach in the world, but I’ve got a lot of faith in these guys,” Marshall said. “Big-time players make big-time plays.” The Shockers (25-8) proved that over and over again Saturday. Their reward is today’s game against top-seeded Northern Iowa (27-4). The winner takes the MVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It is WSU’s first appearance in the title game since 1987, ending 19 miserable seasons of frustration in St. Louis, the event’s home since 1991. “We finished second, so we were supposed to be here,” WSU junior Gabe Blair said. “We’ve got expectations, and one of our expectations was to be here.” These Shockers are unburdened by past failures in Arch Madness. They weren’t a part of most of them, and they play like a team intent on writing a new story in St. Louis for themselves and the 1,500-plus fans who made the trip. “I think it’s a great thing for the whole Shocker nation,” Murry said. “They’ve been looking to go to a championship.” They’ve got a chance to win one today, on CBS with Dick Enberg and Bill Raftery on the call. They watched Saturday’s game and saw the Shockers make the crucial plays to hold off the Redbirds (22-10). Illinois State cut the lead to one point five times in the second half. It never took the lead. “That was the entire second half — how many times we had a chance to change the psychology of the game and were not able to,” Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich said. Murry led WSU with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Garrett Stutz and Demetric Williams both added 12. The Shockers made 15 of 20 free throws and forced 16 turnovers. The Redbirds missed 12 of 26 free throws. Center Dinma Odiakosa led Illinois State with 15 points, but he missed eight of his 13 free throws. The Shockers did much more than watch the Redbirds miss at the line. J.T. Durley took a charge from Osiris Eldridge with 4:28 to play, opening the door for WSU to add cushion to a four-point lead. Williams did just that with a three-pointer for a 55-48 lead. Toure Murry’s free throw-line jumper, with the shot clock ticking away, gave WSU a 57-51 lead with 2:06 to play. Durley put WSU up 58-51 with a free throw with 1:40 to play. He missed the second. Hatch threw himself into the rebounding scrum and tipped the ball to teammate Garrett Stutz. His layup gave WSU a 60-51 lead. “Graham did a great job getting his guy low and he kept it alive.” Stutz said. “We have sets with the two guys on the free-throw line. We communicated to cross and tried to get under the basket.” All that almost wasn’t enough. The Redbirds kept pressing and making baskets. They cut a 10-point deficit to two in 59 seconds. Then WSU hit its home run. Hatch’s layup gave WSU a 65-61 lead with 16 seconds to play. It changed the momentum after the Redbirds cut WSU’s lead from 62-54 to 63-61 by forcing two turnovers. In a timeout, Marshall gave Murry the option to throw the pass. “Graham Hatch, I know he can grab the ball because he’s an athletic player,” Murry said. “So I just threw it, and hopefully he’ll make the catch. I just trust him.” Hatch saw Illinois State’s Lloyd Phillips hesitate just a moment when Hatch faked toward Murry before running to the opposite basket. Even with that edge, Phillips recovered and made a play on the ball. Hatch caught the pass, protected the ball from Phillips on his way to the basket and scored. “I saw the ball coming, and I saw Phillips, he saw it, too,” Hatch said. “Toure made a great pass. It landed perfectly in my hands.” Just like WSU expected. “It’s been a long time coming for the Shockers,” Marshall said. “Now we have that stage.”
Posts: 11,953

03-07-2010, 01:31 PM	#7
Pitt Gorilla Banned! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NOT Columbia, MO 65201 Casino cash: $-129806	UNI is in and is playing for a better seed. __________________ Your son is a bench warmer because of your weak genetics not because of the coach Norlin Mommsen is disgusting.
Posts: 47,382

03-07-2010, 01:37 PM	#8
Jewish Rabbi What's up braj? Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Placencia, Belize Casino cash: $-1806750	UNI will beat their ass.
Posts: 16,956

03-07-2010, 01:56 PM	#10
ChiefaRoo MVP Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Austin,TX Casino cash: $3927505	Very good basketball game.
Posts: 11,953

03-07-2010, 01:58 PM	#11
Pitt Gorilla Banned! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NOT Columbia, MO 65201 Casino cash: $-129806	Wichita Fans on Koch's injury: "hope your leg is broken in six places, Koch!" "THATS WHAT YOU GET FOR FLOPPING HOMO!1!!!" __________________ Your son is a bench warmer because of your weak genetics not because of the coach Norlin Mommsen is disgusting.
Posts: 47,382