Davis Named AP Coach of the Year

Keno Davis, who led Drake to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1971, was named Coach of the Year by the AP today.

In his first year after taking the reins of the Drake program from his father, Dr. Tom Davis, the younger Davis turned the Missouri Valley's perennial doormat into the league's champion.

Drive and Dish extends congratulations to Keno Davis, to Drake University and to the Missouri Valley Conference.

Cuonzo Martin Named Head Coach at Missouri State

By Trashtalk Superstar

Yesterday, Missouri State announced that Cuonzo Martin has been hired as the new men's head basketball coach. Prior to his hiring at Missouri State, Martin spent eight years at Purdue, where he served as the Associate Head Basketball Coach. Martin played for Gene Keady at Purdue from 1991-95.

Cuonzo Martin's arrival at Missouri State comes an important juncture in time for the Bears' basketball program. As Missouri State's press release states:

"Martin becomes the 16th head coach in the history of Missouri State, the 27th winningest NCAA Division I program in America. He will take over the reins of the program in time for the 100th anniversary of Missouri State’s basketball program and will inaugurate the Bears’ move into the $67 million 11,000-seat JQH Arena for the 2008-09 season."

Edit:

Earlier in the month, Drive and Dish noted that Coaching News Online was floating a rumor about Illinois Head Basketball Coach Bruce Weber's purported interest in the Missouri State job. The "rumors" section at Coaching News Online reported that Bruce Weber had been talking to Missouri State about the school's head coaching job.

While there turned out to be no truth to the rumor that Bruce Weber was headed to Missouri State, it's probably true that Bruce Weber was talking to Missouri State about their head coaching job. Weber spent eighteen years as an assistant to Gene Keady at Purdue. He coached Cuonzo Martin at Purdue and maintained frequent contact with Martin while Martin was coaching at Purdue.

It appears likely that Missouri State talked to Weber on at least a few occasions, in order to get Weber's opinion on Martin. Bruce Weber is highly respected in coaching circles and among Athletic Directors at NCAA institutions. Missouri State probably relied on him as a reference for Cuonzo Martin.

Bruce Weber to Missouri State?

Coachingnewsonline.com is circulating the rumor that Illinois' Bruce Weber has been in talks with Missouri State about that school's head coaching job.

According to said website:

"Weber may only have 1 season to right the ship at Illinois before being let go, so he may be looking at other options now."

Missouri State already has a very good coach in Barry Hinson. The Bears' program has been quite successful during Hinson's reign. But despite having made Missouri State into a consistent contender in the Missouri Valley Conference, Hinson has never taken the Bears to the NCAA Tournament. And with a new arena about to open next year, the school is, apparently, looking to go in a new direction.

But the hot rumor has been that Missouri State is targeting Bob Knight to be its next coach. The Bruce Weber rumor really comes as a surprise.

And the same website is reporting that Kelvin Sampson may be back in coaching as soon as next year. Allegedly:

"Detroit has been in close contact with former Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson. The recently resigned Sampson is facing major recruiting violations from Indiana, yet the Detroit Administration is apparently willing to overlook those to hit a home run for their next coach."

Also, according to the website, LSU has targeted USC head coach Tim Floyd to fill its coaching vacancy.

Edit:

Missouri State hired former Purdue Associate Coach Cuonzo Martin as its new men's basketball head coach.

Drive and Dish discussed Martin's hiring here.

As we said in the linked post, it's likely that Missouri State did talk to Illinos' Bruce Weber about the open men's head basketball coaching position. Weber coached Martin for all of his four at Purdue when Weber was an assistant to Gene Keady. Missouri State probably used Bruce Weber as a reference when they were researching Cuonzo Martin.

Bradley Upsets #16 Drake

With 11 seconds left in regulation, Jeremy Crouch head faked, watched a defender fly past him, then stepped up and hit a long 2 point field goal that gave visiting Bradley a 72-71 lead over Missouri Valley regular season champion Drake. Crouch's jumper proved to be the game winner, as Bradley held on to upset #16 Drake.

Tonight's 1 point win was a payback of sorts for Bradley, who lost to Drake by 1 point at home in January, 69-68. Crouch finished with 23 points for Bradley (16-12, 9-7 Missouri Valley).

Josh Young led Drake with 23 points.

Much has been made of Drake's recent basketball renaissance. Today's Peoria Journal Star has a one such article.

But despite all the attention that Drake has received, Bradley shouldn't be overlooked. True, the Braves struggled early in the season. But they've won 8 of their last 10 games and have looked like a much better team since the return of point guard Daniel Ruffin (who was sidelined for part of the season due to hernia surgery).

Bradley is surging.

Drake may have won the Missouri Valley regular season championship, but Bradley could be dangerous in the Missouri Valley Tournament.

Drake Falls to Southern Illinois

Drake's 21 game winning streak is over.

Last night, the Bulldogs walked into Carbondale, IL, with a gaudy 22-1 record and ranked #14 in the nation.

But Southern Illinois defended its home court and pulled out a 65-62 nail biting upset win over conference rival Drake, the Missouri Valley's first place team.

Southern Illinois (13-12) has struggled mightily throughout the season. But they remain undefeated at home in Missouri Valley play.

Drake's remarkable rise

By Mark Buckets

By now, you've surely heard about the resurgence of the Drake Bulldogs. The little private school in Des Moines represents all that is good and pure about college basketball. Let's examine how this Missouri Valley Conference charter member has risen to heights unseen before by the university.

Dr.Tom Davis, whose integrity has been lauded by the mainstream media, launched Drake's meteoric rise to the top of the MVC and into the Top 25. Although the Bulldogs have been to the Final Four (1969 Third Place Finish), they failed to capitalise off of that success. When Davis was hired in 2003, the pressure was nonexistent. Drake Basketball was irrelevant, thereby allowing Davis the time to install his system. It must be said that, although Davis has retired, he does have a page dedicated to his career on the Drake Basketball Website. They haven't forgotten about the old man.

Even though Davis notched only one winning season while in Des Moines, he laid the foundation for son and current National Coach of the Year candidate (and favorite in this bloggers opinion), Keno Davis. The Bulldogs are, to say the least, three-point shot dependant. There are no true "centers" on the roster, as every player is a threat to hit the outside shot. As one glances up and down the Drake roster, you come across a stark reality: Most of these kids were not only overlooked by major Division 1 basketball programs, but ignored all together. Current MVC rebounding leader Jonathan Cox, was in fact, a walk-on. Players like him truly personify the Bulldog Program.

Not to be confused with the Loyola Marymount teams of the early 1990's, this Drake team prefers to slow the pace down to a crawl. They make you defend every second of every offensive possession, another staple of Tom Davis's most successful teams at Iowa. The way this team plays is a breath of fresh, Midwestern air. As cliche as it may sound, Drake plays the way basketball is meant to be played. They are a basketball purist's dream.

In the case of all collegiate sports programs that experience a new found success, there comes the inevitable question: Will the coach be lured away by a bigger, tradition-laden school? In the case of Drake, Keno Davis is secured through the 2011 season. In this day and age, however, larger programs will do whatever it takes (and that includes a costly buyout) to get their dream coach. I would be shocked if Davis was to remain in Des Moines through next year.

Drake Basketball is a wonderful story. They combine small-school innocence and big-time results. The ultimate track of this program, however, is unknown. Drake fans need to sit back, and enjoy the ride.

Southern Illinois Continues to Falter

Tonight, Southern Illinois lost at Drake 61-51.
While it's true that this year's much improved Drake team is arguably the best team in the Missouri Valley Conference, Southern Illinois is in an absolute tailspin.

Drive and Dish readers are, most likely, aware of SIU's struggles this season. We chronicled them: here and here.

SIU was ranked as high as #19 in the AP poll early in the season. They were everybody's pre season pick to win the Valley (although Drive and Dish was concerned that their backcourt wouldn't be able to recover from the graduation of stalwart guards Tony Young and Jamaal Tatum). But the Salukis have fallen apart since Thanksgiving. One wonders if and when Southern will start to turn things around.

ESPN's Kyle Whelliston talks about how Southern Illinois is trying to reestablish a culture of winning..


By the Way:

If Drake keeps winning important games in the Valley, Drive and Dish is going to have to start talking about them. Drake has been bad for two decades. But this year all they do is win. And nobody saw it coming. The Drake Bulldogs might be one of the best stories in college hoops.

Southern Illinois Continues to Spiral Downward

Just days ago, Drive and Dish noted Southern Illinois' recent struggles on the hardwood. Last night Southern Illinois, fresh off of an embarrassing loss to Saint Louis, fell to Western Michigan 57-41. On Sunday, Drive & Dish discussed the Salukis' dearth of scoring. Against Western Michigan, SIU only managed 41 points. That's pathetic for any team, let alone for a team that was ranked #18 in the AP Top 25 a few weeks ago and was widely expected to win the Missouri Valley Conference.

As we stated on Sunday, this Southern Illinois team isn't as good as recent SIU teams have been. SIU lost it's two best guards (and their leading scorer and "go to guy") to graduation. But they still have three very good starters (PG Bryan Mullins, F Randal Falker and F Matt Shaw) from last year's Sweet Sixteen team. Some fall off was to be expected, but the Salukis shouldn't be this bad.

What's worse, Southern Illinois needed to beat Western Michigan in order to start turning their season around before conference play begins. Now SIU appears to be falling into the abyss.

Southern Illinois Falls to Saint Louis, In Danger of Falling Off Map

Last night, Southern Illinois lost to Rick Majerus' struggling Saint Louis Billikens 56-51. Earlier in the season, Southern Illinois was ranked #18 in the AP top 25. Now, with a 3-4 record that includes blowout losses to USC and Indiana, as well as bad losses to Charlotte and the aforementioned Saint Louis Billikens, Southern Illinois is in danger of falling off the college basketball map.

Southern Illinois has made six straight NCAA Tournament appearances. They made it to the Sweet Sixteen in 2002 and 2007. They have been a perennial powerhouse in the underrated Missouri Valley Conference. And after Gonzaga, Southern Illinois has probably been the most consistently visible (in terms of time spent in the AP top 25, national television coverage and overall recognition) mid major program in college basketball (George Mason's trip to the 2006 Final Four was big, but SIU has been visible for a longer period of time).

But if SIU doesn't turn things around soon, they won't be in the Tournament in March.

So what's wrong with Southern Illinois, and what can they do to get their season back on track?

Southern lost guards Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young to graduation. Tatum was their go-to guy for the last three seasons. Without Tatum, the Salukis don't have a proven scorer, or a player who is comfortable in the scorer's role. Right now SIU doesn't have a guy who is capable of creating shots for himself or a guy who's proven to be able to make big shots when the game is on the line.

Tony Young was a lock-down defender who evolved into a big time perimeter scorer (although he was always the second option, after Tatum). Young was also a fifth year senior and the undisputed team leader. With the tandem of Tatum and Young, in additon to tough, lock down defender PG Bryan Mullins and scrappy big men Randal Falker and Matt Shaw, Southern Illinois was as talented as just about anyone in college basketball (remember, last year SIU was one missed layup away from beating Kansas, and earning a trip to the Elite Eight).

This year, however, SIU has some holes to fill.

In Mullins, Southern Illinois has one of the best defensive minded point guards in college basketball. But Mullins isn't a big scorer. He's good at running the offense, he can penetrate and distribute and he'll hit open three pointers. But Mullins isn't the type of player who can carry the Saluki's offensively.

Forward Randal Falker gets a significant amount of media love. He's the current face of Southern Illinois basketball. But he's not a natural scorer. Falker is an energy guy. He's effective as a rebounder, defender and garbage man. But he's not a polished post scorer.

The other forward, Matt Shaw, is a good rebounder and a nice perimeter shooter, but he's not really an inside scorer either.

Southern Illinois was overrated at the start of the season. The current team doesn't have the weapons that previous SIU teams have had. That said, Chris Lowrey's teams are all hard nosed, scrappy, and defense-oriented. Southern Illinois will be competitive in the Missouri Valley Conference. But they won't dominate the Valley this year, as they did the last two or three years. In fact, right now they don't even look like they'll be a legitimate contender to win the conference. But they'll be competitive. You can count on that. And if they can finish in the top three in the Valley, they will still have a good shot at making it to the NCAA Tournament.

But they've got to get it going soon.

Tom Izzo, Michigan State Survive Scare at Bradley: Drive and Dish Shows Izzo Some Love Just for Scheduling Game

This past Tuesday, #9 Michigan State traveled to Peoria, IL to play the Bradley Braves, an unranked, but scrappy team from the underrated Missouri Valley conference. A crowd of 11,500 braved a winter storm in order to set a Peoria Civic Center/Carver Arena record for attendance (the arena has a capacity of roughly 11,000). Tuesday's game marked the first time in over twenty years that Bradley played host to a team ranked in the AP top ten. After being behind for most of the game, Michigan State rallied to escape with a hard fought 66-61 win. A major factor in Michigan State's shaky performance was the hostility of the Bradley crowd. Bradley students, alumni and fans packed the normally sterile Carver Arena to create what Michigan State coach Tom Izzo termed an "electric environment."

Tom Izzo should be commended for scheduling a "two and one" series with Bradley. It's difficult for Missouri Valley teams to find non conference opponents from BCS conferences like the Big Ten. The MVC is widely considered to be one of the best conferences in college basketball. And Valley teams have a reputation for playing a tough, scrappy, defensive-minded brand of basketball. But the Missouri Valley is still technically a "mid major" conference. Thus, teams from major conferences stand to gain little by playing Missouri Valley teams: the Valley teams are almost certain to challenge the "major" conference teams (and maybe even beat them) but the "major" conference teams aren't likely to be rewarded for close wins over "mid majors" in the RPI rankings or by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. So they usually won't play the good Valley teams.

Give Izzo credit. He knew that Michigan State didn't stand to gain much by playing that game (in either the RPI rankings or in the eyes of the selection committee) -- and he knew that if they were to lose, or even struggle with Bradley, they could pay for it all season long (and that it could, ultimately, affect their Tournament seeding).

But Izzo took his Spartans to battle an unheralded opponent in a hostile environment. And after surviving Tuesday night's scare, he's relieved to get out with a win and thinks his team will be tougher in the long run for having played the game.

That's why Drive and Dish is showing Tom Izzo some love (actually, Tom Izzo is probably my favorite coach in college basketball -- I've respected and admired him for many years -- so it's hardly a surprise that D&D is showing Izzo love). We believe that you've got to give credit where credit's due.

Who You Callin' Mid Major? Lowrey Agrees to Seven Year Deal With Southern Illinois

Amid speculation that he was in the running for the Michigan, Arkansas and Iowa coaching positions, Chris Lowrey agreed to a contract extension with Southern Illinois. SIU will pay Lowrey $750,000 per year for seven years.

That's huge.

Southern Illinois University is a cash-strapped institution. Their basketball team competes in the Missouri Valley Conference (a mid-major, non BCS conference). They're a mid-major. To prevent Lowrey from bolting to greener pastures, and to reward him with such a lucrative deal is an enormous commitment for the SIU administration.

Southern Illinois is making a statement. They have made six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, and have been to two Sweet Sixteens in the last five years. By retaining Lowrey (and paying so much to do so), SIU is saying that they plan on being major.

Unfortunately, Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young graduate this year. Next year will be a rebuilding season for the Salukis. Chris Lowrey was a hot coaching prospect this year. His stock was soaring after the Sweet Sixteen run. If Southern Illinois falters in the upcoming seasons, Lowrey may regret his decision to stay in Carbondale. Up and coming coaches have a small window to be upwardly mobile. They've got to strike while the iron's hot. Here's to hoping that Lowrey made the right decision.