The MVC took a hit on Friday night when A.J. Graves' three gave Butler a win in Carbondale but the conference does not exist because of Southern Illinois alone. While SIU's struggles may get attention, the MVC still has a better RPI than any other league that doesn't play in BCS games. That should buoy their hopes of multiple bids come March but, if the first night of conference play is any indication, they may be too closely matched for any teams to stand out. No home teams won on game night one. The biggest win came in Omaha where Illinois State routed Creighton. The Bluejays felt like a conference favorite but the Redbirds flew much higher in the 80-67 win. They shot 51.9%, had five players in double figures led by Levi Dyer. The backup center hit five threes and finished with 20 points and looks like he's past the off-court troubles that led to his benching. Arrested for DUI, Dyer has worked his way back into good graces and combines with Osiris Eldridge and Anthony Slack to give ISU a deep, balanced attack.
Drake is 10-1 after holding off Wichita State 62-54. The difference came from three, where Drake hit 8-of-21 but the Shockers managed to knock down only three in the same amount of tries. They also missed 15-of-24 free throw attempts in a home loss that offered much doubt about their chances in conference this season.
Northern Iowa held Bradley to nine first-half points and cruised to a 59-48 win. In Evansville, Indiana State got 22 points from Gabriel Moore and rolled to a 70-56 win against the Purple Aces.
