FanHouse TimJankovich

I think it's safe to say that the Missouri Valley Conference season isn't playing out as predicted. Southern Illinois , Bradley and Creighton got most of the preseason talk and even though conventional wisdom held that it would be hard to find a second tournament-worthy team after the Salukis, people assumed that there would be quite a fight between those teams.

Reality has proven to be quite different. If SIU doesn't win the tourney, they ain't playing in the postseason, Bradley is 0-3 in conference after losing to Wichita State, which only improved to 1-2. Creighton has the same lackluster mark after squeezing past Missouri State 50-49 yesterday and the teams to watch are Drake, Indiana State and Illinois State.

Illinois State struck the biggest blow yesterday by sending Southern Illinois to another loss, 56-47 at Redbird Arena. Levi Dyer and Osiris Eldridge, two All-MVC candidates who come off the bench for Tim Jankovich, combined to hit seven three-pointers and bury the Salukis. The 'Birds led 31-13 at the half as SIU turned in their customary nightmarish offensive performance. Joshua Bone missed all eight of his shots, the team was 13-of-50 overall and they turned the ball over 21 times in a stomach-turning and all too common display of ineptitude.

College basketball took a backseat to football yesterday as roundball made the wise decision not to compete with a full slate of bowl games. There was one game worth noting, however, and it came from a conference without any football teams doing battle. The Missouri Valley is all about basketball and they continued conference play with Illinois State traveling to Wichita and beating the Shockers 49-46.

There wasn't much buzz around the Redbirds before the season for a couple of reasons. They were just 15-16 last season and brought in Tim Jankovich to replace former coach Porter Moser. With Southern Illinois, Bradley and Wichita State making the Sweet Sixteen in the last two years, ISU got lost in the shuffle but people ignored some important facts when making predictions. Jankovich inherited a squad with four returning starters and several key reserves and that's paid off in a quick turnaround.

Illinois State has won five in a row, including two MVC road wins in two tries, and are doing it with a stout defense. They hold opponents to 39% shooting and 59 points per game, both well below national averages, and a key in a good defensive conference. Offensively, their experience has made them an efficient offensive team that picks up more than one assist per turnover.