For Chad Sherwood’s initial bracket projection (in his own view) for the season – CLICK HERE
For Jon Teitel’s initial bracket projection (in an attempt to forecast the Selection Committee) for the season – CLICK HERE
Southern Illinois (9-6, 2-0 MVC) at Drake (11-4, 0-2 MVC) – 8:00 PM EST (ESPN+)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Today’s Toledo-Buffalo matchup would have been the UTR Game of the Day, but Buffalo’s Top 25 ranking disqualifies them from these matchups for now.
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes place in Des Moines, Iowa where the Salukis of Southern Illinois pay a visit to play the Drake Bulldogs. Southern Illinois was expected to be one of the top UTR teams going into the season, but have hit a snag this year with losses at Kentucky, Murray State, twice to Buffalo, and ugly losses against UMass and Winthrop. Their only noncon win of note was at home against A-10 favorite Saint Louis. Nonetheless, they are off to a better start in conference play with back-to-back wins against Missouri State at home and at Northern Iowa. Kavion Pippen had 18 points in the Salukis’ win against Northern Iowa over the weekend.
Drake came into conference play suddenly looking like a potential favorite to win the Missouri Valley after an 11-2 start. A double-overtime loss at Evansville was tough enough to endure, but the crushing blow from that game was the loss of star player Nick Norton to an ACL tear – he is done for the season for the Bulldogs. In their first game without Norton, Drake lost to Loyola-Chicago after surrendering 12 3-point shots to the Ramblers during that contest.
In the meantime, don’t forget that Barry Hinson’s BBQ Sauce is still available for purchase:
COMMENTS FROM DAVID: Gee, great game!! TOO BAD IT’S TOMORROW NIGHT!!! Stalica doesn’t know what day it is!!! #StalicaDoesNotKnowWhatDayItIs Let’s get this trending on Twitter!!!