Missouri Valley Conference 2005-06 Season Recap
by Neal Heston
It seems as if the Missouri Valley Conference re-writes history each season. Two years ago, the league had one of its best non-conference seasons ever. That was followed by five teams reaching the postseason last year – including three in the NCAA Tournament. For the 2005-06 campaign, a league-record six teams won 20 games. All of them reached the postseason, including a record number of four in the NCAA. With four of those 20-win teams returning the majority of their rosters, next winter is already shaping up as a competitive one.
News and Notes:
- Tragedy struck Evansville when senior Eric Ottens was killed in a car accident during late March. The incident occurred in Dubuque, Iowa.
- UNI will have a new coach in 2006-07 after Associate Head Coach Ben Jacobson was promoted. Former Head Coach Greg McDermott left the Panthers to pursue the vacancy at Iowa State. Northern Iowa’s system should remain the same, though, as Jacobson had coached alongside McDermott for the past several seasons. The environment should be interesting when Iowa State visits UNI this winter.
- Wichita State will not have a new coach… for a very long time. Mark Turgeon was secured through 2016 after a Sweet 16 spring.
- Patrick O’Bryant entered the NBA draft, leaving Daniel Ruffin as the only returning starter for Bradley next season.
A look at the Valley postseason
Sweet Surprises
Wichita State: Although most people knew Wichita State would still be good after losing four starters last year, nobody could have envisioned a Sweet 16 appearance in 2006. WSU paved its way into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament by crushing No. 10 seed Seton Hall (who was favored by most to win) and upsetting No. 2 seed Tennessee. George Mason ended the Shockers’ magical run in the regional semifinals.
Bradley: Nobody gave the No. 13 seed Braves a chance when they had to face Kansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. After all, there was no way the Jayhawks could go one-and-done for a second straight year, right? Wrong. Led by 7-foot star Patrick O’Bryant, the Braves cruised to the Sweet 16 before being stopped in the regional semis.
Back in Action
Northern Iowa: For the third consecutive year, Northern Iowa bowed out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. After backing into the dance, UNI had hopes of upsetting No. 7 seed Georgetown, but the beasts from the east survived for a 54-49 win. UNI’s other two NCAA defeats were also by five points: 65-60 to Georgia Tech in 2004 and 57-52 to Wisconsin in 2005.
Southern Illinois: The Salukis headed into the MVC Tournament in St. Louis needing three wins, and that is exactly what they delivered. The conference championship earned SIU a No. 11 seed in the NCAA, but all the progress stopped after No. 6 seed West Virginia cruised past the Salukis, 64-46.
NIT
Missouri State: What does second place in the nation’s seventh-best conference get you? If you are the Missouri State Bears, it gets you into the NIT. MSU had every right to cry foul after getting snubbed from the dance this season, but the Bears didn’t. Instead, they went deep into the NIT, just falling short of a trip to Madison Square Garden.
Creighton: The Bluejays also got snubbed from the NCAA Tournament, but someone in the league had to be left out. It was unlikely the Valley would send six teams dancing. Creighton was victorious in the opening round, but fell to Miami (Fla.) in the first round of the NIT.
Hoopville’s All-MVC First Team
Player of the Year: Grant Stout, UNI – 11.8 PPG and 8.9 RPG
Patrick O’ Bryant, Bradley – 13.4 PPG and 8.3 RPG
Paul Miller, Wichita State – 13.6 PPG and 6.6 RPG
Ben Jacobson, UNI – 14.2 PPG and 3.9 RPG
Tony Young, Southern Illinois – 11.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG
Hoopville’s MVC All-Newcomer Team
Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois – The freshman was critical to SIU’s postseason run.
Karon Bradley, Wichita State – 8.0 PPG
Travis Brown, UNI – Averaged 3.5 PPG in just 8.9 minutes per game
Jason Holsinger, Evansville – 12.6 PPG
Al Stewart, Drake – 9.8 PPG and 144 assists
Hoopville’s Coach of the Year: Mark Turgeon, Wichita State
Touring the Valley
Wichita State (26-9, 14-4)
MVC Regular Season Champion, Lost in the NCAA regional semifinals
Finished season ranked No. 21
After losing four starters, few expected the Shockers to finish any higher than fourth in the MVC. However, four starters sank at least 10 points per game en route to one of the Valley’s biggest surprises. Newcomer Karon Bradley was the only Shocker not to average in double figures with 8 points per contest. WSU not only shocked the nation with a Sweet 16 appearance, but the MVC with its first title since 1983. Look for much of the same next season, because Paul Miller is the only departing senior.
Team Leaders:
Scoring: Miller, 13.1 PPG
Rebounding: Miller, 6.6 RPG
Assists: Sean Ogirri and P.J. Couisnard, 99
Early prediction for 2006-07: Second, MVC; NCAA Tournament
Southern Illinois (22-11, 12-6)
MVC Tournament Champion, Lost in NCAA Tournament first round
Southern Illinois couldn’t start or finish the season well, but the Salukis of old appeared during mid-season. The Salukis looked dead in the water five games into the season after a 2-3 start against mediocre teams. However, the youthful, defensive group rebounded and racked up wins in 16 of the next 20 games. Three defeats in the final four regular season contests had many writing off SIU again until the Salukis ran the table in the MVC Tournament to clinch an NCAA berth.
The 18-point loss to West Virginia wasn’t the end of the road for this team. Scoring leader Jamaal Tatum, rebounding leader Randal Falker and assists champion Bryan Mullins will all return. Tony Young and Matt Shaw will also come back, bringing with them 22 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Team Leaders:
Scoring: Tatum, 15.0 PPG
Rebounding: Falker, 7.8 RPG
Assists: Mullins, 105
Early prediction for 2006-07: Third, MVC; NCAA Tournament
Missouri State (22-9, 12-6)
Lost in NIT third round
For the third consecutive year, the Missouri State Bears had the NCAA Tournament in sight only to have it ripped away. This season was by far MSU’s best argument for an NCAA berth during the past several years. After a slow 5-5 start in MVC play, the Bears rallied to win seven of their last eight league games to claim a second-place tie with Southern Illinois and Creighton. However, a double-digit loss to Northern Iowa in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals doomed MSU to its second consecutive NIT.
Similar to Southern Illinois, the Bears return their leaders in scoring, rebounding and assists with Blake Ahearn, Nathan Bilyeu and Tyler Chaney slipping on MSU uniforms in 2006-07. Also back in Springfield will be Dale Lamberth, Sky Frasier and Drew Richards, bringing with them 18.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Next winter will yet again bring hopes of that coveted NCAA Tournament berth.
Team Leaders:
Scoring: Ahearn, 16.2 PPG
Rebounding: Bilyeu, 6.5 RPG
Assists: Chaney, 83
Early prediction for 2006-07: Fourth, MVC; NCAA Tournament
Creighton (20-10, 12-6)
Lost in NIT first round
The Bluejays certainly would have captured the MVC title if senior sharpshooter Nate Funk hadn’t fallen to injury. Funk, who averaged 17 points in the six games he was able to play, was granted a medical red shirt though and will be eligible in 2006-07 – bad news for the rest of the Valley.
Creighton struggled a little during mid-season but rebounded to finish the season with nine wins in 11 games. A quarterfinal loss to Bradley in the MVC Tournament doomed the ‘Jays to the NIT with Missouri State, but Creighton won its first game before falling to Miami (Fla.).
With Funk back in the lineup, Creighton basically returns all of its starters and should be heavily favored for the 2006-07 MVC crown. A returning support cast of Pierce Hibma, Dominic Bishop and Brice Nengsu will help too.
Team Leaders:
Scoring: Johnny Mathies, 13.5 PPG
Rebounding: Anthony Tolliver, 6.7 RPG
Assists: Josh Dotzler, 97
Early prediction for 2006-07: First, MVC; NCAA Tournament
Bradley (26-9, 14-4)
Lost in NCAA Tournament regional semifinals
Finished season ranked No. 24
Many experts predicted a finish in the middle of the pack for Bradley, and it looked as if that would be validated early on with a 3-5 start in league play. However, the Braves responded by going 8-2 in the remainder of conference play to tie Northern Iowa for fifth place in the MVC.
Led by the 7-foot wonder Patrick O’ Bryant, the Braves reached other feats during 2005-06 that hadn’t graced Peoria, Ill., in years. Bradley won its first MVC Tournament game since 2001 when it knocked down Creighton in the quarterfinals and then followed that by downing Wichita State in the semis. That performance earned the Braves a shot in the NCAA Tournament, where BU stunned No. 4 seed Kansas in the first round and then grabbed the nation’s attention by reaching the Sweet 16.
This was a fun season for Bradley, but expecting a repeat performance next winter wouldn’t be too logical. Marcellus Sommerville, O’ Bryant, Tony Bennett and Lawrence Wright exit the system, taking with them a whopping 49.8 points and 23.9 rebounds per game. Newcomers will have to step up alongside returnees Daniel Ruffin and J.J. Tauai.
Team Leaders:
Scoring: Sommerville, 15.7 PPG
Rebounding: O’ Bryant, 8.3 RPG
Assists: Ruffin, 171
Early prediction for 2006-07: Eighth, MVC
Northern Iowa (23-10, 11-7)
Lost in NCAA Tournament first round
A record season was well underway for the Northern Iowa program until mid-February. UNI cruised to a 21-4 start with powerful wins over Iowa, LSU and Dayton, but the Panthers finished out the slate losing six out of eight. An NCAA berth was most likely salvaged with a win over Missouri State in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals, but the cats couldn’t get past No. 7 seed Georgetown in the NCAA tourney.
The mention of Greg McDermott’s name for several head coaching positions could have played a mental factor for the team down the stretch. After McDermott was first mentioned for a position (at Missouri), UNI finished 2-6. Despite an unwanted finish, the Panthers tied the school record with 23 wins in 2005-06.
UNI will face a lot of changes next season, beginning with a new coach. Associate Head Coach Ben Jacobson was promoted during late March after McDermott left to take the opening at Iowa State. Life will also need to go on after the departures of graduating seniors Ben Jacobson, Erik Crawford and John Little. Whether or not anyone can step up in the hole at guard will determine if the Panthers fall down a bit. However, Travis Brown may be a nice fit after averaging 3.5 points in about 9 minutes per game this year.
Team Leaders:
Scoring: Jacobson, 14.2 PPG
Rebounding: Grant Stout, 8.9 RPG
Assists: Jacobson, 124
Early prediction for 2006-07: Fifth, MVC; NIT
Drake (12-19, 5-13)
Compare Drake to the guy who one morning spilled coffee on his suit, crashed his car on the way to work and got laid off once he finally reached work. It was “just one of those days” almost every night for the Bulldogs.
In mid-January, Drake was at its peak after an 11-7 start. However, a 91-72 loss at Northern Iowa turned all fortunes around for the worse. After that contest, the Bulldogs dropped six contests by a total of 15 points. Take away a bad break in each of those games, and Drake completes the regular season with an 18-12 mark. But also don’t forget the three-point defeat to Boston College near the beginning of the season and a one-point setback to Southern Illinois. Do we even dare suggest that this could have been a 20-win season for the ‘Dogs?
Expect good things in 2006-07, which may include an upper-half finish in the MVC. Eight players who saw time in at least 30 games will return, and oh yeah, add in Klayton Korver. Only Chaun Brooks and Sean Tracy won’t be back.
Team Leaders:
Scoring: Brooks, 10.4 PPG
Rebounding: Ajay Calvin, 5.3 RPG
Assists: Al Stewart, 144
Early prediction for 2006-07: Sixth, MVC; NIT
Evansville (10-19, 5-13)
A bad season was capped by tragedy for the Aces after senior Eric Ottens unexpectedly died in a car accident shortly after UE’s season ended. Ottens averaged 6.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game this season.
If there is any positive for Evansville to take out of 2005-06, it’s that several players received valuable playing time, and all but two of them will return next season. This includes the entire starting lineup: Matt Webster, Jason Holsinger, Kyle Anslinger, Bradley Strickland and Shy Ely. All five of those men put up at least 9.5 points per game. The Purple Aces could finally put together a long-awaited winning season in 2006-07.
Team Leaders:
Scoring: Webster, 14.2 PPG
Rebounding: Webster, 6.4 RPG
Assists: Holsinger, 119
Early prediction for 2006-07: Ninth, MVC (It will be very possible to finish near the bottom with a plus-.500 record next winter.)
Indiana State (13-16, 4-14)
The Sycamores were all about streaks this season. Unfortunately, the losing streak was much longer than the winning one. An 8-0 start to the season heightened hopes for Indiana State to reach the NCAA tourney for the first time since 1999, but then senior David Moss fell to injury and the Sycamores followed with 11 straight losses. When Moss returned, INS rebounded to finish the season with five wins in 10 games. That was not enough to secure a postseason berth, though.
For the first time in several years, experts should be able to predict postseason berths for Drake, Evansville and Indiana State without getting funny looks. All three will return the bulk of their rosters. Although Indiana State will lose a lot of force with Moss graduating, he is the only player not returning for the Sycamores next winter. Along with four starters and Eric Gray, INS will welcome back six other players who averaged 20-plus minutes per game this year.
Team Leaders:
Scoring: Moss, 16.6 PPG
Rebounding: Trent Wurtz, 5.9 RPG
Assists: Gabriel Moore, 107
Early prediction for 2006-07: Seventh, MVC; Possible NIT
Illinois State (9-19, 4-14)
Illinois State may not have much company at the bottom next winter. Three of the newbies to the system this year won’t return this winter – all of them starters. Greg Dilligard and Khalif Ford will come back, but they will need a lot of help from more newcomers.
Team Leaders:
Scoring: Dilligard, 9.9 PPG
Rebounding: Dilligard, 5.9 RPG
Assists: Neil Plank, 79
Early prediction for 2006-07: Tenth, MVC
