Evansville at Missouri State

[Pocket Aces]

A brutal match-up for the Aces the last few years.

Midway through a stretch of seven consecutive games against teams that reached post-season play last March, the University of Evansville men's basketball team takes on 18th ranked Missouri State Tuesday at Springfield, Mo. Game time is 8:05 CST, and the game will be televised by ESPNU and broadcast by WUEV-FM (91.5).

The Bears are 12-3 and tied for second in the Missouri Valley Conference at
3-1. Evansville is 9-7 and 2-3, and tied for sixth.

THE MISSOURI STATE SERIES
Missouri State leads the series 22-19, and has won four in a row and 11 of the last 12 against the Purple Aces. Evansville’s only victory against MSU since the 2000-01 season came three years ago, when UE won 68-66 at Springfield on freshman Bradley Strickland’s basket in the final 10 seconds.

ABOUT THE BEARS
Missouri State has been ranked among the nation’s top 25 in the RPI all season. The Bears are 18th in this week’s RPI, second best in the Missouri Valley Conference behind #8 Southern Illinois. Veterans Blake Ahearn (16.5), Deven Mitchell (10.9) and Tyler Chaney (10.3) are the top scorers for Missouri State, which has won 19 games or more three seasons in a row. The Bears have won 14 straight at home, including eight this season.

SEVEN-GAME ITCH
The Missouri State game is number four for Evansville in a stretch of seven consecutive games against teams that played in the NCAA or NIT last March. UE is 0-3 so far, with losses at Bradley (NCAA) and UNI (NCAA), and a homecourt loss Saturday to Creighton (NIT). After Tuesday’s game at Missouri State (NIT), it’s back on the road to Wichita State (NCAA) Saturday followed by home games against Southern Illinois (NCAA) and Missouri State (NIT).

LINEUP CHANGE
Evansville went with the same starting five for 13 consecutive games until Saturday, when senior Art Stalbergs replaced freshman Jay Couisnard at forward. Stalbergs scored six points and grabbed five rebounds in 23 minutes in only his second start in two years on the team. The only non-senior in Evansville’s starting lineup Saturday was sophomore guard Jason Holsinger.

‘A’ IS FOR ACCURACY
It's rare that an opposing player has a higher free throw percentage than three-time NCAA leader Blake Ahearn of Missouri State. That will be the case, however, when Evansville comes to Springfield on Tuesday. Aces' senior Kyle Anslinger is the league leader with 36 makes in 38 attempts for 94.7 percent accuracy. Anslinger has made 14 in a row, and hasn't missed since Dec. 16 against Lipscomb. Ahearn isn’t far behind. He’s 58-for-62 for 93.5 percent.

MVC SCORING LEADER
Evansville senior forward Matt Webster continues to lead the league in scoring at 18.1, although he has been held to 12 points by both UNI and Creighton in UE’s last two games. Webster last week became only the ninth player in school history to total 1,200 points and 500 rebounds. Webster is also continuing the assault on UE's career free throw chart. He's fifth with 448, seven behind fourth place Marcus Wilson, the 1999 MVC Player of the Year.

PRODUCTION IN THE MIDDLE
Evansville senior center Bradley Strickland reached double figures for the fourth straight game Saturday with a team-high 15 points against Creighton. He's back in the MVC's top 10 in field goal percentage at .548, and remains second in the league in blocked shots at 1.88 per game. Strickland is also on target to join the 1,000-point club. Saturday's 15 points brought his career total to 914.

BETTER BALLHANDLING
One stat category that has changed for the better this season at Evansville is turnovers. The Aces are averaging 12.4, four fewer than last season. Sophomore point guard Jason Holsinger is number two in the Valley in assist-to-turnover ratio, with 85 assists and only 32 turnovers. He is also the Aces’ three-point field goal leader with 36 in 16 games.

[TNMSUFAN]

I expect a tough game and the Aces always seem to play well at Hammons. Also, coming off the emotions of the WSU game and with SIU game on Saturday I hope the minds are focused soley on the Aces.

As I said on Letsgobears both teams will probably pound it inside and whoever gets in foul trouble first will set the tone for the rest of the game.

[BearChief]

The logical assumption in this game would be for a Mo State letdown after an emotional win over the Shox. However, too much experience on this Bears team for that to happen. Webster always eats us up, and Strickland has never been one of my favorite guys to see, but I think our guys understand that a home loss to Evansville would be worse than a home win over Wichita is good.

Bears by a comfortable margin.

:bears:

[Nyghtewynd]

The win over the Shockers won't mean anything if they don't protect their home court. Since they seem to have found their cojones again, I'll take the Bears by 9.

[MSU Bleeds Maroon]

Trap game (with WSU last weekend and SIU on the horizon).

The Bears are due for a cold-shooting night.

Lack of depth in the middle.

It's January.

UE 58, MSU 57.

[Coasterbill42]

Anslinger has made 14 in a row, and hasn't missed since Dec. 16 against Lipscomb. Ahearn isn’t far behind. He’s 58-for-62 for 93.5 percent.

Ahearn made 14 LAST GAME! Anyone know what his current streak is?

[troutangler]

Ahearn made 14 LAST GAME! Anyone know what his current streak is?

22. He missed one against SLU and hasn't missed since.

[BearChief]

Trap game (with WSU last weekend and SIU on the horizon).

The Bears are due for a cold-shooting night.

Lack of depth in the middle.

It's January.

UE 58, MSU 57.


You aren't really serious, are you? :no:

[Pocket Aces]

University of Evansville basketball coach Steve Merfeld was given a tough choice entering tonight's 8:05 game at Missouri State.

He was asked would he rather face the six-hour bus ride to Springfield, Mo., or the Bears, who are ranked No. 18 nationally in the RPI?

"When you put it that way, the bus ride doesn't sound so bad," Merfeld said Monday before boarding the bus at Carson Center. "I've thought Missouri State was the best team in the Missouri Valley Conference for a long time.

"It doesn't mean they're going to win the league, but I think they're the deepest team in the Valley, definitely the best top to bottom. And they're expereinced and well-coached. It will be a challenge."

Missouri State (12-3, 3-1 MVC) is coming off a 95-87 home win over Wichita State on Sunday to stay within a game of the league lead. Evansville has lost four of five to slip to 9-7, 2-3.

"This is a game we really need to stay in early," said Merfeld. "We can't let them get off to the kind of start they did against Wichita when they hit their first six 3-pointers."

That fact alone concerns Merfeld, because the Aces gambled and lost by playing zone against a Creighton team that had been struggling shooting the ball.

The Bluejays hit 12 of 27 3-pointers (44 percent), after entering the game shooting 31 percent from beyond the arc.

"When you play zone against a team like Creighton you're rolling the dice," said Merfeld. "If they miss shots it looks great, but Creighton didn't do that.

"But the bottom line is we just didn't play well defensively against them. We'll have to mix defenses against Missouri State."

UE must also avoid a long dry spell on offense like the drought of nearly eight minutes they had Saturday against the Bluejays.

"We just have to execute offensively and defensively," said Merfeld. "We're going to play and play hard. We're excited about the opportunity to play a great team in a great atmosphere. But we must play well."

Blake Ahearn leads three Bears in double figures at 16.5 points a game.

[smsandmsuson]

Wont even be close. SIU may be up next but these Bears wont look past EU. Bears by at least 14

[gosmsgo]

bears 105

aces 42

[Nyghtewynd]

You aren't really serious, are you? :no:

So are any of the things that he said *wrong*? You may not like the logic, but at least he's making an argument. If you believe that past performances are indicative of future results, this could be a loss.

[btisu22]

Trap game (with WSU last weekend and SIU on the horizon).

The Bears are due for a cold-shooting night.

Lack of depth in the middle.

It's January.

UE 58, MSU 57.
It's this Karma thing again isn't it?:naughty:
:sycamores:

[genius4point0]

I think the bears win by 17. We are at home, where we have played well every game and the seniors seemed to have the right attitude after the WSU game. It will be within 10 for the first 30 mins then the Bears will stretch out.

[MSNSaluki]

bears 105

aces 42

I think the Bears will win by a comfortable margin, but I'm not sure it's gonna be 63.:lol:

[dab212s]

Mizzou won by 19 at Mizzou against Evansville, so the Bears need to win by at least double that.:scooter:

[douglasdmb]

Mizzou won by 19 at Mizzou against Evansville, so the Bears need to win by at least double that.:scooter:

Nice use of the scooter icon...? :original:

[rmoh18]

Both MSU and UE give up an average of 63 points per game. - EVEN

MSU averages 78.0 ppg, while UE averages 69.1. - ADV: MSU
Ahern (MSU) - 16.5 PPG Webster (UE) - 18.1 PPG

MSU is 244 for 332 (.735) from FT line, while UE is 273 for 372 (.734) FT line - EVEN
Ahern (MSU) - 58-62 (.935) Anslinger (UE) - 36-38 (.947)
notable - Webster (UE) 122-162 (.753)

MSU is 118 for 279 (.423) from 3PTS, while UE is 107 for 278 (.385) from 3PTS. - ADV: MSU
Ahern (MSU) - 3.13 3PT PG Holsinger (UE) 2.25 3PT PG / Anslinger (UE) 2.06 3PT PG

MSU averaging 30.7 RPG, while UE averaging 34.6 RPG. - ADV: UE, by the numbers
Chaney (MSU) - 4.9 RPG Strickland (UE) - 5.9 RPG

My prediction is MSU 78, UE 73....

[MSU Bleeds Maroon]

You aren't really serious, are you? :no:

Not only am I serious, I didn't even list several of the reasons why this could be a Very Bad Night:

- Evansville is a good team.

- Spencer Laurie's knee is acting up.

- With the later starting time (fewer old folks) and the midweek pre-semester date (fewer students in town), attendance is likely to be much lower than on Sunday. Lower attendance => Quieter crowd => Minimal home-court advantage.

- The Bears have a history of allowing the other team to dictate the tempo. Barry's natural instinct is to slow down the game whenever possible. Both trends work to the Aces' advantage.

- Did I mention that Evansville is a good team? Big man down low, good outside shooting, patient with the ball, don't turn it over much?

- We're in conference play. THERE ARE NO EASY GAMES. If the players are as dismissively cocksure as the fans, it's panic time.

I'd like to be wrong. I'd like to discover that the film study, game prep, and focus are all in the right place. I'd like to feel confident that this veteran team knows better than to look ahead to SIU. But I've got to see it first.

[Nyghtewynd]

- The Bears have a history of allowing the other team to dictate the tempo. Barry's natural instinct is to slow down the game whenever possible. Both trends work to the Aces' advantage.



And kenpom's tempo stats bear this out. All three losses (well, 2 losses and one something-else) fall within the slowest four games of the year. In general, the higher number of possessions in a contest favors the Bears. This made me worried when Berruh was concerned about defense in the WSU game. We need to be more concerned with keeping the pace high.

[BEARNUT]

Not only am I serious, I didn't even list several of the reasons why this could be a Very Bad Night:

- Evansville is a good team.

- Spencer Laurie's knee is acting up.

- With the later starting time (fewer old folks) and the midweek pre-semester date (fewer students in town), attendance is likely to be much lower than on Sunday. Lower attendance => Quieter crowd => Minimal home-court advantage.

- The Bears have a history of allowing the other team to dictate the tempo. Barry's natural instinct is to slow down the game whenever possible. Both trends work to the Aces' advantage.

- Did I mention that Evansville is a good team? Big man down low, good outside shooting, patient with the ball, don't turn it over much?

- We're in conference play. THERE ARE NO EASY GAMES. If the players are as dismissively cocksure as the fans, it's panic time.

I'd like to be wrong. I'd like to discover that the film study, game prep, and focus are all in the right place. I'd like to feel confident that this veteran team knows better than to look ahead to SIU. But I've got to see it first.


Bears by 20, right?

Tough game, tough night to play, tough nuts to crack.
Predictions: Bears 75 Aces 70
Key player to show up and do the most damage tonight: Nate Bilyeu
Honorable Mention: Drew Richards
Midway through 2nd. half will decide game, whoever is ahead at 9:00 min mark will win.
Just a couple of predictions, take it or leave it.

[douglasdmb]

Midway through 2nd. half will decide game, whoever is ahead at 9:00 min mark will win.

Have you been following Bears basketball this season?

[BEARNUT]

Have you been following Bears basketball this season?

My prediction is for this game and this game only. I believe the Bears did hold on to win at Bradley and kept a good lead against WSU. Sure they let it get back down to 7, but it was only 7. Give the Bears some credit for the games they didn't let slip away. I do know that their 12 wins means that they didn't blow them all.

[douglasdmb]

My prediction is for this game and this game only. I believe the Bears did hold on to win at Bradley and kept a good lead against WSU. Sure they let it get back down to 7, but it was only 7. Give the Bears some credit for the games they didn't let slip away. I do know that their 12 wins means that they didn't blow them all.

Good point. It does seem like holding on at the end has become a point of emphasis for this team after letting two games slip out of our back pocket already this year.

[BearsCountry]

http://imageigloo.com/images/685MILK.JPG

[ACES..ACES]

Wont even be close. SIU may be up next but these Bears wont look past EU. Bears by at least 14


What is so hard for you people to know that it is the University of Evansville...The Aces have been in the MVC since the 94-95 season.
Geez, you people are slow learners :doh:

:aces:

[BearsCountry]

What is so hard for you people to know that it is the University of Evansville...The Aces have been in the MVC since the 94-95 season.
Geez, you people are slow learners :doh:

:aces:

UNI has been in since 1991 and people still call them NIU.

[MissouriState]

Bears by 14.:bears: :bounceblue: :bounceblue:

[DJShocker10]

What is so hard for you people to know that it is the University of Evansville...The Aces have been in the MVC since the 94-95 season.
Geez, you people are slow learners :doh:

:aces:

Wow. Someone that is more insecure about their name than a SWOMO:doh: Missouri State fan.

[ACES..ACES]

Wow. Someone that is more insecure about their name than a SWOMO:doh: Missouri State fan.

No, that's not it, I'm just amazed how damn dumb you people are....:yes:

So....I guess you support University State Wichita? See My Point Now?

[barkeep1967]

No, that's not it, I'm just amazed how damn dumb you people are


hehe

You have not been here long have you. Give it time you aint seen nothing yet.

[Divergence]

No, that's not it,



Rookie, its called bait. Make sure you get those massive hook wounds looked at.

[ACES..ACES]

Rookie, its called bait. Make sure you get those massive hook wounds looked at.

Actually Hoss, I've been around for 6 or 7 years now....it just doesn't show my original date because of the New Valley Talk Board. Oh ya....no wounds, just stating a fact that there are a lot of *******es on this board. :doh:
:aces:

[shockball]

7-0 Bears.

[shockball]

14-1. Saving the timeouts?

[barkeep1967]

21-6 ugh

The Bears look awful good

[Ace Dad]

25-11

[frontrowdrake]

keep the reports coming

[Ace Dad]

28-11

[Ace Dad]

UE's Gomez shooting FTS.

Has only played 26 minutes this year.

[shockball]

Wisconson 14 Ohio State 11.

[Ace Dad]

Chaney hits a 3.

31-12

8 mins

[Ace Dad]

Bears shooting 62%

[frontrowdrake]

Jeepers, the Bears are for real.
How are you Col.?

[Ace Dad]

Frontrow! Hey buddy :)

Am doing fine.

[Ace Dad]

32-14

6 mins to go

[Ace Dad]

Bears 5-7 from 3 pt land

38-17

5 mins

[Ace Dad]

Chaney alley oop to Mitchell

40-19

[Ace Dad]

42-19

Chaney scores and shooting a FT

[frontrowdrake]

I am good, I hope you had a great Christmas.

[estreetah]

Can this game be viewed online?

[Ace Dad]

Aces announcers say the Bears are looking good.

Coach Merfeld called for a technical.

Ahern is 3rd in the nation for FTs.

45-19

[Ace Happy]

I just tuned into this game on ESPNU and want to crawl into a hole. Can the UE bus be started up now and let's just call it a night? God, MSU has owned us over the years and they make us look like a high school team.

[barkeep1967]

Can this game be viewed online

Probably not it's on ESPNU so they heve the rights.

I think most people have switched to the OSU-Wisconsin game already anyway.

[Ace Dad]

3:52 to go

Timeout

[Ace Happy]

bears 105

aces 42

Looks prescient to me!

[Ace Dad]

45-20

UE with 10 team fouls.

Ahern has 26 FTs in a row

[Ace Dad]

47-22

[Ace Dad]

Bears jumped out to a 16-1 lead.

49-22 with Chaney shooting a FT.

[MSU Bleeds Maroon]

+23 at the break.

Chairman WOW.

[Ace Dad]

53-30

[Nyghtewynd]

We flipped over to the game from listening to the Blues win in a shootout and heard the score, which prompted my wife to quip, "What's up with this--did Barry start hanging out with a basketball coach or something?"

Heh. :) Mean, but heh. One half to go, though, and I seem to remember SIU being ahead about this much in the tournament over MSU a couple of years ago. This game ain't over yet.

[douglasdmb]

Bears are up 53-30. Chaney with 15 points, 8 boards in first half.

:clap:

[azbirdfan]

Illinois State and Northern Iowa in Overtime! If you're interested in tuning in...

http://www.wjbc2.com/

[WSUbballer]

I'm thinkin our loss to MSU doesn't look so bad now....not that it ever did in the first place.

[douglasdmb]

Dex! Dex! Dex!

:bears:

[BearsFan25]

Bears are up 53-30. Chaney with 15 points, 8 boards in first half.

:clap:

Chaney has been playing great lately.

[Canevision]

Chaney is the MVP of this team thus far.

He rebounds big, he shoots the three, handles the backup PG, is our best on the ball defender, and usually distributes the ball well.

Ahearn gets the accolades, but w/o Chaney we're a different team this year (yes, w/o ahearn we're a different team too).

:bears: :valley:

[MSU Bleeds Maroon]

I wrote earlier that the Bears have traditionally allowed the opposition to dictate the tempo. That hasn't been the case tonight -- the tempo has favored the Bears from the second possession of the game.

We'll see if that continues in the second half, or if Barry is content to throw 20 minutes of Iba Ball out there.

[Canevision]

I wrote earlier that the Bears have traditionally allowed the opposition to dictate the tempo. That hasn't been the case tonight -- the tempo has favored the Bears from the second possession of the game.

We'll see if that continues in the second half, or if Barry is content to throw 20 minutes of Iba Ball out there.

Nah, they'll have some fun in the second half.

:bears:

[Ace Dad]

65-35

15 mins in second half

[Aces101]

The Aces are done.....no bench, no coaching

The starters will have jello legs the rest of the season.

Merfeld must go!

A senior dominated team simply cannot compete on the road in the MVC. Poor preparation again by the Aces. They simply cannot defend a slashing guard or the from behind the arc.

[Ace Dad]

67-37

The Bears cannot be this good.

The Aces cannot be this bad.

[Ace Happy]

Hey, did you notice it's raining threes outside?

[Ace Dad]

78-39

82-39

Chaney is 5-5 from the 3 pt line

[Ace Dad]

83-42

[douglasdmb]

Chaney is unconscious tonight shooting the ball, 5-for-5 from three, 21 points.

[Ace Dad]

I am signing out.

This will be a long bus ride back for the Aces.

Lick your wounds and get ready for the wild fans in Wichita.

[Fraydog]

Ahern with the one handed FLUSH. What a massacre.

[douglasdmb]

Dex with two blocks and a putback underneath in about two minutes.

[Fraydog]

99-48 with 3:48 left. Might be the biggest blowout in the Valley we see this year.

[douglasdmb]

Bears shooting 72% from field!

[creightonfever]

bears are scary this year.. :helpsmilie:



:valley: :jays:

[Canevision]

106-54 Bears.

GoBearsGo is the big winner on the predictions.

:bears:

[Canevision]

bears are scary this year.. :helpsmilie:



:valley: :jays:

It could be a very fun ride this year. I'm trying to not play the what if game, but if they just hold onto those two big leads, they'd be pushing the top-10 right now.

Oh well, I'll settle for the Valley title and a Sweet 16! :grin:

[WSUbballer]

One word... WOW.

[Fraydog]

bears 105

aces 42

Hey I gotta give him credit tonight. :bears: :valley:

[Strike00]

holy crap! please tell me the bench has been clear for awhile.

[MSNSaluki]

bears 105

aces 42


I think the Bears will win by a comfortable margin, but I'm not sure it's gonna be 63.:lol:


Uh, that's the last time I'll open my big mouth.:lol:
Missouri State scares the holy hell out of me.:helpsmilie:

[bleach]

I think they play better without that monkey on their back. If only Ahearn hadn't stunk it up tonight.

[douglasdmb]

holy crap! please tell me the bench has been clear for awhile.

Yes, and they're still scoring at will.

[Nyghtewynd]

go is the best predictor there has ever been. Too bad he's anti-technology...I guess he'll get the score by passenger pigeon in a couple of hours.

[Canevision]

holy crap! please tell me the bench has been clear for awhile.

It has. they're just shooting the heck out of the ball as well. Lamberth, Fuerhmyer, Rausch all contributing points and to the shooting percentage.

What a fun game, I can't believe I watched Hitch instead of going.

106-54 Bears.

:bears:

[Nyghtewynd]

106-54. That'll be the final. It's the most points MSU has ever scored in conference play. I'm pretty sure that won't be the only record out of tonight.

[DawgieStyle]

Hey I gotta give him credit tonight. :bears: :valley:

well i guess even a barry melt down could give this one away...now in fairness, was this because EU was really really really bad, or because MSU was really really really good, or some where in between?

[Canevision]

This message is hidden because DawgieStyle is on your ignore list.

What a great sight! Thank you MikeKennedy!

[DawgieStyle]

they're so clever......

[BearsFan25]

Wow

Tyler Chaney should be MVC player of the week.

[bleach]

Tied for first! Saturday should be interesting?

[tennis08tarheels]

This should easily stand as the most lopsided Valley game this year. Probably of of the most lopsided conference games anywhere.

[doinit salukistyle]

uh oh...i think we might need to get josh warren out of retirement for these guys.

[DawgieStyle]

uh oh...i think we might need to get josh warren out of retirement for these guys.

i thought he was cryogenically frozen

[doinit salukistyle]

i thought he was cryogenically frozen

if by cryogenically frozen, you mean a stiff, then you are correct, sir!

[smsandmsuson]

Ugh! What it would look like with the CU game now!!!

[BearChief]

So are any of the things that he said *wrong*? You may not like the logic, but at least he's making an argument. If you believe that past performances are indicative of future results, this could be a loss.

Good call.

[jliehr]

uh oh...i think we might need to get josh warren out of retirement for these guys.

Only if we get Maclin back to set a screen on him :innocent:

[BearChief]

Not only am I serious, I didn't even list several of the reasons why this could be a Very Bad Night:

- Evansville is a good team.

- Spencer Laurie's knee is acting up.

- With the later starting time (fewer old folks) and the midweek pre-semester date (fewer students in town), attendance is likely to be much lower than on Sunday. Lower attendance => Quieter crowd => Minimal home-court advantage.

- The Bears have a history of allowing the other team to dictate the tempo. Barry's natural instinct is to slow down the game whenever possible. Both trends work to the Aces' advantage.

- Did I mention that Evansville is a good team? Big man down low, good outside shooting, patient with the ball, don't turn it over much?

- We're in conference play. THERE ARE NO EASY GAMES. If the players are as dismissively cocksure as the fans, it's panic time.

I'd like to be wrong. I'd like to discover that the film study, game prep, and focus are all in the right place. I'd like to feel confident that this veteran team knows better than to look ahead to SIU. But I've got to see it first.

Again, very good call.

[genius4point0]

well i guess even a barry melt down could give this one away...now in fairness, was this because EU was really really really bad, or because MSU was really really really good, or some where in between?

I would have to say it was mainly due to MSU being much much better, but this is the only Evansville game I have seen so it could have been them.

[Nyghtewynd]

Wow. You couldn't argue against any of the things he said...until the final score was posted. *Great* argument. Besides, he never said that the Bears *would* lose. He said they *could* lose.

[bears1]

Keep your heads up Evansville. It was just our night tonight.
We, ourselves have been on the other side of a beat down too when we lost to Cinncinati a few years back by 42 or so. Its not fun but you'll recover. We all know the bears are not 52 points better..Hell, on some nights we might be very lucky to be 2 points better. Use this loss as motivation like we have with our NCAA tournament snub and you will recover quicker.
Good Luck the rest of the way, your gonna win some big ones yet this year in the Valley. I hope for our sake that its not against us at your place though.

:aces: :bears: :valley:

[blueness]

Wow, I didn't think MoState's wrath would be this bad after their loss to Creighton a couple weeks back...Unbelievable showing tonight Bears!

And Wisconsin beat Ohio State...hmmm.

:jays:
:valley:

[BearChief]

This was a game that was so good that during the game I actually had to start thinking, "am I ever going to see anything like this again?"

I got a little nervous when we started milking it there at the end. A 56 point lead was shaved to 52 in the final minutes. :innocent:

[Divergence]

I got a little nervous when we started milking it there at the end. A 56 point lead was shaved to 52 in the final minutes. :innocent:

Excellent. That should be enough to reverse MSU karma for a couple games. :harhar1:

[NoPlaceLikeDome]

Damn, how long to Missouri State keep their starters in?

Reeks a little of running up the score to me...

Either way, good win Bears. Aces, you'll get back with it soon!

:bears: :valley: :aces:

[smsandmsuson]

Damn, how long to Missouri State keep their starters in?

Reeks a little of running up the score to me...

Either way, good win Bears. Aces, you'll get back with it soon!

:bears: :valley: :aces:

Bench scored 47 points. We shot 64% from the field. It was just our night. There was no running up the score with the starters.

[pawball]

Bears were rotating people in and out continually all night long, beginning with the first TV timeout (maybe evn before). We carry just 11 players, so difficult to go deeper than zat.

[Coasterbill42]

bears 105

aces 42


WOW! Looking at that before the game I would have laughed.

[scottpt99UE]

WOW! Looking at that before the game I would have laughed.


I did laugh at the before the game, and afterwards, once I found out the score, I was playing bball instead. Tough loss, not much you can do against 60+% shooting, playind defense would help some but not 40+ points worth

[Pocket Aces]

I had a committment earlier and had to TIVO the game. Just finished it. I knew we would get routed.....I highlighted it in the first post.........but wow! I thought last night's football game was a beatdown. We haven't matched up well with Missouri State in the last few years, but that was embarrassing.

Congrats to the Bears.

[XSaluki]

Wow. I am not looking forward to Saturday.

As strong as the Valley is this year, the bears are really standing out.

The bears are going to destroy teams when they get to the big dance; not if -- when they go to the dance.

[NoPlaceLikeDome]

Man, I was wrong.

It really was just your night. I hope this wears off before next week. :yes:

[MSU Bleeds Maroon]

Damn, how long to Missouri State keep their starters in?

Reeks a little of running up the score to me...

Either way, good win Bears. Aces, you'll get back with it soon!

:bears: :valley: :aces:

The five starters played 20, 22, 15, 22, and 25 minutes. The score differential didn't come from overplaying the starters; it came from continuing to run the offense full-speed in the second half. And given that this team has yet to find a low gear -- they either go full-speed or they stop completely -- the bench players almost equaled the starters in point production.

[MSU Bleeds Maroon]

Not only am I serious, I didn't even list several of the reasons why this could be a Very Bad Night:

- Evansville is a good team.

- Spencer Laurie's knee is acting up.

- With the later starting time (fewer old folks) and the midweek pre-semester date (fewer students in town), attendance is likely to be much lower than on Sunday. Lower attendance => Quieter crowd => Minimal home-court advantage.

- The Bears have a history of allowing the other team to dictate the tempo. Barry's natural instinct is to slow down the game whenever possible. Both trends work to the Aces' advantage.

- Did I mention that Evansville is a good team? Big man down low, good outside shooting, patient with the ball, don't turn it over much?

- We're in conference play. THERE ARE NO EASY GAMES. If the players are as dismissively cocksure as the fans, it's panic time.

I'd like to be wrong. I'd like to discover that the film study, game prep, and focus are all in the right place. I'd like to feel confident that this veteran team knows better than to look ahead to SIU. But I've got to see it first.

Again, very good call.

I'm glad that you got the pleasure of stopping your postgame celebration long enough to dig through a game thread, find a post that was obviously embedded in your dome, and sarcastically respond to it.

I was wrong about the team's focus and preparation. I was wrong about which team would dictate the tempo. The Bears earned the win that some of their fans had already put in the bank.

Please, enjoy your "good call" retort. I'm glad I could bring you joy.

[Dawgbit]

SIU does not stand a chance.

[TNMSUFAN]

Barry said we would be lucky to score half of these points on Saturday @ SIU

[DawgieStyle]

SIU does not stand a chance.

whatever. Yes, Mo. state is good, and I certainly think they could win, I also think SIU could win. Yes this is the same Mo. state team that beat Wisky, and blew away EU, but it's also the same Mo. state team that lost to SLU (whom SIU beat), and also lost to Creighton, they aren't invincible. And to boot, the game is AT SIU, where no one wins except Indiana State.

[gosmsgo]

wow

just what I predicted.

Im not surprised. Sometimes it hurts being this smart.
:sleeping: :sleeping:

[btisu22]

whatever. Yes, Mo. state is good, and I certainly think they could win, I also think SIU could win. Yes this is the same Mo. state team that beat Wisky, and blew away EU, but it's also the same Mo. state team that lost to SLU (whom SIU beat), and also lost to Creighton, they aren't invincible. And to boot, the game is AT SIU, where no one wins except Indiana State.
:lol: Once in 25 years! Just happened to be last year.:naughty:
:sycamores:

[ragin bear]

Damn, how long to Missouri State keep their starters in?

Reeks a little of running up the score to me...

Either way, good win Bears. Aces, you'll get back with it soon!

:bears: :valley: :aces:

The Bears only have 11 players and the bottom five in the rotation played the last 7 minutes of the game and were still scoring at will. There was no running up of the score tonight, the Bears are now just committed to never slowing down their offense, you can credit Creighton's comeback for that.

SIU will be a brutal war. Just throw the ball up and what happens happens.

[btisu22]

The Bears only have 11 players and the bottom five in the rotation played the last 7 minutes of the game and were still scoring at will. There was no running up of the score tonight, the Bears are now just committed to never slowing down their offense, you can credit Creighton's comeback for that.

SIU will be a brutal war. Just throw the ball up and what happens happens.
I watched the game and any Bear could have closed their eyes and shot the ball backwords and hit nothing but net. Just leave the game in Hammonds and get on the bus Evansville. They didn't run the score up.

[Aces101]

I am an Aces fan and didn't accuse MSU of running up the score.....that was a UNI fan with the accusations. MSU manhandled the Aces in every aspect of the game. Better coaching = better team. The Aces need a new coaching staff and philosophy. The Hampton method simply does not work in the Valley.

[TNMSUFAN]

whatever. Yes, Mo. state is good, and I certainly think they could win, I also think SIU could win. Yes this is the same Mo. state team that beat Wisky, and blew away EU, but it's also the same Mo. state team that lost to SLU (whom SIU beat), and also lost to Creighton, they aren't invincible. And to boot, the game is AT SIU, where no one wins except Indiana State.

Dawgie - Every single Bear fan knows the game Saturday is going to be a war so please don't make it sound like we are talking smack or think we are unbeatable. We are very good at home, like most Valley teams are, and played good last night...just one game though.

[DawgieStyle]

Dawgie - Every single Bear fan knows the game Saturday is going to be a war so please don't make it sound like we are talking smack or think we are unbeatable. We are very good at home, like most Valley teams are, and played good last night...just one game though.

I didn't say you were talking smack, reread the thread, I was replying to Dawgbit.

[TNMSUFAN]

Well, I read the thread and I took Dawgbit's comment as being sarcastic

[AcePurple]

[QUOTE=DawgieStyle]blew away EUQUOTE]

Blew away UE, not EU.....

[DoubleJayAlum]

[QUOTE=DawgieStyle]blew away EUQUOTE]

Blew away UE, not EU.....

I prefer to just call them "the vowels". :grin:

[douglasdmb]

Bears are playing some amazing ball, but I still think SIU takes this game, and with it, first place.

[Fraydog]

I guess I'm one of these people that normally expects us to win at home, but with the way that MSU is playing, I'm not so certain.

[AcePurple]

Kudos to the Bears on a serious beatdown. But..... it takes a really crappy team to lose by 50!!! You can't find a single 5 minute stretch where we actually outplayed you, that's unheard of.....
If Team A is considerably better than Team B already AND Team A is at home AND Team A is playing about as well as they can possibly play AND Team B is struggling BUT at least Team B is giving maximum heart and effort: then I can see it being a 25-30 point blowout. Unless Team B is non-DI. But to lose by 50??? That's just downright embarrassing. "It just wasn't our night" doesn't quite do a loss of this magnitude justice..... Sure, sure, a loss is a loss, whether by 3 or by 50+, right? Uhh, right? At least according to the standings it is, anyway.....

[MissouriState]

I'm surprised people arent talking about Dex's alley-oop dunk. Anyone see that? It was one of the best I've ever seen.:bears:

[douglasdmb]

I'm surprised people arent talking about Dex's alley-oop dunk. Anyone see that? It was one of the best I've ever seen.:bears:

You can see it here in ESPNU's postgame highlights:

http://broadband.espn.go.com/ivp/splash?id=2725991

[Ferocious Cat]

What did MSU end up shooting for the night? When I tuned in they couldn't miss. Special night when everybody who takes the floor is in the zone.

Not looking forward to UNI's trip to MSU next week. :fear:
In the last two home games aren't they averaging about 100? The way UNI shoots on the road it could take them two away games to score a 100.

[rchif0]

What did MSU end up shooting for the night? When I tuned in they couldn't miss. Special night when everybody who takes the floor is in the zone.

Not looking forward to UNI's trip to MSU next week. :fear:
In the last two home games aren't they averaging about 100? The way UNI shoots on the road it could take them two away games to score a 100.
40-63 FG (63.5%) 14-15 FT (93.3%) 12-21 3PT (57.1%)
42 Rebounds and 5 players with double digits, bench with 47 points.

[BearChief]

:bears: I'm surprised people arent talking about Dex's alley-oop dunk. Anyone see that? It was one of the best I've ever seen.:bears:

Actually I've seen HIM do better. Much better, in fact. That's saying something considering he plays 3 minutes ever 2 or 3 games.