PointGuard

NCAA Tournament Selection Show: #1 Seeds: North Carolina, North Carolina State, Oregon, Maryland Southern Illinois is the #7 seed in the Boston Regional and will play #10 seed Marquette. (no other MVC teams were selected for the NCAA Tourney) Eastern Washington (Coach V's old team) is the #6 seed in the Austin Regional and will play #11 seed St. John’s (Eastern Washington finished the season with a 25-5 record and won the Big Sky with a 15-1 record. They are ranked #15 in the nation. SF Tim Whitaker led their scoring with 12.1 ppg. C Adam Stevenson was their leading rebounder. PG Quintin Brown led the team in assists.

NIT and CBI tournament results: NIT games involving AAC Teams: Temple edged Texas State 63-60 in round 1 Connecticut beat Louisiana Lafayette 76-66 in round 1 SMU whipped Western Carolina 66-61 in round 1 Temple won 82-70 over Nebraska in round 2 Connecticut floundered in the 2nd half and lost to Central Michigan 75-73 in round 2 SMU fell to Georgia 74-62 in round 2 Temple destroyed McNeese State 86-63 in round 3 Temple fell apart in the 2nd half and lost to Central Michigan 63-58 in the semifinals. NIT Championship Game: Xavier-68, Central Michigan-55 CBI Championship Game: Brigham Young-84, Troy-62

Post Season Tournament Selections NCAA Selection Show: #1 Seeds: Oregon, Kentucky, Indiana, UCLA Memphis is the #2 seed in the Buffalo Regional and will play #15 seed Montana State Cincinnati is the #11 seed in the Milwaukee Regional and will play #6 seed Gonzaga NIT: Temple is the #1 seed in the East Regional and will play #8 seed Texas State Connecticut is the #1 seed in the Midwest Regional and will play #8 seed Louisiana Lafayette (Connecticut was jobbed by the NCAA selection committee) SMU is the #4 seed in the West Regional and will play #5 seed Western Carolina

Missouri State Bears 2017-2018 Statistics Missouri State Bears PLAYER stats for the 2017-2018 season: Missouri State Bears TEAM stats for the 2017-2018 season: PPG: 66.0 ppg; Opponents: 69.5 ppg APG: 12.2 apg; Opponents: 14.0 apg RPG: 27.2 rpg; Opponents: 25.1 rpg SPG: 7.2 spg; Opponents: 8.8 spg BPG: 0.9 bpg; Opponents: 1.2 bpg FG%: 48.8%; Opponents: 49.4% 3P%: 29.4%; Opponents: 34.7% FT%: 68.3%; Opponents: 70.3% TOPG: 16.2 topg; Opponents: 14.5 topg

Quote:Originally Posted by bloomington PG are u showing off? Starting to think cheating is worth it if you can be in the hunt for the national title year after year with no consequences....thus far [The above quote copied from Wolverine Studios forum] Yes, I'm bribing as many players as I can to see if (and when) I will got caught. While other teams have been put on probation, the game (errr, I mean the NCAA) has turned a blind eye toward Memphis. If I could, I'd make my bribe calls from the desk phone of the president of Wolverine Studios (errr, I mean the NCAA).

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Play-in Games: Bradley Braves (11-16, 6-12) vs Indiana State Sycamores (10-17, 7-11): The game was close in the early going, but Bradley then got stingy defensively to allow them to pull ahead 39-29 at the half. The Braves quickly opened a 23 point lead in the 2nd half and then gamely held on to win 73-58. Adam Rose scored 18 for Bradley. Jared Cox scored 23 and grabbed 7 rebounds for Indiana State. Janice Conlan, sports anchor for KSPR TV in Springfield, MO Game #29, Mar. 3, 2018: Evansville Purple Aces (9-18, 4-14) vs Missouri State Bears (13-15, 9-9) In the play-in round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, Missouri State faced Evansville, the doormats of the MVC this season. In their previous two meetings this season, the Bears beat the Purple Aces 75-60 and 67-63. Missouri State struggled early and fell behind 21-8 midway through the first half. They then mounted a spirited comeback to draw within 4 points, but at the half trailed 38-31. SG Brent Gregory scored 14 first half points to lead the Bears offensively. But Missouri State let Evansville convert 60% of their shots in the first half. In the 2nd half, the Bears sank like the Titanic. Playing abysmal defense, they allowed Evansville to streak ahead and never look back. Finally the game mercifully came to a close to stop Missouri State’s dispirited play and end their season. Evansville was hot and we were not. Final Score: Evansville—77, Missouri State (13-16)—57. Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-27 pts, 3 reb, 1 steal, 1 block. Player of the Game: Evansville’s C Brian Covert-16 pts, 3 assists, 6 reb, 4 steals. Round 1: Bradley Braves (12-16, 6-12) vs #25 Southern Illinois Salukis (20-8, 14-4): This game had 16 lead changes and 12 ties, but Southern Illinois escaped with a 74-67 victory. Shannon Preston scored 29 and Adam Lilly hauled down 12 boards for the Salukis. Adam Ross led the Braves with 17 points and 5 steals. Evansville Purple Aces (10-18, 4-14) vs Drake Bulldogs (19-9, 11-7): Evansville continued their Cinderella story by crushing the Bulldogs 62-46. Marcus Snyder scored 14 to lead Evansville. Mark Davey scored 16 and Karen Porter had 10 rebounds for Drake. Northern Illinois Panthers (15-13, 9-9) vs Wichita State Shockers (17-11, 11-7): Regulation play ended in this game with the score tied 60-60. But Wichita State came out with guns blazing in the OT to win 78-67. Scott Tucker dropped in 16 points to lead 4 Shocker starters who scored in double figures. Edwin Walton tossed in 24 points and Tarrell Holmes grabbed 11 rebounds for the Panthers. Loyola-Chicago Ramblers (13-14, 9-9) vs Illinois State Redbirds (17-11, 10-8): After a very close first half, Illinois State asserted its dominance and cruised to an 84-67 win. The Redbirds were led by Johnny Lindsey’s 15 points. Brian Burrough also scored 15 points for the Ramblers. Round 2: Illinois State Redbirds (18-11,10-8) vs #25 Southern Illinois Salukis (21-8, 14-4): Illinois State held a slim one point advantage at the half, but Southern Illinois gradually pulled away to vanquish the Redbirds 69-59. Brandon Penders scored 16 for the Salukis and Morris Cummings led the Redbirds with 13 points. Wichita State Shockers (18-11, 11-7) vs Evansville Purple Aces (11-18, 4-14): The question on everyone’s minds before this game was: Can Evansville continue it’s run of upsets? The answer: Yes, it could! Wichita State took a 2 point lead to the locker room at the half, but the determined Purple Aces played their trump cards to pull off a 70-68 upset win. Dylan Perry dropped in 20 points for Evansville while Scott Tucker scored 24 for Wichita State. Championship: Evansville Purple Aces (12-18, 4-14) vs #25 Southern Illinois Salukis (22-8, 14-4): This was a game of David vs Goliath for the Championship...the top team in the conference vs the bottom team in the conference. Southern Illinois took control early and was determined to not give the Purple Aces yet another chance to pull off an upset victory. After leading by 21 at the half, Southern Illinois won the championship with a resounding 72-48 win over Evansville. Shannon Preston topped the Salukis’ scoring with 15 points. Brian Covert and Rudy Sheppard both scored 9 points for Evansville.

Stats and Top 10 Memphis Tigers Player Stats for 2017-2018 season: Memphis Tigers Team Stats for 2017-2018 season: PPG: 74.2 (4th in nation); Opponents: 59.5 RPG: 34.3 (5th in nation); Opponents: 27.5 APG: 14.7 (13th in nation); Opponents: 12.2 BPG: 2.8 (13th in nation); Opponents: 2.3 SPG: 8.3 (133rd in nation); Opponents: 6.3 FG%: 44.8% (129th in nation); Opponents: 38.2% 3P%: 41.7% (13th in nation); Opponents: 31.6% FT%: 68.7% (308th in nation); Opponents: 74.0% TOPG: 12.5 (17th in nation); Opponents: 16.9 Top 10 Teams in Media Poll at end of 2017-2018 season:

American Athletic Conference Tournament Game #28, Tulsa: Karim Towns started at center in place of injured Joey Brown. The first half was sharply contested, but we moved away late in the half and were up 38-31 at the break. We weren’t able to pull away, but played steadily in the 2nd half and came away with a 75-64 victory. SG Lamont Holiday stepped up with an impressive game, scoring 26 points. PF Ruben Rohwer and C Karim Towns both scored 11 points and PF Terry Jones came off the bench to add 12 points and haul down 9 rebounds. For Tulsa, SF Terrence Lee drilled the basket for 27 points. (25-3) Injury: PF Adrian Bains broke his wrist and will be out until the beginning of next season. Game #29, Temple: We put together a strong first half and dominated the Owls by a score of 47-29 at the intermission. We kept them at bay the rest of the way and won convincingly 77-63. C Karim Towns played a great game, scoring 20 points and pulling down 8 boards. SG Lamont Holiday hit for 15 points and three players (SF Johnnie Campbell, PG Howie Tyler, and reserve guard Trey Frazier) each scored 10 points. PF Ruben Rohwer was held scoreless. After the game, the media speculated that he had given up on the team since he's declared for the draft. (26-3) Game #30, Connecticut: Fittingly the championship came down to the two best teams. We won both previous games against the Huskies, but that was with Joey Brown anchoring the team. We carried on our dominance by squelching Connecticut in the first half to take a 41-22 lead at the half. We then continued to trounce them in the 2nd half and won big, 84-54 to take the American Athletic Conference Championship. PF Ruben Rohwer came back from his poor last game to score 13 points and grab 9 rebounds. C Karim Towns was out top scorer with 16 points. PG Howie Tyler tossed in 14 points and SF Johnnie Campbell added 13. (27-3, Ranked #5, RPI: 6)

MVC Standings Here's the final standing in the Missouri Valley Conference for the 2017-2018 season: The loss in our last game dropped us into a 3-way tie for 5th place, but the tie-breakers seeded us 7th in the conference which means we have to play one of the play-in games for the MVC Tourney.

Underclassmen declaring for the NBA Draft We got the bad news that freshman PF Ruben Rohwer has declared for the draft. It’s not surprising since he came to us as a very highly rated player and developed strongly in the 2nd half of the season. Fortunately no one else, in particular C Joey Brown, declared for the draft. Even though Brown is a finalist for the Norton Award, it’s unlikely he will win it this year. Therefor he may be coming back so he will have a crack at it as a junior next season.

Buzz Moriarity, Missouri State Athletic Director Game #28, Feb. 24, 2018: Southern Illinois Salukis (19-8, 13-4) at Missouri Valley Bears (13-14, 9-8) I’d sure like to see us win tonight. But it will be a tough game for us even though we are playing at home. Southern Illinois is the cream of the MVC this year and locked up the conference championship long ago. But we surprised them with a come-from-behind win earlier this year. Since that game, though, the Salukis have reeled off 9 straight wins with all but one of those being by more than a 10 point margin of victory. Southern Illinois scores well from outside. Both of their starting guards, PG Shannon Preston and SG Brandon Penders, are averaging more than 12 ppg. Coach V is starting Greg Fisher back at PG, probably because he’s a graduating senior and this will be his final home game. Greg also played well against the Salukis in the first game between the two teams this season. Well, so much for my pre-game assessment. The Salukis score their first 12 points inside. But the Bears had scored 19 by that point. But by the 6 minute mark, Southern Illinois had garnered the lead. The half ends in a 35-35 tie. The Bears outshoot and out-rebound the Salukis but turn the ball over 12 times. C Joey Jones led our scoring with 10 points. The 2nd half is a real barn-burner as the lead goes back-and-forth. But with 3 minutes to play, Aaron Wells scores to give us a 59-53 lead. A minute-and-a-half later though, Southern Illinois cuts our lead to 61-59. With 48 seconds remaining, the Salukies make one of two free throws to further reduce our lead to 61-60. We turn the ball over and Southern Illinois works the ball inside for a 2 footer that drops to put them ahead 62-61 with 19 seconds to go. We call a time out and the pick and roll works to perfection as Terrance Simmons gets free for a 14 foot jumper than puts us back ahead by a point. The Salukis take their time and work the ball around putting up a 10 footer with 3 seconds to go and it slips through the silks. A disappointing loss. Even though we controlled the boards 31-21, we had 21 turnover to the Salukis’ 14. But the refs called 20 fouls on us compared to just 10 against Southern Illinois. That put the Salukis on the line 12 more times where they scored 9 more points that did we. Final Score: Southern Illinois—64, Missouri State (13-15, 9-9, 5th place tie)—63. Leading players for Missouri State: C Joey Jones-16 pts, 6 reb; SF Aaron Wells-15 pts, 7 reb; SG Brent Gregory-10 pts, 1 assist,1 reb. Player of the Game: Southern Illinois’ SG Brandon Penders-14 pts, 3 assists, 5 reb, 6 steals.

Season 3, Games 25 thru 27 Game #25 @ Central Florida: We smoked Central Florida in the first half and came away with a 36-15 halftime lead. Some of our margin was shaved off during the 2nd half, but we were never in danger and came away with a 68-55 victory. C Joey Brown finished off his rock-star week by scoring 28 points and picking off 14 rebounds while getting 4 steals. Ruben Rohwer scored 12 points and had 6 rebounds and 6 assists plus 3 steals. (22-3, 13-2, 1st place, Ranked #5, RPI: 6) Awards: C Joey Brown was selected as the AAC Player of the Week and PF Ruben Rohwer won the AAC Freshman of the Week award. Game #26, SMU: We were at the top of our game defensively, taking a 29-19 halftime lead and then putting the Mustangs away 64-42. We held their shooting to 39% and forced them to turn the ball over 21 times. We played our bench extensively in this game. SG Lamont Holiday led our scoring with 17 points. C Joey Brown scored just 10 points but played only 17 minutes. PF Terry Jones subbing extensively for Ruben Rohwer, scored 10 points. (23-3, 14-2, 1st place) Game #27 @ Tulsa: We closed out the regular season on the road. The first half was all ours and we pulled away to a 35-19 halftime advantage. We let up in the 2nd half and Tulsa dropped in 51 points and pulled extremely close. We barely held them off for a narrow 74-70 victory. PF Ruben Rohwer scored 23 points plus grabbed 9 rebounds. PG Howie Tyler scored 10 and had 4 steals. (24-3, 15-2, 1st place, Ranked #5 in the polls, RPI: 6) Injury: C Joey Brown sustained a broken nose, thus dealing us a severe challenge as we go into the post-season tournaments. Trying to replace his 18.6 ppg and 10.9 rpg is not possible. Note: Counteracting the bad news about his injury, C Joey Brown has been named a finalist for the Norton Award.

Alexei Koramatsov, “entrepreneur” Game #27, Feb. 21, 2018: Missouri State Bears (12-14, 8-8) at Evansville Purple Aces (9-16, 4-12) I have a big bet down tonight on this game. My sources say that Missouri State is fired up to finish the season at .500 and have a winning record in the MVC. That would require them to win tonight (as well as their final home game). I found an Evansville fan who is sure the Purple Aces will win at home. Neither team can gain an advantage in the early going of the game. Finally at the 8 minute mark of the 1st half, Missouri State takes a 24-19 lead, the first time in the game that either team has been ahead by more than 3 points. That seems to have lit a fire within the Bears since they then exploded and expanded their lead to 13 points 3 minutes later. The half ends with Missouri State in control 39-29. PF Ricky Lee scored 13 points for the Bears. Evansville gradually cut into the Bears’ lead in the 2nd half and with 10 minutes to go they trail by just 2 points. Then with 5-1/2 minutes left, Evansville takes a 58-57 lead. Brent Gregory sinks 2 free throws to tie the game 63-63 with 1:17 remaining. Aaron Wells then stole a pass in the key and outlets it quickly to Brent Gregory who dives down court for a layup to put the Bears up 65-63 with 39 seconds on the clock. After a missed shot by the Purple Aces and resulting rebound by Ricky Lee, Terrance Simmons is intentionally fouled with 21 ticks to go. Simmons calmly knocks down both free throws. Evansville is unable to convert on their next possession and that locked up the game for Missouri State. And I collect on my bet. Final Score: Missouri State (13-14, 9-8, 5th place tie)—67, Evansville—63. Leading players for Missouri State: PF Ricky Lee-15 pts, 1 assist, 3 reb; SG Brent Gregory-15 pts, 2 assists, 5 reb, 1 steal, 1 block; SG Rudy Cage-9 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb. Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-15 pts, 2 assists, 5 reb, 1 steal, 1 block.

War Eagle: Keep up the good reporting on your dynasty! Good luck at St. Louis.

Season 3, Games 21 thru 24 Game #21 @ Cincinnati: In our 2nd away game of the week, we took one of the 2nd place teams in the conference. Again we came out and played a strong 1st half, taking a 35-24 advantage into the locker room. And again we came out onto the floor in the 2nd half and simply stood around when Cincinnati had the ball, letting them score at will and drop 45 points on us in the 2nd half. They picked away at our lead and eventually tied us. Then they nimbly catapulted over us and planted a 69-63 loss on us. SG Lamont Holiday scored 12 and PF Ruben Rohwer added 11. C Joey Brown grabbed 11 rebounds, but uncharacteristically hit just 3 of 13 from the field and scored only 8 points. In the last 2 games, the guys seem to be playing as if in a daze in the 2nd halves. PF Lee Bain scored 10 and grabbed 11 boards for Cincinnati. Our 2nd straight loss dropped us into the 3 way tie for 1st place with Cincinnati and Connecticut. Gonna be some hard practices this coming week. (18-3, 10-2, 1st place tie, Ranked #3, RPI: 8) Award: C Joey Brown was named the AAC’s Player of the Week on the basis of his strong game against Temple. Game #22, Houston: We jumped out with the lead at the outset of this game and by the end of the first half we led 39-24. Our 2nd half play was again less than stellar although we held on for a 74-61 win. C Joey Brown scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds. PF Ruben Rohwer, SF Johnnie Campbell, and SG Lamont Holiday scored 13, 12, and 10 points respectively. (19-3, 11-2, 1st place tie) Game #23, South Florida: Even though South Florida has been rather weak this season, there still was a gnawing fear that we had lost our edge while playing on the road. And we struggled offensively in the first half. Although the score was tight the entire half, we came away with a 26-22 lead at the break. In the 2nd half, our defense remained solid and our offense came to life a bit. We steadily extended our lead and won easily 64-48. C Joey Brown only scored 10 points but pulled down 16 boards and had 4 steals. PF Howie Tyler woke up from a scoring drought to knock down 15 points. PF Ruben Rohwer scored 12 and reserve Trey Frazier added 10. (20-3, 12-2, 1st place tie, Ranked #5, RPI: 7) Note: C Joey Brown was selected as a semifinalist for the Norton Award. Game #24, Connecticut: This game pitted the two teams presently tied for the conference lead so the winner would take sole possession of first place. We played lock-down defense in the first half and we took the lead at the onset and gradually expanded it. At the half, we were up 34-23. In the 2nd half, we maintained our margin and even increased it slightly,beating the Huskies to the tune of 71-56. It was a two-man show for us with C Joey Brown scoring 26 points and pulling down 15 rebounds while PF Ruben Rohwer scored 25 points and grabbed 11 boards. So those two players scored 51 of our 71 points and had 26 of our 44 rebounds. (21-3, 13-2, 1st place)

Steve Piersall, KSMO TV sports anchor Game #26, Feb. 19, 2018: Drexel Dragons (12-13) at Missouri State Bears (11-14) They called last night’s game between Missouri State and Drexel a Bracket Breaker game. But let’s be realistic. Unless either of these teams wins their conference tournament, they aren’t going to the Big Dance. And both teams played like it. Neither team scored from the floor for the first 3 minutes of the game. After 10 minutes of lackadaisical play, the Bears finally got their act together and pulled ahead to take a 34-25 halftime advantage with SG Brent Gregory garnering high point honors with 7 points. The Bears were totally out-hustled again by the Dragons in the early stages of the 2nd half. The Bears held Drexel off, but then in the final 2 minutes the Dragons made a run that cut the lead to 1 with a minute to play. But fortunately for Coach Vandergard’s team, the Dragons ran out of gas during the final minute. Final Score: Missouri State (12-14)—63, Drexel—60. Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 3 assists, 1 reb, 2 steals; PF Ricky Lee-11 pts, 2 reb; PG Terrance Simmons-7 pts, 5 assists, 5 reb; PF Jimmy Woni-8 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb. Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 3 assists, 1 reb, 2 steals. For Drexel: C Jerome Nixon-17 pts, 6 reb.

Jakes Varner, millworker, and Coot Corrigan, handyman (Jakes and Coot meet at their favorite watering hole, the Dew Drop Inn) JV: Didja see the Bears lost another game last night? CC: Yeah, heard about it today from Old Carl Belkins while I was workin’ over at their place on Mapes Avenue. Old Carl said Mizzoo State had a big lead early in the game and then blew it. Old Carl was fit to be tied. JV: It’s getting pitiful the way that team’s a playin’. I thought they brought that new coach in to turn things around and finally make the Bears winners. But they ain’t even close to playin’ .500 ball. So what’s that Vandergard done for us lately? CC: I’m not surprised. Vandergarden, huh? Sounds Dutchie to me. They should just stick to growin’ tulips. The Dutch don’t know nuthin’ about basketball, do they? JV: Obviously not! Hell, we ain’t even gonna contend for the MVC crown, let alone get to play some games in March. CC: They should oughta hired that coach at Ridgeway High School instead of Vander-whatever. That Ridgeway guy’s a coach! Won them a bunch of state championships. Not only that but the guy grew up right here in Springfield. JV: Yeah, you might be right. And damned sure he coulda recruited the hell out of all of Missouri and probably Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Tennessee too. The way that Ridgeway team plays, kids from all round these parts gotta know about that coach. CC: If’n those administrators over at Mizzoo State knew anything atall, they’d fire Vander-whats-his-name, and go after that Ridgeway coach so we could have a good ball team next year. JV: Maybe you should tell ‘em, Coot. Seems to me I recall you did some work over at Buzz Moriarity’s place a while back and he’s the AD there. CC: Well, don’t think I got an in there, Jakes. He and I had a fallin’ out over things. The guy’s a cheap SOB. JV: What the hell good are you then, Coot? Here I thought I had a guy who could straighten things out a bit and you let me down. CC: Don’t get your tail in a knot. You buyin’ today, aren’tja?

Season 3, Game 17 thru 20 PROBATION: Another team was placed on probation this year for recruiting violations: Auburn was restricted from offering scholarships for 1 year. So they join Georgia Tech (from last season) as the only teams presently on probation. Game #17 @ SMU: The game was close during the first part of the 1st half, but we then pulled away and built a 41-28 lead at the end of the half. But SMU made things interesting in the 2nd half, narrowing our lead. We finished the game with a 68-59 win. SG Lamont Holiday scored 15, PF Ruben Rohwer dropped in 14, and PG Howie Tyler scored 11. C Joey Brown was held to 8 points but had 10 rebounds. (16-1, 8-0, 1st place, Ranked #2, RPI: 4) (Oregon has a spotless 21-0 season record and 7-0 record in the Pac-12 and is therefore ranked above us.) Game #18, Tulsa: We steadily pulled away from Tulsa in the first half, finishing it with a 41-29 advantage. The second half was pretty much a repeat of the first half and we cruised to a77-58 win. PF Ruben Rohwer led our scoring with 21 points. C Joey Brown had 19 points while playing just 23 minutes. His replacement, Karin Towns scored 11. Cincinnati beat Connecticut so both are 7-2 in the conference and tied for 2nd place behind us. (17-1, 9-0, 1st place, Ranked #2 in the polls, RPI: 3) Awards: PF Ruben Rohwer was selected as the American Athletic Conference’s Player of the Week and Freshman Player of the Week. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: The Good: C Joey Brown was named a Quarterfinalist for the Norton Award. The Bad: PF’s Terry Jones and Adrian Bains, who were solid subs for us last season, have nearly disappeared this season. This is probably due to the arrival and emergence of future star Ruben Rohwer. Jones has played in just 13 games, averaging 5.5 mpg and a paltry 0.7 ppg while Bains has played in only 5 games with 1.8 mpg on the floor and a 0.2 ppg average. Both are hitting just 33% of their field goal attempts. Jones will be graduating this year, but Bains is just a sophomore and has a lot of talent. Hopefully he will apply himself and make some serious strides forward next season. The Ugly: We get word that SG Dennis Farmer (the 18th best recruit in the nation this year and who was in the Top 10 at the Indy Elite Camp) and C Kevin Akins (who was the #1 ranked recruit nationally and who was in the Top 5 at the Indy Elite Camp) both failed to meet our rather low SAT requirements and therefore can not play for us next year. The AD’s administrative assistant said she could hear my and my staffs’ wailing and blasphemous lamentations at her desk in the next building. That means we have 2 scholarships to fill this spring from the remaining talent in the recruit pool. We knew we were taking a risk on both players so, while it doesn’t come as a surprise, is a devastating to our plans to significantly improve our team next year. Akins got an 850 on his SAT and Farmer got an 840 so there are some teams (most notably several in the MEAC) that have 840 or lower SAT minimums) where they can play next year, if they so desires and then declare for the pro draft. If it were prior to 2006, Akins could be going pro after he graduates from high school since he’s that good. (FYI: I noted where one guy got a 620 on his SAT, missing even how to spell his name correctly...he’s the 77th ranked recruit in the nation and as a PG can handle the ball but obviously can’t handle much else.) We’ve been continuing to communicate with recruits, but I now need to get 1st Assistant Coach Ray Schau to focus on the players we will try to get to replace Akins and Farmer. There are some very good JC players, but I think we will try to get two high school seniors even though their skill levels will not be so well developed. Game #19, Tulane: The first half was close most of the way as Tulane fought us tooth and nail. We escaped with a 35-29 halftime lead. At one point in the 2nd half we opened a 15 point lead, but Green Wave rolled back in and made a game of it. We finished on top 71-61. Lamont Holiday scored 18 points. But the player of the game for us was PF Ruben Rohwer who dumped in 16 points and hauled down 12 rebounds. C Joey Brown contributed 15 points. Tulane’s C Frank Rivera scored 16 and grabbed 9 rebounds. (18-1, 10-0, 1st place) Game #20 @ Temple: I told the boys this could be a tough game. Did they listen? Noooo! We actually played pretty well in the first half and came out on top 36-27. But then in the 2nd half we folded like a cheap suit. Our defense was non-existent, allowing the Owls to score 47 points in the half and not only overtake us, but give us a sound beating, 74-69. C Joey Brown came to play, scoring 27 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. PF Ruben Rohwer also had a pretty good game with 13 points and 8 boards. Trey Frazier came off the bench and tried to save us, scoring 10 points and pulling down 6 rebounds. But the rest of the team stank up the gym. Our 3 remaining starters (SG Holiday, PG Tyler and SF Campbell) stood around and took just 11 shots combined and scored a combined total of 13 points. Meanwhile we let Temple’s PG Boyd Goode drop in 19 points. We simply tanked in this game. (18-2, 10-1, 1st place)

Season 3, Game 13 thru 16 Game #13 @ Houston: We took control early in the first half and opened a 41-23 halftime lead. Our offense stuttered in the 2nd half but our defense didn’t allow Houston to get back into the game. We finished with a 65-51 road win against a very good team. C Joey Brown again led the way with 19 points and 9 rebounds. PF Ruben Rohwer continued to improve, scoring 14 and grabbing 8 boards. SG Lamont Holiday scored 11 and SF Johnnie added 10. (12-1, 4-0, 1st place tie, Ranked #3, RPI: 3) Awards: C Joey Brown was selected AAC Player of the Week and PF Ruben Rohwer was selected as Freshman Player of the Week in the AAC. Game #14, South Florida: We decimated the Bulls in the first half, drawing away to a 43-17 halftime advantage. Our dominance continued in the 2nd half and we ended it by whipping South Florida 70-37. PG Howie Tyler led our scoring with 20 points. We only played C Joey Brown 18 minutes so he scored just 10 points. No player on South Florida scored more than 6 points. (13-1, 5-0, 1st place tie) Game #15 @ Connecticut: This game pitted the co-leaders of the AAC. We came out hot and stayed hot throughout the entire 1st half, finishing with a 51-26 advantage at the break. We gave back some of the lead in the 2nd half, but were never seriously challenged and walked away with a 71-54 win to take sole possession of 1st place. C Joey Brown scored 24 and had 10 rebounds. Other players in double figures included SG Lamont Holiday with 12, reserve SG Trey Frazier with 11, PF Ruben Rohwer with 10, and PG Howie Tyler with 10. (14-1, 6-0, 1st place, Ranked #3, RPI: 4) Injury: C Karin Towns sprained a toe and will likely miss our next game. Game #16, Central Florida: We again put together a rock-solid first half, taking a 40-21 lead into the locker room. We maintained our lead throughout the 2nd half and finished with a78-60 win. C Joey Brown scored 20, SG Lamont Holiday added 14, and PF Ruben Rohwer picked up 11 points. (15-1, 7-0, 1st place)

Paris George, 3rd Assistant Coach Game #25, Feb. 17, 2018: Missouri State Bears (11-13, 8-7) at Drake Bulldogs (16-8, 9-6) We jump out to a 10-4 lead after 4-1/2 minutes of play. Even though Kevin Jackson scores 4, we hold the rest of the Bulldogs scoreless with solid m-2-m and 3-2 zone defense. Damn, we go 9 minutes without making a turnover, and I mention how good we are doing to Coach V. The next two possessions result in 2 turnovers. The Bulldogs cut our lead to 4 a few times, but our defense remains solid throwing Drake off-balance, and we continue to connect from the field. With 4 minutes to play in the half we sport a 32-19 lead. We got sloppy from there on and Drake pulled to within 4 at the half, 36-32. Drake hit all 7 of their free throws. We got 3 more free throw attempts but scored 3 less points at the line. Again our free throw shooting was atrocious, 4 of 10. We outshot the Bulldogs from the field 58% to 42%, though. SG Brent Gregory scored 11 points to lead us offensively. Drake had two players in double figures, reserve SG Drew Brown with 12 and PF Kevin Jackson with 10. Drake scores on two quick put-backs at the very beginning of the 2nd half to knot it up at 36-36. The refs tag us with 6 fouls in the first 3-1/2 minutes of the 2nd half allowing Drake to take a 43-41 lead. Kevin Jackson gets hot and we drop behind by 7 points with 11 minutes to play. We drop our m-2-m defense, and employ our 3-2 zone. It works initially and we cut into their lead, but the refs continue to whistle us and send the Bulldogs to the line where they connect. We drop behind by 12 with 5 minutes to go. With the refs rewarding the Bulldogs with free throws, it’s a margin we can not overcome. For the half, Drake goes to the line 20 times to our 4 times. For the game the Bulldogs sink 24 of their 27 free throw attempts and score 17 more points at the line than do we. Final Score: Drake--79, Missouri State (11-14, 8-8, 5th place tie)—67. Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-16 pts, 3 assists, 5 reb, 1 steal; PG Terrance Simmons-13 pts, 4 assists, 1 reb; C Joey Jones-10 pts, 5 reb; C Donte Hartfield-10 pts, 2 assists, 4 reb, 1 steal, 1 block. Player of the Game: Drake’s PF Kevin Jackson-22 pts, 1 assist, 9 reb, 1 steal, 2 blocks. Also for Drake: SG Drew Brown-15 pts.

Flash Borden, sports reporter for KSMO radio in Springfield, MO FB: Hey sports fans, we have Coach Bret Vandergard with us this morning. His team pulled out a 72-67 win over the Bradley Braves last night. Congratulations, Coach, nice comeback win. BV: Thanks Flash. We played well early in the first half and late in the second half, but had a let down during the middle 20 minutes of the game. We’re going to be working on that this week. FB: That’s a sound strategy Coach since you now travel up to Des Moines, Iowa to take on the Drake Bulldogs later this week. BV: Yes, this is our second straight road game against some of the strongest competition in the Missouri Valley Conference. Drake still has a chance to finish atop the conference standings but can’t afford another loss so I expect them to be mighty tough. We also beat them 78-60 when they came here to play earlier this season. So they will be looking for some payback. FB: Who do you need to control most on that team? BV: Pretty much everyone since it’s a real team-effort on their part. But their best scorer is PF Kevin Jackson and he routinely drops in from 10-20 points each game, and does so very efficiently, as well as pulling down more than his share of rebounds. FB: We have a caller with a question, Coach…Josh, you there and are you ready to ask Coach Vandergard your question? Josh: Oh, how you doing Flash? Sure nice of you to give me a chance to talk with the coach this morning. This is the first time I’ve ever called in. FB: Ring-a-ding-ding…yet a new caller for our program! So what’s your question, Josh? Josh: Uhhh, well…let me see….ummm, Coach… FB: Just ask your question, Josh. Josh: OK, OK…Why don’t you settle on one point guard? You keep interchanging Simmons and Fisher. BV: That’s because those two guys are pretty evenly talented. They have different skill sets but both run the team well. And having fresh legs on the court is a good thing, so I’ve found it best to shuttle them in and out. And when one of them has run into foul trouble, we’ve slipped Brent Gregory over from SG to PG and he’s also done a good job running the team. FB: Thanks for calling in Josh. Oh, we have another caller. What’s your question, Alex? Alexei: Flash, actually my name is Alexei. Hey Coach, you’ve only won 2 of 13 road games. What are you going to do for this game to turn that around when you play Drake? BV: Alexei, you do get around, don’t you! To answer your question…I think in order for us to have a good chance against Drake, we’re going to have to play 40 minutes of lock-down defense. They like to run the high post and Kevin Jackson is a good shot from outside, but we need to pound the boards when their big guys are outside. Their perimeter players are very good at getting inside and scoring, so our outside defenders need to stick to them like glue. Unfortunately the Bulldogs are 10-1 at home this season, so every one of our guys is going to have to step up for this game. FB: Time for a commercial. Thanks Coach for talking with us this morning.

Season 3, Games 9 thru 12: Game #9 @ Butler: The lead swung back and forth in the first half. When the klaxon sounded, we trailed 37-36. We got our offense going in the 2nd half and gradually drew away to score an 86-74 victory. C Joey Brown poured in 28 points and hauled in 11 boards. SG Lamont Holiday put together a good game with 27 points. SF Drew Nolan scored 20 points for Butler. (8-1, Ranked #6, RPI: 6) Player stats at the end of pre-conference play: PPG: C Joey Brown-21.4, SG Lamont Holiday-13.9, PF Ruben Rohwer-9.4 ppg, PG Howie Tyler-9.2, SF Johnnie Campbell-7.0 APG: SF Johnnie Campbell-2.7, PG Howie Tyler-2.6, SG Lamont Holiday-2.2, C Joey Brown-2.1, PG Abraham Althoff-2.0 RPG: C Joey Brown-13.7, PF Ruben Rohwer-5.1, SF Johnnie Campbell-4.9, PG Howie Tyler-3.7 Game #10 @ Tulane: Tulane came into the game with a 7-2 record and gave us fits in the first half, but we held a slim 45-40 advantage when we went to the locker room. We rapidly pulled away in the 2nd half and led by 19 before settling for a 79-70 road win. PF Ruben Rohwer was our top scorer with 17 points, SG Lamont Holiday scored 15, and C Joey Brown added 11. PG Mac Olson scored 20 for Tulane. (9-1, 1-0, 1st place tie) Game #11, Temple: We never trailed and held a 40-26 lead at the half. We then closed out the year by closing out Temple, 84-65. C Joey Brown got back to his normal production with 22 points and 10 rebounds. SG Lamont Holiday continued to score well with 16 points, PF Ruben Rohwer scored 12, Adam Johnson came off the bench to pop in 11 points, and PG Howie Tyler added 10 points plus had 8 assists. (10-1, 2-0, 1st place tie, Ranked #5, RPI: 4) Game #12, Cincinnati: The first half was hard-fought but Cincinnati came away with a 36-34 lead at the half. We eventually took control in the 2nd half and pulled away to a 75-60 victory. C Joey Brown dropped in 30 points while hauling down 8 boards. PF Ruben Rohwer scored 15 and also had 8 rebounds. (11-1, 3-0, 1st place tie)

Season 3, Games 5 thru 8 Game #5, Akron: We never trailed in this game. By the half, we led 43-27. We then continued to expand our lead up to the very end of the game, burying Akron 78-42. C Joey Brown scored 19, grabbed 9 rebound, dished out 4 assists and stole the ball 5 times. Howie Tyler scored 12, Ruben Rohwer had 11, and C Karim Towns came off the bench to score 10 points during his 11 minutes on the court. (4-1, Ranked 17th, RPI: 12) Award: C Joey Brown was selected AAC Player of the Week. Game #6, Virginia Tech: We again broke out early and by combining deadly shooting with shut-down defense, we ran off to a 47-26 lead at the break. We then cruised through the 2nd half to another easy win, 87-66. C Joe Brown continued his dominance with 26 points and 10 rebounds. PG Abraham Althoff scored 14 points in his 11 minutes off the bench. PF Ruben Rohwer scored 13 and PG Howie Tyler added 10. (5-1) Game #7 @ Utah: We scored first and never game up the lead. After building a 38-25 halftime lead, we played cat-and-mouse in the 2nd half and won handily 70-55. C Joey Brown dropped in 29 points while pulling down 13 rebounds. SG Lamont Holiday had a good game with 17 points and SF Johnnie Campbell added 11 points along with 5 assists. (6-1, Ranked #11, RPI: 7) Award: C Joey Brown was selected AAC Player of the Week. Game #8 @ Tennessee: Playing a big in-state rival, we gradually built a lead in the 1st half to lead 41-29 at intermission. We drew away quickly in the 2nd half opening a 25 point lead before easing up to record a 73-57 win. C Joey Brown again sparkled with 18 points and 17 rebounds. PG Howie Tyler dropped in 14 points to go along with his 6 assists. SG Lamont Holiday and PF Ruben Rohwer also scored in double figures with 12 points and 10 points, respectively. (7-1, Ranked #8, RPI: 9) Award: C Joey Brown was selected AAC Player of the Week.

Bryson Chambers, state legislator representing Springfield Game #24, Feb. 14, 2018: Bradley Braves (10-13, 5-9) at Missouri State Bears (10-13, 7-7) I’m not a basketball fan. But this is my home district and as y’all know, raising campaign funds is a 24/7 job for elected politicians. So here I am, sitting on a hard seat and anticipating a couple hours of pure drudgery having to watch a bunch of big tall guys run up and down a court. But there are a lot of deep pocket constituents that come to Missouri State basketball games, so it’s good for them to see me here and think I love what they love. Oh yeah, just remembered, I gotta keep smiling. Springfield mayor, Spencer Goodwin, is sitting next to me and says the Bears lost to the Braves 77-58 earlier this season. Well, it’s just a damned game…it’s nothing like high-stake politics. Just 7-1/2 minutes into this game and the Bears sport a 14-5 lead. I was right, this game is not my cup of tea. I decide to make the rounds and slap some backs and visit with some of the people I hope will help fund my next campaign. The noisy crowd quieted down toward the end of the first half, as the Braves cut into Missouri State’s lead. At halftime, Missouri State was ahead just 28-25. PF Ricky Lee was the top scorer for the Bears with 10 points, in case anyone really cares. Bradley took the lead at 40-38 with 13-1/2 minutes left in the game. Later SG Brent Gregory hit a long shot from the corner. Those 3 points put the Bears ahead 62-57 with just under 4 minutes to go. The Bears held on to make the crowd happy. And that makes me happy, since they’re more likely to be generous in their giving at my post-game fundraiser. Final Score: Missouri State (11-13, 8-7, 4TH place tie)—72, Bradley—67. Leading players for Missouri State: C Joey Jones-20 pts, 1 assist, 11 reb; PF Ricky Lee-19 pts, 3 reb, 1 steal. Player of the Game: C Joey Jones-20 pts, 1 assist, 11 reb. (Nice double-double) For Bradley: SG Adam Ross-17 pts.

Larry Montgomery, 2nd assistant coach at Eastern Washington University (Phone call to Coach Bret Vandergard) LM: Hey Coach, good to talk with you. I’ve been watching how your team has been doing and they seem to be getting stronger throughout the season. BV: Yes, we definitely have less talent than at Eastern Washington, but these guys are hard workers. I’ve been continually checking out how the Eagles do and you’re having quite the season. 21-4! Congratulations! LM: Thanks. Things have gone well and we presently have a 12 game win streak. But a lot of that success has to be credited to you since all of our players were recruited during your tenure. BV: Twelve straight wins means the scout is doing a great job, but you did that while I was there as well. It’s nice to see EWU ranked. What are you now? LM: Ranked #22 and our RPI is 19th best in the country. BV: Larry, pass along my best wishes to the players and let Grant Wane know that I think he’s done a great job with the team. I hope to see you guys make a deep run in the Big Dance this year.