By Sam Federman
Last season, the Missouri Valley had three teams in the top 65 of KenPom's rankings. Throughout the year, calls for a two-bid Valley rang throughout the college basketball twitterverse, and it was disappointed when Indiana State was left out of the tournament.
An offseason of chaos and coaching changes later, the Valley was expected to be much worse, with no teams in KenPom's top 90 for the preseason.
Three weeks after opening night, that narrative has completely flipped. On Sunday, both Drake and Bradley emerged victorious in their multi-team events, with the Bulldogs winning the Charleston Classic, and the Braves taking the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
New head coach Ben McCollum has been staking his claim as one of the nation's best at Drake after a highly successful tenure at Division II Northwest Missouri State with four national championships. He brought four of his key players from NWMSU to Des Moines, and they are all making an impact.
Bennett Stirtz scored 16 points and had 11 assists in Sunday's 81-70 win over Vanderbilt, while Mitch Mascari is shooting over 55% from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs took down Miami, Florida Atlantic, and Vandy in a four day span, all by double digits, despite running a short rotation.
A few miles up the road in Conway, Bradley took down Middle Tennessee State behind 19 points from Christian Davis and a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double from Darius Hannah, who added another massive poster to his resume.
The Braves have been known for their defense over the past few years, but without Malevy Leons, the team has a new identity. Through seven games, Bradley is shooting 43.9% from three, good for 6th in the country, with an effective field goal percentage ranking 7th. That's all good for the No. 50 offense in the country, 26 spots higher than the team's highest ranking under Brian Wardle.
Northern Iowa and Murray State have also had strong starts to the season, despite some setbacks. Overall, the Valley may not be as good as it was last year, but reports of its downfall were greatly exaggerated.
Monday's Games to Watch
Well, there's the Maui Invitational, that should keep us busy all day