MVC Home Stretch

As we enter the final days of January and February looms near, the final leg of the race for the Valley championship is now here. A major part of the discussion will be both who is left on the slate for each team as well as where those games will be played. With Creighton and SIU tied for the MVC lead at this point, the fact that the Salukis both have the majority of their games left at home as well as the return date with the Jays in Carbondale, this is a key part of why the Ugly Dawgs are the odds on favorite to win the title.

Now, the Jays have four road games left in the league schedule. Two of these games (at Drake and at Illinois State) are the sort that one would think that CU has a good shot walking away with the victory. Obviously, there's going to be a large contingent of Creighton fans at the Knapp Center this weekend and the Redbirds are currently in the cellar of the league and one would hope the team is focused enough at the end of the season to get the job done in Normal. Obviously the Jays are going to have the hold serve at home and they're going to need to create some opportunities on the road. Unfortunately, the bid for the title outright will require some outside assistance, but I think if the Jays can close out with a 12-6 sort of record, we should be either tied for the title or, at worse, a game back and in second place. If the Jays can avoid a major letdown in St. Louis as they experienced last year, that should be a position that will set up for an at-large bid if needed.

Remaining MVC Schedules
Team	Home	Away	Games
Bradley (6-5)	4	3	vs Creighton at Illinois St. at Southern Ill. vs Drake at Evansville vs Northern Iowa vs Indiana St.
Creighton (8-3)	3	4	at Bradley at Drake vs Evansville at Southern Ill. vs Northern Iowa at Illinois St. vs Wichita St.
Drake (3-8)	4	3	vs Missouri St. vs Creighton at Northern Iowa at Bradley vs Wichita St. vs Evansville at Missouri St.
Evansville (5-6)	3	4	at Illinois St. vs Northern Iowa at Creighton vs Indiana St. vs Bradley at Drake at Southern Ill.
Illinois St. (3-8)	3	4	vs Evansville vs Bradley at Missouri St. at Wichita St. vs Indiana St. vs Creighton at Northern Iowa
Indiana St. (4-6)	4	4	at Southern Ill. vs Missouri St. vs Northern Iowa at Wichita St. at Evansville vs Illinois St. vs Southern Ill. at Bradley
Missouri St. (6-5)	3	4	at Drake at Indiana St. vs Illinois St. at Northern Iowa vs Southern Ill. at Wichita S. vs Drake
Northern Iowa (6-4)	4	4	vs Wichita St. at Evansville at Indiana St. vs Drake vs Missouri St. at Creighton at Bradley vs Illinois St.
Southern Ill. (8-3)	4	3	vs Indiana St. at Wichita St. vs Bradley vs Creighton at Missouri St. at Indiana St. vs Evansville
Wichita St. (5-6)	4	3	at Northern Iowa vs Southern Ill. vs Indiana St. vs Illinois St. at Drake vs Missouri St. at Creighton