The following “Starting Five” points offer a quick look inside GLVC men’s basketball action this week:
GLVC SPORTS NETWORK (GLVCSN): All GLVC home games are available for free on GLVCSN.com, the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile apps, and GLVCSN OTT apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV.
[1 // new year means league play set to resume]
Indianapolis had the honor of playing the final GLVC men's basketball game of the 2018 calendar year on Monday, and Illinois Springfield will be the first to compete in 2019 on Wednesday. UIndy (7-4) ended 2018 with a 78-67 win over Grace College (10-6). The victory snapped a four-game skid by the Greyhounds, who claimed their last win on Nov. 23 against Wilberforce. CJ Hardaway paced the Hounds with 17 points, leading a pack of four who finished with double figures. The New Year, however, means the return to conference action. Seven games are on the docket both Thursday and Saturday, all of which will be steamed live on all GLVCSN platforms. For a complete look at this week’s action,
click here.
[2 // a point rating system refresher]
With league play set to resume on Thursday, the GLVC
will continue to utilize its Point Rating System (PRS) to determine the top eight men’s and women’s teams that will advance to the 2019 GLVC Basketball Championship Tournaments. At the request of its basketball coaches, the GLVC implemented the new qualifying procedure for the 2017-18 campaign as the league no longer had balanced eight-team East and West Divisions. In past years, the winner of the East and West Divisions secured the top two seeds in the 12-team tournament, which was made up of four teams from each division along with four wildcards. The 2018 tournament field was reduced to eight teams, featuring no automatic qualifying bids for divisional champions, nor was there a number of tournament bids allocated for each of the three five-team divisions. Now with 14 member institutions, the Conference is competing in an 18-game schedule without divisions, where each team is playing a single round-robin slate with an additional five GLVC contests. The GLVC Point Rating System is designed to provide a team more points for a win on the road or at home against top competition based on conference winning percentage, while distributing fewer points for a win against weaker competition. Points are also distributed for losses, with more points awarded for a loss against stronger competition versus if the team lost at home or on the road to a struggling team. The eight teams with the highest ratings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the postseason tournament, which returns to the Vadalabene Center on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, March 7-10, 2019. After the first round of league play back in late November, Illinois Springfield (2-0)
sits atop the PRS with a 4.75 rating, followed by Rockhurst (1-1) at 4.25 and Truman State (2-0) at 4.00. PRS reports will be updated on the league standings website after each night of conference play.
[3 // bellarmine remains unanimous number one, lewis receiving votes in nabc top 25 poll]
For the fifth consecutive week, Bellarmine was unanimously selected as the top-ranked team in the NABC/Division II poll as the top four spots from the third poll remained unchanged,
it was announced Dec. 21 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The No. 1 Knights closed calendar year 2018 and their non-conference schedule with a bang on Saturday night, turning in a near-perfect performance and romping past Martin Methodist 105-62 in Knights Hall. The win pushed Bellarmine's season record to 10-0 and extended the home court win streak to 63 games. For the second-straight poll, Lewis is receiving votes outside the top 25. The next national poll will be released on Jan. 8.
[4 // bellarmine’s eberhard named player of the week]
Bellarmine senior forward Adam Eberhard
was named Monday the GLVC Player of the Week, his third honor of the season. The senior forward registered a perfect night of shooting with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-9 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from three-point land and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, in the Knights’ 105-62 win over Martin Methodist. His effort tied a 24-year-old school record for most field goal attempts without a miss. He also posted a game-high seven rebounds and added three assists and a block in 19 minutes to help the Knights extend their home court win streak to 63 games.
[5 // among the nation’s best]
In the recent statistical report published by the NCAA, several GLVC teams and individuals rank among the nation’s top 10 in select categories. Bellarmine is tops in the country with a 58.6 field goal percentage, while William Jewell ranks seventh in free-throw percentage (80.4). The Knights are also fourth in scoring margin (20.4) and 10th in rebounding margin (9.2). Drury (21.5) is third and Bellarmine (19.8) is fourth in assists per game, while the Knights (1.77) and Panthers (1.77) are fourth and fifth, respectively, in assist turnover ratio. William Jewell is eighth in scoring offense (89.9) and 10th in three-point field goals per game (11.6). Individually, Bellarmine’s Adam Eberhard is sixth in the country in field-goal percentage (67.0), UMSL’s Johnathan Matthews is seventh in free-throw percentage (93.9), and William Jewell’s Eysan Wiley is ninth in double-doubles (6) and blocked shots per game (2.43).
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF THE GLVC
Throughout the 2018-19 academic year, the GLVC will celebrate its 40th anniversary by recognizing 40 teams that made a significant impact both on campus and at the Conference level. A number of men’s basketball programs have already been recognized and are featured below. For a complete list of the GLVC’s 40th anniversary campaign,
click here.