Drury Panthers

[crazznewt]

1800 enthusiastic fans at every game made Drury a desired destination for a lot of D1 level players. Missouri State struggles to draw that many, but they are able to pay players enough to field an average team.

The GLVC is full of small private schools who have really struggled to put together a decent team since the powers that be messed things up for those who have less resources.

I screenshot a livestat of SBU Women and 10 loss Illinois Springfield last week.
48-6 SBU was down. Scores like this are a common occurrence in the league now. It reminds me of kindergarten ball at the Boys Club, if you had one good player (usually the coaches son) who could handle the ball, you would win the league.

[panthersclawz1]

A big week upcoming for the Lady Panthers. With nine games left, I'm still not sold they're a real contender in the GLVC and I believe they could drop up to four of those games. Next week they're on the road first against a Lewis team on a 10-game winning streak and then get Upper Iowa. The latter is certainly winnable, but not a gimme. It'll be interesting to see if they can rise to the occasion. They did so against McKendree. Sage Stratton is starting to show some signs that Bailey may have one decent freshman out of the eight she recruited.

The men got a big win against UIndy, but man, it took nearly everything to make it happen: shooting over 60%, scoring over 100 points, and career highs from both of their best players. I'd love to see them go on a run, but the returns haven't been there to indicate it can realistically happen. If there's a time, it's now.

[crazznewt]

I cannot disagree with any of that. Here are a couple of more thoughts:
Losing Karis Ferguson to a preseason injury was a big setback as she is the pure point guard Drury desperately needs. We all know the this deficiency has cost the Lady Panthers a couple of victories at least. If the opposition has any athleticism, all they have to do is press full court to go on a scoring run. Another first time deficiency is the lack of a lock down defender. Anna Hitt being the last one.

Losing Schaaf to UCM at the start of the NIL debacle hurt the continuity that likely would have kept Drury at the top of the league. It's a good thing SBU pushed it's head coach out, otherwise King and Mendel wouldn't have decommited from the Bearcat program.

There are good young players on both teams who are developing nicely and are great people to boot. Maybe Drury should start a Go Fund Me for money to convince players to stay. Why not? Some Individuals have raked in hundreds of thousands for absolutely ridiculous causes.

[Bballfan]

There are a lot of bad women's teams in the GLVC. UMSL certainly is in the pole position with nine games left and a two game lead on everyone else. Can UMSL lose a couple more games? Absolutely. But can anyone else run the table? Not sure.

The GLVC championship I think will determine if the GLVC can get two teams in the tournament. I think UMSL is sitting pretty good regardless of winning the GLVC even if they go 7 - 2 the rest of the season. I don't see another GLVC team getting in UNLESS someone else wins the conference tournament. And that is a possibility. Whoever would get hot in March could upset UMSL.

[crazznewt]

I think the Lady Panthers will only have two all GLVC players. Because of the weak league, they might get a third player picked. Mendal might get All-American honorable mention for her double double numbers. I still pull for Drury, especially Rhi, Sara and Kaylee.

Hardrick and Howell are great players for the men. I hate to see the program down for so long. I wish Dr Matthews was still around. He would have an answer as everything he touched turned to gold.

I've not been to the O'Reilly Family Event Center in over a year. In fact, this is the first season in 48 years I have not attended a Drury basketball game.

This will likely be the last season I overspend for the GLVCSN. Cheapskates for the first time wont let you watch archived games from previous seasons. Very few games from this season have been worth watching. A good chunk of my viewing has been motivated by my curiosity of how such lopsided scores could consistently happen in a college game. Also, someone needs to train SBU production how to not consistently return from commercial breaks with the game well in progress.

[Bballfan]

I asked about All-American nominations and I guess each region can only submit 5 players. That pretty much means the POY of the 3 conferences and 2 at large, who undoubtedly will come from the GLIAC.

In other words, don't expect more than one All-American from the GLVC this year.

[crazznewt]

Enrollment figures at GLVC member schools 2024 - 2025 (from A I)

• University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL): ~14,815 total enrollment
• Maryville University: ~9,261 total enrollment
• Missouri S&T: ~7,154 total enrollment
• Lewis University: ~7,011 total enrollment
• University of Indianapolis (UIndy): >4,000 students
• University of Illinois Springfield (UIS): ~4,364–4,628 [63]
• Drury University: ~1,615 total enrollment
• McKendree University: ~2,531 total enrollment
• Southwest Baptist University (SBU): ~2,300+
• Truman State University: ~3,300 (undergraduate) [60]
• Rockhurst University: ~3,577 total enrollment [57]
• Upper Iowa University: ~3,054 (undergraduate) [65]
• Lincoln University of Missouri: ~2,054 total enrollment
• William Jewell College: ~969 (undergraduate)

GLIAC

• Wayne State University: ~23,900
• Grand Valley State University: ~22,000
• Ferris State University: ~9,900
• Purdue University Northwest: ~6,500–9,000
• Michigan Technological University: ~6,000–7,400
• Saginaw Valley State University: ~6,800
• Northern Michigan University: ~6,900
• University of Wisconsin-Parkside: ~3,200–3,900
• Roosevelt University: ~3,000
• Lake Superior State University: ~1,500–1,600
• Davenport University: ~4,800
The conference is heavily composed of public institutions (9 of 11) with a strong focus on NCAA Division II competition.

This is why I will never be impressed with anything Grand Valley does in sports. They are even less impressive in this NIL era where their advantage is even more pronounced.

[panthersclawz1]

Attendance figures at GLVC member schools 2024 - 2025 (from A I)

• University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL): ~14,815 total enrollment
• Maryville University: ~9,261 total enrollment
• Missouri S&T: ~7,154 total enrollment
• Lewis University: ~7,011 total enrollment
• University of Indianapolis (UIndy): >4,000 students
• University of Illinois Springfield (UIS): ~4,364–4,628 [63]
• Drury University: ~1,615 total enrollment
• McKendree University: ~2,531 total enrollment
• Southwest Baptist University (SBU): ~2,300+
• Truman State University: ~3,300 (undergraduate) [60]
• Rockhurst University: ~3,577 total enrollment [57]
• Upper Iowa University: ~3,054 (undergraduate) [65]
• Lincoln University of Missouri: ~2,054 total enrollment
• William Jewell College: ~969 (undergraduate)

GLIAC

• Wayne State University: ~23,900
• Grand Valley State University: ~22,000
• Ferris State University: ~9,900
• Purdue University Northwest: ~6,500–9,000
• Michigan Technological University: ~6,000–7,400
• Saginaw Valley State University: ~6,800
• Northern Michigan University: ~6,900
• University of Wisconsin-Parkside: ~3,200–3,900
• Roosevelt University: ~3,000
• Lake Superior State University: ~1,500–1,600
• Davenport University: ~4,800
The conference is heavily composed of public institutions (9 of 11) with a strong focus on NCAA Division II competition.

This is why I will never be impressed with anything Grand Valley does in sports. They are even less impressive in this NIL era where their advantage is even more pronounced.

These are not attendance figures. They are enrollment numbers for each school. Drury consistently outperforms enrollment vs. attendance at basketball games. That said, if these coaches stay in place, that won't last.

[Bballfan]

Yes enrollment numbers. For reference. Wayne State and Grand Valley are bigger than NINE FBS D1 Mid-American Conference Schools, including all three Michigan MAC Schools.

So yes, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, and Eastern Michigan are all smaller than Grand Valley and Wayne State. Only the University of Michigan and Michigan State are bigger than Wayne State and Grand Valley in the state of Michigan.

Let that sink in.

[crazznewt]

Oops, that was a bad copy and paste on my part. And, I almost completely agree with you on the coaches. I believe these teams should be stocked with the best local players money can't buy to rekindle fan interest. Maybe fan support will be enough of a draw to land players not interested in getting paid.

At this rate, Evangel basketball will soon be a bigger draw than Drury basketball. In fact, the last time these men's programs played each other, the Crusaders beat Drury soundly at O'Reilly. Also, I hear a lot of positive talk about the Evangel women's coach who is winning big wherever she goes.

If my memory is correct, Molly Carter was being heavily courted by Southwest Baptist after Todd Voss resigned. One of the best decisions Drury ever made was hiring Molly at that time.
The Lady Bearcats have been woefully bad for years. It's not that far fetched to believe that a former Lady Panther like Addy (Roller) Miller could be convinced to return home to southwest Missouri to an area she knows how to recruit.

[crazznewt]

On the subject of Molly Miller, her Arizona State team is now 18 and 4 after defeating their most hated rival, the Arizona Wildcats. ASU hit the road bump at this point in the schedule that most expected, but still could conceivably finish with their best record in ten seaons.

[panthersclawz1]

Tonight will be a big test for the women. Can they snap Lewis's winning streak? It would be a statement victory and I imagine it'll be a close game. Men should win, but nothing's ever a sure thing on the road.

[crazznewt]

It's like we have been saying all along, the women need a point guard. Lewis likes to pressure. With this game being on the road, it's hard to have positive expectations. If they keep their turnovers at ten or below, and stay out of foul trouble, I like their chances.

[crazznewt]

It's like we have been saying all along, the women need a point guard. Lewis likes to pressure. With this game being on the road, it's hard to have positive expectations. If they keep their turnovers at ten or below, and stay out of foul trouble, I like their chances.

That was an excellent game plan by Kaci Bailey tonight and she coached her team to a hard fought victory in a hostile environment. Drury only had one more turnover than Lewis (12-13), and only committed 12 fouls to Lewis' 24.

Rhi Gibbons had a big time response to early physical play that included a cheap shot from a lady pilot. She finished the game having attempted more free throws than the entire Lewis team (12-9). She took the ball hard to the hole several times, beating her defender off the first step, then getting fouled by the help defense.

Sara had another big double double,
and Kaylee shot the ball prolifically. Storey and Halliday were big off the bench. Hopefully others will step up to help soon.

[Bballfan]

Lady Pilot? I know them by the Flyers. But do they drill down to pilots as part of the crew?

Was not fond of who Lewis hired as a coach. Sounds like they are the new UIndy of women's GLVC bball.