NORMAL — With the top seven teams separated by only two games in the wild and wacky Missouri Valley Conference basketball standings, each of the last four contests in the next two weeks becomes more critical.
"We're not really focused on where we are now. There's so much basketball left to play," said Missouri State's Dana Ford on Monday's MVC coaches teleconference. "We need to continue to do what we do, but do it better."
Everyone expected defending champion Loyola, with several key contributors returning from a Final Four team, to be near the top as the league season wound down.