As we turn the page on the first half of the Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season, surprises have been few, but significant.
No. 1 on the list is the Drake Bulldogs, picked for last but currently residing in a three-way tie for third place at 5-4.
Since Ray Giacoletti resigned as head coach in early December with a 1-7 record, interim coach Jeff Rutter has the Bulldogs playing faster, looser and more confidently.
"It wasn't re-inventing the wheel," Rutter said. "It was just trying to reinforce what we were doing."
As expected, Wichita State and Illinois State are at the top of league - although currently flipped from the preseason prognostication.