INA, Ill. – The rosters are set for the 40th Annual Benton Lions Club All-Star Basketball Classic, Friday night at Rend Lake College’s James “Hummer” Waugh Gymnasium. The girls’ game will tip-off first at 6 p.m., followed by the boys’ game at 8 p.m.

The event features the best in boys’ and girls’ high school basketball from the area. The price of admission is only $5 for adults and $3 for students. A dunk contest will take place in between games and three-point shoot-outs will happen at halftime of each game. MVP awards will be presented at the conclusion of each game.

Boys Game

Boys Gold Team (Home)

Coaches: Eric Griffin (Meridian)

Roster:

Boys Purple Team (Away)

Coaches: Matt Morgan (Zeigler-Royalton) & Pete Gordon (Thompsonville)

Roster: 

Girls Game

Girls Gold Team (Home)

Coaches:Doug Althoff (Nashville)

Roster:

Girls Purple Team (Away)

Coaches: Jerry Johnson (Meridian) & Keyth Blissett (Meridian)

Roster: 

Information submitted by Benton Lion’s Club. For more information, please call 618-435-5555. 

INA, Ill. – The 40th Annual Benton Lions Club All-Star Basketball Classic will take place Friday night, March 30, on the hardwood at Rend Lake College’s James “Hummer” Waugh Gymnasium. The girls’ game will tip-off first at 6 p.m., followed by the boys’ game at 8 p.m. More than 100 players have been invited to participate. A mandatory practice will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 25, at RLC for all athletes planning to play. Rosters will be announced following the practice.

The event features the best in boys’ and girls’ high school basketball from the area. The price of admission is only $5 for adults and $3 for students. A dunk contest will take place in between games and three-point shoot-outs will happen at halftime of each game. MVP awards will be presented at the conclusion of each game.

Boys Coaches: Eric Griffin (Meridian), Matt Morgan (Zeigler-Royalton) & Pete Gordon (Thompsonville)

Girls Coaches:Jerry Johnson (Meridian) & Doug Althoff (Nashville)

Players:

Anna-Jonesboro – Jake Parr, Sheldon McGrath
Anna-Jonesboro Girls – Connor Hadley
Benton — Parker Williams, Gehrig Wynn, Cade Thomas, Hamilton Page
Benton Girls – Ebriessa Casey
Cairo – Damarius Taylor
Carbondale – Darius Beane, Kani Acree
Carbondale Girls – Maddie Doan, Atlexus Green, Amiya Moore, Brianna Simelton, Elixis Richardson
Carlyle – Tyler Siever
Carmi-White Co. – Travis Black, Bryce Northcott, Justin Lamp
Carmi-White Co. Girls – Abby Vaughan
Carterville – Justin Johnson
Centralia – Javon Williams Jr. , John Keeler, Jordan Maines
Century – Casen Hight, Marcus Davis
Chester – Josh & Jake Haberberger
Christopher – Bradley Young, Jared Curry,
Cobden – John Russell
Cobden Girls – Flamm
Crab Orchard – Vinson Stevens
Fairfield – Colby Dagg, Jaden Lewis
DuQuoin Girls – Grace Haney
Egyptian – Gavin Arnhart-Powell
Egyptian Girls – Rileigh Petermichel
Eldorado – Atterbery, Traxler,
Galatia – Austin Stevens, Ben Mitchell
Gallatin Co. Girls – Hailey Chubbs
Goreville – Braden Webb, Tanner Dunn, Peyton Massey
Hamilton Co. – Jake Whipple, Matt Rubenacker
Hamilton Co Girls – Kathrine Drone
Hardin Co. – Jamison Hicks
Harrisburg -Isaiah Salsberry, Blake Drue
Harrisburg Girls – Lotte Miller, Maddie Haskins, Jessica Hopson
Herrin – Nessler
Herrin Girls – Madison Russell, Marissa Russell
Joppa – Kaleb Cox
Marion – Lacey , Fletcher, Sadoris
Massac Co. – Cole Vickers, Isaiah Thompson, Noah Taylor
Massac Co. Girls – Lauren Coakley
Meridian – Darnell Lowe, Ja’quan Jones , Demareon Nicholson and Demond Vasser
Meridian Girls – Alexis Crain, RaKyah Jeter, Cymone Vallard, Rakeya Jeter
Mt. Carmel – Jackson Marcotte
Mt. Vernon – Zach Williams, O’Shea Hardin
Mt. Vernon Girls – Taylor Thompson, Savannah Childers
Murphysboro – Jeremy House, Jaron Gaston
Murphysboro Girls – Arie Ciganovich, Kayla Walker
Nashville Girls – Karly Stanowski, Paige Kasten
Okawville – Luke Hensler
Pinckneyville – J.C .Moll, Grant Jausel
Salem – Demond Crosby, Cord Brown
Sesser-Valier – Lukas Gunter, Joshua Gunter, Preston Launius, Addison Page
Sesser Girls – Paige Tucker, Jaycee Gunter, Jada Hale , Brooke Wilderman
Sesser Girls – Paolina Marlo, Adrianna Fedderke
Trico – Jared Meyerhoff,
Vienna Girls – Holhubner
Wayne City – Jaxon King
Wayne City Girls – Lucille Smith
Webber Township – Charles Neal, Dylan Stratton
West Frankfort – Keagan Rash
West Frankfort Girls – Cali Wright, Megan Beery
Woodlawn – Blake Fewkes
Woodlawn Girls – Alisa Doza , Hannah Espes Breanna Sanders

MVC in the Final Four

 Including Loyola this year, MVC teams have combined for 18 trips to the Final Four and four NCAA titles.  Nine of the previous 17 MVC Final Four teams have reached the title game.  The MVC is 4-5 in title games.

Final Four • Alamodome • San Antonio, Texas

M31 — #11 Loyola vs. #3 Michigan, 5:07 ct

M31 — #1 Villanova vs. #1 Kansas (40 min. after)

 MVC All-Time Record in NCAA:  103-103

 Loyola in NCAA:  13-4 (4-0 as MVC member)

“Power” Aid

 Since 1994, an MVC member has beaten the following teams from “power” conferences in the NCAAs:  Alabama, Arizona, Cincinnati, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas (three times), K-State, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh (twice), Seton Hall, Tennessee (four times), Texas, Texas Tech, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin.  MVC teams are a combined 38-44 in the NCAA Tournament since 1994 (with 11 Sweet 16 trips and two Final Fours).  Notably, 29 of the 38 wins in that span have been vs. power conference schools.

When it Matters Most

 Since the 2011 postseason, the MVC has the best cumulative record of any conference in the NCAA, NIT, CIT and CBI, combined.  That 56-31 (.644) overall mark includes an 18-11 record in the NCAA Tournament in the past eight years.

Winning in the NCAA

 The MVC has had a minimum of one NCAA tourney win in each of the past seven years (2012-present) for a cumulative 18-10 (.643) record.  Only four leagues are better than .600 in that span:  SEC (.643), ACC (.636), B1G (.623).

First-Round NCAA Streak

 Loyola’s first-round win against Miami (Fla.) gave the Missouri Valley a perfect 9-0 record in first-round games since Wichita State, then an MVC school, lost a first-round game against VCU in 2012.

How Seed It is

 The NCAA used a seeding process for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 1979.  Since then, the league has had teams seeded No. 9 or worse 46 times, including this season.  Those 46 teams have combined for 28 tournament victories, seven Sweet 16 appearances and two Final Fours.  Since 1994, the MVC has posted 14 NCAA Tournament first-round wins as a lower-seeded team.

Sweeping the Honors

 Loyola won the league’s top honors for Coach of the Year (Porter Moser), Larry Bird Player of the Year (Clayton Custer), Defensive Player of the Year (Ben Richardson) and Freshman of the Year (Cameron Krutwig).  Since the league began recognizing a Defensive Player of the Year in 1989, only one other league team has earned a combo of Coach-Player-Defensive-Freshman top honors (Tulsa in 1994).  Loyola’s Clayton Custer also shared the league’s top scholar-athlete honor (with Drake’s Reed Timmer).  Notably, Illinois State’s Milik Yarbrough earned MVC Newcomer of the Year.

An 11 Seed at the Final Four?

 Only three previous No. 11 seeds have advanced to the Final Four: LSU in 1986, George Mason in 2006 and VCU in 2011. All three lost in the semis. The lowest-seeded team to win the national championship was Villanova, a No. 8 seed in 1985.  Since then, only two No. 8 seeds have returned to the title game: Butler (2011) and Kentucky (2014).

Final Fours Since 2013

 A second MVC team has reached the Final Four since 2013 (six seasons).  No other conference can match the MVC’s success rate (2 Final Four teams out of only 9 total bids – 22%).  The SEC, with four Final Four teams (out of 27 bids) is next best at 15%.

Champions

 Loyola established a new school standard with 15 conference wins and claimed its first outright conference title since 1984-85.

Title Town

 The MVC has had eight different regular-season champs in the past 12 seasons (Creighton-2009, 2013; Drake-2008, Illinois St.-2017; Loyola-2018; Missouri St.-2011; UNI-2009, 2010; Southern Illinois-2007; Wichita State-2012, 2014, 2015, 2017).

A Bakers’ Cousin

 Only three times in the league’s 111-year history have all teams reached 13+ wins, including this year.  The MVC has not had a season in which every team reached 14 or more wins.  In the league’s 111 seasons, the MVC has had all teams reach 11 or more wins 10 times (including this year).

Power Play

 The MVC is 29-35 against the Top 6 leagues since 1994 in the NCAA Tourney, including 4-6 against the Big Ten.

Home Cooking

 The MVC has a 116-35 record in home games (inclusive of non-league and league games), third best in the NCAA.

M*A*S*Hed

 The league recorded non-conference success despite a rash of injuries and illnesses that hit the starting lineups.  During the regular-season non-league slate, a total of 63 games were missed by starters (or projected starters).

 League-champion Loyola, notably, lost only one game this year (at Bradley, by two points) when both starting guards — Ben Richardson and Clayton Custer — were in the lineup.  Richardson missed 10 games (broken hand), while Custer missed 5 games (sprained ankle).  They were both out for losses at Milwaukee and at Missouri State. In addition to the 63 non-conference games missed by starters, a total of 33 league games were missed by established starters.

30-Win Seasons

 Loyola has become just the 11th team in MVC history (111 years) to reach 30 wins (and the sixth with 32 wins).  The league has had seven 30-win teams since 2010.

35 —      Wichita State (2014)

33 —      Indiana State (1979)

32 —      Bradley (1986) (1951) (1950), Loyola (2018)

31 —      UNI (2015), Wichita State (2017)

30 —      UNI (2010), Wichita State (2013), Wichita State (2015)

Rambling On …

 Loyola’s 65-59 win at No. 5 Florida on Dec. 6 was its first over an AP Top 25 team since a 71-67 victory at No. 15 Butler on Feb. 15, 1984. It also marked the Ramblers’ first win over an AP top-five squad since a 63-62 win vs. No. 4 Illinois on Dec. 22, 1984. Prior to the Florida win, Loyola had never defeated an AP top-five team on its opponent’s home floor.

MVC vs. the Top 25

 Loyola beat No. 5 Florida on Dec. 6, marking the ninth-straight season the MVC has had at least one non-conference top-25 victory.  In four of the last six years, the league has had regular-season top-25 wins by multiple MVC schools.  Loyola’s top-5 win marked the 31st top-5 non-league win in MVC history, but marked the first top-5 non-league win on the road since Dec. 6, 1967 (exactly 50 years), when then-MVC member Louisville beat No. 5 Kansas, 57-51.  The MVC is 4-6 against top-25 schools, with all three wins by Loyola (Florida, Miami (Fla.), Tennessee and Nevada).

RPI:  40 or Better?

 Since 1990-91, 1035 of 1111 eligible teams with an RPI of 40 or better have made the NCAA Tournament.  Illinois State, at 33 last year, was the only Top 40 RPI team excluded in 2017.  In the past 19 years 33 eligible teams, including eight from the MVC, have not made the NCAA Tournament with an RPI of 40 or better (including 5 this year).  In 2006, Missouri State had an RPI of 21 and failed to earn a spot in the field.  That remains an NCAA record. The MVC, with those 8 ‘snubs’ since 2000, have more than any other conference (the Mountain West is second, at 4).

Top-40 RPI Teams, Not in NCAA Tourney (2018)

33 — Middle Tennessee

34 — USC

38 — Louisville

39 — Western Kentucky

40 — Saint Mary’s

Previous MVC Final 4 Teams

 Loyola is the 18th MVC team to reach the NCAA Final Four in men’s basketball.  The league has 17 total basketball national titles, but notably 4 in the NCAA Tournament and six in the NIT.

Previous MVC Teams to Reach Final Four*

1945 – Oklahoma State (NCAA Champs)

1946 – Oklahoma State (NCAA Champs)

1949 – Oklahoma State (2nd)

1950 – Bradley (2nd)

1951 – Oklahoma State (4th)

1959 – Cincinnati (3rd)

1960 – Cincinnati (3rd)

1961 – Cincinnati (NCAA Champs)

1962 – Cincinnati (NCAA Champs)

1963 – Cincinnati (2nd)

1965 – Wichita State (4th)

1969 – Drake (3rd)

1972 – Louisville (4th)

1973 – Memphis (2nd)

1975 – Louisville (3rd)

1979 – Indiana State (2nd)

2013 – Wichita State (t3rd)

2018 – Loyola

*Bradley also reached the 1954 title game (finishing second) competing as a non-MVC member that year.  Loyola won a national championship in 1963 (also as a non-MVC school at that time).

Loyola Since Jan. 3

 The Ramblers, winners of 14-straight games, have lost just once since Jan. 3 (2-point loss at Bradley on Jan. 31).

Loyola National Ranks Since Jan. 3

Defense (PPG Allowed)  60.5       3rd

FG Percentage   50.9       2nd

2-Point FG Percentage   58.0       6th

Win Percentage 21-1 (.955)         1st

Steals:Turnover Ratio     0.64       28th

Assist:Turnover Ratio     1.44       25th

Assist:FG Made 61.0       16th

Loyola Ranks No. 3

 At .536, Loyola is No. 3 in the NCAA in FG percentage at home.  At .509 overall, the Ramblers are No. 3 for all games.  Loyola’s .509 mark is the best in the MVC since the advent of the 3-point line.  The Ramblers have shot 52.4 percent in their 32 wins, but only 41.2 in the 5 losses.

No Teams with 20 Losses

 This season will mark the first time since 2006-07 that no MVC team lost 20 or more games.  That’s only happened three times in the past 20 seasons (1999, 2006, 2007) — all years in which the MVC had multiple bids in the NCAA Tournament.  The 2006-07 season was also the last time no Valley team lost as many as 19 games, which will also be the case this season, too.

Land of Lincoln

 The MVC’s four Illinois schools all are in the Top 102 of the RPI (and are also the top four in Division I in the state.)  Loyola leads the way with its No. 14 rating and 32-5 mark (as of March 26).  The Ramblers are joined by Illinois State (82), Southern Illinois (96) and Bradley (102).

Top 50 RPI = Post-Season

 Since the 1991-92 season (the first year in which RPI was publicly shared), the MVC has had 51 teams with RPIs of 50 or better on Selection Sunday.  All 51 teams earned a post-season berth, including 37 teams who were rewarded with an NCAA Tournament bid.  The other 14 teams played in the NIT (12 of those 14 have occurred since 2005).

MVC Top-40 RPI Teams, Not in NCAA Tourney

21* — Missouri State (2006)

33 — Illinois State (2008)

33 — Illinois State (2017)

34 — Missouri State (2000)

36 — Missouri State (2007)

37 — Bradley (2007)

39 — Creighton (2006)

40 — Creighton (2009)

*denotes NCAA record

ATLANTA — Kansas State’s dream of its first Final Four since 1964 is alive.

Here’s the link at the Southern Illinoisan.

Dana Ford took Tennessee State’s men’s basketball team from a five-win team in 2015 to the postseason a year later. Now the Tamms native will try to resurrect a Missouri State squad that underachieved at historic levels.

Here’s the link to the story in the Southern Illinoisan.

Even Sister Jean’s bracket originally had Loyola bowing out in the Sweet 16. The Ramblers continue to prove every doubter wrong. Loyola’s 69-68 victory Thursday night over Nevada propelled them to their first Elite Eight appearance since the team won the national championship 55 years ago.

Here’s the link at the Chicago Tribune.

Without fail after victories, Loyola coach Porter Moser opens his remarks in a way that stays true to the school’s Jesuit mission.

“I first want to say all glory and thankfulness goes to God, he’s been so good to this group, me, this university,’’ Moser said Saturday after his team’s 63-62 NCAA tournament victory over third-seeded Tennessee in Dallas.

Here’s the link at the Chicago Tribune.

Tyrone Slaughter’s early take on Saturday’s Class 4A basketball championship game is that it will be the classic match of David versus Goliath.

Here’s the link at the Belleville News-Democrat.