By Grant Riggs, Editor-in-chief
First Glance
Sunday, Feb. 5
Men’s Tennis: Loss 0-9 at Drury University
Women’s Tennis: Loss 0 -9 at Drury University
Men’s Wrestling: At the Greyhound Open at University of Indianapolis – http://mckbearcats.com/news/2017/2/5/mens-wrestling-places-10-at-greyhound-open.aspx
Women’s Water Polo: Loss 2-17 vs. Villanova University
Wednesday, Feb. 8
Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving: GLVC Championships in Crawfordsville, IN. Time TBA.
Thursday, Feb. 9
Women’s Basketball: 5:30 p.m. at Drury University
Men’s Wrestling: 7 p.m. at The University of Central Missouri
Men’s Volleyball: 7 p.m. at home vs Loyola University Chicago
Men’s Basketball: 7:45 p.m. at Drury University
Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving: GLVC Championships in Crawfordsville, IN. Time TBA.
Friday, Feb. 10
Men’s and Women’s Track & Field: All day at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS
Women’s Wrestling: All day in Oklahoma City, OK. for WCWA Nationals
Women’s Bowling: All day at the Stephen F. Austin Stormin’ Ladyjack Invitational in Conroe, TX
Softball: 10 a.m. & 12 p.m. at the University of North Georgia Tournament in Dahlonega, GA
Men’s and Women’s Tennis: 4 p.m. vs. Tennessee State University at the St. Clair Tennis Club in O’Fallon, IL
Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving: GLVC Championships in Crawfordsville, IN. Time TBA.
Saturday, Feb. 11
Men’s and Women’s Track & Field: All day at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS
Men’s and Women’s Bowling: All day at the Backhaul Direct Hoosier Challenge in Indianapolis, IN
Women’s Basketball: 1 p.m. at Missouri S&T
Softball: 2 p.m. & 6 p.m. at the University of North Georgia Tournament in Dahlonega, GA
Women’s Water Polo: 2:50 p.m. vs. Grand Valley State at Allendale, MI
Men’s Basketball: 3 p.m. at Missouri S&T
Men’s Hockey: MACHA Tournament: 4:30 p.m. vs TBD at Webster Groves Ice Arena in Webster Groves, MO
Men’s and Women’s Tennis: 4 p.m. vs Quincy University at the St. Clair Tennis Club in O’Fallon, IL
Women’s Hockey: 6 p.m. vs. the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN
Women’s Water Polo: 6:20 p.m. vs. Miami University (OH) at Allendale, MI
Men’s Volleyball: 7 p.m. at home vs. Lewis University
Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving: GLVC Championships in Crawfordsville, IN. Time TBA.
This Weeks Insights
Men’s Basketball
Coming off its best week of the season with two conference wins over Maryville and UMSL, the men’s basketball team faces a pivotal stretch with postseason play looming as they sit in sixth place of eight in the GLVC East. McKendree needs a strong finish to this final six-game stretch, as the top six teams in each division (East and West) qualify to the GLVC tournament, which begins on Feb. 28th. First, a huge Thursday night showdown at Drury looms. Because both teams are heading in opposite directions, this is an interesting match up. Drury is coming off of four straight road losses, three by at least 23 points. McKendree, on the other hand, has won its last two home games and has played consecutive quality games against conference opponents for the first time all season.
McKendree then travels to Rolla, MO to take on Missouri S&T. Despite struggling most the season (3 – 10 in conference), S&T has shown a sign of life with a 96-91 road win over a quality team in Truman State on January 28th. However, Mckendree has yet to win a regular season road game and will need to buck that trend at least a few times over the final six games in order to clinch a spot in the GLVC tournament.
In order for McKendree to pick up a few much needed road wins, they must continue to utilize an up-tempo style of play. This works best when senior guard/forward David Franklin rips down defensive rebounds and pushes the ball up the floor. Because of this, defenses are caught out of place and better three-point attempts open up for Michael Jackson, Nate Michael, Darin Winkleman and Justin Blanks. Since McKendree struggled so much against zone defense in its previous two games, this strategy will get multiple players good shot attempts throughout each game and can also prevent McKendree’s opponents from slowing them down with zone defense.
Current GLVC Conference Standings: http://glvcsports.com/standings.aspx?
Men’s Hockey
After concluding their regular season with a two-game sweep of Illinois State University, the fifth ranked team in the central region and hottest team on campus, men’s hockey, enters postseason play on Saturday. After receiving a first-round bye for being the number one seed in the MACHA (McKendree’s conference) tournament, McKendree will take on either SIUE, Iowa, Northern Illinois, or Illinois State in the semifinals. Regardless of their play in the MACHA tournament, McKendree is a lock to move onto the ACHA Division II regionals in Ann Arbor, Michigan on February 24th through 26th.
MACHA Gold Playoffs Bracket: http://machahockey.pointstreaksites.com/ACHA 2016-17
Regional Info: http://achahockey.org/view/achahockey/
Cover Photo: McKendree Senior David Franklin drives against Quincy University’s Von Washington III. Photo Credit: Belleville News-Democrat
