And it reminded me of watching awesome Drake Missouri Valley Bball in the 1960s to early 1970's. I was a hawk fan but not only did Iowa and Drake play great games but Vets Auditorium with its terrible acoustics and non-noise cancelling brick walls was an amazing place to watch a game. I pasted Drake's Final Four team record and conf standings below. Drake and Louisville, which between them had about 7 NBA and ABA players on their squads, tied in the league and had a one game playoff for the NCAAs at Vets which I was able to go to. And it was the loudest indoor event I was ever at. I could not hear my friends next to me. The old Iowa fieldhouse was loud but there was more sound baffling and absorbing material there.
And I tell you what, I would have loved to see Willie McCarter for Drake and Ronnie Lester of Iowa in the same backcourt because they could both fly up the court. That Drake team followed by next year's '70 Iowa team, which was the best fast breaking team I have ever seen (they would rebound the ball and lay it in the other end without one dribble sometimes) were awesome to watch.
1968-69 Missouri Valley Conference
Overall Conference PTS/G SRS Polls
School Record
1 Drake MVC 26 5 .839 13 3 .813 85.7 75.3 14.65 4.25 11 11 NCAA Tournament; Reg. Season Champion; NCAA FF
2 Louisville MVC 21 6
3 Tulsa MVC 19 8
4 Cincinnati MVC 17 9
5 North Texas MVC 15 10
6 Bradley MVC 14 12
7 Wichita State MVC 11 15
8 Saint Louis MVC 6 20
9 Memphis MVC 6 19
And I tell you what, I would have loved to see Willie McCarter for Drake and Ronnie Lester of Iowa in the same backcourt because they could both fly up the court. That Drake team followed by next year's '70 Iowa team, which was the best fast breaking team I have ever seen (they would rebound the ball and lay it in the other end without one dribble sometimes) were awesome to watch.
1968-69 Missouri Valley Conference
Overall Conference PTS/G SRS Polls
School Record
1 Drake MVC 26 5 .839 13 3 .813 85.7 75.3 14.65 4.25 11 11 NCAA Tournament; Reg. Season Champion; NCAA FF
2 Louisville MVC 21 6
3 Tulsa MVC 19 8
4 Cincinnati MVC 17 9
5 North Texas MVC 15 10
6 Bradley MVC 14 12
7 Wichita State MVC 11 15
8 Saint Louis MVC 6 20
9 Memphis MVC 6 19