MVC Ranks No. 9 -- The Missouri Valley Conference ranks No. 9 as a league in the NET rankings (Jan. 2). Indiana State leads nine MVC teams among the Top 153 as ISU sits at No. 31. The MVC finished 15th as a league in the Conference NET last year. (The Valley is also up six spots from 16 to 10 in the KenPom league rankings.)
Efficiency = NCAAs -- Indiana State is 34 in offensive efficiency in KenPom. Since 2012, 10 of 12 MVC teams in the Top 35 of KenPom’s OE have earned a spot in the NCAA Tourney (UNI, 2020 - COVID; MOST, 2022 - played in the NIT).
Home Cooking -- The Valley won 83.3 percent of its non-MVC home games (55-11) -- that percentage matches the 14th best in the MVC in the past 50 seasons. Drake earned a win in its final non-league home game of the year (vs. Alcorn State) and extended its non-conference homecourt winning streak to 43 games - the third-best in MVC history.
Block Party -- UIC leads the nation in blocks per game (7.0). Only one MVC team since 1987 has recorded 5.0 blocks per game for an entire season.
Defending the Shot -- Since 2010, all but three teams that have led the MVC in FG percentage defense have played in the NCAA Tournament. UIC’s current 37.8 figure leads the MVC and ranks 14th nationally.
Sweet Shooting -- Indiana State leads the nation in effective field goal percentage (61.6) and ranks in the Top 5 for FG percentage (5th, 51.7) and 3FG percentage (4th, 41.2). The Sycamores’ 51.7 accuracy ranks among the best all-time in MVC history and is the MVC best in the shot clock era.
Non-Conf Success -- The MVC finished the non-conference regular-season schedule with an 84-48 (.636) record. The +36 ledger (games over .500) is the best in MVC men’s hoops since the 2017-18 campaign when the Valley was 87-46 (+41), which included post-season play.
Charity Tosses -- Drake ranks No. 8 in the NCAA in free throw percentage (78.9). That figure would tie for fourth-best in MVC history (the record is .797 by Missouri State in 2021-22.)
Johnson is No. 2 -- Xavier Johnson of Southern Illinois ranks No. 2 in the NCAA in scoring (24.6 ppg). He trails only Denver’s Tommy Bruner (24.7 ppg). Hersey Hawkins of Bradley was the last MVC player to lead the nation in scoring (1987-88).
Valley Runs Deep -- Notably, MVC men’s teams are 12-3 in their first game in the NCAA Tournament dating back to 2012. The league has now combined for 20 wins in the NCAA Tournament in the past 10 NCAA championships and has earned multiple bids 16 times since 1994. Since 2013, The Valley has had two Final Four appearances, and an MVC team has reached a Sweet 16 a total of 12 times since 1985.
Nation’s 2nd Oldest -- Founded in 1907, the Missouri Valley Conference is the nation’s second-oldest Division I athletic conference (behind only the Big Ten). The MVC is celebrating its 117th season in 2023-24.
In March 2024, The Valley will conduct its 34th St. Louis-based postseason men’s basketball championship. With 34-straight years at the same neutral site, Arch Madness is the second-longest neutral site tenured collegiate tourney in the nation (following only the Big East in New York City).
Belmont BRUINS
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie has provided consistent offensive production for the Bruins this season. The Greeneville, Tenn., native ranks among league leaders in scoring, assists and leads the MVC in steals. He tied the Curb Event Center record with seven steals vs. Berry. Gillespie is one of three players in college basketball averaging at least 16 points, four assists and 2.5 steals per game.
- Cade Tyson has nine double figure scoring games this season, including five games of 20 or more points. Tyson ranks among league leaders in five statistical categories. The Monroe, NC, native made a clutch basket down the stretch in Belmont's victory over Arkansas State Dec. 20.
- Keishawn Davidson has 47 assists to only 20 turnovers this season. The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native has four double-figure scoring games, including a season-high 14 points at Northern Iowa. He ranks 12th in career assists (547) among active players NCAA Division I players.
BRADLEY BRAVES
- A pair of Bradley Braves rank among the national leaders in minutes played per game. Malevy Leons ranks second in the MVC and 31st nationally with his 35:21 per game figure. Duke Deen averages 33:34 minutes per game to rank 110th nationally.
- Darius Hannah ranks 17th nationally in field goal percentage and leads the Valley (62.6).
- Bradley ranks third in the MVC in field goal percentage defense (40.2). That figure is No. 62 nationally. The Braves have led the league in that statistic in four of the past six seasons.
DRAKE BULLDOGS
- The Bulldogs finished with a 9-2 non-conference mark after a 79-78 overtime loss at UAB on Dec. 22. Tucker DeVries forced OT with a 28-foot jumpshot that bounced in as time expired in regulation. Atin Wright once again led Drake in scoring with 20 points while Darnell Brodie (12 points, 15 rebounds) compiled his first double-double of the season. Conor Enright did not play at UAB due to a shoulder
- Drake’s 11-1 record through 12 games matched its third-best start (11-1 by 1968-69 Final Four squad) in program history, trailing only the 18-0 start by the 2020- 21 team and the 22-1 start by the 2007-08 squad.
- The Bulldogs have gone on 10 double-digit scoring runs this season so far, coming off runs of 15-0 in the first half and 14-0 in the second half during the victory against Alcorn State on Dec. 19.
EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES
- Tanner Cuff put forth a solid outing in the road contest at Cincinnati as he posted 13 points and 4 boards. Cuff was 6-for-12 from the field and 1-of-3 from long range. He registered an assist and block in 27:15 of action.
- Picking up the Slack – Yacine Toumi came through with a strong effort at Cincinnati as the Purple Aces were without two of their top players. Playing a career-high 37:25, Toumi recorded 17 points and 9 boards as UE picked up a double-figure lead early in the second half.
UIC FLAMES
- Isaiah Rivera collected team highs of 18 points (7-14 FG), five rebounds and two assists in UIC’s matchup at Southern Illinois this past Saturday night. Rivera scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half, including a driving layup with 2:16 left that drew the Flames within 53-50. It was Rivera’s 10th double-digit scoring game in 13 outings this season and the most points he has scored in a game since Nov. 25 when he had 23 points in a win over George Washington in the semifinals of the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship in the Bahamas. Rivera currently ranks among the top 15 in the MVC in three categories — three-point percentage (6th - .453), scoring (t-13th, 15.1 ppg.) and field-goal percentage (13th - .514).
- UIC had eight blocks on Saturday, one off its season high of nine rejections, set on Dec. 12 (Green Bay) and matched on Dec. 16 (Western Michigan). In their last five games, the Flames have averaged 8.2 blocks per game.
- Senior guard Toby Okani reached two personal milestones at Southern Illinois, recording both his 500th career rebound and 100th career blocked shot. Okani, who came into the game leading the MVC in blocked shots and ranked 10th in steals, added to both totals with four blocks and four steals. It was the seventh time this year he has had at least three blocks in a game, while Okani's career-high four steals topped his previous best of three on six occasions (the last on Nov. 30 against Illinois State at Credit Union 1 Arena).
- Redshirt sophomore forward Jaden Brownell had three blocks on the night, his third consecutive game with at least three blocks and fourth this season. In the past three games, he is averaging 3.7 bpg.
- UIC finished with only 10 turnovers at SIU, the third consecutive game the Flames have registered 10 or fewer giveaways.
ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS
- Illinois State started the season with a 2-0 MVC record for the first time since 2017-18, and for the 15th time in program history.
- Against #8 Kentucky, the Illinois State Redbirds pulled down 24 offensive rebounds. Since 2010-11 only 13 other schools had pulled down more offensive rebounds in a game against a nationally ranked school.
- With a field goal percentage of .581 against UIC on November 30, the Redbirds had their ninth-best field goal percentage in a game since 2010-11, and that high percentage came against the school that had the fifth-best defensive field goal percentage in the country.
INDIANA STATE SYCAMORES
- Indiana State saw its 10-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon as the Sycamores fell in a tough test at Michigan State, 87-75, inside the Breslin Center.
- Isaiah Swope did all he could in Saturday’s contest, as Swope scored a game-high 26 points with his season-high in three-pointers with six; the junior guard was 9-of-18 from the floor. Swope opened the game for ISU by scoring eight of the team’s first 11 points. After knocking down four triples in the first half, the Sycamores were down by only three in the second half before Swope tied the game at 49 apiece. Later, he scored seven consecutive points to give ISU a 64-59 lead. Swope’s scoring effort moved him up to fourth in the nation in three-pointers per game with 3.75. The guard remains atop the league in total threes made with 45, leading by 13. Swope tied for the game-high in steals with three, moving him to second in the MVC in steals-per-game with 2.08.
- The Sycamores continue to lead the nation in effective field goal percentage (61.6); are fifth in field goal percentage (51.7) and fourth in 3FG percentage (41.2). ISU's scoring offense (87.2 ppg) leads the MVC and ranks 10th nationally.
MISSOURI STATE BEARS
- No Bricks from Mason -- Since Nov. 20 (7 games), Alston Mason (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) is averaging 20.5 points, 2.4 threes and 4.3 assists per game. He has scored in double figures in 10-of-11 games this season and scored 20 or more points 5 times. Mason ranks 57th nationally (4th in MVC) in 3-point FG percentage (.403) and also ranks 4th in the MVC in scoring average (18.8).
- Bears on the Boards -- The Bears rank 36th nationally in rebound margin (+7.4), which is No. 1 in the Missouri Valley, and 6th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (30.92), also tops in the MVC. Likewise, MoState ranks 42nd in total rebounds per game (40.62). The only time MSU has been out-rebounded in the last 10 games was a 32-30 margin at Saint Mary’s on Dec. 23 vs. a Gaels team that came in ranked 4th nationally in rebound margin, 6th in offensive rebounds and 15th in total rebounds.
- Dominant on Defense -- The Bears continue to be a dominant force on the defensive end, ranking 17th among all Division I teams in 3-point FG percentage defense (.276), 26th in total FG percentage defense (.386) and 52nd in blocked shots per game (4.7).
Murray State RACERS
- Since a loss to Drake (Feb. 7), the Racers have won their last three MVC home games with wins over Evansville (Feb. 18), Valparaiso (Feb. 26) and this season over Bradley (Nov. 29).
- Justin Morgan made his first start as a Racer in his 41st career game in MSU’s 75-54 win Saturday over Middle Tennessee.
- Against MTSU, Quincy Anderson was 4-of-4 from the free throw line and has the Racers’ first double-digit streak this season at 12 in a row. Anderson also extended his streak of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer to seven.
UNI PANTHERS
- UNI is just two victories shy of 700 wins as a Division I program, and eight wins away from 1,400th all-time. The Panthers match up with the Bears for the 87th time on Wednesday night, renewing the program's second-longest running series in school history. Head coach Ben Jacobson can inch closer to the MVC record for conference-only wins with a victory at Missouri State, sitting just five victories shy of breaking Henry P. Iba’s (Oklahoma State) league record of 187 conference wins.
- Tytan Anderson has scored at least one point in 44 consecutive games, the longest streak among active Panthers.
- Bowen Born is on pace to surpass 200 career three-point field goals made this season. The junior guard currently ranks seventh in program history with 180 made three-pointers. Born leads the MVC with 96.7% clip at the free throw line (29-30) and is one of only two players in the league shooting 90% or better from the charity stripe.
- Trey Campbell leads the league in three-point shooting percentage at 52% and is one of three players in the MVC shooting 50% or better from beyond the arc.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS
- Mr. Do It All -- After averaging just seven points a game a year ago, Xavier Johnson has had a breakout season for the Salukis. The graduate guard has been dominant on both ends of the court for Southern, leading the team in scoring, assists, and steals. Johnson leads the nation in scoring at 24.6 points per game while also dishing out a league-high 5.8 assists per game. An MVC All-Defensive selection a year ago, Johnson has a team-high 21 steals which ranks seventh in the MVC.
- From Deep -- Southern Illinois ranks as the 12th-best shooting team in the nation from behind the arc (39.4 percent) while also ranking 15th nationally in three-point percent defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 27.6 percent from deep.
VALPARAISO BEACONS
- Jaxon Edwards is coming off a 15-point performance at Elon.
- 20-Point Tandem -- On Dec. 29 vs. Elon, Cooper Schwieger and Jahari Williamson both eclipsed 20 points, marking the first time a Valpo tandem turned that trick since Ben Krikke and Kobe King did it on Feb. 14 of last season vs. Southern Illinois. This marked the first time in over 30 years that a pair of Valpo rookies each reached the 20-point threshold. No freshman tandem had achieved that feat since at least the start of the Homer Drew head coaching era in 1988-89. This marked the first time Valpo had a pair of 20-point scorers in a true road game since Dec. 18, 2019, at High Point (Javon Freeman-Liberty and Eron Gordon).
- Underclassmen on Display -- A young and inexperienced team was even more young and inexperienced on Dec. 29 at Elon as junior Isaiah Stafford was sidelined with an injury. Three of the five starters in that game were freshmen and four were underclassmen, including rookie Jahari Williamson, who made his first collegiate start. Of the team’s 78 points on Friday, 51 (65.3 percent) were scored by freshmen and 68 (87.2 percent) were scored by freshmen and sophomores.