UIC leads the MVC and ranks second nationally in blocks per game (6.9). Only five MVC teams since 1988 have recorded 5.0 blocks per game for a season.
Missouri State’s N.J. Benson matched a school record against Sam Houston with 7 blocked shots, while helping the team also match a single-game block record (14). The 14 blocks are the third-most by an MVC team in a game.
Indiana State leads the nation in effective field goal percentage (62.0) and ranks in the Top 4 for FG percentage (2nd, 52.5) and 3FG percentage (4th, 40.8). The Sycamores’ 52.5 accuracy ranks among the best all-time in MVC history.
The league’s 70-38 (.657) non-conference success currently ranks as one of the best in the league’s 117-year history. It is the 13th-best in the last 60 seasons (dating back to 1964-65) and seventh-best in the past 50.
Xavier Johnson of Southern Illinois ranks No. 1 in the NCAA in points per game, as the Saluki guard is averaging 24.8 points through SIU’s 10 games. Hersey Hawkins of Bradley was the last MVC player to lead the nation in scoring (1987-88) -- three different players from the league have accomplished the feat.
Notably, MVC 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.
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
- Cade Tyson scored a career-high 31 points in 27 minutes at Samford. He ranks among MVC leaders in five statistical categories.
- Belmont leads the MVC in steals per game (8.1).
- Belmont joins Indiana State as the only teams in the MVC to average better than 80.0 points per game (81.7 for the Bruins).
BRADLEY BRAVES
- Bradley and Duquesne are playing at LeBron James Arena at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot was the head coach of St. Vincent-St. Mary High school when James attended. He posted a 69-10 record before he went to Akron as an assistant coach.
- In the loss to Cleveland State, Malevy Leons and Christian Davis both recorded 16 points. Bradley has two non-conference games left after Duquesne against SIUE and Truman State.
DRAKE BULLDOGS
- Conor Enright scored a career-high 18 points (16 in the first half) shooting 6-8 from the field (he was a perfect 5-5 from the field and 4-4 from three-point range in the first half) with the six field goals being his career-high. Enright also snagged five rebounds (one shy of his career-high) and recorded three steals in the 68-56 win over Grambling State on Thursday.
- SHARE & TAKE CARE -- Drake leads the MVC and ranks 21st nationally in assists/turnover ratio at 1.65, averaging 15.9 assists to 9.6 turnovers per game. Drake also leads the MVC and ranks 16th nationally in turnover margin at 4.9. The Bulldogs have committed 10 or fewer turnovers in six games (6-0 record) and have not committed more turnovers than their opponents in all 11 games so far.
- Kevin Overton contributed 14 points on 5-7 shooting from the field and dished out a career-high four assists in Drake’s 58-56 win over Grambling State on Thursday.
- NON-CONFERENCE HOME WINNING STREAK -- Drake extended its non-conference home winning streak that dates back to 2016 to 42 games on Thursday night, the third-longest streak in the MVC since World War II.
EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES
- Another W – With Saturday’s 71-60 victory at Bellarmine, the Purple Aces improved to 8-2 on the season. UE has eclipsed its win total from each of the last two seasons and has a chance to add to that win total with two games before the Christmas break. Should the Aces improve their win total to double figures, it would be the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.
- All-around Threat – Antonio Thomas got the job done in all facets on Saturday at Bellarmine. The 5th year player finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. He saw 30 minutes of action in the winning effort.
- Ben Humrichous put forth another strong outing in the road triumph at Bellarmine, registering 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and an assist. He connected on 4 of his 9 attempts from the floor and drained 4 of his 5 free throw tries. Humrichous was on the floor for 35 minutes in the winning effort.
- An efficient all-around contest by Yacine Toumi helped the University of Evansville earn a road win at Bellarmine on Saturday. Toumi finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds in the victory. He was 7-of-11 from the field and picked up a block in 28 minutes of work.
UIC FLAMES
- While averaging 22.5 minutes per game in a reserve role last week, Jaden Brownell averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.0 blocks per game with a .650 field-goal percentage (13-of-20) and a sensational .800 three-point percentage (8-of-10) in a 1-1 week for UIC. Brownell highlighted his week by setting or tying career highs in five categories during last Saturday’s win over Western Michigan — he finished with 22 points, six rebounds, five blocks, four assists and made 4-of-6 three-pointers. Brownell also scored 12 points and dished out three assists while going a perfect 4-of-4 from the three-point line during last Tuesday’s two-point loss to Green Bay. Brownell was the fourth UIC player to score 20 points in a game this season and his five blocks were the second-most by a Flames’ player this year.
- UIC's season-high 30 assists against Western Michigan just missed the program record of 31 assists that has been set twice before — Dec. 2, 1985, against North Park, and Dec. 9, 1987, against Northeastern Illinois. The Flames' previous season best for assists was 28 against Aurora on Nov. 19, which had been tied for the most by an MVC team this year before Saturday's performance.
- UIC tied its season best (and matched the most in the Luke Yaklich era) with 14 three-pointers against Western Michigan, mirroring its total in the Nov. 19 win over Aurora. The Flames shot a season-best .632 (12-of-19) from the three-point line in last Tuesday’s narrow loss to Green Bay, UIC’s best performance from beyond the arc since Feb. 12, 2015, at Wright State, and the highest three-point percentage by any MVC team this season. Seven different UIC players made a three-pointer on Saturday against Western Michigan, including five that had at least two triples.
- CJ Jones' 11 assists against Western Michigan easily outpaced his previous high of eight that he set twice this season (Nov. 19 against Aurora and Nov. 30 against Illinois State). It's the most assists by a UIC player in a single game since Dec. 20, 2020, when Teyvion Kirk had 11 assists in a home victory over Oakland, and it ties for the most by an MVC player this year.
ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS
- Darius Burford scored a season-high 28 points for Illinois State in its 75-65 win over North Dakota State, with 25 of those points coming in the second half. He made 9-of-16 shots from the field, and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed three steals, pulled down two rebounds and added an assist in 36 minutes of action. The 25 second-half points are the most for a Redbird in a single half since at least 2018-19. His point total is his highest since joining the Redbirds last season, and his 10 free throws made mark a new career-best. He had four points in ISU’s clinching 15-0 second half run, a run that is the longest for the Redbirds since it had an 18-0 run at Southern Illinois on February 13, 2021.
- Myles Foster had a season-high 16 points for the Redbirds, making 6-of-10 shots from the field and 4-of-5 free throw attempts. He also pulled down six rebounds and gave out a season-high three assists over 26 minutes of action in the Redbirds’ 75-65 win over North Dakota State.
- Against NDSU, Dalton Banks reached double-figure scoring for the third straight game, the eighth time this season, and the 19th time in his career. He led the team in assists for the eighth time this season
INDIANA STATE SYCAMORES
- Isaiah Swope continued his hot scoring streak, scoring 18 points in Indiana State’s win over Ball State in the first game of the Indy Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Swope scored five points in the final 1:18 of the game, including a three-pointer that blocked any chance of a Cardinal comeback. His 18 points tied for the second-most of the game. He grabbed five rebounds and recorded one assist and one steal. The junior guard has scored at least 18 points in each of the last six games for the Sycamores and leads the team in points-per-game (19.5). Swope leads the MVC in three-point percentage (43.9%), three-pointers per game (3.6) and total three-pointers made (36).
- The Sycamores enter the week No. 16 in the NET and in the Top 5 of the NCAA in effective field goal percentage (1st), field goal percentage (2nd) and 3-point field goal percentage (4th).
- Indiana State has won nine-straight games.
MISSOURI STATE BEARS
- The Bears have reeled off wins in 8 of their last 9 home games and are shooting for their first unbeaten home semester since the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season (3-0). MoState is 4-0 at home so far this season and averaging 83.8 points per game at The Vault with a 48.4 team field goal percentage.
- Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) has racked up 814 points in three seasons at MoState which ranks 50th in program history with a chance to climb several spots with a double-figure outing against Lindenwood. He is currently 3 points behind Coleco Buie (1995-97), 5 behind Adam Leonard (2009-11), 6 behind Ryan Kreklow (2015-19)), 8 behind Anthony Downing (2011-13), 9 behind Bill Lea (1948-52) and 11 behind Dequon Miller (2015-17) on the MSU career scoring chart.
- Missouri State boasts five players averaging 9.5 points per game or better at home this season, including Matthew Lee (19.0), Alston Mason (19.0), Donovan Clay (17.8), Chance Moore (10.8) and N.J. Benson (9.5).
Murray State RACERS
- JaCobi Wood became the 48th member to the MSU 1000-Point Club in the game at Mississippi State. He also had his third MSU double-double in Starkville and his first this season on 18 points and 10 assists.
- Now that Wood has joined the 1000-Point Club, the Racers have four players in the elite group.
- Rob Perry (1,709 points), Brian Moore (1,431), Quincy Anderson (1,999) and Wood. All four have reached 1,000 career points at more than just Murray State. The Racers play their final game before Christmas at home (Dec. 22) against SMU.
UNI PANTHERS
- Northern Iowa made a season-high 14 three-point field goals in its win over Alcorn State, the most for the program since hitting 19 at Saint Louis in the first round of the NIT in 2022. The Panthers have made at least eight three-pointers in each of their last six games, including 10+ in three of their last five.
- UNI is just three victories shy of 700 wins as a Division I program, and nine wins away from 1,400th all-time.
- Tytan Anderson has scored at least one point in 43 consecutive games, the longest streak among active Panthers.
- UNI improves to 81-12 (.870) when scoring at least 80 points under head coach Ben Jacobson.
- Northern Iowa's 100-point game against Alcorn State was its first since Nov. 2022 against Wartburg. UNI has never lost under Ben Jacobson when scoring 100+ points.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS
- Xavier Johnson continues to tear up the hardwood for the Salukis, averaging 27 points, 8.5 assists, and five rebounds over the last two games. Johnson put up his fourth 30-point game of the season in a two-point loss to Austin Peay, scoring 31 points. The Germantown, Maryland neared a triple-double against the Governors adding eight assists and seven rebounds in the loss. Johnson again led the Salukis in hostile territory as SIU dropped a 69-68 matchup against Wichita State. The 6-foot-1 guard led all scorers with 23 points to go with nine assists and three rebounds. Over the week, Johnson shot 51.5 percent (17-33) from the floor, 50 percent (5-10) from behind the arc, and 83.3 percent (15-18) from the charity stripe. His nine assists against the Shockers was one off of tying a career high.
- 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 24.8 points per game while also dishing out a league-high 5.7 assists per game. An MVC All-Defensive selection a year ago, Johnson has a team-high 16 steals which ranks seventh in the MVC. In the last three games, Johnson has played all but four minutes.
VALPARAISO BEACONS
- Jahari Williamson returned to the rotation on Dec. 16 vs. Chicago State after missing the previous two games due to an illness. He made a significant impact, tallying 20 points and going 4-of-6 from 3-point territory
- Williamson’s scoring output against Chicago State represented a career high. He surpassed his previous best of 16 established in the Nov. 6 season opener vs. Trinity Christian and his previous high against a Division-I opponent of 13, which came on Nov. 21 vs. Western Illinois.
- Valpo leads the Missouri Valley Conference in turnovers forced per game at 14.55. The Beacons are third in the league in turnover margin at +3.1 per game.