Non-League Slate Closing
By Sunday, Dec. 30, the league will have closed out its non-conference regular-season slate. There are five games remaining vs. non-league teams, and the MVC is currently 14 games over .500. MVC schools, collectively, have a favorable finish to the non-league slate with four home games and one road game left.
MVC Weekly Notebook (Dec. 26)
MVC Player of the Week
Jordan Barnes, Indiana State
5-11, 152, Jr., Gd., St. Louis (Mo.) Christian Brothers
Barnes was named to the Diamond Head Classic all-tournament team for leading the Sycamores to a 2-1 record and a second place finish in the event – the program’s best finish in a non-conference tournament since winning the 1999 Indiana Classic. Barnes averaged 20.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists over the stretch. He hit 51.2 percent of his shots, including a 9-of-18 mark from distance. He was a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line and has now made 26 consecutive free throws. His best game was against Las Vegas when he scored 28 points on the strength of an 11-of-15 shooting performance to go with three rebounds, five assists and a steal. He added 19 points in the win over Colorado and tallied a team-high 14 points and six rebounds with three assists against Top 50 opponent TCU.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Nick Norton, Drake
5-10, 170, Sr., Gd., Bloomington (Ill.) Central Catholic High [UAB]
Norton was named the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic MVP in leading the Bulldogs to the tournament title with a pair of dramatic wins over New Mexico State and San Diego … in the title game against San Diego, he scored a career-high 31 points with seven assists, five three-pointers and a 10-of-10 showing from the free-throw line … twenty one of his 31 points came in the overtime period and 14 in the second overtime period alone in which he scored 14 of the team’s 17 points to defeat USD … was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line during that second overtime and 2-of-3 from the three-point arc … in the earlier game against New Mexico State, he had six assists and 11 points … also turned in solid performance of 13 points and 15 points in wins over Rider and SIUE, respectively … finished the week averaging 17.5 points and 6.0 assists per game while shooting .490 from the field.
Tough Schedules
In 2018-19, MVC men’s basketball had 20 games against Power opponents (the five FBS leagues and the Big East). The league also plays 49 games against top opponents from non-Power leagues (teams picked 1-4 in their conference’s pre-season rankings). Only 10 of the league’s total 55 non-league losses have not been to either a Power conference team or a team not picked in the top four of their pre-season conference polls. The MVC has 22 total wins against that collection of foes.
Spreading the Wealth
Bradley currently features five players averaging at least nine points a game – Darrell Brown (15.1), Elijah Childs (12.7), Nate Kennell (9.7), Koch Bar (9.6) and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (9.6). Bradley has not featured five players averaging at least nine points since 1969-70. Notably, Southern Illinois is the only league school that has five players with double-figure scoring averages, and Valpo joins SIU and Bradley as teams with five players averaging nine points or more per game.
No. of Players Scoring 9.0 PPG or more
Bradley (5) | Leader: Darrell Brown (15.1)
S. Illinois (5) | Leader: Armon Fletcher (13.5)
Valpo (5) | Leader: Derrik Smits (12.9)
Drake (4) | Leader: Nick McGlynn (16.1)
Evansville (4) | Leader: K.J. Riley (13.4)
Illinois St. (4) | Leader: Milik Yarbrough (17.3)
Loyola (3) | Leader: Clayton Custer (13.8)
Missouri St. (3) | Leader: Tulio Da Silva (16.8)
Indiana St. (2) | Leader: Jordan Barnes (20.8)
UNI (2) | Leader: AJ Green (15.1)
Drake: Best Start Since 2008
Drake’s 10-2 start to the season is the program’s best start since the 2007-08 season, when the team started 22-1. Below are Drake’s best records to start a season before picking up a third loss.
Start -- Year (Final Record)
23-2 -- 2007-08 (28-5*)
14-2 -- 1967-68 (18-8)
13-2 -- 1937-38 (14-6)
13-2 -- 1968-69 (26-5*)
10-2 -- 2018-19 ---
10-2 -- 1960-61 (19-7)
10-2 -- 1979-80 (15-12)
*denotes NCAA Tournament
Tourney Fun
On Dec. 23, Drake earned the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic championship after defeating San Diego in the title game, 110-103, in double overtime. Indiana State also reached the title game of its in-season tourney, falling to TCU in the championship game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Earlier in the season, Bradley claimed its first regular-season tournament championship in 35 years (1983 River City Shootout) with their crown at the Cancun Challenge. League schools combined for a 27-13 record in MTEs this year.
MVC Teams in MTEs This Season
Bradley (Cancun Challenge) 4-0
Drake (Las Vegas Classic) 4-0
Evansville (Maui Invitational) 2-2
Illinois State (Cayman Islands) 3-1
Indiana State (Diamond Head Classic) 3-1
Loyola (Fort Myers Tip-Off) 3-1
Missouri State (Hall of Fame Classic) 2-2
UNI (Paradise Jam) 2-2
Southern Illinois (Las Vegas Classic) 3-1
Valpo (Myrtle Beach Invitational) 1-3
A Helping Hand
Missouri State’s Josh Webster became the first Bear since 1988 to dish out 15 assists (with no turnovers) in a game when he did so in MSU’s win over UAPB on Dec. 22. His single-game superlative also: broke a JQH Arena single-game assist record; tied the MSU single-game assist record during the program’s DI era; tied for the third-best single-game assist total in MSU history; and the third-most assists in the NCAA this season. Two other league players have had 10 assists in a game this year with no assists; that’s only happened 10 times in the past decade in the MVC.
2010-11 to present (10+ assists w/ 0 turnovers)
Antoine Young, CU (10a) -- 3/23/11 vs. UCF
Denver Holmes, UE (11a) -- 2/1/12 at Bradley
Johnny Hill, ILS (10a) -- 12/8/12 at W. Michigan
Jake Odum, INS (10a) -- 11/29/13 vs. Anchorage
Fred VanVleet, WSU (10a) -- 1/18/14 vs. ILS
Jake Odum, INS (10a) -- 1/15/14 vs. Missouri St.
Fred VanVleet, WSU (11a) -- 2/7/15 vs. MSU*
Deion Lavender, VALPO (10a) – 11/24/18 at WVU
Nick Norton, DU (10a) -- 12/15/18 vs. Iowa State
Josh Webster, MSU (15a) -- 12/22/18 vs. UAPB
*denotes triple double; data compiled from Sports-Reference.com
1,000-Point Club
Four Valley players (SIU’s Armon Fletcher, Bradley’s Darrell Brown, Missouri State’s Jarred Dixon and Loyola’s Clayton Custer) have eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau this season. Custer and Dixon reached the milestone last week.
Active Leading Scorers in the MVC
1187 - Marques Townes, Loyola Chicago+
1044 - Darrell Brown, Bradley
1029 - Armon Fletcher, Southern Illinois
1003 - Jarred Dixon, Missouri State
1000 - Clayton Custer, Loyola Chicago*
972 - Jordan Barnes, Indiana State
971 - Phil Fayne, Illinois State
965 - Nick Norton, Drake#
873 - Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, Bradley
817 - Sean Lloyd, Southern Illinois
816 - Nick McGlynn, Drake
+includes 597 points with Fairleigh Dickinson
*includes 13 points with Iowa State
#includes 779 points at UAB
2 for 40 Points a Game?
Indiana State’s Jordan Barnes and Tyreke Key are combining to average 37.7 points per game. The last MVC duo to average 40+ per game for a whole season was Randy Blocker and Cam Johnson of UNI (1993-94). Here’s a list of the last 3 ‘dynamic duos’ … and some near misses.
1994: 44.1 -- Randy Blocker (23.0)/Cam Johnson (21.1)/UNI
1988: 48.5 -- Hersey Hawkins ( 36.3)/Donald Powell (12.3)/BU
1988: 43.1 -- Steve Middleton (25.4)/Kai Nurnberger (17.7)/TU
1999: 39.4 -- Maurice Evans (22.6)/Jason Perez (16.8)/WSU
1991: 39.7 -- Gary Collier (22.9)/Shea Seals (16.8)/TU
1990: 39.9 -- Bob Harstad (22.2)/Chad Gallagher (17.7)/CU
1989: 39.2 -- Anthony Manuel (21.1)/Dion Thurman (18.1)/BU
Approaching 200 Treys
Jordan Barnes of Indiana State is just six three-pointers away from hitting 200 for his career. The league record holder is Creighton’s Kyle Korver (371), but only 15 players in MVC history have reached 250 in a career. Barnes hit 117 treys as a sophomore last year.
MVC Active Leaders, Career 3-Pointers Made
194 - Jordan Barnes, Indiana State (Jr.)
161 - Keyshawn Evans,Illinois State (Sr.)
147 - Clayton Custer, Loyola Chicago (Sr.)
139 - Ryan Kreklow, Missouri State (Sr.)
Nothing Green About Green
UNI’s AJ Green is the league’s top scoring freshman, averaging 15.1 points per game to rank 7th overall in the MVC. The last MVC freshman to average 15.0 points per game was Illinois State’s Tarise Bryson, 15.5 in 1998-99.
Top Scoring MVC Freshman (by PPG)
21.0 Mitchell Anderson, Bradley (1978-79)
18.5 Cleo Littleton, Wichita State (1951-52)
18.4 John S. Williams, Indiana State (1982-83)
16.8 Shea Seals, Tulsa (1993-94)
15.8 Cliff Levingston, Wichita State (1979-80)
15.5 Tarise Bryson, Illinois State (1998-99)
15.3 Eddie Bird, Indiana State (1987-88)
15.2 Antoine Carr, Wichita State (1979-80)
15.1 AJ Green, UNI (2018-19)
14.9 Milton Doyle, Loyola Chicago (2013-14)
14.9 Doug McDermott, Creighton (2010-11)
14.8 Benoit Benjamin, Creighton (1982-83)
14.7 Luke McDonald, Drake (2000-01)
14.6 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley (1984-85)
14.5 Colt Ryan, Evansville (2009-10)
14.5 Rodney Buford, Creighton (1995-96)
Reaching Double Digits
With 19 points against Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday, Dec. 22, Bradley’s Darrell Brown extended his double-digit scoring streak to 13 games to start the season – the longest run by a Brave since the 2006-07 season. Brown has 63 career games with 10 or more points, which is more than any active MVC player.
Most Games, Double Figures, Active MVC Players
63 -- Darrell Brown, Bradley
61 -- Clayton Custer, Loyola Chicago
58 -- Armon Fletcher, Southern Illinois
52 -- Jarred Dixon, Missouri State
50 -- Phil Fayne, Illinois State
48 -- Jordan Barnes, Indiana State
45 -- Sean Lloyd, Southern Illinois
38 -- Nick McGlynn, Drake
36 -- Milik Yarbrough, Illinois State
35 -- Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, Bradley
35 -- Keyshawn Evans, Illinois State
33 -- Marques Townes, Loyola Chicago
32 -- Kavion Pippen, Southern Illinois
Centurions
Drake’s 110 points in the overtime win against San Diego were its most in a game since 2002. In the past five seasons, an MVC team has reached the century mark in a game 13 times.
100-Point Games in the MVC (Since 2014-15)
121 -- Valparaiso, vs. Concordia, 11/6/18
116 -- Evansville, vs. Earlham, 11/15/14
110 -- Drake, vs. San Diego (2ot), 12/23/18
104 -- Indiana State vs. Loyola (2ot), 1/30/16
102 -- Drake, vs. Loyola, 12/29/16
102 -- Loyola, vs. UNC Wilmington, 11/24/17
102 -- SIU, vs. North Carolina A&T, 12/19/17
101 -- Drake, vs. Mississippi Valley, 12/22/16
101 -- Drake, vs. Coe, 11/11/17
101 -- Illinois State, vs. Ole Miss (ot), 12/16/17
101 -- SIU, vs. SIU Edwardsville, 11/18/16
100 -- Loyola, vs. Indiana Northwest, 11/13/16
100 -- Missouri State, vs. Fontbonne, 11/17/16
Defensive Pressure
Loyola has held each of its last three opponents to fewer than 50 points, the first time that has happened for the Ramblers since Dec. 22-31, 2014. Over the last three games, the opposition has managed just 47.0 ppg, shooting just 33.3 percent (55-for-165) from the field. The Ramblers rank among the national leaders with four games this year when their opponent was 50 or less.
Most Games Opponent 50 or Fewer Points
1. Virginia -- 6
2. Michigan -- 5
2. Texas Tech -- 5
4. Loyola Chicago -- 4
4. Loyola Marymount -- 4
Second-Half Teams
Six league schools have been outscored in the first halves this season, and conversely seven schools have outscored their opponents in the second halves. Southern Illinois has the biggest disparity, having been outscored by 58 points in the first halves of games this year, while outscoring its opponents by 76 in the second stanzas.