MVC Player of the Week | MVC Newcomer of the Week
Nick Norton, Drake
5-10, 170, Sr., Bloomington (Ill.) Central Catholic [UAB]
Norton nearly averaged a triple-double on the week in the pair of wins by averaging 18.0 points, 10.5 assists and 9.0 rebounds in victories over Boise State and North Dakota State.  He made history in Drake’s 95-88 win over North Dakota State with the second triple-double in program history and the first since 1989 with 18 points, a school-record 17 assists and career-high 13 rebounds.  His school-record 17 assists bested the previous Drake record that had stood for nearly four decades, by two assists and are currently the most assists in a game this season.  

• Norton’s triple-double is the sixth in the league since 1990, and his 17 assists are the most by an MVC player since 1988.  Only three MVC individuals have had more assists in a game in league history (Terry Adolph of West Texas State, Anthony Manuel of Bradley, and Willie Scott of Bradley).
• Additionally, Norton’s 17 assists were the most for a Division I player in a triple-double since at least 2010 and are also tied for the fifth most assists in a game in that time according to BasketballReference.com.  His 21 assists were tempered by just two turnovers in 76 minutes of action.

MVC Triple-Doubles Since 1990
Reed Jackson (13/10/10), UE vs. UNH, 1/3/95
Rashad Tucker (24/10/10), SIU vs. UNI, 2/26/98
Jake Odum (10/10/12), INS vs. Fairfield, 11/27/11
Troy Taylor (10/10/10), UE vs. Creighton, 12/29/12
Fred VanVleet (10/10/11), WSU vs. MSU, 2/7/15
Nick Norton (18/13/17), Drake vs. NDSU, 12/1/18

Weekly Notebook (PDF)

Tough Week Ahead
In 2018-19, MVC men’s basketball has 18 games against Power opponents (the five FBS leagues and the Big East).  The league also plays more than 40 games against top opponents from non-Power leagues (teams picked 1-4 in their conference’s pre-season rankings).  Of the league's 16 games this week, two are against Power conference teams (Maryland, Ole Miss) and six are against teams picked to finish in the Top 4 of their respective leagues (Ball State-twice, Western Kentucky, Saint Louis, UIC, North Texas)

Guess Who’s Coming to Town
Including Ole Miss’ visit to Illinois State on Dec. 8, 2018, an SEC team has visited an MVC site just eight times in the past 10-plus years.  MVC schools are 5-2 in the previous seven games.  This year, the MVC has an 0-2 record against SEC schools (SIU lost at Kentucky and Illinois State fell to Georgia at a neutral site - Grand Cayman).

Aces Roll at Home
Evansville beat Albion on Saturday to improve to 4-0 at home this year.  The Aces have now won 33-straight non-conference games at home dating back to an 81-79 loss in Evansville to visiting Murray State on Dec. 13, 2014.  Drake and Valpo also have nine-game winning streaks against visiting non-conference opponents.

Defensive Pressure
Valpo pressured UNLV into committing 25 turnovers in Wednesday’s win.  The 25 turnovers was the most by a Valpo Division I opponent since Chicago State had 25 times in March 2002.  Only three Division I road teams have forced 25 or more turnovers against a host this year, including Valpo’s effort at UNLV.

Power Play
On Saturday, Loyola will take on Maryland in Baltimore. The Ramblers are 5-3 in their last eight meetings with teams from Power 5 conferences, with wins over Washington State, Florida, Miami, Tennessee and Kansas State.  Notably, Illinois State hosts Ole Miss on Saturday.  This year, the MVC is 1-11 in 12 previous results against Power conferences (FBS plus the Big East), however, none of the 12 games have been at home.

vs. Top 25, Neutral Sites
Of current MVC schools, Loyola Chicago has had the best record when facing a Top 25 opponent on a neutral court, recording a 3-2 mark since joining the MVC for the 2013-14 season.

MVC vs. Top 25 Teams (neutral sites)
Bradley    8-15
Drake    7-11
Evansville    0-7
Illinois State    3-15
Indiana State    3-15
Loyola    3-2
Missouri State    4-8
Northern Iowa    2-14
Southern Illinois    3-17
Valparaiso    0-0

1,000-Point Club
SIU senior forward Armon Fletcher, an Edwardsville native, scored his 1,000th career point in his hometown during Saturday’s road win over SIU Edwardsville. Fletcher became the 46th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Meanwhile, Bradley’s Darrell Brown has raised his career point total to 984 and is just 16 shy of becoming the 47th player in school history with 1,000. 

Active Leading Scorers in the MVC
1,016 - Armon Fletcher, Southern Illinois
  984 - Darrell Brown, Bradley
  964 - Jarred Dixon, Missouri State
  923 - Clayton Custer, Loyola Chicago
  906 - Phil Fayne, Illinois State
  848 - Jordan Barnes, Indiana State
  738 - Keyshawn Evans, Illinois State
  734 - Sean Lloyd, Southern Illinois
  713 - Nick McGlynn, Drake

Great Road Trip
Southern Illinois has won five of its last six games heading into Wednesday night’s showdown with Saint Louis. Impressively, SIU wrapped its longest road streak since 2014 with a 3-1 record and three-straight wins away from SIU Arena.  The Salukis lead the league with three wins away from home this year.

MVC Records Away From Home (Road/Neutral)
Southern Illinois    3-2
Drake    2-1
Indiana State    2-1
Loyola Chicago    2-1
Bradley    2-2
Illinois State    2-2
Valparaiso    2-3
Northern Iowa    2-5
Evansville    0-3
Missouri State    0-5

Dixon Goes for 31 in Loss
Missouri State senior Jarred Dixon scored a career-high 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting with six 3-pointers, but it was not enough as the Bears (3-5) fell to Oregon State on Saturday.  He’s one of just 40 players nationally to score more than 30 in a game this season in a losing effort.

MVC Single-Game Scoring Leaders in 2018-19
31 -- Jarred Dixon, MSU at Oregon State (12-01-18)
29 -- Jordan Barnes, INS at Green Bay (11-09-18)
28 -- Milik Yarbrough, ILS vs Boise State (11-21-18)
26 -- Jarred Dixon, MSU vs Oral Roberts (11-06-18)
26 -- Noah Frederking, UE vs Ky. Wesleyan (11-15-18)

Road Dominance
Indiana State became the eighth NCAA Division I team this year to score 85 points in a road game and win by 29 or more points (in its 86-57 win at San Jose State on Wednesday.)

Lopsided Road Wins in NCAA Division I This Year
49 -- North Carolina at Elon (116-67)
44 -- Purdue-Fort Wayne at E. Illinois (104-60)
42 -- Yale at Bryant (103-61)
38 -- Belmont at Kennesaw State (91-53)
37 -- Colorado at Air Force (93-56)
32 -- Lipscomb at Morehead State (87-55)
30 -- Utah State at Montana State (101-71)
29 -- Indiana State at San Jose State (86-57)

Strong Shooting
After ranking third in the nation in field goal percentage last season en route to a school-record 32 wins, Loyola is connecting on 56.4 percent (145-for-257) of their field goal attempts and 37.1 percent (33-for-89) of their shots from long distance, in their five wins. However, in three losses, Loyola is shooting just 40.8 percent (69-for-169) from the field and 26.6 percent (17-for-64) from three-point territory. 

MVC Leaders, 2018-19 Field Goal Percentage
(19) Loyola Chicago    214-426    .502
(35) Southern Illinois    215-436    .493
(40) Valparaiso    228-465    .490
(89) Drake    166-350    .474
Number in parentheses denotes national rank

Block Party
Missouri State senior Obediah Church enters the week just one blocked shot away from reach 200 for his career. Church, who has led the MVC in blocked shots the last two seasons, is already Missouri State’s career leader in blocks and would become just the sixth player in Valley history to eclipse history – and the first since Evansville’s Egidijus Mockevicius, (2012-16).

MVC Career Leaders, Blocked Shots
411 Benoit Benjamin, Creighton, 1982-85
297 Egidijus Mockevicius, Evansville, 2012-16
222 Grant Stout, UNI, 2003-07
209 Antoine Carr, Wichita State, 1979-83
200 Jackie Carmichael, Illinois State, 2009-13
199 Obediah Church, Missouri State, 2015-pres.