Worst to First
Valpo finished in last place in the league last year (6-12 record). In 111 years of MVC basketball, only 28 teams have gone from the worst position (last place or tied for last) to an upper division finish the following year. Only four of those 28 went from worst to first. Of the four, only Bradley earned an outright title, going from 3-13 in 1978-99 to an outright championship in 1979-80 (13-3).
MVC Weekly Notebook (PDF)
MVC PLAYER/NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Tulio Da Silva, Missouri State
6-8, 211, Jr., Fwd., Formiga, Brazil, Arlington Country Day [South Florida]
Da Silva helped engineer a pair of Valley road victories for the Bears last week, posting two 20-point scoring efforts and his first double-double at MSU. He began the week with game-highs 21 points and 8 rebounds at Indiana State on 10-of-13 shooting with 3 assists in a 72-57 MSU win. He continued that momentum at Bradley on Saturday, logging game highs 24 points, 13 rebounds and 4 steals in a 69-64 come-from-behind victory. For the week, he averaged 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while converting 19-of-25 (.760) field goal attempts. He is the top newcomer in The Valley in both scoring (16.2) and rebounding (6.9) averages.
A total of 18 players in league history have swept Player and Newcomer honors in the same week, including two this year. The MVC began awarding a Newcomer of the Week during the 2003-04 season.
On the MVC Road
Led by Valpo’s 2-0 road mark, MVC teams have combined to record an 8-12 record in league road games this year. Not surprisingly, since 1996-97 (22 previous seasons) the league team with the best road record in MVC play has won the league every year but one (in 2011 Wichita State was 8-1 on the road in MVC games and finished second to Missouri State at 7-2.) Notably, league teams were just 28-62 on the road in MVC play last year. Of current league members, Southern Illinois has had the best success on the road since 1996-97 (22+ seasons), recording an 85-115 (.425) road record in conference play.
Home Cooking
Saturday’s 67-64 victory over Illinois State improved Loyola’s home-court winning streak in Valley play to nine games. The Ramblers last loss in conference play at Gentile Arena was a 61-57 setback on Jan. 3, 2018. Illinois State is next-best with eight-straight league wins at home.
Five in Double Figures
Both Valpo and SIU have five players who average in double figures – Loyola was the only MVC team to do that last year. Prior to that, it hadn’t happened in the league since both Wichita State (t5th that year) and UNI (7th) had five double-figure scorers in 2001-02.
2 for 25 Points, Same Game
Loyola’s Marques Townes (28) and Clayton Custer (26) set career highs for scoring in Loyola’s 85-74 win at Drake (Jan. 5). The last time the Ramblers saw two players score 26 or more points in the same game was on Feb. 8, 1990, when Keith Gailes (39) and Keir Rogers (32) combined for 71 in a 96-94 victory over Dayton at the Rosemont Horizon. The last time two MVC players hit 26 in a game was Dec. 28, 2011, when Missouri State’s Kyle Weems and Anthony Downing accomplished the feat. Notably, only seven MVC teammates have both hit 25 points in the same game, including two this season.
Freshman Leader
Javon Freeman of Valpo currently leads the league in steals per game (1.8 per game). The last MVC freshman to lead the league in one of the following four stat categories (scoring, rebounding, assists, steals) – was Jake Odum of Indiana State (1.8 steals/game in 2010-11).
MVC Freshman Stat Leaders (Since 1979-80)
2005-06 – Bryan Mullins, SIU (2.8 steals/game)
2008-09 – Kaylon Williams, UE (4.9 assists/game)
2010-11 – Jake Odum, INS (1.8 steals/game)
Making an Impact
Several newcomers to the league are making an impact in various statistical categories. Valpo’s Deion Lavender is technically not a newcomer having played as a freshman at Southern Illinois, and SIU’s Eric McGill is also listed among the newcomers despite participating in 10 games last year (he was awarded a medical hardship and didn’t lose a year of eligibility). Notably, the top three in the league in assist average are all new to their programs. Four of the league’s top 15 scorers and rebounders are first-year MVC players.
Player of the Year Watch List
Illinois State senior Milik Yarbrough and Indiana State junior Jordan Barnes have been named as two of 50 student-athletes announced to the mid-season Lou Henson Award watch list, announced on Jan. 10. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top mid-major player in Division I College Basketball. The 2019 Lou Henson Award will be presented at the College Insider awards event in April at the site of the men’s Final Four in Minneapolis.
3-0 Starts in Conference Play
Only once since 1989-90 has the league not had a team start conference play 3-0 or better. This year, Valparaiso has started the league race with four-straight wins. Drake (4-0) and Missouri State (3-0) started last season with three-straight league wins.
Best Starts in MVC?
Southern Illinois (17-0 in 2003-04), Drake (13-0 in 2007-08) and Illinois State (11-0 in 2016-17) join Wichita State’s perfect 18-0 team (2013-14) as the only league schools to start better than 9-0 in the MVC in the past 20 years. Loyola’s 2-0 start and Valpo’s 4-0 start mark their best as MVC members.
Rough Beginnings
Just three teams over the past 11 seasons (UNI, 2017, 0-5; Illinois State, 2013 - 0-6; Bradley, 2008 - 0-4) have opened MVC play 0-4 or worse and rebounded to avoid Thursday night’s opening round at Arch Madness.
0-4 Starts To Avoid Thursday, Since 2007-08
2008 -- Bradley (0-4), finished 9-9, T5, #5 Seed
2013 -- Illinois State (0-6), finished 8-10, #6 Seed
2017 -- UNI (0-5), finished 9-9, T3, #3 seed
0-2 Starts in Conference Play
The league has not had a regular-season champ (or co-champ) start an MVC season with two-straight losses since the 1992-93 season when Illinois State started 0-2 in league play before winning the league race with a 13-5 MVC mark. No team in 111 previous MVC men’s basketball seasons has started league play 0-3 and gone on to win the title.
Winning the First One a Key
Since 1993-94, only two teams (UNI, a 2008-09 co-champ, and Loyola last year) have won at least a share of the MVC regular-season title without winning the league opener. In fact, 23 of the last 26 regular-season champs (or co-champs) have opened 2-0 or better in MVC play, with UNI (2008-09), WSU (2011-12) and Loyola (2017-18) the exceptions.
Taking Care of the Rock
Missouri State’s Josh Webster ranks 6th nationally in assist:turnover ratio.
Leading The League
Indiana State’s Jordan Barnes leads the MVC in scoring average (17.7 points per game). Only three previous ISU players have led the Conference in scoring average (Larry Bird in 1977, 1978 and 1979, John S. Williams in 1986 and David Moss in 2006). Notably, an Evansville player has led the league in scoring in each of the past five seasons. Barnes averages a league-best 20.3 points per game in games won (he averages 13.8 points per game in ISU losses).
MVC Top Scorers (PPG in Games Won / Lost)
1. Jordan Barnes, INS (20.3 ppg / 13.8 ppg in losses)
2. Milik Yarbrough, ILS (18.6 ppg / 14.9 ppg in losses)
3. Phil Fayne, ILS (18.0 ppg / 12.3 ppg in losses)
First-Round NCAA Streak
Loyola’s first-round win against Miami (Fla.) gave the Missouri Valley a perfect 9-0 record in first-round games since Wichita State, then an MVC school, lost a first-round game against VCU in 2012.