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).
Weekly MVC Men's Basketball Notes (PDF)
MVC Player of the Week & MVC Newcomer of the Week
Brady Ellingson, Drake
6-4, 191, Sr., Gd., Menomonee Falls, Wis., Hamilton High [Iowa]
Scored 40 total points in two wins on the week with torrid shooting … shot 14-of-19 (.737) from the field and 12-of-17 (.706) from the three-point arc in wins over Bradley and Missouri State … matched a career-high with 25 points (and high in a regulation-length game) against Missouri State by shooting 9-of-10 from the field and a staggering 7-of-8 from the three-point arc … his seven three pointers tied for the seventh most in a game in school history and he made his first … made his first seven shots of the game including a 5-of-5 start from the three-point arc to finish the first half with 17 points … also added three assists in the win … in the 17-point road win at Bradley he scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the three-point arc … the MVC leader in conference three-point shooting, Ellingson is converting at a 61.5 percent (24-of-39) clip against conference foes.
A total of 19 players in league history have swept Player and Newcomer honors in the same week, including three this year. The MVC began awarding a Newcomer of the Week during the 2003-04 season.
On the MVC Road
MVC teams have combined to record a 13-17 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.
Streak Busters
On Jan. 20, Bradley won its first game at Southern Illinois since 2013 as the home team had won 10 of the last 11 meetings between the schools. Earlier in the week, Illinois State extended its road winning streak at Evansville to five.
Longest Current Road Losing Streaks (MVC)
21 – Valpo at Evansville*
12 – Valpo at UNI*
12 – Southern Illinois at Illinois State
11 – Bradley at Illinois State
11 – Bradley at UNI
10 – Drake at UNI
7 – Drake at Evansville
7 – Evansville at Indiana State
7 – Missouri State at Illinois State
*includes pre-MVC results
Longest Current Road Win Streaks (MVC)
5 - Illinois State at Evansville
3 - Loyola at Indiana State
3 - Missouri State at Indiana State
3 - Southern Illinois at Missouri State
3 - Southern Illinois at Indiana State
Hitting 25 Points
Drake’s Brady Ellingson hit the 25-point plateau for the second time this season as the Bulldogs knocked off Missouri State on Sunday. He was one of three players to hit 25 points in game this past week (Milik Yarbrough, AJ Green). Yarbrough leads all active MVC players with 10 25-point games at ISU.
25-Point Games, Active MVC Players
10 -- Milik Yarbrough, Illinois State*
8 -- Jordan Barnes, Indiana State
5 -- Keyshawn Evans, Illinois State
2 -- Darrell Brown, Bradley
2 -- Phil Fayne, Illinois State
2 -- Jarred Dixon, Missouri State
2 -- Armon Fletcher, Southern Illinois
2 -- Bakari Evelyn, Valparaiso
2 -- Brady Ellingson, Drake
2 -- AJ Green, UNI
*does not include one 25-point game while at SLU
Freshman Leader
Javon Freeman of Valpo currently is second in the league in steals per game (1.7). 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)
Home Cooking
Tuesday’s 71-54 victory over Valpo improved Loyola’s home-court winning streak in Valley play to 10 games. The Ramblers last loss in conference play at Gentile Arena was a 61-57 setback on Jan. 3, 2018.
Nothing Green About Green
UNI’s AJ Green is the league’s top scoring freshman, averaging 15.0 points per game to rank 6th 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.
Five in Double Figures
Southern Illinois has 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.
Shooting a Key for Loyola
Loyola leads the MVC in FG percentage (50.1 percent). Notably, when the Ramblers shoot well, they win. Loyola has hit 50.0 percent or better in a league-high 12 games this year (all wins). The Ramblers are 0-7 when they don’t shoot 50 percent. The Ramblers have hit 50 percent or better 35 times over the past two seasons. The Ramblers are connecting on 57.2 percent (338-for-591) of their field goal attempts and 43.3 percent (93-for-215) of their shots from long distance, in their 12 wins. However, in seven losses, Loyola is shooting just 38.6 percent (143-for-370) from the field and 24.6 percent (31-for-126) from three-point territory.
NCAA Leaders, 50 Pct or Better (Last 2 Years)
36 - Loyola Chicago
36 - Gonzaga
33 - Saint Mary’s
30 - Villanova
MVC Leaders, 50 Pct or Better (2018-19 only)
12 - Loyola Chicago (Record: 12-0)
9 - Drake (Record: 8-1)
8 - Valparaiso (Record: 7-1)
6 - Missouri State (Record: 6-0)
5 - Indiana State (Record: 3-2)
5 - Southern Illinois (Record: 5-0)
4 - Illinois State (Record: 4-0)
3 - Bradley (Record: 3-0)
1 - Evansville (Record: 1-0)
0 - UNI
More on Rambler Shooting
Loyola is 12th nationally in field goal percentage (50.1), but leads the nation with a 57.2 percentage in games that it has won. The Ramblers’ 52.2 percent figure in league play this year is 10th best on record in the MVC since 1956, but it’s the second best since the advent of the three-point shot. The Ramblers shot 50.9 percent in league play last year.
NCAA Leaders, FG Pct. (In Games Won Only)
.572 - Loyola Chicago (12 wins)
.561 - Chicago State (3 wins)
.547 - Creighton (10 wins)
.544 - Indiana (12 wins)
.542 - Dayton (12 wins)
MVC-Only FG Pct. Leaders (Since 1986-87)
.523 - Wichita State (1988-89)
.522 - Loyola Chicago (2018-19)
.518 - Creighton (2012-13)
Ball Control
Missouri State’s Josh Webster ranks 8th nationally in assist:turnover ratio.
NCAA Leaders, Assist:TO Ratio, 2018-19
1. Jalen Avery, Kent State 5.92
2. Justin Jenifer, Cincinnati 5.82
3. Tre Jones, Duke 5.69
4. Tyrese Haliburton, Iowa State 5.36
5. Jalen Harris, Arkansas 3.67
6. Jimmy Whitt Jr., SMU 3.62
7. Jordan Bone, Tennessee 3.60
8. Josh Webster, Missouri State 3.43
Getting to the Line
Evansville’s K.J. Riley ranks among the national leaders in free throw attempts (5th) and free throws made (13th). Evansville leads the league and ranks 14th nationally by getting 23.6 percent of all of its points from the line. Bradley also ranks in the Top 25 (23rd at 23.0).
Dangerous From Downtown
Drake’s Brady Ellingson ranks 7th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage. Valpo’s Ryan Fazekas ranks 25th nationally. Southern Illinois is the league’s top 3FG shooting team -- the Salukis rank 44th nationally (37.7 percent).
NCAA Leaders, 3FG Percentage, 2018-19
1. Brendan Barry, Dartmouth 51.8
2. Nate Navigato, Toledo 49.5
3. David Jenkins, South Dakota St. 48.5
4. Pat Andree, Lehigh 48.5
5. Lance Tejada, Lehigh 48.1
6. Payten Ricks, Abilene Christian 48.0
7. Brady Ellingson, Drake 47.5
Braves Struggle Out of Gate
After showcasing its offensive potential with its highest-scoring non-conference season in 11 years (71.2 points per game), Bradley has posted 55.0 points in five Valley contests so far, while shooting just 34.7 percent from the floor. That shooting percentage ranks as the lowest in MVC play since the advent of the three-point shot.
Lowest FG Pct., MVC Games, Since 1986-87
.347 Bradley 2018-19
.373 Creighton 1994-95
.375 Bradley 2011-12
.377 Bradley 2014-15
.377 Southern Illinois 1995-96
Lowest PPG, MVC Games, Since 1986-87
53.7 Illinois State 2005-06
54.0 Bradley 1991-92
54.7 Bradley 2015-16
54.9 Missouri State 2014-15
55.0 Bradley 2018-19
55.1 Indiana State 2002-03
A Helping Hand
Nine of the league’s 10 teams have a better ratio of assists to made baskets in games won (vs. games lost) this year. Southern Illinois has the biggest discrepancy. When SIU wins, the team has an assist on a made basket 67.2 percent of the time (162 assists on 241 made field goals). The Salukis are at 52.0 (116 assists on 223 made field goals) in games they’ve lost.
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 2013. Technically, the streak is 10-straight wins as Creighton won a Friday first-round game in 2012 following Wichita State’s Thursday first-round loss to VCU.
Winning with Defense
Since 2010, every team but one that has led the MVC in field goal percentage defense has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. (Loyola was third in the MVC in that statistic last year.)