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. Drake (4-0) and Missouri State (3-0) started last season with three-straight league wins. Three MVC teams (Loyola, Southern Illinois and Valpo) are looking for 3-0 starts.
MVC MBB Weekly Notebook (PDF)
Tuesday, Jan. 8
Missouri State at Indiana State (ESPN3) | Terre Haute, Ind., 6:00 p.m. CT
UNI at Illinois State (NBCSN / ESPN+) | Normal, Ill., 7:00 p.m. CT
Loyola at Evansville (CBS Sports Network) | Evansville, Ind., 7:00 p.m. CT
Southern Illinois at Drake (Mediacom / ESPN+) | Des Moines, Iowa, 7:00 p.m. CT
Bradley at Valparaiso (ESPN+) | Valparaiso, Ind., 7:00 p.m. CT
MVC Player of the Week
Marques Townes, Loyola
6-4, 208, Sr., Gd., Edison (N.J.) St. Joseph [Fairleigh Dickinson]
Townes continued his steady play but putting up some impressive all-around numbers as Loyola opened Valley play with back-to-back wins for the first time in program history. He racked up 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game, hitting 60 percent (15-for-25) of his field goal attempts and 50 percent (5-for-10) of his triple tries in a pair of contests last week. In a 79-44 victory over Indiana State, Loyola’s largest margin of victory over a conference foe regardless of league since 1996, the New Jersey native collected 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a steal. Then, playing with a heavy heart following the death of his grandmother one day earlier, Townes blew up for a career-best 28 points, knocking down 11-of-17 shots from the field, and adding five boards and five assists in a come-from-behind 85-74 victory at Drake January 5. The 28 points are the most by a Rambler since Milton Doyle hung 35 points on Bradley, January 7, 2017.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Ryan Fazekas, Valparaiso
6-7, 200, Jr., G/F, Chesterton (Ind.) Marquette Catholic [Providence]
Fazekas led Valpo in both of its wins to open MVC play last week. Against Illinois State, he battled back from first-half foul trouble to score 11 of his team-high 14 points in the second half. Then, in the win at Missouri State, Fazekas matched his season high with six made 3-pointers, going 6-of-11 from deep for a team-best 18 points in the victory. For the week, Fazekas - who now leads the MVC in 3-pointers/game and is hitting at a 43.4% clip from the 3-point line this year - averaged 16 points per game on 52.6% (10-of-19) shooting from deep.
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.
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 110 previous MVC men’s basketball seasons has started league play 0-3 and gone on to win the title.
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. Below is a list of the ‘slowest’ starts (only previous 0-6 starts or worse are denoted) by an MVC team in each of the past 11 seasons, and their eventual MVC mark. Wichita State tied for 5th in 2009 after an 0-6 start, but was the #7 seed in the MVC Tournament that year.
Year -- Team (Start) -- Final MVC Standing
2010 -- Evansville (0-13) -- ended up 3-15 (10th)
2011 -- Bradley (0-11) -- ended up 4-14 (t9th)
2016 -- Drake (0-9) -- ended up 2-16 (10th)
2011 -- Illinois State (0-8) -- ended up 4-14 (t9th)
2009 -- Wichita St. (0-6) -- ended up 8-10 (t-5th)
2012 -- Bradley (0-6) -- ended up 2-16 (10th)
2013 -- Illinois St. (0-6) -- ended up 8-10 (6th)
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
Title Town
The MVC has had eight different regular-season champs in the past 12 seasons (Creighton-2009, 2013; Drake-2008, Illinois St.-2017; Loyola-2018; Missouri St.-2011; UNI-2009, 2010; Southern Illinois-2007; Wichita State-2012, 2014, 2015, 2017).
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 2-0 start mark the best as MVC members.
Defensive Pressure
Until Drake scored 74 points, Loyola had held its previous four opponents under 50 points. The last time the Ramblers limited four-straight foes to fewer than 50 points was December 18, 1948 thru January 3, 1949. Despite Drake’s outburst last Saturday, the Ramblers have yielded just 51.8 ppg and limited foes to 37.4 percent (98-for-262) shooting from the field and 30.1 percent (32-for-106) from three-point range. Loyola leads the Valley in scoring defense (60.5) this year after ranking sixth in the nation (62.6) in that category a year ago.
Most Games Opponent 50 or Fewer Points
1. Virginia 6
1. Texas Tech 6
3. Loyola Chicago 5
3. Michigan 5
5. Four schools tied 4
Nothing Green About Green
UNI’s AJ Green is the league’s top scoring freshman, averaging 14.9 points per game to rank 8th 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.
Making an Impact
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.
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.)