Nothing But NET -- Entering this week, six of the league’s 10 schools rank in the top 150 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). Last year, only three teams were in the Top 150 at season’s end. Four league schools are rated higher than last year’s best-rated team in the NET (Loyola led the league with a season-ending 131 NET rating in 2018-19.) Co-champion Drake was the league leader at the end of the regular-season with a 127.
MVC Men's Basketball Notes (PDF)
Wednesday, Jan. 15
Evansville at Indiana State (ESPN+) 6:00 p.m. CT
Bradley at Missouri State (ESPN+) -- 7:00 p.m. CT
Valparaiso at UNI (PSN/ESPN+) -- 7:00 p.m. CT
Thursday, Jan. 16
Southern Illinois at Loyola (MVC TV) -- 7:00 p.m. CT
Illinois State at Drake (Mediacom/ESPN+) -- 7:00 p.m. CT
MVC Player of the Week
Darrell Brown Jr., Bradley
5-10, 190, Sr., G, Memphis (Tenn.) Germantown
Brown has helped the Braves to their best league start since the 2008-09 season as he powered the team to a 2-0 record last week, scoring 18.5 points per game in wins against Evansville and Southern Illinois. The senior scored 16 points in a 20-point victory at Evansville – the team’s largest road Valley win in 10 seasons – before a 21-point outing in a victory against Southern Illinois on Saturday.
The wins at Evansville (by 20 points) and against Southern Illinois (by 19 points) marked the first time that Bradley won back-to-back Valley games by at least 15 points since the 2006-07 season.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Roman Penn, Drake
5-11, 180, So., G, Calumet City (Ind.) Bishop Noll High [Siena]
Penn averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists on the week while shooting 45.5 percent … scored 21 points, one shy of a career high at Valpo on 9-of-15 shooting with a season-high eight rebounds and seven assists … his performance is just the ninth by a Bulldogs 20 or more points, five or more rebounds and five or more assists since 2011 … Penn has accomplished that feat twice this season … He began the week with 10 assists, his second-most of the second most of the season in the win over Loyola.
Looking to Snap Streaks -- On Jan. 4, Valparaiso won at Evansville for the first time since 1969, snapping a 22-game losing streak there. This week, the Crusaders take on UNI in Cedar Falls where they’ve lost all 13 games there in the series history. Notably, Indiana State carries an eight-game winning streak at the Hulman Center against Evansville, and those two face one another on Wednesday, too. Missouri State, meanwhile, snapped an eight-game losing streak at Redbird Arena on Jan. 7.
Longest Active Home Series Streaks
(Active Win Streak at Home vs MVC foe)
13 -- UNI vs. Valparaiso (at Cedar Falls)
10 -- UNI vs. Drake (at Cedar Falls)
8 -- Loyola vs. Drake (at Chicago)
8 -- Indiana State vs. Evansville (at Terre Haute)
7 -- Evansville vs. Drake (at Evansville)
7 -- Missouri State vs. Indiana St. (at Springfield)
6 -- Illinois State vs. Drake (at Normal)
6 -- Evansville vs. UNI (at Cedar Falls)
*streaks are for current Valley members only
Home Cooking -- Four league schools are still unbeaten at home this year (Bradley, Drake, Indiana State, UNI). The Braves have won 14-straight home games dating back to last year, and that streak is tied for 8th best nationally. Drake’s 13-game streak at home is tied for 16th-best. UNI (9 in a row) and Indiana State (8) are next best in the MVC.
Success in Non-Conference -- MVC teams finished with a collective 78-48 non-conference record this season. The league was 72-60 against non-league teams last year, which included an 0-3 record in post-season play.
Panther Offense is Rolling -- UNI currently leads the league in scoring offense, averaging 76.2 points per game. UNI also leads the league in conference play with its 71.8 scoring average. Since joining the league for the 1991-92 season, UNI has never led the league in scoring offense. Notably, the Panthers led the league in MVC-only scoring in 1996 and in 2014. Additionally, Bradley leads the league in conference-only scoring margin (+10.5 ppg). Since 2012, every league team that has led the league in scoring margin has earned at least a share of the league’s regular-season crown.
Young Guns -- The top six scorers in the MVC entering this week are non-seniors. Four of those six include three sophomores and a freshman. Additionally, only two seniors are among the league’s top-nine rebounders. A sophomore leads the league in assists, a sophomore leads the league in steals, a sophomore leads the league in blocks, and a sophomore leads the league in three-point field goals.
Home Cooking, Part II -- During the non-conference season, league schools combined for a 55-6 record at home against non-league schools. That .902 winning percentage ranked second best in the MVC this century.
Rambling On -- Loyola shot a blistering 70.5 percent (31-for-44) from the field in a 78-44 victory vs. Evansville on Jan. 11. That accuracy rate ranks second in Loyola single-game history, behind only a 71.4 percent (25-for-35) performance in a victory over Norfolk State on Dec. 9, 2017. In that game against the Purple Aces, the Ramblers sank 75 percent (18-for-24) of their shots from the field in the first half. The 70.5 accuracy is the third-best single-game performance in the NCAA this year. It’s tied for the 10th best in the MVC on record, and is tied for the sixth best in a league game.
Hitting Their Shots -- Loyola has ranked among the top 17 in the nation in FG percentage in each of the last three seasons. The Ramblers enter this week No. 3 in the NCAA.
Loyola has led the Conference in FG shooting in each of the last three seasons. Since the MVC began tracking team FG percentage (1963-64), no league team has led the league for four-straight seasons.
Green’s Strong Start -- AJ Green of UNI is one of just seven players in the NCAA who is averaging better than 25.0 points per game in league play. Only five MVC players since 2002 have averaged better than 20.0 points per game in league play. The last MVC player to average 25.0 or better in conference games was Hersey Hawkins of Bradley in 1988 (33.4 ppg).
Reaching 1,000 Points -- A pair of MVC student-athletes reached the 1,000 career-point milestone, including Bradley’s Nate Kennell (now with 1,023) and Missouri State’s Tulio Da Silva (1,008). Darrell Brown of Bradley is the league’s active leading scorer, with 1,604 career points. That ranks him 64th all-time in MVC history.
Hitting the Outside Shots -- Indiana State is third in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage at 40.6 percent. Trae Berhow of UNI has been the most proficient beyond the arc this year, ranking 6th in the NCAA by connecting on 47.1 percent of his tries.
Historic Shooting Percentage -- DeAndre Williams of Evansville is shooting 70.3 percent from the field (97 of 138) and that ranks third in the NCAA this year. No MVC player has ever shot better than 70 percent for a full season.