Wednesday, Jan. 22
Drake at Evansville (ESPN+) -- 6:00 p.m. CT
Illinois State at Bradley (ESPN+) -- 7:00 p.m. CT
Indiana State at Loyola (ESPN+) -- 7:00 p.m. CT
UNI at Southern Illinois (MVC TV) -- 8:00 p.m. CT

Thursday, Jan. 23
Valparaiso at Missouri State (CBSSN) -- 7:30 p.m. CT

MVC Men's Basketball Notebook (PDF)




MVC Player of the Week
AJ Green, UNI
6-4, 175, So., G
Cedar Falls (Iowa) Cedar Falls High
Green averaged 27.0 points per game and shot 51% from the field in MVC victories last week over Valparaiso and at Bradley. Green finished with 29 points against Valparaiso, going 9-of-16 from the field and 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Green would go 6-of-6 from the free-throw line and also added three rebounds, three assists, and a steal in the Panther victory. Green finished with 25 points and shot 7-of-15 from the field and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line against Bradley. Green hauled in five rebounds and two assists in the Panther victory, which snapped Bradley’s 14-game homecourt winning streak.  Green also extended his school-record streak of consecutive free throws without a miss to 43.

MVC Newcomer of the Week
Danya Kingsby, Bradley (pronounced DAN-yay)
6-1, 180, Jr., G
Milwaukee (Wis.) [Southern Idaho]
Kingsby registered two of the best game of his collegiate career this past week, averaging 20.0 points and 4.0 assists per game, while hitting 66.7 percent from the floor (16-of-24) and 62.5 percent from 3-point range (5-of-8). The junior helped the Braves to a road victory at Missouri State on Wednesday with 12 points – just one shy of his career high at the time – and three assists. He then followed up with his most productive game in the Bradley Red & White as he scored a game-high and career-best 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting to go with a personal-best five assists.

Nothing But NET
Entering this week, five MVC schools rank in the top 150 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET).  Last year, only three MVC 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.  This season, the MVC has three in the Top 100, led by UNI’s No. 38 ranking.
In the RPI, the MVC is the 11th-rated conference, while UNI is the league’s top team in that metric at No. 16.  Six MVC teams are in the Top 150 of the RPI.

Poll Chatter
UNI has climbed to No. 29 in this week’s AP top-25 poll.  The Panthers received 42 points.  UNI (16-2) won 16 games all of last season, and the Panthers’ last AP ranking was on March 16, 2015, when they were No. 11 in the poll.  UNI was ranked No. 14 in the final ESPN/USA Today coaches poll that year.  The last MVC team to be ranked was Loyola Chicago, which clocked in at No. 7 in the coaches poll in the final rankings of 2018 after its Final Four run.  This week, UNI has 21 points in the coaches poll (30th).

Streaking
AJ Green of UNI has made 43-straight free throw attempts, ranking 7th best all-time in the MVC.  He is perfect at the free-throw line so far in Valley play, making all 32 attempts from the charity stripe.  Green’s active streak of 43 has passed Bill McCoy’s UNI school record 32.  Last year, Shea Feehan of Evansville established a league record by going a perfect 26-of-26 in MVC-only games.  Blake Ahearn of Missouri State, however, was the best in MVC history (30+ attempts) as Ahearn was 63-of-64 (.984) from the stripe in 2004-05 during league play.  AJ Green and Vinnie Shahid (NDSU) are the only two players in the NCAA to hold a 1.000 percentage in their respective league games this year (20+ attempts).

Consecutive Free Throws Made, MVC MBB History
60 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/20/03 - 2/14/04)
60 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/19/04 - 2/28/05)
57 Vince Greene, ILS (1/18/04 - 11/30/04)
51 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/15/05 - 1/29/06)
48 Marcus Wilson, Evansville (12/1/96 - 2/2/97)
44 James Gillingham, BU (2/8/03 - 2/25/03)
43 AJ Green, UNI (12/22/19 - present)
43 Clevin Hannah, WSU (12/12/09 - 1/27/10)
40 Andrew Warren, BU (12/4/10 - 1/4/11)

Braves Fire Away
Bradley rallied to win at Missouri State on Jan. 15, 91-78.  The Braves made 17-of-30 3-pointers on the night to earn the victory. It marks the highest total in a Valley game in school history and the second most overall in any contest.  Drake and UNI have also hit 17 threes in a game this season.

Most 3-Pointers by an MVC Team, 2019-20
19 -- UNI vs. Luther College (12-02-19)
17 -- Drake vs. Kennesaw State (11-07-19)
17 -- Bradley at Missouri State (01-15-20)
16 -- UNI vs. UT Martin (11-19-19)

Loyola on a Defensive Roll
  Over the last three outings, Loyola locked down opponents, allowing only 47.3 points per game, and holding foes to 37.1 percent (56-for-151) accuracy from the field, including 25.9 percent (20-for-77) from three-point territory.  It marks the first time since joining the league for the 2013-14 season that the Ramblers have held an MVC opponent to 50 points or less in three-straight games.  The Ramblers are only the second league team this decade to allow 50 points or less in three-consecutive MVC games.  UNI’s Sweet 16 of 2010 was the last.

UNI’s 4-Game Streak of MVC Foes at 50 or Fewer
1-6-10 -- at Southern Illinois (W, 61-49)
1-9-10 -- at Illinois State (W, 59-44)
1-12-10 -- Bradley (W, 52-50)
1-16-10 -- Indiana State (W, 62-40

JJ Jumper
Since 1992-93 only four players have played a full season in which he made zero two-point baskets and 30 or more three-pointers.  Jonah Jackson of Drake enters this week with 39 made field goals this year (all three-pointers).  DJ Draper of North Texas also has connected on 31 three-pointers this year with zero two-point baskets.

Top Freshmen
Marcus Domask of Southern Illinois is the league’s top scoring and top rebounding freshman, as he is averaging 14.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.  Domask is one of only five freshmen in the nation averaging at least 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.

Big Production
On the road at Drake, Illinois State senior Zach Copeland put up quite the stats line in which he scored 32 points, dished out seven assists, and had zero turnovers. This season there have been just 11 players in NCAA Division I that have scored at least 30 points with seven assists in a game, and just two of those did it with no turnovers.

Looking to Snap a Streak
On Jan. 4, Valparaiso won at Evansville for the first time since 1969, snapping a 22-game losing streak there.  Missouri State snapped an eight-game losing streak at Redbird Arena on Jan. 7.  Drake, which visits Evansville on Wednesday, has lost seven-straight games there. 

Another MVC Coaching Alum
There are currently five MVC head coaches who have also played in the MVC.  Dan Muller and Bryan Mullins are both coaching at their alma maters.

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.  Notably, Loyola’s 50.7 field goal percentage during 2017-18 established an MVC record in the three-point era (since 1986-87).

Hitting the Outside Shots
Indiana State is fifth in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage at 39.9  percent.  Trae Berhow of UNI has been the most proficient beyond the arc this year, ranking 4th in the NCAA by connecting on 46.9 percent of his tries.  Nate Kennell of Bradley also ranks in the Top 10 in three-point field goal percentage as he is 9th (45.4).

King Krut
Loyola’s Cameron Krutwig ranks in among the MVC leaders in points, rebounds, assists and FG percentage.  Only seven previous times since 1980 (the first year assist leaders were tracked) has a player ranked in the MVC’s Top 10 in each of those four categories.  Krutwig is also 7th in the MVC in steals per game and t8th in blocks.

Home Cooking
Three league schools are still unbeaten at home this year (Drake, Indiana State, UNI).  Drake’s 14-game streak at home is tied for 10th-best in the NCAA among active streaks.  UNI has 10 in a row, and Indiana State has 9-straight.

Home Cooking, Part II
During the non-conference season, MVC 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.

Green’s Strong Start
AJ Green of UNI is one of just eight 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).

Panther Offense is Rolling
UNI currently leads the league in scoring offense, averaging 77.4 points per game.  The Panthers have hit 80 or more points in three-straight league games -- that’s the first time that’s happened for UNI since a three-game MVC in 2014 (Jan. 25,  Jan. 29,  and Feb. 1). UNI also leads the league in conference play with its 76.8 scoring average.  Since joining the league for the 1991-92 season, UNI has never led the league in scoring offense.  However, the Panthers did lead the league in MVC-only scoring in 1996 and in 2014.