The 2020-21 regular season campaign finally begins on Wednesday with five games on the schedule.  The first week of the regular season features four games against Power Five teams and one game against a Preseason AP Top 25 team.  Last year, the MVC went 9-12 against Power Five teams and 1-4 against Top 25 foes (Missouri State beat #23 Minnesota in the season opener). The Valley had a winning record against the Big 12 (3-2) and SEC (3-1) and went 3-7 vs. the Big Ten and 0-2 vs. the Pac-12.
 
Social Media Days
The Valley conducted "Social Media Days," during which we've featured one institution each day leading up to the scheduled start of the 2020-21 season.
 
Week 1: Bradley, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State (Click Here)
Week 2: Loyola, Missouri State, UNI, Southern Illinois, Valparaiso (Click Here)
 
Preseason Poll
The MVC Preseason Poll was released in mid-October with Missouri State being selected to repeat as champion.  (Click Here)

New Scheduling Model
The Conference has adopted a new scheduling format for men’s and women’s basketball Conference games.  The Conference will continue to play an 18-game format in which most MVC teams will face one another in a two-game series on back-to-back days at the same site. Each institution will play four road series and four home series and will also face their designated ‘travel partner’ in a single-game, home-and-home series (schedule still TBD).  All Conference play begins after Christmas.


 
Polling
For the first time in 20 years, Missouri State will enter the season ranked in the top 25. MSU appeared in the No. 24 spot of the AP preseason poll after being ranked for 15 weeks by the AP last year. The Lady Bears have appeared in the preseason AP Poll three times previously, including 21st in 2000-01, 20th in 1993-94, and 13th in 1992-93. 
 
MSU appears No. 25 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll. With their inclusion in the preseason poll, the Lady Bears have appeared in 19 consecutive releases of the coaches’ rankings, tying a school record set by the 2000-01 team. It’s also Missouri State’s first preseason ranking by the coaches since 2000, when they began the year rated 21st.

Elite Company
Missouri State enters the 2020-21 season as winners of 50 of its last 57 games. In fact, since December 20, 2018, the Lady Bears’ 50 victories rank fourth nationally behind only Baylor, UConn and Oregon.
 
Rise of The Valley
The 2019-20 season tied the highest RPI ranking the Missouri Valley Conference has recorded in its history showcasing how The Valley is becoming one of the best mid-major leagues in the country. The league posted a top-15 RPI for the first time since 2012-13 during the 2018-19 season and increased to 8th last year, including five teams in the Top 100 of the RPI for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
 
Year                              MVC RPI        Top 100 RPI Teams
2019-20                                 8                           5
2018-19                                14                          3
2017-18                                24                          2
2016-17                                17                          2
2015-16                                21                          2
2014-15                                21                          1               
2013-14                                19                          1
 
Returning Core
Bradley is one of 10 teams in the nation to win at least 22 games last year and return three individuals that averaged at least 10 points per game.  Only eight of those squads claimed 22 victories prior to their respective conference tournaments in 2019-20.  Joining Bradley on that exclusive list year was Stanford, Texas A&M, Old Dominion, Indiana, DePaul, Fresno State and Central Michigan. 

20 Wins Again
Drake enters the 2020-21 season off its sixth-straight 20-win season in 2019-20, a season that ended abruptly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the cancellation of the 2020 postseason, the Bulldogs were 22-8 and projected to earn their fourth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. It would have been the first time in school history Drake qualified for four consecutive NCAA Tournaments. The impressive 20-win streak started in 2014-15 and ties the league record for consecutive 20-win seasons with Drake (1996-2001) and Missouri State (1990-96).

Remaining Consistent
UNI posted  its 12th consecutive season at .500 or better in Valley play along with its 11th year in a row with at least 17 victories in 2019-20. The Panthers also earned victories over Iowa, Iowa State, and Drake in the same season for the first time in program history.  
 
Naismith Award Watch List
Bradley junior guard Lasha Petree has been named to the 2021 Women’s Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Watch List according to an announcement by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. The preseason Watch List included 50 individuals from 11 conferences with Petree the lone representative from the MVC. The midseason 30 team will be announced in early February. The competition will be narrowed down to 10 national semifinalists on March 2, 2021, and four finalists will be named on March 19, 2021. The winner of the 2021 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for Women’s Player of the Year will be announced on April 3, 2021.   
 
Hammond Award Watch List
Missouri State junior forward Jasmine Franklin was named to the preseason watch list for the 2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. The second player in school history to reach 500 career rebounds as a sophomore, the Fayetteville, Ark., native had the 11th-highest defensive rebounding rate in the nation last season and ranked in the top 10% nationally in steals and blocks according to advanced metrics provided by Her Hoop Stats. In January, 15 players will be named to the midseason watch list.
 
MVC vs. Non-Conference
Last season, MVC teams combined for a 73-40 record against non-conference opponents, including a 39-9 mark at home. The 73 non-conference wins set a new MVC record, surpassing 66 wins in 2009-10. Only four of the 15 opening week games for MVC teams are at home. The MVC also had a winning record on the road in 2019-20, going 28-25 away from home in non-league play.
 
MVC Preseason Basketball Special
The Missouri Valley Conference will preview its 2020-21 men’s and women’s basketball seasons with its Preseason Basketball Special, which will be aired on FOX Sports Midwest-Indiana-Kansas City and NBC Sports Chicago, beginning on Monday, November 23.
 

• Monday, November 23 (3 and 10 p.m. Central) – FOX Sports Midwest-Indiana-Kansas City
• Tuesday, November 24 (12 p.m. Central) – FOX Sports Midwest-Indiana-Kansas City
• Tuesday, November 24 (6 p.m. Central – NBC Sports Chicago (Main)
• Wednesday, November 25 (8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central) – FOX Sports Midwest-Indiana-Kansas City
• Wednesday, November 25 (10 p.m. Central) – NBC Sports Chicago (Main)
• Friday, November 27 ( 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. Central) – FOX Sports Midwest-Indiana-Kansas City
• Tuesday, December 1 (2 p.m.) – NBC Sports Chicago (Main)
• Wednesday, December 2 (7 p.m.) – NBC Sports Chicago (Plus)