NOTEBOOK (PDF)
History Made!
Drake senior Becca Hittner joined teammate Sara Rhine in The Valley’s 2,000 career point club over the weekend. Hittner surpassed the mark with 16 points in the win at Evansville Thursday. The two standouts are climbing their way up the MVC career scoring list. Rhine has scored 2,094 career points and currently sits 7th on the MVC list. Hittner currently ranks 10th with 2,021 points.
Rhine and Hittner became the first set of teammates in The Valley’s 113-year history (men or women) to eclipse 2,000 career points in the same season.
14 Wins and Counting...
The Valley currently has seven teams at 14 wins or more on the season. The Valley joins the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, A10, Big 12, Big East and Pac-12 as the only conferences with 7 or more teams sitting with 14 or more wins.
Teams with 14 Wins (Feb. 18)
10 - Big Ten, SEC
9 - ACC
7 - A10, Big 12, Big East, Missouri Valley, Pac-12
The last time The Valley had 8 teams reach at least 14 wins on the season was the 2011-12 season when the MVC sent seven teams to the postseason (1 NCAA, 4 WNIT, 2 WBI).
On the Cusp
Drake is on the cusp of its sixth-consecutive 20-win season with an overall record of 18-7. The impressive streak began in 2014-15. The league record for consecutive 20-win seasons is held by Drake and Missouri State, with each holding a streak of six-straight.
Consecutive 20-win seasons since 1982-83
1. Drake (1996-97 through 2000-01) 6
Missouri State (1990-91 through 1995-96) 6
3. Illinois State (2006-07 through 2010-11) 5
Southern Illinois (1982-83 through 1986-87) 5
Drake (2014-15 through current) 5
Closing In on 20
Bradley brings a 19-4 overall record into this weekend’s Iowa road swing with the Braves looking to reach the 20-win mark for just the fourth time in program history. BU has two seasons with 20 victories at the NCAA Division I level after last year’s 20-10 campaign. Bradley is 39-14 since the start of the 2018-19 campaign to match the most overall wins in a two-year stretch in program history originally set by the 1979-80 (20-9) and 1980-81 (19-8) teams.
Home Sweet Home
Two MVC teams continue to remain unbeaten at home entering the week as Bradley (11-0) and Missouri State (11-0) are still perfect.
Bradley is riding a school record 17-game streak which ranks 4th nationally, trailing Baylor (53), Iowa (34) and Belmont (19).
Collectively, the league has won 60.3 percent of the time at home during league play this year (after winning 81.3 percent of its home games in non-league play). Notably, the top five teams in the league standings have combined for a full-season 52-5 record at home.
RPI Update
The latest installment of the NCAA RPI Report (Feb. 18) has six Valley teams that rank in the top-100, including three in the top 40. Missouri State sits No. 4 in the RPI, Drake comes in at No. 36 and Bradley No. 38. UNI (72), Southern Illinois (78) and Illinois State (91) also appear in the Top 100.
The Valley joins the Power Five leagues and the Big East as the only leagues to have six or more Top 100 teams.
ESPN Bracketology
The latest ESPN.com women’s basketball bracketology from Charlie Creme (Feb. 18) has three MVC teams in the field of 64. Missouri State remains a No. 5 seed playing Oklahoma State in Iowa City, while Drake is a No. 8 seed playing Tennessee in Eugene. Bradley remains one of the “Last Four In” and is slated as a No. 11 seed playing TCU in Tucson. The MVC is one of seven leagues receiving three or more bids.
High On the Charts
Currently, Missouri State ranks in the Top 20 in 8 different NCAA women’s basketball statistical rankings.
The Lady Bears rank...
1st. Defensive Rebound % 77.0%
3rd. Three-Point FG % 39.4%
7th. Free Throws Made 390
14th. Rebound Margin +9.2
15th. Scoring 78.3
15th. Winning Percentage 87.5%
17th. Field Goal % 45.5%
20th. Free Throw% 76.3%
Impressive Resume
Missouri State enters the week as one of only 13 teams with 11 or more Top 100 RPI wins this season. The Lady Bears are 11-3 (78%) vs. the RPI Top 100 and join DePaul and UConn as the only non Power Five teams on the list.
Most Top 100 RPI Wins (Feb. 18)
16 - South Carolina
15 - Oregon
14 -Baylor
13 - Maryland, UCLA
12 - DePaul, Iowa, Louisville, Northwestern, Texas A&M
11 - Missouri State, Stanford, UConn
High Percentage
Drake enters this week ranking 3rd nationally in Field Goal Percentage (48.8%). Drake finished 10th in FG% last year, 5th in 2017-18, and 2nd in 2016-17. UConn is the only other school to finish in the top 10 in the last three seasons. The Huskies currently sit 8th nationally.
Missouri State also ranks in the Top 20 in Field Goal % nationally, shooting 45.5% from the field.
Drake’s Sara Rhine enters the week ranking 4th nationally in field goal percentage (66.3%). The MVC record for FG% in a single season is Tonya Baucom of Missouri State in 1991-92 (65.8%).
The Valley as a whole is shooting 42.3% from the field this season, ranking 4th nationally among NCAA DI Conferences.
Field Goal Percentage (By Conference)
1. SEC 42.8%
2. Big Ten 42.7%
3. Pac-12 42.6%
4. Missouri Valley 42.3%
5. Big 12 42.2%
Sharing the Rock
Drake enters the week averaging 22.3 assists per game, which is tied for first nationally with Baylor. Drake is the only team in the country to rank in the top three of Assists Per Game each of the previous three seasons.
Assists Per Game
1. Drake 22.3
Baylor 22.3
3. Oregon 21.0
4. Marist 20.3
5. Iowa 19.9
Historically Good Offense
Missouri State is averaging 78.3 points through its first 24 games, on pace for third-best in school history behind the 2001 and 1992 Final Four teams that scored 82.8 and 80.7 points per game
Chasing History
Currently, Drake is averaging 82.5 points per game, ranking 7th nationally. The all-time Valley record for scoring was set in 1995 as Drake averaged 83.5 ppg. The Bulldogs have led The Valley in scoring each of the past five seasons, becoming the first men’s or women’s team to lead the league five-straight seasons.
Top 5 in Valley History (Scoring)
1. Drake (1995) 83.5
2. Missouri State (2001) 82.8
3. Bradley (1983) 82.7
4. Drake (2018) 82.4
5. Drake (2017) 82.2
Play4Kay
Illinois State set a new fundraising record at their 10th annual Play4Kay game versus Valparaiso on Sunday, collecting a total of $25,457 to be donated to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the fight against ALL women’s cancers.
Streak Broken
The Sycamores shocked the Valley on Thursday evening, taking down Northern Iowa in the Hulman Center, 65-63 after trailing by eight in the fourth quarter. It was Indiana State’s first win over the Panthers since March 8, 2014 when ISU earned an 85-72 victory in Cedar Falls.
Unbeaten Under 50
With its 67-49 win Saturday at Evansville, UNI improved to 85-0 under Tanya Warren when allowing 50 or fewer points. The overall streak is 86 consecutive victories in such games dating back to the Tony DiCecco era.
A Big Win
Valpo’s win at Illinois State on Sunday marked the program’s first top-100 RPI true road wins since taking down Michigan and Ball State in the 2002 WNIT. It was Valpo’s seventh road win of the year, the most for a Valpo team since the 2006-07 team won eight true road games.
Poll Position
Missouri State remained in this week’s AP Top 25 Poll, coming in at No. 23 this week.
The Lady Bears continue to appear in the latest USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll, sitting at No. 18 this week.