NOTEBOOK (PDF)

Valley Runnin’ Deep
The Valley currently has eight teams at 15 wins or more on the season.  The Valley joins the Big Ten, SEC and ACC as the only conferences with 8 or more teams sitting with 15 or more wins.

The Valley also has eight teams with a .600 or better win percentage, joining only the Big Ten in the club.   

Teams with 15 Wins (Feb. 25)
10 - Big Ten, SEC
9 - ACC
8 - Missouri Valley
7 - Pac-12, Big East

Teams with .600+ Win% (Feb. 25)
9 - Big Ten
8 - Missouri Valley
7 - ACC, SEC

The last time The Valley had 8 teams reach at least 15 wins on the season was the 2011-12 season when the MVC sent seven teams to the postseason (1 NCAA, 4 WNIT, 2 WBI). It also happened  in 2010-11 and 2009-10.  The Valley has never had 8 teams reach 16 wins.

20 Wins Again
Drake registered its sixth-consecutive 20-win season with Saturday’s win over Illinois State. The impressive streak began in 2014-15.  The streak ties the league record for consecutive 20-win seasons with Drake and Missouri State. 

Consecutive 20-win seasons since 1982-83
    1.     Drake (1996-97 through 2000-01)    6
            Missouri State (1990-91 through 1995-96)    6
            Drake (2014-15 through current)    6
    4.     Illinois State (2006-07 through 2010-11)    5
            Southern Illinois (1982-83 through 1986-87)    5

Speaking of 20 Wins
Since the start of the 1992-93 season only three 20-win MVC teams have been left out of the postseason. In that time, all but two (58 of 61) 20-win Valley teams have advanced to the postseason. Last season, Drake, Missouri State and UNI each earned postseason bids after winning at least 20 games, while Bradley became the third team to reach 20 wins and not participate in postseason play.  

20-Win Seasons (since 1982-83)
19 - Missouri State
18 - Drake
12 - Illinois State
9 - Southern Illinois
5 - Indiana State
5 - UNI
3 - Evansville
2 – Bradley

In Good Company
Drake is one of four teams nationally ranking in the Top 10 in assists per game, field-goal percentage and scoring offense this season. The Bulldogs are joined by #2 Baylor, #3 Oregon and #18 Iowa in the club (AP Rank).     

Team      FG% (Rank)    PPG (Rank)    APG (Rank)
Baylor        50.8% (1)    84.0 (4)    22.7 (1)
Drake        48.4% (5)    82.8 (6)    21.9 (2)
Oregon    50.7 (2)    86.2 (1)    21.1 (3)
Iowa        48.8% (4)    79.8 (10)    20.1 (5)

Home Sweet Home
Two MVC teams continue to remain unbeaten at home entering the week as Missouri State (13-0) and Bradley (11-0) are still perfect. 

Bradley is riding a school record 17-game streak which ranks 4th nationally, trailing Baylor (54), Iowa (35) and Belmont (19). Missouri State is riding a JQH Arena record 13-game win streak (11th nationally). 

Collectively, the league has won 62.5 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 57-6 record at home. 

Best MVC Home Records (Since 2007-08)
    1.    2007-08    61-29 (.678)
    2.    2009-10    58-32 (.644)
    3.    2010-11    57-33 (.633)
    4.    2011-12    56-34 (.622)        
    5.    2012-13    53-37 (.589)

Impressive Resume
Missouri State enters the week as one of only 11 teams with 12 or more Top 100 RPI wins this season.    The Lady Bears are 12-3 (80%) vs. the RPI Top 100 and join UConn as the only non Power Five team on the list.

Only Baylor, Louisville, Missouri State, Northwestern, Oregon, South Carolina, UCLA and UConn have a win percentage of .800+ vs. Top 100.

Most Top 100 RPI Wins (Feb. 25)
17 - South Carolina
16 - Oregon
15 - Baylor
14 - Northwestern
13 - Louisville, Maryland, Texas A&M
12 - Iowa, Missouri State, UCLA, UConn

RPI Update
The latest installment of the NCAA RPI Report (Feb. 25) has six Valley teams that rank in the top-100, including three in the top 40.  Missouri State sits No. 10 in the RPI, Drake comes in at No. 28 and Bradley No. 36. UNI (75), Illinois State (86) and Southern Illinois (99) 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.

Historic Conference RPI
The Valley ranks eighth nationally in the NCAA’s conference RPI report (Feb. 24).  The Valley sits behind the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Big East and Ivy entering this week. 

The Valley record for RPI in a season is 8th (2011).

Conference RPI
1.    Pac-12
2.    Big Ten
3.    Big 12
4.    SEC
5.    ACC
6.    Big East
7.    Ivy League
8.     Missouri Valley

Polling
With a No. 17 ranking in the Feb. 25 USA Today Coaches Poll, the Lady Bears have now been ranked 15 consecutive weeks by those voters, the second-longest poll streak in school history. The 2000-01 team was ranked in all 19 coaches polls that season. 

History Made!
Drake seniors Sara Rhine and Becca Hittner each joined the 2,000 career point club this season.  The two standouts are climbing their way up the MVC career scoring list.  Rhine has scored 2,139 career points and currently sits tied for 5th on the MVC list with Illinois State’s Kristi Cirone. Hittner moved up to 9th this week with 2,060 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. 

Career Points (MVC History)
    1.    3,393 - Jackie Stiles, Missouri State    1998-01
    2.    2,636 - Wanda Ford, Drake    1982-86
    3.    2,551 - Lizzy Wendell, Drake    2014-17
    4.    2,271 - Casey Garrison, Missouri State    2008-12
    5.    2,139 - Kristi Cirone, Illinois State    2005-09
         2,139 - Sara Rhine, Drake    2015-pres.
    7.    2,099 - Sara Dickey, Evansville    2014-17
    8.    2,073 - Kari Koch, Missouri State    2003-06
    9.    2,060 - Becca Hittner, Drake    2016-pres.
    10.    2,054 - Jacqui Kalin, UNI    2012-13

Looking for +.500
One more league win this season would give the Panthers their 12th consecutive year at .500 or better in Missouri Valley Conference action. UNI’s current run of 11 seasons in a row is already the league’s longest active streak among all women’s and men’s basketball programs.  

Comeback Kids
Saturday’s win at Loyola saw Valpo overcome an 11-point deficit in the 13-point win over the Ramblers. It was the fourth win of the season for Valpo after trailing by double figures at any point in the game, including both victories over Loyola. On the flip side, Valpo has not lost a game this year when leading by double digits at any point.

First Year Success
Missouri State first-year head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton has moved into third place on The Valley coaching list for most wins in a first year.  Coach Mox’s 23 wins ties Drake’s Lisa Stone for third place on The Valley list.  Coach Mox can equal The Valley record with a win at Illinois State Thursday. 

Creighton’s Jim Flanery (2002-03) and Drake’s Lisa Stone (2000-01) each won a share of the regular season MVC title during their first year at the helm. 

Lisa Stone won the league’s Coach of the Year award in her first season (2001).

Most Coaching Wins, 1st-Year Coaches
Name, School (Years)                                  League                      Overall
Jim Flanery, Creighton (2002-03)                     13-5                           24-9
Stephanie Glance, Illinois State (2010-11)       12-6                          24-11
Lisa Stone, Drake (2000-01)                            16-2                            23-7
Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, MSU (2019-20)    13-1                             23-3
Connie Yori, Creighton (1992-93)                     12-4                             20-8

Exclusive Company
Bradley’s Lasha Petree hit her 60th three-pointer of the season Thursday at Drake to join an exclusive list.  Currently leading the MVC in both three-pointers made (61) and blocked shots (44), Petree is just the third player in MVC history with 60 trey’s and at least 40 blocks in a season.  She joins SIU’s Kylie Giebelhausen and Bradley’s Heather Best.    

Player                          Team          Year      3PT-FG    Blocks
Lasha Petree              Bradley       2019-20     61         44
Kylie Giebelhausen      SIU           2015-16      60         47
Heather Best                Bradley    1998-99       64         42

Rise of The Valley
The 2019-20 season has marked one of the highest RPI rankings 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 has increased to 8th this year.

Year        MVC RPI        Top 100 RPI Teams
2019-20               8                         6
2018-19              14                         3
2017-18              24                         2
2016-17              17                         2
2015-16              21                         2
2014-15             21                          1                
2013-14              19                         1

ESPN Bracketology
The latest ESPN.com women’s basketball bracketology from Charlie Creme (Feb. 25) has two MVC teams in the field of 64. Missouri State remains a No. 5 seed playing DePaul in Chicago, while Drake is a No. 8 seed playing Marquette in Waco. Bradley sits as one of the “First Four Out” this week. The MVC is one of nine leagues receiving multiple bids.