Wednesday, Feb. 5
Loyola at Indiana State (CBS Sports Network) -- 5:00 p.m. CT
Southern Illinois at Evansville (ESPN+) -- 6:00 p.m. CT
Illinois State at Missouri State (ESPN+) -- 7:00 p.m. CT
UNI at Valparaiso (ESPN+) -- 7:00 p.m. CT
Bradley at Drake (MVC TV Network) -- 8:00 p.m. CT
MVC Men's Basketball Notes (PDF)
MVC Player of the Week
Eric McGill, Southern Illinois
6-2, 180, Sr., G
Memphis (Tenn.) Bartlett High [Panola College]
Eric McGill averaged 23.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals for Southern Illinois in a 2-0 week (a home win against Loyola and a road win at Drake). McGill shot 67% from the field and was 6-of-6 from the 3-point line over two games. Against Loyola, McGill poured in 27 points on 9-of-11 from the field. He followed that up with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals in SIU’s road win at Drake, which snapped the Bulldogs’ 15-game home court winning streak.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Keith Fisher III, Illinois State
6-8, 215, Jr., F
Los Angeles (Calif.) Westchester High [San Jose State]
Fisher averaged 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds over two games during the week. He made 13-of-25 of his shots from the field (52.0%), his only three-point try, and went 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. He also dished out three assists and added a steal during the week. In the week-opening win over Evansville he scored 16 points with nine rebounds. He made 6-of-14 shots from the field against the Aces, and was 4-of-5 from the free throw line. On the week finale against Valparaiso he scored a game-high 19 points, making 7-of-11 from the field, 1-of-1 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe, and added two assists.
Nothing But NET
Eight MVC schools rank in the top 160 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). Last year, only three MVC teams were in the Top 160 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. 43 ranking. As a conference, the MVC is the 11th-rated league in the NET ratings. Last season, the MVC was No. 14 in the NET at season’s end. Although no longer a primary tool used by the Selection Committee, UNI is No. 22 in the RPI.
Playing the Back Nine
The MVC reached the halfway point of the conference schedule last week, and UNI was alone in first through nine games with a 7-2 league mark. Since 1992-93, all 38 MVC teams in the lead (or co-lead) at the break have reached post-season play. The last Valley mid-season leader to not reach the post-season was Tulsa in 1992. Since then, mid-year leaders Bradley (1994 & 1999), Illinois State (1996 & 2017), Wichita State (2005), Creighton (2006), Missouri State (2011) and Loyola (2019) played in the NIT, while the other 30 midway leaders reached the NCAA Tournament. The last mid-season leader that failed to win the MVC regular-season title was Wichita State in 2013. WSU (8-1) held a one-game advantage over eventual champion Creighton at the midway point.
Getting to 20 Wins
UNI enters the week with a 19-3 overall record. The Panthers could reach 20 victories by Feb. 5 (road game at Valparaiso). Only three MVC teams in the past five seasons have reached the 20-win plateau earlier, and each went to the NCAA Tournament.
Poll Chatter
UNI is No. 31 in this week’s AP top-25 poll with 17 points. 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 four points in the coaches poll for 35th.
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.
Moving Up the Charts
Now in his 14th season as head coach at UNI, Ben Jacobson continues to climb the all-time MVC lists for victories. Only one other coach has won as many as 285 games during his 14th MVC season. Henry Iba of Oklahoma State had 302 total wins at the end of his 14th year.
Finally, Back-to-Back at Home
By hosting Illinois State on Feb. 1 and UNI on Feb. 5, Valpo will play back-to-back home games for the first time all season. This will be the first time in the history of Valpo basketball, going all the way back to the first season on record in 1917, where the team has not played back-to-back home games until after the calendar flipped to February.
Home Cooking
Two league schools are still unbeaten at home this year (Indiana State, UNI). UNI’s 13-game streak at home is tied for 12th-best in the NCAA among active streaks. Indiana State has won 11 in a row at home, and that streak is tied with West Virginia and Kentucky for 15th-best in the nation among active streaks. Through 50 league games, the MVC is on a torrid pace at home, with teams winning 72 percent of the time on their home floors.
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.
Looking to Snap Skid
Evansville has started league play with 10-straight losses. A total of 16 teams have done that in league history. The last two to suffer 10-straight MVC games to open league play rebounded in the final eight contests. Bradley started 0-11 in 2011, then won four of its final seven games. Evansville was 0-13 in 2010 and followed that by winning three of its final six league games that season.
Another Streak Snapped
Indiana State snapped a seven-game losing streak against Missouri State in Springfield by winning there on Saturday, Feb. 1. On Jan. 26, Southern Illinois won at Illinois State, snapping a 12-game losing streak at Redbird Arena. And on Jan. 4, Valparaiso won at Evansville for the first time since 1969, snapping a 22-game losing streak there. UNI currently holds the league’s longest active win streak against an opponent at home as the Panthers have won 14-straight games against Valparaiso in Cedar Falls.
Have a Day, Marcus
Marcus Domask of Southern Illinois poured in a game-high 28 points in SIU’s win at Drake on Feb. 1. The 28-point game is the most by a league freshman since 2016, when Darrell Brown of Bradley established a school record with 34 points against Hofstra.
Most Points by MVC Freshman Since 2010-11
*34 -- Darrell Brown, BU (11/21/16) vs. Hofstra
*32 -- Milton Doyle, LUC (12/13/13) vs. Campbell
31 -- Doug McDermott, CU (3/21/11) vs. Davidson
28 -- Marcus Domask, SIU (2/1/20) vs. Drake
28 -- Doug McDermott, CU (1/1/11) vs. Drake
28 -- Milton Doyle, Loyola (1/15/14) vs. Drake
28 -- Milton Doyle, Loyola (1/25/14) vs. UNI
*denotes school freshman single-game record
Top Scoring MVC Freshmen
Marcus Domask leads MVC freshmen with 331 points. In league history, 22 freshmen have scored 400+ points, including 10 since 2000.
MVC -- Top Scoring Freshmen, Since 2000
581 - *Doug McDermott, Creighton (2010-11)
509 - *A.J. Green, UNI (2018-19)
478 - *Milton Doyle, Loyola (2013-14)
435 - *Colt Ryan, Evansville (2009-10)
428 - Rayvonte Rice, Drake (2010-11)
*denotes league’s Freshman of the Year
Climbing the 3-Point Ladder
Indiana State’s Jordan Barnes continues to climb the MVC’s all-time lists for three-point field goals as the senior has 259 in his career to rank 3rd at Indiana State. He’s 13th in MVC history.
Charity Tosses
Earlier this season, AJ Green of UNI established a school record by making 44-straight free throws. He currently leads the league and ranks third nationally with his 92.5 percent accuracy from the foul stripe. Only three players in MVC history have had a full-season percentage better than that: Blake Ahearn of Missouri State (4x), Rick Fields of Indiana State and Mike Glenn of Southern Illinois.
It’s a Steal
Javon Freeman-Liberty of Valparaiso leads the league with 2.2 steals per game (51 total). He led the MVC in steals per game last year and he could be the first player since Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins in 1986-87-88 to lead the league in steals in back-to-back seasons.