MVC Rated No. 8
The Conference ranks No. 8 in the RPI. The MVC hasn’t been as high as No. 8 in a season-ending RPI since 2012-13. Notably, the MVC joins the ACC, the Big East, the Big 12, the Pac 12 and the SEC as the only leagues this year with all teams 190 or better. The MVC also has seven teams in the Top 150. The last time the MVC had seven top-150 teams was also in 2013.
MVC Weekly Notebook (PDF)
MVC Co-Player of the Week
Reed Timmer, Drake -- Last week, he averaged 27.0 points on 14-of-29 shooting and 7-of-16 from the three-point arc, and became Drake’s all-time scoring leader with 1,812 career points and moved into 30th in career scoring.
MVC Co-Player of the Week
Ryan Taylor, Evansville -- Taylor averaged 28.5 points per game in contests against UNI and Illinois State last week. For the week, he shot 51.3% (20/39) and was a 11-of-17 (64.7%) from outside, while averaging 5.5 rebounds.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Kavion Pippen, Southern Illinois -- Pippen averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals in wins at Drake and vs. Valpo. He made 15-of-19 shots from the field and 5-of-7 (.714) from the free throw line.
Double-Digit Wins
In the league’s 111 seasons, the MVC has had all teams reach 11 or more wins 10 times (including this year). Only four times in the MVC’s previous 110 seasons have all league teams reached 12 wins.
No. 9 in KenPom Ratings
The MVC’s No. 9 conference rating in KenPom is its best since the 2012-13 season (also No. 9). The last time the league was better than ninth in KenPom’s rankings was in 2008, when the league hit its high-water mark of No. 7 (also achieved in 2005, 2006, and in 2007)
Home Cooking
The MVC has a 95-25 record in home games (inclusive of non-league and league games). That ranks fifth-best in the nation. Notably, the best MVC home win percentage in the past 22 seasons was in 2010 (126-37, .773).
Loyola Leads Nation
At .551, Loyola leads the NCAA in field goal percentage in home games. At .512 overall, the Ramblers rank No. 4 in the NCAA for all games. Loyola’s FG percentage this season would rank as the 10th best on record in MVC history. The MVC single-season record is 54.2, established by West Texas State in 1976-77. Notably, though, Loyola’s 51.2 mark is the best in the MVC since the advent of the 3-point line.
Home Cooking
Bradley’s 14-game home winning streak was snapped by Drake on Feb. 3, but the Braves continue to lead the nation in field goal percentage defense at home.
Chart Busters
This past weekend, Drake’s Reed Timmer became the all-time scoring leader in Bulldog history, surpassing Josh Young (1,789 career points from 2006-10). With 172 career blocks, Obediah Church of Missouri State joins Timmer as active players who have set school career records this season. Timmer ranks 30th best in MVC history with 1,812 career points, while Church is 11th all-time in MVC blocked shots.
SIU: First Time Since 2007
Southern Illinois (8-4) trails Loyola (9-3) in the league standings by a single game with six MVC games remaining for both teams. The last time SIU was within a game of first place in the league with just six to go was in 2006-07 when the Salukis and Creighton shared first place with identical 9-3 marks. That year, SIU won the regular-season title and reached the NCAA Sweet 16.
Freshman Rebounders
In league history, 13 freshmen have reached 200 rebounds in their first season. UNI’s Tywhon Pickford is poised to surpass 200 rebounds this week. Eric Coleman holds the UNI freshman record for rebounds in a season with 205.
Land of Lincoln
The MVC’s four Illinois schools all are in the Top 100 of the RPI (and are also the top four in Division I in the state.) Loyola leads the way with its 19-5 mark and No. 52 rating in the RPI.
UNI: Road Woes
UNI is in the midst of a nine-game road losing streak. UNI is 0-7 this season on the road, and the Panthers lost their last two road games in 2016-17. UNI’s last road win came on Feb. 12, 2017 (at Missouri State). It is UNI’s longest road losing streak since the Panthers lost 11 in a row in 2002-03. UNI has only had two winless road seasons in MVC play (1994-95 and 2000-01).