(Notes do not reflect any league games played on Monday, Nov. 22.)

MVC Weekly Notebook (PDF)

MVC Player of the Week
Trae Berhow, UNI
6-5, 198, Sr., G, Mayer (Minn.) Watertown-Mayer
Berhow led UNI in scoring with 23 points against No. 16 Arkansas. He went 7-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-11 on three-point attemts. He was perfect in free throws (2-of-2) and notched six rebounds and two steals. His success from beyond the arc moved him on UNI’s all-time list for career 3-point field goals made. He passed Nick Nurse, the current head coach of the Toronto Raptors, into seventh on the list with 172 career shots. 

MVC Newcomer of the Week
Ryan Schwieger, Loyola
6-7, 205, Sr., G/F, Matthews (N.C.) Weddington High [Princeton]
In two games last week, Schwieger averaged 22.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game, despite coming off the bench, while shooting a robust 65 percent (13-for-20) from the field, 75 percent (6-for-8) from three-point land and 100 percent (12-for-12) from the charity stripe as Loyola improved to 4-0 on the season and ran its home winning streak to 26 games. Schwieger scored his 44 points in only 47 minutes of court time. The Princeton transfer tossed in 22 points and added two rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in a 92-56 victory against Chicago State on November 16 and then totaled 22 points, six boards, an assist and a steal in an 80-63 decision over city rival UIC on November 20.


Loyola Extends Home Streak
Loyola ran its home-court winning streak to 26 games, the fifth-longest active streak in NCAA Division I play, with victories over Chicago State (92-56) and UIC (80-63) last week. Gentile Arena has provided a distinct advantage for the Ramblers and they have prevailed in 31 of the last 36 nonconference games on their home floor, including each of the last six.

55 -- Gonzaga
37 - Liberty
35 - Prairie View
28 - Houston
26 -- Loyola
19 - UC Santa Barbara

For the Ages
MVC men’s basketball teams are experienced in 2021-22.  Below is the average age for each team’s roster and corresponding preseason pick by coaches, media and SIDs.  Drake’s Tremell Murphy is the league’s elder statesman (born 4/27/1997).  The Bulldogs, notably, had four players who hit 24 prior to the start of the season.  Only two other players in the MVC hit their 24th birthday prior to the start of the 2021-22 campaign (Keith Clemons of Loyola and Eron Gordon of Valparaiso).

Where We Sit in KenPom
The MVC is No. 11 as a league in the KenPom rankings (through Nov. 21).   Three MVC teams are in the Top 75, including Loyola (34), Drake (54) and Missouri State (73).

Helping Hand
Loyola has assisted on an incredible 89 of its 133 field goals this season (67 percent).  The Ramblers’ assist:turnover ratio ranks fourth-best nationally.  Lucas Williamson (7th) and Braden Norris (8th) both rank among the Top 10 individually.

Hot Starts
Drake and Loyola enter this week as two of 57 NCAA teams that have yet to lose a game.  Drake is off to a 3-0 start for the second straight year. And the formula for early season success has been balanced scoring, hot perimeter shooting and scoring runs.  This is just the fourth time since the turn of the century that Loyola has opened a season with four consecutive victories, matching the starts of the 2005-06, 2010-11 and 2020-21 squads.

Rank and File
After posting a 26-5 overall record and advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16, Loyola finished at No. 12 in the season-ending 2020-21 Coaches Top 25 Poll. It marked the second time in the past four seasons that the Ramblers had been ranked in the top 25 in the final coaches poll.  The Ramblers were ranked 17th in the final regular-season Associated Press poll.  Drake also cracked the Top 25 earlier in the season (Feb. 1).  It marked the first time since 2014-15 that two different MVC teams had been ranked by the AP in the same season.  Both teams are receiving votes in this week’s Associated Press Top-25 poll and coaches poll.

Prim Ranks Third
Missouri State’s Gaige Prim enters the week ranked third in the NCAA in rebounding average at 14.0 per game.  He led the MVC in rebounding average last season.

BU .. In the Paint
The Braves have won the battle inside during the 2021-22 season. Bradley has outscored its opponent in the paint in all five games this season, averaging 36.0 points per game to 23.3 by its foe. Additionally, the Braves are making 51.1 percent of their 2-point field goals, while limiting teams to just 36.9 percent from inside the arc.

DU .. Challenging Slate Awaits
After escaping with a 73-70 victory over a Richmond team that was picked to finish second in the preseason Atlantic-10 Conference poll, Drake will continue a challenging schedule playing in the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, Fla., this Thanksgiving weekend. Five of the eight teams in the field reached the 2021 NCAA Tournament: Alabama (Sweet 16), Kansas and North Texas (second round), as well as Drake and Iona. Dayton played in the 2021 National Invitation Tournament

UE .. Back in Florida
For the second time in its history and first time since 2014, the Aces will be participating in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Fort Myers, Fla.  In its first time in the event, UE picked up wins over Fresno State and San Francisco while dropping a game against Green Bay.  UE opens on Monday morning against Rice before taking on either Oakland or Vermont in its second game.  

ILS .. 16.0 x 3
This season the Redbirds have three players (Antonio Reeves, Sy Chatman, and Mark Free¬man) that average at least 16 points per game. If the group continues at this pace, they will become the fourth Illinois State team since 1950 to have four players with such an average. They will join the 1966-67 team (Jerry McGreal, George Terry, and Steve Arends), 1973-74 (Rick Whitlow, Robert Hawkins, and Ron deVries), and 1975-76 (Roger Powell, Billy Lewis, Jeff Wilkins). Additionally, there are only two other schools in NCAA Division I who have three players that average at least 16 points per game: Marshall and Oakland. 

INS .. Defense First
Indiana State put together one of the best defensive performances in program history against Old Dominion in a 77-36 victory over the Monarchs. ISU at one point led by 48 points while holding ODU without a field goal for six minutes in the first half as well as an eight-minute stretch in the second half. ISU held the Monarchs to just 21.6 percent (11-of-51) from the field and just three made baskets from distance. The 41-point margin over ODU was the second largest over a Division I opponent in ISU’s D-I history dating to the 1971-72 season. ISU defeated Charleston Southern 102-55 in 1977.

Largest Margin of Victory, ISU History
47: Dec. 3, 1977 – ISU 102, Charleston Southern 55
41: Nov. 18, 2021 – ISU 77, Old Dominion 36
38: Dec. 16, 1978 – ISU 109, Butler 71
36: Feb. 21, 2001 – ISU 78, Evansville 42

LUC .. Hot Start
Loyola     Head coach Drew Valentine is the first Loyola coach to win his first four games as the Ramblers’ bench boss since Tom Haggerty in 1945-46. Valentine will go against one of his mentors, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, when Loyola opens the Battle 4 Atlantis on November 24. Valentine, whose brother Denzel, starred at Michigan State for Izzo, spent two seasons as a graduate assistant in East Lansing, Mich.

MSU .. Road Warriors
Missouri State is coming off a 77-55 road win at Sam Houston State on Wednesday (Nov. 17) in Huntsville, Texas. The victory marked the Bears’ biggest road win (by margin) since a 77-46 win at Arkansas State on Nov. 15, 2011. Ironically, the Bears scored a 22-point road win just prior to that game with a 68-46 win at Nevada on Nov. 11, 2011.

UNI .. Sharing the Lead
In UNI’s first four games, the Panthers have seen four different scoring leaders in Austin Phyfe (20 points), AJ Green (19 points), Noah Carter (17 points) and Trae Berhow (23 points). 

SIU .. Buffaloed
SIU’s win over Colorado was its fourth all-time win over a PAC-12 school, and first since downing the Buffaloes in the NIT in 2000.  The Salukis improved to 2-2 all-time against PAC 12 opponents in neutral site games (4-12 overall).

VALPO .. MTE Success
As Valpo prepares to compete in the Nassau Championship in the Bahamas this week, it’s worth noting that the team has a tradition of success in multi-team events. The Brown & Gold put together a 17-game winning streak in games that were part of MTEs from 2013-2018.  Valpo is 20-4 in its last 24 such contests. The squad did drop two of its three games in the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of the Paradise Jam in 2019, but still had a solid showing by earning a victory over Grand Canyon and taking Cincinnati to overtime. 

UNI .. Cracking the Top 10
AJ Green and Trae Berhow are both on UNI’s all-time career list for three-pointers made. Green is fifth with 181, and Berhow just moved up to seventh with 172.

BU  .. The Hawk Honored
Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins became the first Brave to earn induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday night. Hawkins is the all-time leading scorer in Bradley and MVC history, ranking 10th in the NCAA record book with 3,008 career points. He led the nation in scoring during the 1987-88 season at 36.3 points per game, receiving consensus National Player of the Year honors.

DU .. Mr. Clutch
Guard Roman Penn scored seven points in the final 3:05 to help preserve Drake’s 73-70 victory against Richmond, which was picked to finish second in the preseason Atlantic 10 Conference poll. Penn was 3-of-3 from the free-throw line down the stretch and has now made 19-straight free throws dating back to last year. He finished the game with 12 points and four assists.

ILS .. Big Scoring Games
Of the five highest scoring individual games in the MVC this season, four have been completed by Illinois State players. Mark Freeman’s 34 points against Bucknell and Antonio Reeves’ 32 points against Eastern Michigan are the two highest scoring games, while Reeves’ 29 against UNCW and Sy Chatman’s 29 against Eastern Michigan are tied for the fourth-highest scoring game in the conference this season. 

MSU .. Working the Line
Missouri State ranks 28th nationally in free throw percentage (.806), which leads the MVC. The Bears are coming off a near-perfect effort at the line in their win at Sam Houston, converting 17-of-18 charity shots (.944) in the victory. Isiaih Mosley, who led the MVC in FT percentage last season (.839), leads the Bears with a perfect 17-for-17 on the season.

SIU .. Beyond the Arc
Southern made a season-best 12 three-pointers in the win against Colorado on a season-high 41-percent shooting from behind the arc … it marks the seventh tine that SIU has made 10-plus three-pointers while shooting 40-percent or better from behind the arc under Mullins (4-3 in those games) … Overall its the 11th time that the Salukis have made double-digit three-pointers in a game in the Mullins era and are 7-4 in those games.