This week’s Valley schedule has four more opportunities against Power Five opponents. The Valley currently sits 1-1 vs. the ACC, 1-0 vs. the Pac-12, 1-6 vs. the Big Ten, 1-2 vs. the SEC and 0-3 vs. the Big 12 entering this week’s schedule.
Two of the opponents are also receiving votes in the AP Top 25 this week. The Valley is currently 1-5 vs. AP Top 25 teams this season with the win being Missouri State over #24 Virginia Tech.
Thursday: Illinois State at Wisconsin
Sunday: Drake at (RV) Nebraska
Illinois at Southern Illinois
UNI vs. (RV) Oregon State
Last season, the MVC went 5-9 vs. members of Power Five conferences during the regular season.
NET Update
The NCAA NET Report (Dec. 14) has three Valley teams that rank in the top-100, including six of the 10 sitting in the top 200. Missouri State leads the way at No. 20 with UNI (37) and Drake (68), rounding out the schools in the Top 100. The Valley sits 10th as a league.
Team NET
Missouri State 20
UNI 37
Drake 68
Loyola 122
Southern Illinois 134
Evansville 190
Illinois State 229
Indiana State 248
Bradley 253
Valparaiso 297
MVC 10
HerHoopStats Stat of the Week
Grace Boffeli of UNI is the only player in the country with an Offensive Rebounding Rate of 15% and a Defensive Rebounding Rate of 30% (min. 100 minutes played). That translates to Boffeli averaging six offensive rebounds and 11 defensive rebounds per 40 minutes played (min. 100 minutes played).
1,000 Point Club
The Valley now has 10 active players in the 1,000-point club following last week’s action. In Loyola’s 58-48 win over Eastern Illinois, Bre Hampton-Bey became the 27th player in program history to join the club. Valpo’s Shay Frederick reached the 1,000-point club on Friday in a loss at South Dakota, becoming the 17th player in program history to reach the mark.
Missouri State and Southern Illinois each lead the league with three players over 1,000 career points.
Current MVC Players in 1,000 Point Club
1,764 - Gabi Haack, Bradley
1,601 - Makenzie Silvey, Southern Illinois
1,536 - Karli Rucker, UNI
1,432 - Brice Calip, Missouri State
1,401 - Mariah White, Missouri State
1,195 - Abby Brockmeyer, Southern Illinois
1,160 - Gabby Walker, Southern Illinois
1,094 - Jasmine Franklin, MIssouri State
1,018 - Bre Hampton-Bey, Loyola Chicago
1,005 - Shay Frederick, Valparaiso
High Percentage
Drake enters this week ranking 2nd nationally in Field Goal Percentage (48.8%), sitting behind Ohio State (50.0%). The Bulldogs have led The Valley in FG% the past seven seasons.
Drake’s Maggie Bair enters the week ranking 22nd nationally in field goal percentage (58.8%) to pace the league.
The Valley as a whole is shooting 43.02% from the field this season, ranking 6th nationally among NCAA DI Conferences.
Field Goal Percentage (By Conference)
1. Pac-12 44.14%
2. Big Ten 44.12%
3. SEC 43.65%
4. ACC 43.61%
5. Big 12 43.25%
6. Missouri Valley 43.02%
Polling
MSU is receiving votes in this week’s USA Today/WBCA Coaches Top 25 (Dec. 14). The Lady Bears received six votes in this week’s poll.
BU: Tourney Success
While Bradley did not play in an in-season tournament during the 2020-21 “COVID” season, the Braves have enjoyed plenty of holiday season tourney success in recent years … Since the start of the 2008-09 season, Bradley is 14-7 (.667) during in-season tournaments and the Braves have earned at least one win in 10 consecutive regular-season events … Bradley won the 2019 Coastal Carolina Classic and the 2018 FAU Thanksgiving Tournament … Most recently, the Braves rebounded from a 75-63 loss to Liberty in the first round of Kansas City’s 2019 Roo Holiday Classic with a 66-46 win against Eastern Washington Dec. 21, 2019.
DU: Record Breakers
Drake’s current six-game win streak is the longest since the Bulldogs won six games en route to winning the 2020 MVC Tournament title. Drake set a school-record by scoring 96-plus points in three straight games (104-Longwood; 101-Simpson; 96-Northern Illinois).
Drake tied a school record and tied an NCAA record by holding Northern Illinois without a point in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Huskies 17-0. The last time Drake held an opponent scoreless in a quarter was the third quarter against Waldorf, Dec. 5, 2019.
UE: Only the Aces
Evansville has showcased a bevy of scoring options this season and the stats prove it. The Aces are the only team in the nation this season with three players with a game of 26-points or more as Je’Naiya Davis and Abby Feit each have two games over 26 points and Myia Clark finished with 26 points at Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 4. Evansville also boasts the Conference’s leading scorer in Feit with 18.9 points per game, but that’s only because Davis has not played in 75% of the Aces contests this season. If Davis plays against both Chicago State and Butler, Davis will begin qualifying for conference and national stat rankings, currently averaging 20 points per game.
ILS: Big Ten Opponents
The Redbirds face their second Big Ten foe of the season in Wisconsin on Thursday, after falling earlier in the year to Purdue at home. The last time ISU had multiple Big Ten opponents on their schedule was during the 2012-13 season when the ‘Birds had Iowa, Illinois and Michigan on their non-conference slate.
INS: Thievery
Indiana State continues to be among the national leaders in creating havoc on the defensive end. The Sycamores enter the week ranked in the top 25 in turnovers forced (22nd, 22.6) and steals per game (25th, 11.9), while also ranking inside the top 40 in total steals (34th, 107). In addition to the national rankings, Indiana State leads the Missouri Valley Conference in all three statistical categories. The Sycamores forced (RV/RV) Nebraska into 24 turnovers in their last game, which was the most for the Cornhuskers in a game this season.
LUC: Clamping Down
Loyola continued its dominant work on the defensive end of the floor last week, limiting both Eastern Illinois and Central Michigan to just 48 points apiece in a pair of victories. The Panthers and Chippewas shot a combined 32.7 percent (37-for-113) from the field and were forced into a staggering 32 turnovers. This past week’s showings mark the first time the Ramblers have held consecutive opponents below 50 points since they swept a weekend set from Southern Illinois back on January 30-31 of last season.
MSU: Successful Week
Last week, the Lady Bears defeated South Dakota State and Missouri to improve to 7-2 on the season. Missouri State snapped South Dakota State’s 15-game home winning streak in Brookings with its 55-52 victory against the Jackrabbits. The Lady Bears defeated Missouri for the third consecutive season in front of a crowd of 5,288, the fourth-largest Lady Bear crowd in JQH Arena history.
UNI: Headed to Hawaii
The Panthers have their longest road trip of the season this week as they fly to Maui, Hawaii to participate in the Maui Jim Maui Classic. This will be UNI’s first time participating in the women’s version of the tournament that takes place in Lahaina at the Lahaina Civic Center. While in Hawaii, the Panthers will take on Idaho and Oregon State.
SIU: Stein Wins 400th
Southern Illinois head coach Cindy Stein achieved her 400th career head coaching victory Sunday as the Salukis beat Quincy, 70-45. Stein, in her 25th season as a head coach, now has 118 wins in her nine-year tenure leading the Salukis. With the win, Stein is the only active Missouri Valley Conference head coach to reach the 400-win plateau. Southern is the fourth and final head coaching stop for Stein, who in July announced her intention to retire following the 2021-22 season. Stein has also coached at Missouri, Emporia State, and Illinois Central.
VU: Battling the Irish
Valpo led #22/23 Notre Dame into the second half last Wednesday at the ARC before falling to the Fighting Irish, 73-56. Wednesday’s result was Valpo’s closest effort against a nationally-ranked Notre Dame team since the 2008-09 team fell 63-55 to the eighth-ranked Irish.