Ramblers Ranked
Loyola is ranked No. 22 in this week’s Associated Press top-25 poll and at No. 24 in the Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, powered by USA TODAY Sports.  The Ramblers (13-2, 4-0 MVC) were ranked in the AP Poll from Feb. 8 through the final rankings of the season in 2020-21.  Drake was also ranked last year, marking the first time since 2015 the MVC had two different teams ranked in the same season.

MVC MBB Notebook (PDF)

Coaches weekly Zoom call from Monday, Jan. 17 -- Audio Replay Below



MVC Player of the Week
Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State
6-5, 194, Jr., G
Columbia (Mo.) Rock Bridge High
Mosley had another jaw-dropping week in helping the Bears to a 2-0 league effort by averaging 32.5 points per game in wins over Southern Illinois and Valparaiso. He scored 33 points in MSU’s win over previously-unbeaten SIU, going 10-for-18 from the field and 10-for-11 at the line with three 3-pointers and a pair of steals. He followed that with the best road scoring output of his career with 32 points at Valparaiso. He was 13-of-21 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 at the line vs. the Beacons with three triples, 4 assists and 2 steals. For the week, he averaged 32.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals while firing at a .590 clip from the field (23-of-39), shooting .462 from distance (6-of-13) and making 92.9 percent at the line (13-of-14).

MVC Newcomer of the Week
Terry Roberts, Bradley
6-3, 180, Jr., G
North Amityville (NY) Florida SouthWestern
Roberts keyed the Braves during the week with 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in a pair of games against Evansville and Illinois State – shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from beyond the arc. The junior opened the week with his second double-double of the season with 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists against Evansville before posting his sixth 20-point game of the season with 22 in a rivalry contest against Illinois State.

MVC in the Metrics
The Missouri Valley Conference is No. 11 in both the KenPom metrics and in the NET (through games of Jan. 16).  Three MVC teams are in the Top 100 in both metrics (Loyola, Missouri State, and Drake).  Loyola leads the league in the latest installment of the NET ratings, at No. 22.  Last year, three league schools ranked in the Top 100 of the NET and the MVC had four teams in the Top 150.  This year, the league currently has six teams rated 150 or better.

Close Calls
Through Jan. 16, the MVC has played 24 Conference games, and many have been close.  According to KenPom, the league’s 12 one-score (three points or less or overtime game) contests in 24 total league games is the second-most in the nation, behind only the MEAC, which has played just 5 league games to date.  A total of 15 MVC games have been decided by five points or less (or went into overtime).

Home Cooking
Through games of Dec. 5, MVC men’s basketball teams had a 25-11 home record in non-conference play.  Since then, MVC teams are 23-1 at home to lift the full-season non-conference home record to 48-12.  Last season, Valley schools posted a 34-2 home record in non-league games, and the MVC was 55-6 at home the year prior.  The league’s 16-8 (.667) home record in league play ranks sixth-best among conferences.

Mosley Hits 30, Again
Isiaih Mosley of Missouri State has scored 30+ points in three-straight games.  Mosley became the first Bear since Jimmy Dull in 1978 to score 30 points or more in three-straight games.  The last known MVC player to do it was Anthony Manuel of Bradley in 1988-89 --- 1/28/89 (31 at SIU) | 1/30/89 (31 vs. Creighton) | 2/4/89 (36 vs. Wichita State).  Hersey Hawkins of Bradley had 23 30-point games in 1987-88 with his final streak being nine games from F15 to M6.  Doug McDermott of Creighton did it as a senior in 2013-14, but that was CU’s first year as a member of the Big East Conference.  An MVC player had hit 30-plus points in back-to-back games 15 times between Manuel’s and Mosley’s “three-peats.”

Loyola’s Home Streak
Loyola ran its home court win streak to 30 games, the fourth-longest streak in NCAA Division I, with an 81-74 overtime victory versus Valparaiso on January 11. The victory also extended the team’s home-court win streak in MVC play to 23 games (through Jan. 16).  The 30-game home win streak is tied for ninth-best in MVC history.

61 -- Gonzaga
43 -- Liberty
34 -- Houston
30 -- Loyola
18 -- Liberty

BU .. Offensive Weapon
Sophomore Rienk Mast has become one of Bradley’s top offensive weapons as of late. In the last four contests, Mast is averaging 18.3 points, while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from 3-point range. In his first 14 games of the season, Mast averaged 7.8 points – shooting 39.2 percent overall and 22.0 percent from beyond the arc.

DU .. Road Warriors
Drake continues a stretch of playing five out of seven MVC games on the road when it visits Southern Illinois Monday. Drake posted a 7-2 MVC road mark last season, and only nine MVC programs have done that in the past 10 seasons.

Most MVC Road Wins Last 10 (2012-13 - present)
9 -- Wichita State -- 9-0 (2013-14)
8 -- Illinois State -- 8-1 (2016-17)
8 -- Wichita State -- 8-1 (2014-15)
8 -- Wichita State -- 8-1 (2015-16)
8 -- Wichita State -- 8-1 (2016-17)
7 -- Drake -- 7-2 (2020-21)
7 -- Loyola -- 7-2 (2017-18)
7 -- Missouri State -- 7-2 (2020-21)
7 -- UNI -- 7-2 (2014-15)

UE .. Taking Care of the Ball
For the sixth time in eight games, the Aces finished with single digit turnovers in the road tilt at Bradley. Over the last eight games, UE has turned the ball over just 66 times, an average of 8.25 per game - that tally is on pace with the best in the nation (Wisconsin, 8.2).  In the first seven games UE committed 99 turnovers, an average of 14.1 per game.

ILS .. Quite the Comeback
On Jan. 16, Illinois State trailed Bradley 35-15 with 6:24 to play in the first half but rallied to win 74-65. The recovery from a 20-point deficit was the second time in ISU history that a team has rallied from such a deficit, with the largest margin a 21-point deficit against Butler on Nov. 27, 1989.  The comeback was also the eighth time an MVC school rallied from 20+ points down.

Date -- (Deficit), Winning Team, Score
1/27/77 -- (28 pts at BU) New Mexico State, 117-109
3/6/05 -- (23 vs Southern Illinois), Missouri State, 65-61
1/27/01 -- (23 vs Bradley), Evansville, 70-67 (ot)
11/25/07 – (22 at Winthrop), Missouri St., 73-69
11/27/89 -- (21 to Butler), Illinois State, 67-59 (ot)
2/19/08 -- (21 to Wichita State), Indiana State, 83-73 (ot)
1/23/19 -- (21 to UNI), Southern Illinois, 70-62
1/16/22 -- (20 to Bradley), Illinois State, 74-65

INS .. Henry at Tough Matchup
Indiana State’s Cameron Henry has scored in double-figures in 11 of the 13 games he has seen action in, including all four MVC contests. He is averaging 14.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and three assists per game. His scoring output is 11th, rebounding ranks ninth and assist mark puts him at eighth in the MVC. 

LUC .. Rambling On
With a 13-2 overall record, Loyola is off to its best start through 15 games since 1965-66 (14-1).  At 4-0 in Missouri Valley play, the Ramblers are off to their best start in league competition since kicking off the 2001-02 Horizon League slate with six victories. Loyola’s last loss at its home floor to a Valley foe was Feb. 17, 2019, when Missouri State escaped Gentile Arena with a 65-61 victory.

MSU .. Top Scorers Pair Off
Wednesday’s game will feature the top two scorers in the Missouri Valley in Illinois State’s Antonio Reeves (20.9 ppg) and Missouri State’s Isiaih Mosley (20.0). Last season, Mosley became the first MSU player to lead the MVC in scoring (19.8 ppg).

UNI .. Panthers Rolling
After edging Southern Illinois on Saturday, the UNI Panthers have now won five-consecutive games for the first time since January/February 2020, when UNI won six-straight games.  Notably, UNI has made 19+ free throws in each of the last three games.  The Panthers (76.5) trail only Missouri State (78.3) in FT accuracy.

SIU .. Coupet Leads
SIU has held all but one opponent under 70 points, including its first 14 opponents -- the longest streak  since 2006-07 (17) and longest streak to start a season since 1946-47 (20).  Missouri State has been the only team to eclipse the 70-point barrier vs. SIU.  Notably, prior to Monday’s game with Drake, SIU is 6-1 at home this season and had its seven-game home winning streak snapped vs. UNI.

VALPO .. Starter Shuffle
No Valpo player has started every game this season. Trevor Anderson had started the first 15 games before sitting out with a back ailment.  Valpo has used nine different starting lineup combinations this season including unique lineups in each of the last six games.  

BU .. Controlling the Boards
Bradley has controlled the glass this season and it was most evident in Wednesday’s victory against Evansville. The Braves outrebounded the Purple Aces, 47-26, en route to the victory – marking the first time BU won the rebounding battle against a Valley school by at least 20 since 2017 against Drake (48-24). Overall, Bradley has outrebounded or collected the same amount of boards in 13-of-18 games this season and ranks first in the Valley in rebounds, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds and rebounding margin.

DU .. Pennmanship
After being sidelined for seven games for a foot injury, guard Roman Penn is returning to his All-MVC playing form dishing out 11 assists while committing only two turnovers in his last two contests. He returned Jan. 2 at Missouri State, scoring 13 points in 25 minutes. He made 8 of 10 shots from the floor in his most recent outing against Illinois State Wednesday (Jan. 12), keying Drake to an 86-75 victory. Penn collected a season-high 16 points and six assists against the Redbirds, while surpassing 1,000 career points.

LUC .. Kennedy Surging
Junior guard Marquise Kennedy of Loyola has scored in double digits in back-to-back games for the first time this season and in the last two outings is producing 14.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.0 apg and 2.5 spg, while connecting on 57.9 percent (11-for-19) of his field goal attempts. Loyola is 21-4 in his career when he tallies 10 or more points and it has won 10 of the last 11 games in which he has scored in double figures.

MSU .. Play for Clay
Missouri State’s Donovan Clay (Jr., Alton, Ill.) ranks 1st in the MVC and 42nd in the nation in total minutes (587:47) this season. The transfer from Valparaiso has racked up 5 or more rebounds in 12 of the last 13 games for the Bears, including a game-high 9 boards in his return to Valpo on Saturday.

SIU .. Picking Up from the Arc
SIU is 32-for-73 (.438) from 3-point range in its last three games.     Steven Verplancken Jr. made 4-of-5 from 3-point at MSU last week and is second in the MVC in 3-point shooting percentage (47.1).