Missouri State (2-0), Southern Illinois (2-0), Illinois State (1-0) and Indiana State (1-0) remain perfect after the first weekend of league play. The four teams will put their undefeated MVC records on the line Friday as Indiana State hosts Illinois State and Missouri State welcomes Southern Illinois.
Best Starts in MVC?
Below is a look at the best league starts for current MVC members (includes each school’s top performance only):
Rec. Team (Year) Loss Final
18-0 Drake (16-17 & 17-18) N/A 1st (18-0)
18-0 S. Illinois (86-87 &87-88) N/A 1st (18-0)
16-0 Missouri St. (20-21) N/A 1st (16-0)
12-0 Indiana St. (05-06) at MSU 1st (16-2)
9-0 Illinois St. (06-07) UE 2nd (13-5)
8-0 UNI (16-07) DU 2nd (15-3)
7-0 Bradley (19-20) at MSU 3rd (13-5)
4-0 Evansville (99-00) at MSU 2nd (14-4)
4-0 Loyola (16-17) MSU 5th (10-8)
1-0 Valparaiso (20-21) UNI 7th (7-9)
Home Sweet Home
The most wins by home teams in league play came in 2008 (61-29 at home in conference play). The league has compiled a 6-1 (.857) mark so far in 2021-22.
Three MVC teams are unbeaten at home: Loyola Chicago (5-0), Missouri State (7-0) and Southern Illinois (4-0) have unblemished records on their home courts this season.
Missouri State has the longest active home win streak in The Valley with 14 straight home wins. The streak sits as the 9th longest active home court win streak in the nation.
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Lady Bears’ MVC Streak
Missouri State won its 21st straight MVC regular season game on Sunday vs. Valpo, which is the second-longest conference win streak in program history and fourth longest in Valley history.
The streak is also the third longest active conference win streak in the NCAA entering this week’s action.
Consecutive MVC Wins (League History)
1. 47, Drake 2/26/16 to 1/27/19
2. 37, Southern Illinois 1985-86-1986-87
3. 24, Missouri State 1/9/99 to 2/5/00
4. 21, Missouri State 3/1/20 to present
Consecutive Conference Wins (Active NCAA)
1. 27, Princeton Ivy League
2. 22, FGCU Atlantic Sun
3. 21, Missouri State MVC
NET Update
The NCAA NET Report (Jan. 3) has three Valley teams that rank in the top-60, including five of the 10 sitting in the top 120. Missouri State leads the way at No. 23 with UNI (45) and Drake (54), rounding out the schools in the Top 60. Southern Illinois (108) and Loyola (116) also appear in the top 120 this week. The Valley sits 10th as a league.
Team NET
Missouri State 23
UNI 45
Drake 54
Southern Illinois 108
Loyola 116
Indiana State 194
Illinois State 223
Bradley 244
Evansville 251
Valparaiso 276
MVC 10
Polling
Missouri State is receiving votes in this week’s AP Top 25 poll, garnering 10 votes and sitting 32nd in the voting. The Lady Bears were also receiving votes in this week’s USA Today/WBCA Coaches Top. MSU received two votes in the poll.
High Percentage
Drake enters this week ranking 1st nationally in Field Goal Percentage (49.4%), sitting ahead of Ohio State, NC State, Boston College and Indiana. The Bulldogs have led The Valley in FG% the past seven seasons.
Field Goal Percentage (NCAA)
1. Drake 49.4%
2. Ohio State 48.3%
3. NC State 48.2%
4. Boston College 47.9%
5. Indiana 47.5%
HerHoopStats Stat of the Week
Southern Illinois forward Abby Brockmeyer is the only player in NCAA Division I averaging at least 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, while also averaging less than 2.0 turnovers per game. (Stats include only games vs. Division I opponents)
BU: On the Road Again
Bradley will complete the road-heavy portion of its schedule this weekend when the Braves visit Evansville Friday and Indiana State Sunday … The Braves will be completing a stretch of 8-of-9 games played on the road … In fact, the two games in Indiana this weekend will equal the number of games the Braves will play in their home state of Illinois over a span of 54 days since Bradley completed the sweep of its season-opening, 3-game home stand Nov. 9-19 until hosting Loyola Chicago Jan. 13.
DU: First Time Since 2015
For the first time since Feb. 8, 2015, against Illinois State, Drake had three players record a double double in the win over Evansville. Junior guard Megan Meyer recorded 19 points, 11 assists; sophomore forward Courtney Becker recorded 10 points, 11 rebounds; and freshman forward Anna Miller recorded 16 points, 14 rebounds.
UE: Top of The Valley
With the last two contests under the Aces belt, junior Je’Naiya Davis has now played in over 75% of Evansville’s contests this year, qualifying her for NCAA statistical rankings. Davis paces The Valley in scoring, averaging 19.2 points per game, and her teammate, junior guard/forward Abby Feit, is just behind Davis in second in the conference in scoring, averaging 18.2 points per game. Davis and Feit are the only teammates in the nation to sit first and second in their conference in scoring average.
ILS: I-74 Rivalry Win
Playing only with nine available players, the Redbirds defeated Bradley, 64-57, at Redbird Arena in their MVC opener on Saturday, securing their third-straight victory in the series. It’s the longest winning streak over the Braves for Illinois State since winning 15-straight stretching from Feb. 2005 – Jan. 2013. ISU also improved to 25-14 all-time in conference openers with the victory.
INS: Call it a Comeback
Indiana State overcame a 13-point deficit in its win over Drake, marking the largest deficit the Sycamores have overcome this season. ISU used a 19-3 run midway through the fourth quarter to take the lead for good and outscored Drake by 17 (29-12) over the final 7:35 of the contest. The win was head coach Chad Killinger’s first Missouri Valley Conference victory and snapped both a 10-game losing streak to Drake and a six-game road MVC losing streak.
LUC: Home Cooking
After playing six of its last seven games on the road, Loyola returns to the friendly confines of Gentile Arena this weekend, where it will raise the curtain on the home portion of its Valley schedule with matchups against traditional MVC powerhouses Drake (January 7) and Northern Iowa (January 9). The Ramblers, who own a combined 1-15 (.062) mark against the Bulldogs and Panthers in Rogers Park since joining The Valley, are a perfect 5-0 (1.000) in Gentile Arena this season. Loyola has averaged 70.4 points across those five contests, while holding opponents to just 34.8 percent shooting.
MSU: Elite Company
Following her 60th career victory on Sunday afternoon against Valparaiso, Lady Bears head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton is just the fourth head coach in Division I history to reach 60 victories in less than 70 games to begin their careers at the Division I level.
Leon Barmore – Louisiana Tech – 60 wins in 64 games
Pokey Chatman – LSU – 60 wins in 65 games
Kurt Budke – Louisiana Tech – 60 wins in 65 games
Coach Mox – Missouri State – 60 wins in 69 games
UNI: Return to the Court
UNI returns to action on Friday after taking a pause in their season. It will have been 19 days since UNI last played when they take the court on Friday at Valpo. It will be the longest pause in play during the regular season for the Panthers since a 19-day pause in the 1992-1993 season.
SIU: Silvey Joins 1,700 Club
SIU graduate guard Makenzie Silvey surpassed 1,700 points scored in her career on Sunday, as she led the Salukis with 20 points in a win over Loyola. Silvey entered conference play with 1,675 points, and now sits at 1,713 after strong performances against Loyola and Valparaiso. Silvey is 16 points away from securing second place in program history. The graduate guard is one of just three players in SIU women’s basketball history, along with Rishonda Napier (1,728) and Cartaesha Macklin (1,779) to eclipse 1,700.
VU: Matching Records
Caitlin Morrison matched a pair of school records on Sunday as she made the 125th appearance and the 121st start of her Valpo career. The 125 appearances move her into a tie with Kathryn Knoester for the most in program history, while the 121 starts ties Meredith Hamlet atop that chart. Morrison will look to set new marks in both categories on Friday evening.