MTE Play Begins This Week
Six MVC programs will be playing in MTEs (multi-team events) this week. All 12 MVC programs will play in an MTE this season. Murray State faces No. 24 Texas A&M on Thursday (Myrtle Beach Invitational); Southern Illinois opens with a home contest against Tennessee State in the SoCal Challenge; Bradley faces Eastern Michigan at home in the opening round of the Cancun Challenge; Belmont and Drake are both competing in the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands; and UIC opens the Tom Konchalski Classic with a game at Fordham on Saturday. Last year, MVC teams combined for a cumulative 10-21 mark in MTEs.
Weekly Notebook (PDF)
MVC Player of the Week
Kendall Lewis, Illinois State
6-8, 210, Sr., F | Snellville, Ga., Shiloh High [Appalachian State]
Averaged 16.7 points, and 13.7 rebounds per game on the week … His 41 total rebounds through games on Saturday is the most in NCAA Division I .. With his third consecutive double-digit rebounding performance to open the season, he is tied for the third-longest season-opening double-figure rebounding streak in program history … His 22 free throws on the week are third-most in the country after the first week, and his 29 attempts are second-most in the country … He also made half of his 28 shot attempts, and went 22-of-29 from the charity stripe (75.9%) over the three games … He added five steals, four blocked shots and two assists on the week … He opened the week with a 22-point, 14-rebound double-double against Western Illinois, pulled down 14 rebounds for the second consecutive game (at Eastern Illinois), then tied a career-high with 24 points with 13 rebounds at Northwestern State.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Courvoisier McCauley, Indiana State
6-5, 211, Gr./G | Indianapolis, Ind., Manual High [DePaul]
Posted a double-double in his ISU debut with 23 points with six triples...Averaged 18.5 points on the week to help ISU go 2-0...Also averaged 8.0 boards on the week...After his trey at 6:09 in the first half against Green Bay gave the lead back to ISU, the Sycamores never trailed again in the game. ISU jumped to 2--0 record for the first time in more than a decade with its two victories last week.
BRAD .. Gearing Up for Cancun
The Bradley-Eastern Michigan matchup is an on-campus game for the Cancun Challenge. Both teams will travel to Cancun, Mexico. Eastern Michigan will play in the Mayan Division with Southern Miss, Purdue-FW, and Winthrop. Bradley will play in the Riviera Division with Auburn, Liberty, and Northwestern. Bradley won the 2018 Riviera Division of the Cancun Challenge.
Against the Top 25
In 2021-22, the MVC recorded a 1-6 record against non-conference Top 25 programs. In response to a campus shooting on the University of Virginia campus on Sunday night, Monday’s (Nov. 14) UNI men’s basketball game against No. 16 Virginia was canceled. Murray State will face No. 24 Texas A&M on Thursday.
SIU .. Power Play
Southern Illinois rallied to defeat Oklahoma State to earn the program’s first true road win over a Power opponent since 2000 when SIU beat Colorado in the NIT. Southern has a Power Conference win in the last two seasons now, after defeating Colorado during the Paradise Jam in 2021-22.
UE .. Season-Opening Win
Evansville picked up a 78-74 road win in Monday’s season opener at Miami Ohio. It was the first season-opening road win for the program since 1994 when UE defeated Western Michigan in Kalamazoo.
INS .. Double Dipping
In Monday’s season opener, Indiana State had two players (Courvoisier McCauley and Trenton Gibson) record a double-double in the same game for the first time since 1994. Dating back to 2003, all five ISU players to open the season with a double-double in that span have been transfers, four of them in their first-ever game for ISU. Indiana State has opened the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Belmont Extends Streaks
Belmont’s season-opening victory over Ohio preserved two remarkable stats under head coach Casey Alexander. Belmont has won 54 consecutive games when leading at halftime, dating back to Jan. 25, 2020 (at Austin Peay, L 86-78). Belmont has won 72 consecutive games when leading with under one minute remaining under Casey Alexander.
VALPO .. Milestone Met
Senior Ben Krikke became the newest member of Valpo’s 1,000-career-point club during Sunday’s 81-65 victory over Western Michigan. He entered the game needing eight points to get to 1,000 and finished the day with a career-high 28. Krikke became the first Valpo player to reach that milestone since current graduate assistant Tevonn Walker did so in November 2017.
ILS .. Redbird Debuts
After the season-opening loss, Illinois State men’s basketball head coaches are 13-7 all-time in their Redbird coaching debuts. None of the 13 head coaches to win their ISU opener has led the Redbirds to an NCAA Tournament appearance, while each of the previous five coaches to lose the opener have taken ISU to the NCAA Tournament at some point in their Redbird career. The last coach to lose the opener and not take the team to the NCAA Tournament was Don Karnes who coached his debut game in 1925. Conversely, the last Redbird coach to win his first two true road games was Gene Smithson in 1975-76, as Smithson won at LIU and at Butler.
MoST .. Trending Up
Over the last three seasons, the Bears are a combined 41-18 overall, including a 15-7 ledger in true road contests.
DU .. Home Non-Con Success
Drake has won 33 consecutive non-conference home games following a dominant 80-48 victory over IUPUI. Drake, winning its seventh consecutive season opener last Wednesday, improved its record to 77-40 in season-opening contests including a 5-0 season opener mark under head coach Darian DeVries.
UIC .. Turnover Machine
Through two games, the UIC Flames have forced their opponents to commit 22.5 turnovers per game. UIC is first in the Missouri Valley and 16th nationally in the category. Against Loyola, the Flames forced the Ramblers to turn the ball over 25 times. Christian Jones was heavily involved with five steals, while Tre Anderson had four.
MUR .. 25th Season at CFSB
The Murray State Racers cruised to a 90-53 victory in their home opener over the Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders as the 25th season of college hoops started at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. The win pushed the Racers to eight-straight home opening wins and improved their overall home win streak to 17 in a row dating back to 2021.
UNI .. Approaching 500
Guard Nate Heise is 10 points shy of becoming the 112th member of UNI’s 500 career point club.
SIU .. Salty Defense
Southern held Oklahoma State to just 34.5 percent shooting in the second half en route to a 12-point comeback on the road to pull off the upset. SIU held the Cowboys without a field goal for over four minutes until the end of regulation, including three steals in that time. The Dawgs are holding opponents to .260 (13-for-50) shooting from behind the arc, allowing just 13 3-pointers this season.
UE .. What a Debut
Kenny Strawbridge Jr. opened the 2022-23 season with 23 points in the 78-74 win at Miami Ohio. It was the top debut for the program since DeAndre Williams in 2019. Strawbridge, who transferred from Alabama State, hit 9 of his 17 attempts and added four rebounds.
BEL .. #SCTop10
Freshman Cade Tyson had one of the most memorable debut games in Belmont history Nov. 7, scoring a team-high 18 points and hitting the game-winning shot vs. Ohio -- the play was No. 1 on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 that night. Notably, senior Ben Sheppard enters the week of Nov. 14 with 949 career points.
UIC .. Double-Double Debut
In his first-ever appearance for the Flames, Toby Okani recorded his first career double-double. The junior finished the night with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, his second career game with 10 or more boards. A native of Orange, New Jersey, Okani was extremely efficient from the floor, finishing 4-for-5 from the field. Seven different MVC players had a double-double last week (Kendall Lewis of Illinois State leads the league with two.)
DU .. DeVries Climbs Win Chart
Drake head coach Darian DeVries’ 96 wins are already third most in Drake history after passing Gary Garner following the victory over IUPUI.
VALPO .. Beacon Bests
Three Valpo players had significant career highs in Sunday’s 81-65 victory over Western Michigan. Ben Krikke (28) and Kobe King (26) both had personal bests in the scoring department, becoming the first Valpo teammates to score 25+ points in the same game since Brandon Wood and Cory Johnson in December 2010. Point guard Darius DeAveiro had a career-high 10 assists, joining Deion Lavender (twice in 2018-19) as the only Valpo players with a double-figure assist game in the last 15 seasons.
BEL .. On a Mission
Michael Shanks, Frank Jakubicek and Even Brauns went on a mission trip to Unalakleet, Alaska as part of Belmont University sport ministry. The Bruins have taken past mission trips to 14 countries and four continents. Senior Derek Sabin was part of a trip to Poland in 2019.
MoST .. Young and Hungry
The Missouri State Bears have one of the “newest” teams in all of Division I basketball with just three returning players from last season (one returning starter) and 12.5 percent of the team’s scoring. Returnees Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.), Dawson Carper (Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Raphe Ayres (RSo., Arlington, Va.) have combined for just 75 career games and 340 points at Missouri State. The new-look roster this winter includes 14 newcomers -- including 7 Division I transfers, 1 juco and 6 freshmen.
MUR .. Young and Hungry II
Murray State’s roster construction includes seven transfers (4 D-I, 2 D-II, 1 JUCO), 5 freshmen and just 2 returners.