The 2022-23 regular season campaign begins on Monday with seven games on the schedule. The first week of the regular season features three games against Preseason AP Top 25 teams, including six vs. the Power Five. Last year, the MVC went 6-18 against Power Five teams and 1-8 against Top 25 foes (Missouri State beat #25 Virginia Tech). The Valley went 3-10 vs. the Big Ten, 1-1 vs. the ACC, 1-1 vs. the Pac-12, 1-3 vs. the SEC and 0-3 vs. the Big 12.
Monday, November 7
Saint Louis at Indiana State (ESPN3) 10 AM
Evansville at Eastern Kentucky (ESPN+) 4 PM
St. Thomas (MN) at UNI (ESPN3) 5 PM
Missouri at Missouri State (ESPN+) 6 PM
Valparaiso at Central Michigan (ESPN3) 6 PM
UIC at IUPUI (ESPN3) 6 PM
Green Bay at Drake (ESPN3) 6 PM
Wednesday, November 9
Chattanooga at Belmont (ESPN+) 6:30 PM
Thursday, November 10
Christian Brothers at Murray State (ESPN+) 11 AM
Illinois State at Dayton (ESPN+) 6 PM
Evansville at #4 Iowa (BTN+) 6:30 PM
Bradley at MIssouri (SECN+) 7 PM
Saturday, November 12
Southern Miss at Valparaiso (ESPN3) 12 PM
Middle Tennessee at Southern Illinois (ESPN3) 7 PM
Sunday, November 13
Murray State at Purdue (BTN+) 1 PM
South Dakota at Bradley (ESPN+) 2 PM
#4 Iowa at Drake (ESPN+) 2 PM
Saint Louis at UNI (ESPN+) 2 PM
#7 Louisville at Belmont (ESPN+) 4 PM
MVC Preseason Basketball Special
The Missouri Valley Conference will preview its 2022-23 men’s and women’s basketball seasons with its Preseason Basketball Special presented by State Farm Insurance which will be aired on Bally Sports and NBC Sports Chicago.
The hour-long program -- which is hosted by MVC TV Network personality Scott Warmann and produced by Indianapolis-based Tupelo Honey -- will first air on Saturday, Nov. 5, on NBC Sports Chicago at 6 p.m. CT.
For the complete listing of air dates and times: (
Click Here)
Social Media Days
The Valley conducted "Social Media Days," during which we've featured one institution each day leading up to the scheduled start of the 2022-23 season.
Week 1 (
Belmont, Bradley, Drake, Evansville, UIC, Illinois State)
Week 2 (Indiana State, Missouri State, Murray State, UNI, Southern Illinois, Valparaiso)
Preseason Poll
The MVC Preseason Poll was released in mid-October with Belmont being selected as the champion. (
Click Here)
MVC Expands to 12
For the first time, the MVC will have 12 members as Belmont, UIC, and Murray State officially joined the Conference on July 1, 2022. It marks the first time the Conference has admitted three schools for the same season. Notably, MVC membership will stand at a league-high 12 members for the first time.
20 Games in MVC Play
MVC teams will play 20 league games for the first time in league history. Teams will play nine opponents twice, and the other two league teams once each (one home, one away).
Welcome to The Valley!
Six league coaches will be a head coach in the MVC for the first time in 2022-23 (Belmont’s Bart Brooks, Bradley’s Kate Popovec-Goss, UIC’s Ashleen Bracey, Missouri State’s Beth Cunningham, Murray State’s Rechelle Turner and SIU’s Kelly Bond-White).
Rise of The Valley
The 2021-22 season saw The Valley record a Top 10 NET conference ranking for the third-straight season. The league also saw four teams in the NET Top 100 for the third-straight season. Just five seasons ago, the league posted its worst conference RPI, sitting 24th nationally.
Year MVC RPI Top 100 RPI Teams
2021-22 10 (NET) 4 (NET)
2020-21 7 (NET) 5 (NET)
2019-20 8 5
2018-19 14 3
2017-18 24 2
Polling
Belmont is receiving votes in both the Preseason AP Top 25 poll and USA Today Coaches Top 25. The Bruins received 14 points in the AP poll, sitting 32nd overall, while receiving 9 points and sitting 37th in the coaches.
Mid-Major Top-25 Poll
Belmont and Illinois State appear in the preseason (Nov. 1) CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. Belmont opens the season at No. 6 in the poll, while Illinois State comes in at No. 21. Drake, Missouri State and UNI are also receiving votes.
Becky Hammon Watch List
Belmont’s Destinee Wells and Murray State’s Katelyn Young each appeared among the 25 members of the preseason watch list for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. To be eligible for this award, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be “mid-major.” The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award, and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC. In January, 15 players will be named to the midseason watch list. The 10 semifinalists will be announced in February, with five finalists being announced in early March.
Nancy Lieberman Watch List
Belmont’s Destinee Wells was selected as one of 20 watch-list candidates for the 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). In its 24th year, the national award recognizes the top point guard in NCAA Division I women’s basketball. Fans are encouraged to participate in fan voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds for the Nancy Lieberman Award starting Friday, Oct. 21. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Lieberman and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.
Postseason League
Valley women’s basketball sent a total of five teams to the postseason in 2022 as Drake, UNI and Southern Illinois participated in the WNIT, joining Illinois State and Missouri State who earned bids to the NCAA tourney. The MVC has seen an average of four league teams participate in postseason play in the last 23 seasons. The Valley has earned multiple NCAA Tournament bids in 14 different seasons, including four out of the last five seasons.
Valley newcomers Belmont and Murray State also appeared in the postseason last year. Belmont narrowly missed a trip to the Sweet 16, falling to Tennessee in the round of 32, while Murray State made an appearance in the WNIT.