Just nine non-conference games remain before the start of the league schedule on December 29. All nine of those games will take place over the next three days.
The Valley enters the final stretch 54-51 (.514) in non-conference action this season.
Power Play
Friday’s 51-44 win gave Murray State its first win over Kentucky since 1973, putting a stop to a 16-game skid against the Wildcats in the process. The win is also the first for the Racers over a current Power Five team since beating TCU in 1988.
The Valley currently sits 2-3 vs. the SEC, 0-3 vs. the ACC, 2-12 vs. the Big Ten and 1-2 vs. the Big 12 entering Saturday. MVC teams are 5-20 vs. Power Five teams this season.
NET Update
The NCAA NET Report (Dec. 19) has four Valley teams that rank in the top-100, including seven of the 12 sitting in the top 150. Drake leads the way at No. 47 with UNI (73), Belmont (89) and Murray State (91), rounding out the schools in the Top 100. The Valley ranks 12th as a league.
BEL: Wrapping Up Non-Con
Belmont wraps up its ultra-challenging non-conference schedule Tuesday by hosting defending Sun Belt Conference regular season champion Troy. The Trojans will be the seventh of 12 opponents on the Bruins’ schedule who reached a national postseason tournament last March. Belmont is 11-5 all-time versus Troy and 6-1 versus the Trojans in Nashville.
BU: Milestone Game
Bradley’s game vs. Miami (OH) was the 1,300th game in Bradley Women’s Basketball history. The Braves are in Florida wrapping up the non-conference portion of their schedule against Florida International Tuesday in the second game of the FIU Hoops Showdown.
DU: On Holiday
The Bulldogs will not compete in their final in-state battle of the 2022-23 non-conference season as Drake’s road tilt at Iowa State was canceled due to the impending winter storm scheduled to reach central Iowa later this week. The Bulldogs will now take the floor again on Dec. 30 in the MVC opener at Illinois State.
UE: Getting to the Line
Continuing what has been a trend this season, Evansville again pulled away in a game thanks to its ability to get to the free-throw line. Against SEMO on Sunday, the Aces attempted 41 free throws, the most by an Evansville team since at least 2012-13 and the second time this season UE has attempted 40-or-more free throws in a game. The Aces are number one in the nation in free-throw attempts, averaging just shy of 30 per game and also sit first in free-throw makes at nearly 21 per game.
UIC: Road Trip Begins
The Flames are aiming to enter Christmas on a high note as they are set to begin a three-game road trip over the holidays, beginning with taking on the SEMO Redhawks (4-6) early Tuesday. After winning five in a row, the Flames are looking to bounce back from a defeat handed to them by Northwestern back on Wednesday in front of the home crowd, 66-62.
ILS: Approaching 1,000
Graduate student Mary Crompton, through 10 games in 2022-23, sits with 983 career points. The Iowa City native is seeking to become the 30th ISU WBB athlete to eclipse 1,000 points, and only the second (Juliunn Redmond) to do so under the direction of Kristen Gillespie.
INS: Knock Them Down
Indiana State’s 29 free throws and 37 free throw attempts in its win over Purdue Fort Wayne were by far the most in a game under head coach Chad Killinger. It is the most free throws attempted and made by the Sycamores since Nov. 24, 2013 at Marshall (30-for-43). The Sycamores’ 21 made free throws and 25 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter are the most in a quarter in program history. Freshman Bella Finnegan stepped up in the fourth quarter, going 9-for-10 from the line in the last 10 minutes.
MOST: Tough Tests
Missouri State closes out its non-conference slate against Little Rock. MSU has faced a tough challenge in non-conference play. The combined record of the teams responsible for MSU’s four losses this season own a combined record of 35-8, including two wins over Top 20 teams (Middle Tennessee defeated #18 Louisville, Toledo defeated #14 Michigan). The average NET ranking of those four teams is 41 with all ranking inside the top 60 in the NET.
MUR: Historic Non-Con
Murray State will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule Tuesday when it travels to Louisville to take on Bellarmine. A win Tuesday would end the Racers non-conference portion of their 2022-23 schedule at 7-2. It would be the best non-conference finish (.778) for a Murray State team since the 1987-88 season, when the Racers went 11-2 (.846).
UNI: Solid Behind the Arc
Despite struggling behind the arc against Iowa, UNI continues to be one of the top teams in the country for three-point attempts. The Panthers are 23rd in the nation going into the holiday break, averaging 25.8 attempts per game.
SIU: Back on the Court
Southern Illinois heads to Saint Louis University Wednesday for a battle with the Billikens. The Salukis haven’t played since they beat Tennessee State 100-72 on Dec. 7. Southern has hit the century mark in back-to-back games for the first time in program history.
VU: B1G Road Test
Following a lengthy break from competition which included the fall semester final exam period, the Valpo women’s basketball team returns to the court for one last nonconference test on Thursday, as the Beacons travel to Wisconsin. Thursday’s game is the fourth of 14 true road games for Valpo this season. The Beacons are 1-2 so far this season on the road.
HerHoopStats Stat of the Week
There are two teams in the country who shoot over 70% from the free-throw line and 32% on three-pointers while drawing a foul on over 23% of their plays and taking over 38% of their shots from three.
