League Play Resumes
After playing a total of 12 Conference games in the days following Thanksgiving, MVC play begins in earnest this week as all 12 league teams will play two Conference games during each of the nine remaining weeks before the State Farm MVC Tournament.  Three teams enter the New Year with perfect 2-0 league marks.

MVC Men's Basketball Weekly Notes (PDF)

Wednesday, Dec. 28 -- Time (CT)
*Bradley at Belmont (MVC TV) 7:00 PM
*Missouri State at UNI (PSN/ESPN+) 7:00 PM
*Illinois State at UIC (ESPN+) 7:00 PM

Thursday, Dec. 29 -- Time (CT)
*Southern Illinois at Murray State (ESPN+) 7:00 PM
*Evansville at Indiana State (ESPN+) 7:00 PM
*Valparaiso at Drake (CBSSN) 8:00 PM

Saturday, Dec. 31 -- Time (CT)
*UIC at Bradley (MVC TV) 1:00 PM
*UNI at Illinois State (Marquee/ESPN+) 2:00 PM

Sunday, Jan. 1 -- Time (CT)
*Indiana State at Valparaiso (ESPN+) 1:00 PM
*Murray State at Evansville (ESPN+) 1:00 PM
*Drake at Missouri State (ESPN+) 2:00 PM
*Belmont at Southern Illinois (ESPNU) 4:00 PM
*denotes Conference game


MVC Player of the Week
Roman Penn, Drake
6-0, 185, Gr., G
Calumet City, Ill. | Bishop Noll High
Penn led the Bulldogs to two wins last week, including a 58-52 upset of No. 15 and previously unbeaten Mississippi State.  He scored a team-high 19 points (7-for-12 from the field) with three rebounds, three assists and two assists against Mississippi State, which included the final six points in the game.  The Bulldogs snapped a seven-game losing streak to SEC opponents, earning their first victory against an SEC school since 1973. It was Drake’s first non-conference Top 25 victory since February 2008 (Butler).
Penn had 12 points on a perfect 5-for-5 day from the field with four assists in just 19 minutes played in the 124-48 victory over St. Ambrose the following day.  For the week, he averaged 15.5 points while shooting 70.6 percent from the field, was a perfect 5-of-5 from the line, and he added 3.5 assists per game.
 
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Duke Deen, Bradley
5-8, 160, Jr., G
Shreveport, La. | Bossier High [Troy]
Bradley won a pair of non-conference games last week.  Deen collected 26 points and two rebounds in Bradley’s win over Stonehill and made a career-high seven three pointers.  He would follow up his stellar performance on Monday with an equally impressive showing on Dec. 22 vs Akron. He scored 14 points with four assists and a steal. Defensively, he shut down Akron’s top offensive threat Xavier Castaneda to 12 points on 16 shot attempts. 
Deen ended the week by going 13-of-22 from the floor and 11-of-18 from three-point while averaging 20.0 points per game. His seven made treys ties for the second-best in the MVC in a game this year.


Three MVC Teams at 2-0
Bradley, Indiana State, and Murray State all started league play with 2-0 marks. Bradley is 2-0 in MVC play for the first time since 2012-13.  Murray State is in its first year as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, while Indiana State’s 2-0 league start is its best since starting 5-0 in the MVC in 2014-15.

Off to a Memorable Start
Murray State became just the sixth first-year MVC member since WWII to win its first two conference games, and the Racers are the first to win both of them in overtime.  Best starts by a first-year MVC member (since WWII)

5-0 -- Indiana State (1977-78)
3-0 -- Cincinnati (1957-58)
3-0 -- Southern Illinois (1975-76)
3-0 -- Missouri State (1990-91)
2-0 -- UNI (1991-92)
2-0 -- Murray State (2022-23)

Close Games in MVC Play
Of the 10 Division I leagues who have played a league game (the MVC has played 12, the Missouri Valley Conference leads the nation in league games decided by four points or less (or in OT).  Four of the league’s 12 contests have been “close.”  Indiana State and Murray State have both built their 2-0 league starts on two close wins.

OT - Murray State 77, at Valparaiso 70 (12-4)
OT - at Murray State 70, Illinois State 67 (12-1)
3 - Indiana State 74, at Southern Illinois 71 (12-7)
2 - at Indiana State 75, Drake 73 (11-30)
Indiana State (2-0); Murray State (2-0); Drake (0-1); Illinois State (0-1); Southern Illinois (0-1); Valparaiso (0-1)

Vs. Non-MVC
The league finished the regular season with a 74-55 record vs. non-league teams (.574).  That record includes an impressive 46-10 slate in home non-league games. MVC teams were 71-54 (.568) in non-league play in 2021-22.

Against the Top 25
MVC teams were 2-2 vs. Top 25 non-conference teams this season, and the Conference was 3-5 against teams from Power leagues.  Drake beat No. 15 Mississippi State on Dec. 20, and Murray State knocked off No. 24 Texas A&M in the opening round of the Myrtle Beach Invitational.  In 2021-22, the MVC recorded a 1-6 record against non-conference Top 25 programs. Drake’s win marked the first time it had beaten an SEC team in nearly 50 years (1973 vs. Georgia). The last time Drake beat a ranked non-conference team was in 2008 at Butler. 

Nothing But Net
Bradley heads a list of six MVC men’s basketball schools that rank in the Top 150 of the NET (Dec. 26). The MVC ranks No. 14 as a league.  The Conference ranks 13th as a league in KenPom’s ratings (Dec. 26).

Inside Outside
Valpo leads the league and ranks 17th nationally as 59.6 percent of its points this year have come inside the arc. Belmont, conversely, leads the MVC and ranks 12th nationally as 40.8 percent of its offense comes via the 3-point shot.

Pace of Play
Indiana State has the league’s “fastest” offense as the Sycamores rank 10th nationally (KenPom) as it averages 15.1 seconds per offensive possession.  Drake is the only other MVC team in The Top 100, as the Bulldogs average 16.5 seconds per possession (78th).

Leading the League
Indiana State leads the MVC and ranks 68th nationally for team field goal percentage (47.4).  The Sycamores have led the MVC in team field goal percentage just one time in its history -- their 1978-79 MVC championship and Final Four season with Larry Bird.

Defending the Shot
Since 2010, all but three teams that have led the MVC in FG percentage defense have earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.  Bradley’s current 38.5 figure leads the MVC and ranks 25th nationally.

Working Overtime
Three schools (Belmont, Murray State, and Valpo) have played in two overtime games this year: Belmont (1-1); Valpo (1-1) and Murray State (2-0).  Complete single-game records for Murray State only date back to 1983, but Murray State’s first two league games marks the first instance of one of the Racer teams playing back-to-back overtime games. 

Charity Tosses
Illinois State ranks sixth nationally in team free throw percentage, connecting on 80.0 percent of its foul line shots.  Missouri State set a league record last year by connecting on 79.7 percent for the season.  Drake ranks 17th in the NCAA this year (77.1 percent).

On the Defensive
Three league teams rank in the Top 41 of the NCAA for scoring defense.  Bradley is tops in the MVC and ranks 16th nationally at 59.5 ppg allowed. Missouri State is 39th nationally (61.8) followed closely by Southern Illinois (41st, 62.0).  Only 16 teams in the MVC since 1970 have had a scoring defense better than 59.5 ppg.

Scoring Offense
Indiana State leads the league and ranks 18th nationally in scoring (81.5 ppg).  Only one league team has averaged better than 80 points per game since 1994 (Tulsa, 83.4).  Wichita State averaged 81.0 points per game in 2017.  Belmont is next-best in the MVC this year, as the Bruins average 77.2 ppg.

Long Range Snipers
Belmont ranks 3rd nationally and leads the league by shooting 41.2 percent from beyond the arc. The last MVC team to shoot better for a full season was Creighton in 2013 (41.4 pct.)

Making Threes
A pair of MVC teams rank in the Top 25 nationally for 3FG made per game.  Belmont leads the league and ranks 8th best in the nation (10.4 per game).  Indiana State ranks 22nd nationally as it averages 9.8 three-pointers per game.

Individuals Beyond the Arc
Indiana State’s Courvoisier McCauley leads the league and ranks 8th nationally with 114 three-point tries this year.  Drew Friberg of Belmont ranks 6th best in the nation as he has made 51.1 percent of his three-point attempts. His 3.62 per game average (makes per game) ranks 6th best nationally as well.

BEL .. Turn for the Better
Belmont leads the MVC in assist-turnover ratio and turnover margin.  Notably, Belmont junior Even Brauns had four dunks in last week’s win vs. Samford

BRAD .. Winning at Home
After a commanding win against Akron to close out the non-conference slate, Bradley’s homecourt win streak now stands at 14 straight and features eight in a row vs. MVC teams.

DU .. 3J
Guard D.J. Wilkins surpassed Josh Young’s program career 3-pointers record of 255 with a triple against Mississippi State. He now has 257 career 3-pointers at Drake.  Wilkins ranks 15th all-time in MVC history for made three-pointers.

UIC .. Red Hot Flames
UIC enters Wednesday night’s contest vs. Illinois State as winners of three of their last four, including winning their previous two games at Credit Union 1 Arena. The Redbirds have won seven of the last eight meetings between the two sides, with UIC’s last victory coming on Dec. 5, 2018 at home.

INS .. Rarities
On Thursday when the Northern Illinois lead hit 28-18 at 4:21 in the first, that marked the first time ISU has trailed by double-figures all season this season. NIU led by a game-high 14 points midway through the second half. NIU’s 15-0 run in the first half is the largest run the Sycamores have allowed by an opponent this season, and Thursday is ISU’s first time scoring less than 60 points since the team’s Valley Tournament loss against Illinois State on March 3, 2022.

UE .. Second-Half Magic
After being held scoreless in the first half against Bellarmine, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. erupted for 22 points in the second half to pace Evansville to a 73-61 victory.  Thirteen of his tallies came in the final three minutes as UE outscored the Knights by a 23-10 margin in the final six minutes.

ILS .. Lucky Seven
Over Illinois State’s last seven games, it has had seven different leading scorers, including Kendall Lewis vs Rhode Island, Seneca Knight vs Murray State, Liam McChesney vs Belmont, Colton Sandage vs Eastern Michigan, Darius Burford vs Ball State, Malachi Poindexter vs Ball State, and Luke Kasubke vs Chicago State.

MOST .. Georgia on My Mind
Georgia transfer Dalen Ridgnal (Sr., Kansas City, Mo.) has posted career scoring highs in each of the last two games, including 16 points in MSU’s win over Central Michigan on Dec. 18 in his first start as a Bear. Ridgnal also scored 13 points at Oral Roberts (Dec. 16) in Tulsa and finished the week averaging 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. The Bears haven’t played since Dec. 18 as their game vs. Sam Houston State was canceled due to weather conditions.

MUR .. Approaching 1,000
Quincy Anderson’s chase to be a career 1,000-point scorer is now within 23 points. Anderson has 85 career games played combined with Murray State and Minnesota State and has 977 points in his career.  Once he gets to 1,000, he’ll join Murray State teammates Jamari Smith, Brian Moore Jr., and Rob Perry as 1,000-point players at MSU.

New Places, Same Faces
A series of reunions at the ARC continued this past week as former Valpo basketball student manager, walk-on player, graduate assistant and Director of Basketball Operations Jason Karys returned to Valpo’s home court as a visiting assistant coach on the Stonehill staff. Earlier this season, former Valpo standout player Chris Artis returned as an assistant coach for Incarnate Word and ex-Valpo player Jason Hawkins came back to the building as the Trinity Christian head coach. Conference play will feature another familiar face on the visiting bench on Jan. 28 as Evansville head coach David Ragland spent two seasons as an assistant on Matt Lottich’s coaching staff in 2016-17 and 2017-18. 

UNI .. Jake Climbing the List
UNI’s Ben Jacobson is one win from tying Dana Altman for third on the MVC’s all-time wins list. Jacobson has won 326 games in his time at UNI, while Altman totaled 327 wins at Creighton from 1994 to 2010. Jake is third on the coaching wins list for MVC-only games.

Winningest MVC Coaches - All Games
486 -- Henry P. Iba, Oklahoma State (1934-57) 
337 -- Eddie Hickey, CU/SLU (1935-43; 1946-58
327 -- Dana Altman, Creighton (1994-10)
326 -- Ben Jacobson, UNI (2006-present)
285 -- Barry Hinson, MoState/SIU (1999-08; 2012-19)

Winningest MVC Coaches - MVC Games Only
187 -- Henry P. Iba, Oklahoma State (1934-57) 
182 -- Dana Altman, Creighton (1994-10)
175 -- Ben Jacobson, UNI (2006-present)

SIU .. Comeback Salukis
Southern Illinois trailed by 11 points on the road at Southeast Missouri before mounting a comeback to end the first half, taking a two-point lead into the locker room. It marked the 10th time under head coach Bryan Mullins that the Salukis have rallied back from a double-digit deficit to earn a victory. 

DU .. Record-Setting Victory
Drake defeated St. Ambrose, 124-48, on Dec. 21 for its largest margin of victory ever while setting the program record for 3-pointers made in a single game as a team (18). The 124 total is the third most points scored in a game by Drake.

UNI .. Long-Standing Rivals
UNI renews its rivalry as it hosts Missouri State on Wednesday in the resumption of league play. Having met 84 times since their first game in the 1982-83 season, the Panthers have played the Bears more than any other team in program history.

VALPO .. King Nears 1,000
Valpo’s Kobe King is up to 936 career points, just 64 points away from reaching the 1,000-point milestone for his collegiate career. If he reaches the milestone, he would become the second Beacon to do so this season after Ben Krikke achieved the feat on Nov. 13. The first 386 points of King’s career came during his tenure at Wisconsin. He has scored in double figures in every game this season, most recently tallying 18 points in Wednesday’s win over Stonehill.