Road Tests
The Valley enters the week with a 43-37 mark in non-conference action after going 8-7 last week.  This week’s schedule features 13 games, with nine of the 13 games coming on the road.  The Valley sits 11-15 in road games so far this season. 

NET Update
The NCAA NET Report (Dec. 5) has four Valley teams that rank in the top-100, including eight of the 12 sitting in the top 200.  Drake leads the way at No. 60 with UNI (73), Murray State (85) and Illinois State (90), rounding out the schools in the Top 100.  

Team                     NET
Drake                      60
UNI                         73
Murray State           85
Illinois State             90
Belmont                 105
UIC                        136
Missouri State        162
Evansville               185
Southern Illinois     218
Indiana State         242
Valparaiso             275
Bradley                 343

BEL: Strenuous Stretch
In the midst of a challenging non-conference schedule, Belmont’s last three losses have been by two possessions or less.   Five of the Bruins’ first seven opponents this season won over 20 games last year and earned a national postseason tournament bid.    Playing Georgia Tech on consecutive Sunday afternoons, the Yellow Jackets represented the fourth of seven 2022 NCAA Tournament teams Belmont faces this season.

BU: Milestones
Tuesday’s game will be the 1,299th game in Bradley Women’s Basketball history. The 1,300th game will be at Miami (OH) on December 16. The program is sitting at 594 wins all-time and is closing in on 600.  

DU: Road Dogs
After earning their fourth double-digit win of the season against Lindenwood (12/1), Drake will hit the road for three of their next four contests. The first true test away from home comes tomorrow night, Tuesday, Dec. 6 at South Dakota. The Bulldogs will take another step up after that with road tilts at No. 13 Creighton on Dec. 10 and No. 8 Iowa State on Dec. 22. 

UE: Solid at the Line
Since head coach Robyn Scherr-Wells took over last season, the Aces have shown a penchant for getting to the charity stripe. Through six games this season, Evansville has taken that to another level, averaging 21.5 free-throw makes per game, the most in NCAA Division I. The Aces also lead the nation in free-throw attempts, averaging 28.8 attempts per game.

UIC: 8-1 Start
UIC’s 8-1 start matches the best nine-game record to start a season in the program’s 52 year history. Only the 1976-77 and 2014-15 teams had just one loss in their first nine games. 

ILS: Going for a Record
When the ball is tipped for Illinois State women’s basketball’s Education Day, CEFCU Arena will most likely see something for the first time in 13 years. As there will be nearly 6,000 school children and staff in attendance, the ISU WBB program home attendance record of 6,075 could be on the brink of being broken.

The record mark came back in 2010 when Illinois State hosted California in the WNIT. The highest attended home WBB game under the direction of Kristen Gillespie came in 2018 when ISU hosted Saint Louis and saw 3,500 fans in the stands.

INS: Shutdown
Indiana State improved to 7-1 in head coach Chad Killinger’s tenure when allowing less than 60 points following the Sycamores’ 68-43 win over Chicago State. The 43 points allowed were the fewest Indiana State has allowed to a Division I opponent since Nov. 19, 2019, when UIC scored just 40. Indiana State forced Chicago State into a season-high 28 turnovers in the game, the most turnovers forced by the Trees since Dec. 30, 2021 when Drake had 30.

MOST: Tough on the Boards
The Missouri State Lady Bears continue to have success on the boards. MSU ranks 13th nationally and 1st in the Missouri Valley Conference with 16.5 offensive rebounds per game, while ranking 3rd in the conference and 87th in the country in total rebound average with 40.5 per game. Rebounding has been an advantage for the Lady Bears over the years, as they have won the rebounding battle 107 times in their last 130 contests. 

MUR: Racers Getting Hot
Murray State picked up its fourth win in a row Saturday with a 77-59 victory over Southern Indiana.  The 18-point margin of victory by the Racers marked their fourth double-digit win of the season out of five wins. Murray State has now won four of five games by at least 18 points.  The Racers do not play again until December 13 vs. Austin Peay. 

UNI: Solid from Deep
For two weeks straight, UNI has moved up the national rankings in three-pointers per game. The Panthers had 10 treys in their only game last week against South Dakota State, making them 23rd in the nation for three-pointers a game. UNI averages 8.9 triples in a contest so far this season.   

SIU: New Program Scoring Mark
Southern Illinois broke a program record for points in its 115-57 win over Chicago State Thursday as Ashley Jones scored a career-high 29 points en route to an MVC Newcomer of the Week finish. Five Salukis finished in double digits in the victory as they nearly broke records for assists and field goals in a game. 

VU: Extended Break
The Beacons will have plenty of time to prepare themselves for the rigors of MVC play. Following Valpo’s game at Western Illinois this Friday, the team will play just one game in a three-week span - Dec. 22 at Wisconsin - prior to the Valley opener at Belmont Dec. 30.

HerHoopStats Stat of the Week
Four teams in Division I have had an assist on at least 65% of their made baskets and rebounded at least 75% of their opponent’s missed shots. Two are in the MVC.