MVC Player of the Week
AJ Green, UNI
6-4, 190, Jr., G
Cedar Falls, Iowa | Cedar Falls High
Green led the Panthers in scoring with a pair of 20-point performances this past week, including 21 in UNI’s commanding home win over Missouri State.  The Cedar Falls native shot 7-of-13 from beyond the arc, averaging 20.5 points in helping the Panthers take over sole possession of first place in the league standings with two games to play. Green dished out a season-high 7 assists against the Bears, shot a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line, and shot 52% from the field on the week (13-25). After Sunday’s win, Green now leads the MVC with a scoring average of 20.5 points in league only games.

MVC Newcomer of the Week
Tucker DeVries, Drake
6-7, 210, Fr., G/F
Waukee, Iowa | Waukee High 
DeVries averaged 20.0 points per game on 14-for-22 shooting (63.6 percent), 3.0 rebounds per game and swiped two steals. He scored 16 points (7-for-10 shooting, 2-for-5 from 3-point range) with three rebounds in a 73-51 victory vs. Evansville on Wednesday (Feb. 16). Then DeVries matched his career-high of 24 points with a 7-for-12 shooting performance (2-for-4 from beyond the arc), went 8-for-11 at the charity stripe and snagged two steals in an 83-76 win at Loyola on Saturday (Feb. 19). 

Weekly Notebook (PDF)


Down the Stretch We Come
Six days and a total of 13 league games remain in the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball slate.  Just two games separate first place (UNI, 12-4) and fifth place (Bradley, 10-6). Since the league began playing an 18-game league schedule (in 1991-92), five league teams have finished a season within as few as three games of each other only five times, most recently in 2018-19 when seven MVC teams finished within three games of each other (ranging from 12-6 to 9-9).  Only once in that span (since 1991-92) have five MVC teams finished within two of first place (that occurred in 1991-92.)

MVC Tiebreaker
In the event of a tie for any position within the standings, ties shall be broken utilizing the following factors, in order:
• Head-to-head competition
• If three or more teams are tied, regular-season competition among the tied teams shall be pooled into a “mini round-robin.” Teams shall be ranked according to their position (composite record among tied teams) in such a round robin.
• The NCAA NET ranking on the morning after the final regular-season game.

20 Something
Two MVC men’s basketball teams have reached 20 victories.  If Drake also hits 20 by March 1, it will mark only the second time since 2010 that three MVC teams entered Arch Madness with 20+ wins.

Three Teams w/20+ Wins at Arch Madness
1994 -- Bradley#, Southern Illinois*, Tulsa*
2000 -- Creighton*, Indiana State*, MSU#
2004 -- Creighton#, S. Illinois*, Wichita State#
2005 -- Creighton*, UNI*, Southern Illinois*
2006 -- Missouri State#, UNI*, Wichita State*
2007 -- Bradley#, Missouri State#, S. Illinois*
2008 -- Creighton#, Drake*, Southern Illinois#
2009 -- Creighton#, Illinois State#, UNI*
2010 -- Illinois State#, UNI*, Wichita State#
2020 -- Bradley, Loyola, UNI (COVID, no post-season)
*denotes NCAA; #denotes NIT

Mosley in Rare Company?
Only four players in the past 30 seasons (since 1992-93) have shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range, 90 percent from the stripe, while averaging 15.0 points or better.  Missouri State’s Isiaih Mosley could be the fifth to do it.

DeVries Just One of Five
Freshman Tucker DeVries of Drake is one of just five first-year freshmen in NCAA DI to have reached 375 points (394) and 60 three-pointers (63) this year.  He leads Drake in both categories this season.

Close Calls
Through Feb. 20, the MVC has played 77 Conference games.  According to KenPom, the league’s 25 one-score (three points or less or overtime game) contests in 77 total league games (32.5%) is second-most in the nation. The MEAC (15 of 39, 38.5%) is the only league ahead of the MVC. In the past 20 seasons, the league has not had more than 25 (of 90) league games that were one-score/overtime games.

MVC in the Metrics
The Missouri Valley Conference is No. 11 in both the KenPom and in the NET (through games of Feb. 20).  Five MVC teams (Loyola, Missouri State, Drake, Bradley, and UNI) are in the Top 100 in KenPom and four (Loyola, Missouri State, Drake, and Bradley) are in the Top 100 of the NET.  Last year, three league schools ranked in the Top 100 of the NET and the MVC had four teams in the Top 150. 

Defending the Shot
Since 2010, all but two teams that have led the MVC in FG percentage defense have earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.  (Loyola was third in the MVC in that statistic in 2018 and represented the league in the NCAAs; last year Missouri State led the league and failed to earn a post-season berth.)  Bradley’s current 39.8 percent figure leads the MVC and ranks 26th nationally.

Leading the League
UNI currently leads the MVC in league-only offense, averaging 75.3 points per game. Since joining the Valley for the 1991-92 season, UNI has only led the MVC in conference-only game scoring offense three times (1996, 2014, 2020).  The top four teams in the MVC race currently are also among the top four in the MVC in league-only offense.

Double Trouble
Missouri State’s Gaige Prim leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 10 double-doubles this season.  Prim led the MVC with eight in 2020-21.  He and teammate Isiaih Mosley (19) rank among the Top 20 in KenPom’s player offense efficiency ratings.

Green Climbing the Ladder
In league play, UNI’s AJ Green is averaging an MVC-best 20.5 points per game.  Missouri State’s Isiaih Mosley is averaging 20.3 in conference games.  Green led the MVC in conference-only scoring in 2020 (21.8), and Mosley led the league last season (20.1).  Notably, Green has 1,649 points and with his next basket will surpass Indiana State’s Tyreke Key (1,650) as the league’s active scoring leader.  Key ranks 60th all-time in MVC history in scoring, while Green is 61st. Kevion Taylor of Valparaiso (1,962 career points) and Missouri State’s Jaylen Minnett (1,652 career points) have more, but most of those were acquired prior to joining their current MVC teams.