Drake Picked in Preseason Poll
For the third straight year, Drake was picked as the preseason favorite in the MVC. Drake is the defending State Farm MVC Men’s Basketball Tournament champion and placed second last year.
Bradley ... Defending Champs
For the first time since 1996, Bradley earned the MVC men’s basketball regular-season title. Bradley was picked third in the league’s preseason poll.
20 Something
Five MVC teams won 20+ games this past season. For the first time in MVC history the Conference had five teams with 20+ wins prior to the league tournament. Three MVC teams (Bradley, Drake, Indiana State) represented the league in post-season play last year.
Vs. Power Six
MVC teams went 3-7 against teams from “Power” conferences last year (BCS and the Big East). The Conference will get three cracks in the first week as Missouri State (at West Virginia), UIC (at Cincinnati) and Indiana State (at Alabama) all face a Power Conference team this week. Also, UNI faces defending NIT champion North Texas (Tuesday) and Bradley opens at NIT runner-up UAB (Monday).
Opening Day
Ten of the league's 12 programs open on the first day of the season (Monday, Nov. 6). UNI (Nov. 7) and Drake (Nov. 8) start their 2023-24 campaigns on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
| Monday, Nov. 6 |
Network |
Time (CT) |
| Saint Mary of the Woods at Indiana St. |
ESPN+ |
6:00 PM |
| Missouri State at West Virginia |
ESPN+ |
6:00 PM |
| Georgia State at Belmont |
ESPN+ |
6:30 PM |
| Kentucky State at Southern Illinois |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| Miami (Ohio) at Evansville |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| Trinity Christian at Valparaiso |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| Lourdes at Illinois State |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| Bradley at UAB |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| Midway at Murray State |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| UIC at Cincinnati |
ESPN+ |
8:00 PM |
|
|
|
| Tuesday, Nov. 7 |
|
|
| UNI at North Texas |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
|
|
|
| Wednesday, Nov. 8 |
|
|
| Lipscomb at Drake |
M22/ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
|
|
|
| Thursday, Nov. 9 |
|
|
| UHSP at Evansville |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
|
|
|
| Friday, Nov. 10 |
|
|
| Belmont at Furman |
ESPN+ |
6:00 PM |
| Indiana State at Alabama |
SEC Network+ |
7:00 PM |
| Queens at Southern Illinois |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| Tennessee Tech at Murray State |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| Little Rock at UIC |
ESPN+ |
7:30 PM |
| IUPUI at Valparaiso |
ESPN+ |
8:00 PM |
|
|
|
| Saturday, Nov. 11 |
|
|
| Illinois State at Saint Louis |
Bally Sports MW Extra |
7:00 PM |
| Utah State at Bradley |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |