Men's Basketball

MVC Weekly Men's Basketball Notebook (Dec. 11)

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Xavier Johnson, Southern Illinois
NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:  Malik Dia, Belmont
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:  Kevin Overton, Drake

MVC Weekly Notebook -- 12-11
  • The Missouri Valley Conference ranks No. 9 as a league in the NET rankings (Dec. 11). Indiana State leads nine MVC teams among the Top 162 as ISU sits at No. 12. The MVC finished 15th as a league in the Conference NET last year.
  • The league’s 63-29 (.685) non-conference success currently ranks as one of the best in the league’s 117-year history. It ranks as the 10th-best in the last 60 seasons (dating back to 1964-65) and sixth-best in the past 50. The MVC has combined for a 37-3 record at home in non-conference play, currently the second-best all-time in MVC history. Drake (41-straight at home) and Southern Illinois (24 in a row) have the longest active win streaks in the MVC in home non-conference games.
  • UNI and Indiana State have played the most Q1+Q2 games in the MVC so far, as each has five total games against the top two quadrants in the NET. The Panthers non-conference strength of schedule (86) is the highest in the MVC. Notably, league-wide the MVC (non-conference schedule strength, on average for all 12 teams) is 37 spots better than last year. Bradley’s nine opponents have given the Braves one of the nation’s toughest starts, as BU’s nine foes have a combined 55-20 W-L record.
  • Indiana State (per Ken Pom) ranks No. 5 in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage and No. 6 in the NCAA in two-point field goal percentage. The Sycamores are the only team in the nation to rank in the Top 10 of both statistical categories.
  • Xavier Johnson of Southern Illinois ranks No. 2 in the NCAA in points per game, as the Saluki guard is averaging 24.2 points through SIU’s eight games. He trails only Purdue All-American Zach Edey (24.8 ppg). Doug McDermott of Creighton (2012-13) was the last MVC player to average better than 23 points for an entire season (23.2).
  • Six first-year MVC players find themselves among the league’s Top 13 scoring leaders, led by Indiana State’s Isaiah Swope, who averages 19.67 points per game for the Sycamores to rank No. 2 in the Conference.
  • Since 2010, all but three teams that have led the MVC in FG percentage defense have played in the NCAA Tournament. UIC’s current 37.4 figure leads the MVC and ranks 13th nationally.
  • Notably, MVC teams are 12-3 in their first game in the NCAA Tournament dating back to 2012. The league has now combined for 20 wins in the NCAA Tournament in the past 10 NCAA championships and has earned multiple bids 16 times since 1994. Since 2013, The Valley has had two Final Four appearances, and an MVC team has reached a Sweet 16 a total of 12 times since 1985.
 
 
Tuesday, Dec. 12 Network Time (CT)
Austin Peay at Southern Illinois ESPN+ 7:00 PM
Prairie View A&M at UNI ESPN+ 7:00 PM
Green Bay at UIC ESPN+ 7:00 PM
Wednesday, Dec. 13
Murray State at Mississippi State SEC Network+ 6:30 PM
Thursday, Dec. 14
Grambling State at Drake MC22/ESPN+ 7:00 PM
Friday, Dec. 15
Cleveland State at Bradley ESPN+ 7:00 PM
Saturday, Dec. 16
^Indiana St. vs. Ball St. (Indy Classic) Peacock 12:45 PM
Western Michigan at UIC ESPN+ 1:00 PM
Belmont at Samford ESPN+ 2:00 PM
Missouri State at Tulsa ESPN+ 2:00 PM
Southeastern Louisiana at Murray State ESPN+ 3:00 PM
Chicago State at Valparaiso ESPN+ 3:00 PM
Evansville at Bellarmine ESPN+ 3:00 PM
Southern Illinois at Wichita State ESPN+ 6:00 PM
Sunday, Dec. 17
Alcorn State at UNI ESPN+ 1:00 PM
North Dakota State at Illinois State ESPN+ 3:00 PM