Indiana State became the league’s fourth team to reach 20 wins this year after its victory against Illinois State on Saturday.  It’s the first time in MVC history the Conference has had four teams with 20+ wins prior to the league tournament. With 19 wins entering the final week of the season, Belmont has a chance to make it five.

MVC Men's Basketball Notebook (PDF)

MVC Player of the Week
Ben Krikke, Valparaiso
6-9, 235, Sr., F
Edmonton (Alberta) Canada | Jasper Place
Krikke averaged 29.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists over two games this week, shooting 61.1 percent from the floor (22-of-36), 40 percent from 3-point range (2-of-5), and 80 percent from the free-throw line (12-of-15). Krikke’s week was highlighted by a career-high 34 points on Sunday at UIC, the second-highest single game scoring output by an MVC player this season. He went 14-of-19 from the field, 2-for-2 from 3 and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. The 14 made field goals were the most by an MVC player this year and tied for the most by a Valpo player in the last decade. Sunday’s game also saw Krikke pull down 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Krikke had 24 points and went 8-of-10 at the foul line vs. SIU. He eclipsed the 1,500-career-point milestone on Tuesday before cracking the program’s all-time top 10 and moving all the way up to eighth in program history in career scoring on Sunday.

MVC Newcomer of the Week
Jalen Jackson, UIC
6-2, 200, Fr., G
Fort Wayne, Ind. | Northrup
Jackson set a new career-high in single-game scoring in UIC’s loss to Indiana State Wednesday, scoring 23 points on 9 of 15 shooting, including 3 of 7 behind the arc. Jackson also grabbed three rebounds and had two steals on the night. He followed that performance up by helping lead the Flames to a Sunday victory over Valparaiso with 19 points, his third consecutive game scoring in double-digits. Playing a season-high 38 minutes in the contest, Jackson added four rebounds, three steals and a season-high two blocks.

Others Nominated Last Week

• Rienk Mast, Bradley -- Had a combined 24 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, and a solo block and steal to lead Bradley to a 2-0 week over Missouri State and Southern Illinois. Mast also hit the game winning three pointer with less than 30 seconds left after getting fouled at SIU.
• Roman Penn, Drake -- Averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists last week in wins over UNI and Belmont. Penn took over late at UNI on Wednesday to close Drake’s 82-74 victory finishing 6-of-8 from the field with six rebounds and nine assists. He scored a game-high 22 points with six rebounds and four assists in a 70-56 win over Belmont on Sunday. 
• Marcus Domask, Southern Illinois -- Had 18 points, seven rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1,5 steals per game as SIU went 1-1. Domask scored a game-high 23 points in Southern’s 50-48 loss to Bradley on Sunday, scoring nearly half the team’s points.
• Trenton Gibson, Indiana State -- Averaged 15.5 points this week to help the Sycamores go 2-0, posting double digits off the bench in both games to push ISU’s win streak to seven games. Saturday against Illinois State, he led all Sycamore scorers with 17 points, shooting 5-of-6 from the floor including 2-of-2 from three. 
• Courvoisier McCauley, Indiana State -- Averaged 19.0 points this week to help the Sycamores go 2-0 and extend their win streak to seven games. He led all scorers in the game at UIC Wednesday with 26 points for his second straight 20-point game.
• Clarence Rupert, Southern Illinois -- Averaged 9.5 points and two rebounds for the Salukis who finished the week 1-1 with a win on the road at Valpo and a two-point loss at home to Bradley. Rupert scored a career-high 14 points against the Beacons.
• Conor Enright, Drake -- Scored a career-high 14 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the 82-74 win at UNI on Wednesday. Enright pestered Belmont with three rebounds, three assists and a block in Sunday’s 70-56 win. 
• Quincy Anderson, Murray State -- His two-game totals included an 11-of-15 FG percentage accuracy and a 15.0 ppg average -- notching 15 points against Illinois State and 15 points against Evansville.
• Kendall Lewis, Illinois State -- Averaged a double-double on the week with 17 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. He also added four steals, four assists while shooting 61 percent from the field on the week (11-of-18).
• Darius Burford, Illinois State -- Averaged 20.5 points in two games on the week with eight rebounds, eight steals, and a block and an assist. Made 58.1 percent of his shots in the game, 42.9 percent from long range, and half of his four three-point tries.

Nothing But Net
Bradley heads a list of five MVC men’s basketball schools that rank in the Top 125 of the NET (Feb. 20).  The Braves are at No. 62, followed by Drake (72) and Indiana State (93).  The MVC ranks 15th as a Conference in the NET rankings.  Drake has had the best success in the MVC vs. Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents, compiling a 3-3 mark in those chances.  Neither Bradley (12-0) or Drake (10-0) has a Quad 4 loss this year.

KenPom 
Drake leads the MVC in the KenPom ratings. The Bulldogs are 76, followed by Bradley (79) and Indiana State (92).  Five MVC teams are in the Top 135.  Bradley (37), Drake (57), and Southern Illinois (62) are among the KenPom leaders for adjusted defensive efficiency. Belmont tops the MVC in the KenPom metrics for offensive efficiency (86), followed by Indiana State (96), and Drake (107).

Top Four
The State Farm MVC Tournament format is a conventional 12-team bracket with the Top 4 seeds receiving a first-round bye (seeds 5 thru 12 play one another on Thursday, March 2).  Five MVC teams (Belmont, Bradley, Drake, Indiana State, and Southern Illinois) are vying for those coveted four spots. No team in MVC tournament history has won four games in four days to claim the league championship. 

Down to the Wire
Last year, just one game separated the top four teams in the standings as UNI earned sole possession of the regular-season title (14-4), while Drake, Loyola, and Missouri State tied for second place with 13-5 marks.  In the league’s 115-year history, four teams have finished within a single game of each other just four times:

Seasons w/4 MVC Teams within 1 game of 1st
1971 -- DU/UofL/SLU (9-5), Memphis/Tulsa (8-6)
1977 -- SIU/NMSU (8-4), Wichita St./WTSU (7-5)
1990 -- SIU (10-4), Creighton, ILS, Tulsa (all 9-5)
2022 -- UNI (14-4), Drake, Loyola, MoState (all 13-5)

Winner Take All?
In league history, only six times has the conference regular-season title been decided on the final day of the season with two contenders facing one another. Bradley and Drake enter the final week tied at 14-4 and play one another on Sunday, Feb. 26, in Peoria. The MVC conducted a playoff for first place nine other times (last occurring in 1971-72).

MVC “Winner Take All” (records heading into regular-season finale)
2-25-78 -- Creighton (11-4) beat S. Illinois (11-4)
3-2-85 -- Tulsa (11-4), Illinois State (11-4), Wichita State (11-4) – Tulsa faced and beat Wichita State; Illinois State lost at Bradley
2-26-11 -- MoState (14-3) beat Wichita St. (14-3)
3-2-13 -- Creighton (12-5) beat Wichita State (12-5)
2-28-15 -- Wichita State (16-1) beat UNI (16-1)
2-26-22 -- UNI (13-4) beat Loyola (13-4)

Close Games in MVC Play
Twenty-seven of the league’s 108 contests have been decided by three points or less (or in OT).  Fourteen additional games have been decided by six points or less [41 of 108 -- 38 percent -- decided by six or fewer points].  MVC records in games decided by 3 or fewer (or OT):
Murray State (5-0); UNI (3-1); Missouri State (5-3); Drake (4-3); Belmont (2-2); Bradley (2-2); Indiana State (2-2); Illinois State (2-3); UIC (1-3); Southern Illinois (1-3); Valparaiso (0-5)

Three-Way Tie For First
There have been 20 seasons in which the MVC had co-champions in its previous 115 years of men’s basketball (excluding the MVC’s first seven seasons in which divisional play occurred).  There have only been three MVC seasons with tri-champs.

MVC Seasons With Tri-Champions
1930-31 Creighton/Okla. St./Washington (5-3)
1935-36 Creighton/Okla. St./Drake (8-4)
1970-71 Drake/Louisville/Saint Louis (9-5)

Bunched At the Top
Five of the MVC’s 12 teams are within two games of first place (Bradley and Drake are tied for first; Indiana State is one game out; Belmont and Southern Illinois are two games out with two to play). Only the Big 12 (5), Ivy League (5); and MVC (5) have as many as 5 teams within two games of first place this late in the season.

Homecourt Advantage
The league’s overall homecourt record is 67-41 (62.0 percent), but the five teams within two games of first place have combined for a 38-7 record at home (84.4 percent).  Belmont, Bradley, and Drake lead the MVC with identical 8-1 home marks in league play [Drake won at Belmont; Belmont won at Bradley; Missouri State won at Drake.]

Streaking
Three MVC teams (Drake, Bradley, Indiana State) have win streaks among the NCAA’s longest active streaks.  Drake’s 9-game win streak is tied for fifth-best; Bradley’s 8-game streak is tied for eighth-best; and Indiana State is tied with three others for the 11th-best 

Leons 1 of Just 4
Bradley’s Malevy Leons joins just three MVC players in the past 32 years (since the 1991-92 season) to record 40+ blocks and 40+ steals in the same season. Leons enters the week with 42 steals and 48 blocks. No MVC player on record (since the MVC began keeping steals and blocks as a stat in 1980-81) has record a 50-50 season.

MVC -- 40+ Steals + 40+ Blocks (Since 1992)
Rolan Roberts, SIU (2001-02) – 41 steals, 87 blocks
Marcus Timmons, SIU (1994-95) – 70 steals, 40 blocks
Jake Koch, UNI (2012-13) – 43 steals, 44 blocks
Malevy Leons, BRAD (2022-23) - 42 steals, 48 blocks

Making His Threes
Belmont’s Drew Friberg leads the MVC and ranks in the Top 10 in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage (3rd, 46.7) and total 3FG made (9th, 92). His 92 makes are among the all-time bests for a player in his first year in the MVC.  Courvoisier McCauley of Indiana State has 91 treys. Belmont hosts Indiana State on Wednesday in Nashville.

Three-Pointers Made - First-Year MVC Players
103    Adam Leonard, Missouri State (2009-10), Jr.
93    Troy Hudson, Southern Illinois (1995-96), Jr.
  92    Drew Friberg, Belmont (2022-23), Gr. 
  91    Courvoisier McCauley, IndState (2022-23), Gr. 
90    Chamberlain Oguchi, Illinois State (2008-09), Sr.

Sturtz In Select Company
Drake’s Garrett Sturtz (6’3”) is the all-time leading rebounder in Drake men’s basketball history. Of the 37 all-time MVC members, he’s the shortest to lead his program in career rebounding.  He joins Oscar Robertson as the only guards to lead their MVC programs in rebounds. Only 32 players in league history have eclipsed 900 career rebounds, including Sturtz (903). He needs five rebounds to move into 30th all-time in MVC history.

Career Rebound Leaders (Past & Present MVC Schools)
Shortest Student-Athletes to Lead Their Schools
6-3 Garrett Sturtz, Drake*
6-4 Dick Estergard, Bradley*
6-4 Seymour Bryson, Southern Illinois
6-5 Byron Houston, Oklahoma State
6-5 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati*
*played full career as an MVC student-athlete

First Year Phenoms
A handful of first-year MVC players have surpassed 200 total points as freshmen.  Cade Tyson of Belmont leads the way with 357 points so far.  UNI (3) and Belmont (2) account for five of the league’s top seven scoring freshmen.

357 - Cade Tyson, Belmont
277 - Michael Duax, UNI
268 - Robbie Avila, Indiana State
252 - Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Belmont
215 - Trey Campbell, UNI
207 - Kenny White, Murray State
196 - Landon Wolf, UNI

Off the Bench
Here are your scoring leaders in bench scoring (those student-athletes who have come off the bench 15 or more games this season).  Player, team and games as a non-starter indicated below:

 10.8 -- Chance Moore, Missouri State (24)
  9.1 -- Ja’Shon Henry, Bradley (21)
  7.3 -- Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Belmont (21)
  7.2 -- Antoine Smith Jr., UE (16)
  7.1 -- Sardaar Calhoun, Drake (25)
  7.0 -- Landon Wolf, UNI (28)

Double Trouble
Tytan Anderson of UNI leads the MVC with 11 double-doubles this year.  He entered the 2022-23 season with career averages of 1.9 points per game and 2.0 rebounds per game.  Three league players (Rienk Mast of Bradley, Garrett Sturtz of Drake, and Kendall Lewis of Illinois State) each have seven double-doubles.

10 Tytan Anderson - UNI
7 Garrett Sturtz - Drake
7 Rienk Mast - Bradley
7 Kendall Lewis - Illinois State
5 Jonathan Mogbo - Missouri State
5 Malevy Leons - Bradley

30 Something
Marcus Domask of Southern Illinois and Ben Krikke of Valpo lead the league with three 30-point games.  Tucker DeVries of Drake and Krikke lead the Conference with 14 20-point games.

Number of 30-Point games
3 -- Marcus Domask, Southern Illinois
3 -- Ben Krikke, Valparaiso
2 -- Bowen Born, UNI
2 -- Tucker DeVries, Drake
2 -- Courvoisier McCauley, Indiana State
2 -- Ben Sheppard, Belmont

Number of 20-Point games
14 -- Tucker DeVries, Drake
14 -- Ben Krikke, Valparaiso
12 -- Ben Sheppard, Belmont
12 -- Bowen Born, UNI

The Valley Runs Deep
From 2012-2019, MVC teams garnered 10-straight first-round wins in the NCAA Tournament.  Since 2012, the MVC is now 12-3 in first-round games, which includes wins in 8 of the past 10 tourneys.

Postseason Power Play
Additionally, since 1994, an MVC member has beaten the following teams from power conferences in the NCAA Tournament:  Alabama, Arizona, Cincinnati, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois (twice), Indiana, Kansas (three times), K-State, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh (twice), Seton Hall, Tennessee (four times), Texas, Texas Tech, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin.

Jake Climbing the List
UNI’s Ben Jacobson has won 334 games in his time at UNI (3rd all-time in the MVC), and he is second on the coaching wins list for MVC-only games trailing only Henry Iba of Oklahoma State.

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

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

Leading the League
Indiana State leads the MVC and ranks 27th nationally for team field goal percentage (47.9).  The Sycamores have led the MVC in team field goal percentage just one time in ISU history -- their 1978-79 MVC championship and Final Four season with Larry Bird.

Charity Tosses
Illinois State ranks 5th nationally in team free throw percentage, connecting on 79.7 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 14th in the NCAA this year (77.1 percent), while Indiana State is also in the Top 30 (30th at 76.0 percent).

On the Defensive
Three league teams rank in the Top 30 of the NCAA for scoring defense.  Bradley ranks 12th in the NCAA at 61.2 points per game allowed; Southern Illinois is 13th (61.4); Missouri State is 30th (63.5); while Drake is 53rd (65.0).

Scoring Offense
Indiana State continues to lead the league and ranks 28th nationally in scoring (78.9 ppg).  Notably, only one league team has averaged better than 80 points per game since 1994 (Tulsa, 83.4).  Wichita State (81.0 ppg in 2017).  

Long Range Snipers
Belmont leads the league and ranks eighth nationally by shooting 39.1 percent from beyond the arc. Belmont is 16th nationally in total 3-pointers made per game (9.5). Indiana State is 19th nationally in 3FGM per game (9.4).

BEL .. Looking for No. 20
Belmont has won 20 or more games in 12 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Kansas, Oregon) -- the Bruins are one win away this year.  Belmont has earned postseason invitations 15 of the last 17 seasons, including nine berths to the NCAA Tournament.

BRAD .. 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 39.8 figure leads the MVC and ranks 17th nationally.

DU .. Terrific Trio
Roman Penn, Garrett Sturtz and D.J. Wilkins will play at the Knapp Center for the last time this upcoming Wednesday (Feb. 22). The trio has been on campus together since the 2018-19 season. Sturtz (162), Wilkins (156) and Penn (114) have combined to appear in 432 games. 

UE .. Phillips Notches Best
For the second time in three games, Preston Phillips set a career mark as he tallied 11 points on Wednesday at Belmont.  Two games earlier, he scored 10 in the win over UNI.  He averaged 8.3 points per game in a 4-game stretch from Feb. 4 and 15, close to five points above his season average of 3.7 PPG.

UIC .. Seventh Heaven
UIC gutted out a one-point home win against Valparaiso over the weekend with just seven healthy players. Jalen Jackson (19), Jace Carter (18), Tre Anderson (13) and Toby Okani (10) each notched double-figure points.  All five starters played 35 or more minutes in the win.

ILS .. Burford Close to 1,000
Illinois State’s Darius Burford averaged 20.5 points in two games on the week with eight rebounds, eight steals, and a block and an assist. He closed the week with a season-high-tying 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field (season-highs in both) against Indiana State. He currently stands 47 points away from 1,000 for his collegiate career. 

INS .. 20-Win Season
The Sycamores collected 20 wins Saturday for the first time since 2013-14 and just the eighth time overall since joining the Valley in 1976-77. The Sycamores also notched 13 Valley wins for the first time since 1999-20 when Indiana State won the Valley with a 14-4 league record. The only other time Indiana State has had 13 or more Valley wins was in 1978-79 when the Sycamores went 16-0 in league play and made it to the NCAA Championship game.

MOST .. Home Cooking
During Dana Ford’s tenure at MSU, the Bears are 52-20 (.722) at Great Southern Bank Arena. MoState has secured a winning home record (9-4 so far in 2022-23) for the 52nd straight season, a milestone that has encompassed three different home venues. The Bears (9-4) are looking to secure their 10th home victory of the season, a milestone the team has secured in 5 of the previous 6 seasons, when it hosts Murray State on Tuesday.

MUR .. Offensive Uptick
The Racers have had an uptick in offense in the last week of wins at Illinois State and home against Evansville. The Racers were a combined 54-of-111 (.486) from the field and 14-of-33 from the 3-point line (.424). Murray State has been very good as they have all season in getting to the free throw line and making a bunch on 28-of-33 (.848).

UNI .. Closing Strong
UNI closes its regular-season slate at Carbondale against Southern Illinois and the Panthers will host Belmont on Sunday in the final game of the regular season. UNI is 12-4 under head coach Ben Jacobson in regular-season finales. Also, UNI is 23-9 in the final two games of the regular season under Ben Jacobson. UNI has won its final two regular-season contests in each of the last 3 seasons.

SIU .. Domask Into Ninth
- With 23 points in his last game, senior Marcus Domask moved into ninth all-time in scoring in program history with 1,551 points, passing Joe Meriweather.

VALPO .. Close Games
Close games have been a Beacon bugaboo this season as Valpo is 0-6 in Missouri Valley Conference contests that are decided by fewer than five points or go to overtime. Nearly half of Valpo’s 13 conference setbacks have come in those close contests. Both games this past week were heartbreaking losses as Valpo fell 66-62 to SIU and 74-73 to UIC. 

BRAD .. Henry Nears Milestone
Ja’Shon Henry was the catalyst for the Braves as the graduate student put up 12 points and 5 rebounds to help push Bradley past Southern Illinois on Sunday.  Henry now just needs 10 more points to claim 1,000 for his career.

DU .. Locking It Down
Drake limited Belmont, the MVC’s top 3-point shooting team to just one 3-pointer in two games this season, marking the first time that Belmont only made one triple in two games during the same season since the Bruins transitioned to Division I. Drake leads the MVC in three-point field goal percentage defense.

INS .. Three-Point Record
After tying the record last season, Indian State broke the program record for 3-pointers in a single season Saturday. The record was 270 originally set in 2017-18 but with their six triples against Illinois State, the Sycamores are currently sitting at 273 triples this season.

UNI .. Homegrown
The UNI Panthers lead the nation in points per game scored by in-state players with 68.7 points per contest.

VALPO .. Record-Tying Streak
Kobe King has now scored in double figures in all 29 games this season, tying a Valpo program record for consecutive double-figure scoring outputs within the same season. The record was originally set by Alec Peters in 2016-17, when he scored in double figures in each of his first 29 games before suffering a season-ending injury. Javon Freeman-Liberty also scored in double figures in each of his first 29 games in 2019-20.