MVC Player of the Week:  Robbie Avila, Indiana State
MVC Newcomer of the Week:  Nick Ellington, Murray State
MVC Freshman of the Week:  Cooper Schwieger, Valparaiso

• Jake is No. 1 -- UNI’s Ben Jacobson has coached the Panthers to 188 league wins since taking over the helm at UNI in 2006.  The 188 MVC wins surpassed Henry Iba (187 at Oklahoma State) for the league’s all-time record.

 MVC Wins (Conf. Only)
188 -- Ben Jacobson (UNI)
187 -- Henry Iba (Oklahoma State)
182 -- Dana Altman (Creighton)
163 -- Eddie Hickey (CU/SLU)
155 -- Barry Hinson (MOST/SIU)

• MVC in the NET -- Indiana State leads eight MVC teams among the Top 159 as ISU sits at No. 26. Drake is 44; and Bradley, 63. The MVC finished 15th as a league in the Conference NET last year and enters this week 10th as a league.
• Road Warriors -- The MVC has combined for a 26-22 record at home in league play (.542). The road success (.458) in MVC play is the best on record (through at least 1977).  Since 2014, league regular-season champs (and co-champs) are a combined 102-7 in MVC games at home. Only one co-champ (Drake in 2019) lost more than 1 league home game (7-2 that year for DU).

 MVC Road Success in League Play
.458 (22-26) -- 2023-24
.444 (40-50) -- 2020-21 (COVID)
.424 (42-57) -- 1995-96

• Bradley: 18 Threes -- Bradley made 18 three-point field goals in its win against Belmont.  The 18 treys in a game matches a league season-best (SIU had 18 in its win against Saint Louis), and the total was only one shy of the all-time league mark of 19 treys in an MVC game (Indiana State had 19 in a win against Murray State on Feb. 4, 2023.)
• Efficiency = NCAAs -- Indiana State is 23 in offensive efficiency in KenPom; and Drake is No. 44 in OE. Since 2012, 10 of 12 MVC teams in the Top 35 of KenPom’s OE have earned a spot in the NCAA Tourney (UNI, 2020 - COVID; MOST, 2022 - played in the NIT).
• A Comeback -- The Braves’ 23-point comeback win at Southern Illinois last Wednesday is tied for the second-best comeback in MVC history, trailing only then-MVC member New Mexico State’s 1977 28-point comeback win at Bradley.
• Non-Conf Success --The MVC finished the non-conference regular-season schedule with an 84-48 (.636) record. The +36 ledger (games over .500) is the best in MVC men’s hoops since the 2017-18 campaign, when the Valley was 87-46 (+41), which included post-season play that season.
• Streaking -- Bradley’s current eight-game win streak is tied for the fifth-best nationally (through games of Jan. 21).

 NCAA Active Win Streaks
17 - Samford
12 - Dayton
11 - Auburn
11 - McNeese
8 - Bradley
8 - North Carolina
8 - High Point
8 - Richmond

• Homecourt Bulldogs -- Drake has won 15 consecutive games at home, which is tied for the sixth-longest active home winning streak in NCAA men’s Division I basketball.
• Sweet Shooting -- Indiana State leads the nation in effective field goal percentage (61.4), is 3rd in FG percentage (51.1) and 1st in 3FG percentage (41.5). The Sycamores’ 51.1 is the second-best in the MVC during the shot-clock era.

 Single-Season MVC FG Pct.
Shot-Clock Era (1986-present)
.515 Bradley (1985-86)*
.511 Indiana State (2023-24)
.507 Loyola (2017-18)*
.505 Evansville (1998-99)*
.504 Bradley (1987-88)*
*MVC regular-season champion

• Suits & Sneakers -- Suits And Sneakers Week, the signature annual initiative of the American Cancer Society and NABC’s Coaches vs. Cancer program, begins today and runs through Jan. 28.
• Valley Runs Deep -- Notably, MVC men’s 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.

• Nation’s 2nd Oldest -- Founded in 1907, the Missouri Valley Conference is the nation’s second-oldest Division I athletic conference (behind only the Big Ten).  The MVC is celebrating its 117th season in 2023-24.

 
 

Tuesday, Jan. 23
*Evansville at UNI	PSN/ESPN+	7:00 PM
*Belmont at Illinois State	ESPN+	7:00 PM
Wednesday, Jan. 24
*Murray State at Bradley	CBSSN	6:00 PM
*Valparaiso at Southern Illinois	ESPN+	7:00 PM
*Drake at Missouri State	ESPN+	7:00 PM
*Indiana State at UIC	ESPN+	7:00 PM
Saturday, Jan. 27
*Illinois State at Evansville	ESPN+	1:00 PM
*Southern Illinois at Murray State	MVC TV/ESPN+	1:00 PM
*Missouri State at Valparaiso	ESPN+	3:00 PM
*UIC at Belmont	ESPN+	4:00 PM
*Bradley at Indiana State	ESPNU	5:00 PM
*UNI at Drake	ESPN+	5:00 PM

 
*denotes MVC game