Men's Basketball

MVC Weekly Men's Basketball Notebook (Jan. 29, 2024)

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:   Alston Mason, Missouri State
NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:   Isaiah Swope, Indiana State
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:  Johnny Kinziger, Illinois State
 
MVC Weekly -- 1-29
  • Midway Point -- Saturday (Jan. 27) marked the midway point of the MVC schedule. Last year (Belmont and SIU led the league at 8-2 after 10 games) marked the first time since 1992 that a conference leader (or co-leader) failed to reach post-season play after leading the league at the midway point of the Conference schedule. Indiana State (18-3, 9-1 MVC) leads The Valley at the midway point in 2023-24.
  • Streaking -- Drake’s current 16-game homecourt winning streak is tied for 5th-best nationally. Drake (11-0) and Indiana State (9-0) have not lost at home this year.
  • Comeback -- Southern Illinois trailed by 20 points at Murray State in the second half on Jan. 27, only to rally for a 60-58 victory. It’s the third 20-point comeback by an MVC school this season.
  • 30-Point Games -- Missouri State’s Alston Mason is coming off a career-high 36 points in Wednesday’s win over Drake. His outburst marked the most points by a Bear since Isiaih Mosley’s 40-point effort at Loyola on Jan. 22, 2022. Indiana State’s Isaiah Swope also had 30 points (at UIC) last Wednesday, and Bradley’s Duke Deen hit his career high with 31 points at Indiana State on Saturday.
  • MVC in the NET -- Indiana State leads eight MVC teams among the Top 162 as ISU sits at No. 24. Drake is 47; and Bradley, 64. The MVC finished 15th as a league in the Conference NET last year and enters this week 10th as a league. The league’s Top 3 NET-rated teams have combined for nine Quad 1+Quad 2 victories this year.  Indiana State enters the week No. 24 in the NET, is rated No. 37 in KenPom, and is at No. 41 in ESPN’s BPI Index. ISU is receiving votes in both the Associated Press (34th-most votes overall) and USA Today Top 25 coaches poll (33rd overall).
  • On the Road in MVC Play -- The MVC has combined for a 25-35 record on the road in league play (.417). The road success in MVC play is the third-best on record (through at least 1977).
  • Winning Ways -- Drake and Belmont are two of the winningest programs in the NCAA since the start of the 2020-21 campaign. Drake ranks fourth-best nationally in that span, and Belmont is No. 20.
  • Block Party -- UIC leads the MVC and ranks eighth in the nation in blocks per game (5.8). Only one MVC team since 1987 has recorded 5.0 blocks per game for an entire season.
  • Young Guns -- Valparaiso is one of the youngest teams in the nation (per KenPom), as the Beacons rank No. 356 (of 362) in experience.  Valpo started four freshmen in its last game.
  • Arch Madness -- In March 2024, The Valley will conduct its 34th St. Louis-based postseason men’s basketball championship. With 34-straight years at the same neutral site, Arch Madness is the second-longest neutral site tenured collegiate tourney in the nation (following only the Big East in New York City). This year's tournament dates are March 7-10 (Thursday-Sunday) at Enterprise Center..
  • 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. 30 Times CT
*Illinois State at Murray State ESPN+ 7:00 PM
Wednesday, Jan. 31
*Indiana State at Belmont ESPN+ 6:30 PM
*Missouri State at Southern Illinois ESPN+ 7:00 PM
*UIC at Evansville ESPN+ 7:00 PM
*Valparaiso at Drake ESPN+ 7:00 PM
*UNI at Bradley CBSSN 7:00 PM
Saturday, Feb. 3
*Bradley at Illinois State MVC TV/ESPN+ 1:00 PM
*Murray State at UNI CBSSN 1:00 PM
*Southern Illinois at UIC ESPN+ 1:00 PM
*Belmont at Missouri State ESPN+ 1:00 PM
*Evansville at Valparaiso ESPN+ 3:00 PM
*Drake at Indiana State ESPN2/ESPN+ 5:00 PM
 
*denotes MVC game