UIC is 2-0 to start a non-COVID season for the first time since 2007-08 (the Flames won three in a row to start the truncated 2020-21 season). Six non-league games are on the slate for Tuesday night, including UIC's game at Northwestern.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE 2024-25 MEN’S BASKETBALL (@ValleyHoops)
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Javon Jackson, UIC
NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK: Samage Teel, Indiana State
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Gabriel Pozzato, Evansville
- Flaming Hot -- UIC is 2-0 to start a non-COVID season for the first time since 2007-08 (the Flames won three in a row to start the truncated 2020-21 season). In taking down No. 13 (Mid-Major) Yale, the defending Ivy League Tournament champion and a 2024 NCAA Second Round participant, on Friday, UIC scored 90+ points for the second consecutive game, the first time in more than quarter century that the Flames have turned in back-to-back 90-point games.
- Shocking -- UNI will renew its rivalry with former MVC member Wichita State on Thursday at Koch Arena. The Panthers and Shockers are all tied up at 28 wins a piece and will meet for the first time since their second meeting of the 2016-17 regular season.
- Home Cooking -- The Valley won 84.3 percent of its non-MVC home games (59-11) last year -- that percentage was the 14th best in the MVC all time. Drake’s current 23-game homecourt winning streak is tied for best in the nation. Drake has a 45-game non-conference homecourt winning streak - third-best in MVC history.
Best MVC Non-Conf Home Streaks
61 - Bradley (Dec. 1962 - Dec. 1969)
51 - Cincinnati (Dec. 1957 - Dec. 1963)
45 - Drake (Dec. 2016 - current)
Best NCAA Active Home Win Streaks
23 - Drake
23 - Houston
22 - UConn
19 - Iowa State
- Four Block Double-Double -- Cooper Schwieger had 11 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks on Friday vs. Concordia Ann Arbor. He became the first Valpo player with a four-block double-double since Vashil Fernandez (13 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks) on Jan. 16, 2016 vs. Green Bay.
- MVC in the NBA -- Five MVC alums are playing for NBA teams: Malevy Leons, Bradley (OKC); Ben Sheppard, Belmont (Indiana); Fred VanVleet, Wichita State (Houston); Doug McDermott, Creighton (Sacramento); and AJ Green, UNI (Milwaukee). Murray State has two also (played at Murray State prior to MVC membership): Ja Morant, Murray State (Memphis); Cameron Payne, Murray State (NY Knicks)
- Elite Company -- Drake (128 wins) and Belmont (119 wins) both rank among the national top 20 in NCAA men’s basketball for total victories since 2019-20. Drake is tied for sixth-best; Belmont is tied for 16th-best.
- Board Crazy -- In their 93-48 win against Eureka College on Thursday, the Sycamores grabbed 56 rebounds, which is the most since the 1978-19 season, according to records on-hand. Valparaiso had 62 in its win against Concordia which is the league single-game high this year.
- Defensive Minded -- Drake ranks third nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 46.0 points per game in its first two wins. Murray State leads the league and ranks 15th nationally by forcing 20 turnovers per game, while Murray State (t13th), Missouri State (t13th) and Southern Illinois (15th) rank among national leaders in steals.
The Valley Runs Deep
- The Conference has a rich tradition of success in postseason play. In league history, 18 teams have reached the men’s NCAA Final Four, and the MVC owns four NCAA men’s basketball titles and seven NIT crowns. Indiana State reached the title game of the NIT in 2024.
- Notably, MVC teams are 12-4 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 11 NCAA championships and has earned multiple bids 16 times since 1994.
- MVC teams have 42 total wins in the NCAA Tournament since 1994 with 12 Sweet 16 trips and two Final Four appearances. Notably, 31 of 42 victories have been against Power conferences, and the league has a winning record in that span against Big 12 and SEC schools.
- In 2023-24, the Missouri Valley Conference sent a total of four teams to postseason play as Drake competed against Washington State in the NCAA Tournament, Bradley and Indiana State participated in the NIT, and Evansville played in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). The Valley posted a total of five NIT victories, as Indiana State reached the title game, collecting wins over SMU, Minnesota, Cincinnati and Utah. Bradley defeated Loyola in the first round of the NIT. Evansville split a pair of games in the CBI.