This week's MVC honors for men's basketball include: Tytan Anderson of UNI; Saša Ciani of UIC; and Rolyns Aligbe of Southern Illinois.
Weekly Notebook (PDF)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE 2024-25 MEN’S BASKETBALL (@ValleyHoops)
2024-25 MVC Stats (PDF) |
NCAA Statistics |
MVC Standings
MVC Media Guide |
MVC Composite Schedule |
MVC NBA Draft Database
NET Rankings & NET Archive |
RPI Archive |
Rankings Summary (Sort by Team or Conf)
Player of the Week: Tytan Anderson, UNI
Anderson posted his second consecutive double-double performance and 19th of his career in UNI’s 78-67 home win over Southern Illinois. He tied his season-high for a sixth time with four assists. In the victory, Anderson jumped into a tie for 36th on UNI’s all-time scoring list (1,048 points). It marked his 78th consecutive start at UNI. Anderson was 6-of-7 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the stripe.
Newcomer of the Week: Saša Ciani, UIC
Ciani narrowly missed adding to his MVC-leading double-double tally, coming one rebound shy of his fifth of the season in Sunday’s win at Illinois State, finishing with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while grabbing a game-high nine rebounds and adding three assists, all in 23 minutes of action. Ciani had 14 points and six rebounds in the second half alone and came up with three massive plays in the final three minutes to seal the win — an 18-foot jumper to beat the shot clock buzzer (2:33), a flying offensive rebound tip-in (1:44) and a critical offensive rebound that led to a timeout and allowed the Flames to retain possession leading by four points with 22 seconds left.
Freshman of the Week: Rolyns Aligbe, Southern Illinois
Aligbe, a Minneapolis, Minn., native, made his first career start for the Salukis on the road at Northern Iowa Sunday. He scored seven points and recorded a team-high eight rebounds for Southern in the loss. The big man is averaging 4.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14 minutes of action per game this season. He has recorded five or more points in six games and had a season-high 10 rebounds on the road at Florida.
| Wednesday, Jan. 1 |
Network |
Central |
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Series History |
| *Evansville at Southern Illinois |
ESPN+ |
1:00 PM |
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SIU leads, 79-58 (SIU, 47-18, in Carbondale) |
| *Drake at UIC |
ESPN+ |
2:00 PM |
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DU leads, 10-2 (DU, 4-1, in Chicago) |
| *Bradley at Indiana State |
MVC TV/ESPN+ |
6:00 PM |
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BRAD leads, 57-44 (INS, 30-19, in Terre Haute) |
| *Valparaiso at Missouri State |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
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MOST leads, 28-10 (MOST, 13-4, in Valparaiso) |
| *Belmont at UNI |
MVC TV/ESPN+ |
8:00 PM |
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BEL leads, 3-2 (BEL, 2-0, in Cedar Falls) |
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| Thursday, Jan. 2 |
Network |
Central |
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| *Illinois State at Murray State |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
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MUR leads, 8-3 (MUR, 5-1, in Murray) |
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| Saturday, Jan. 4 |
Network |
Central |
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| *Indiana State at Evansville |
ESPN+ |
1:00 PM |
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| *UNI at Valparaiso |
ESPN+ |
3:00 PM |
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| *UIC at Belmont |
ESPN+ |
4:00 PM |
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| *Missouri State at Bradley |
CBSSN |
7:00 PM |
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| Sunday, Jan. 5 |
Network |
Central |
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| *Murray State at Drake |
ESPN2 |
2:00 PM |
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| *Southern Illinois at Illinois State |
ESPN+ |
3:00 PM |
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Nothing But Net -- The Missouri Valley Conference has seven teams rated in the Top 150, including three in the Top 80 (Drake-44; Bradley-74; UNI-80). The MVC finished non-league play 82-48 (.631). The league was 84-48 in non-league play during the regular season last year. The league is rated 10th among Division I conferences. Here’s a snapshot of the league’s top-seven rated teams. NET ratings include last year’s Dec. 30 numbers in brackets - the MVC’s top seven teams, on average, are 42.1 points higher than last year at this time.
| Metrics |
NET |
KPI |
KenPom |
| Drake |
44 [74] |
23 |
68 |
| Bradley |
74 [128] |
59 |
82 |
| UNI |
80 [119] |
89 |
94 |
| Belmont |
121 [150] |
93 |
144 |
| Illinois State |
131 [204] |
144 |
164 |
| Murray State |
141 [258] |
137 |
120 |
| UIC |
150 [132] |
110 |
192 |
Winning Ways -- Drake (12-0) is off to the best start in school history since the 2020-21 team won its first 18 games. Drake is one of just four unbeaten teams, joining Florida, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Home Cooking -- Drake’s current 28-game homecourt winning streak is tied for second in the nation. Drake has a 49-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)
49 - Drake (Dec. 2016 - current)
Best NCAA Active Home Win Streaks
(thru games of Sunday, Dec. 29)
29 - Houston
28 - Drake
27 - UConn
25 - Samford
25 - Iowa State
25 – Dayton
Power Play -- With wins over Miami (ACC), Vanderbilt (SEC), and Kansas State (Big 12), Drake is the fifth MVC team in the past six seasons to have multiple wins against “Power” teams. Indiana State had three-such wins last season (Minnesota, Cincinnati, Utah). The only other MVC teams in the past 10 seasons to have three “Power” wins during the regular season were Loyola (2021-22) and UNI (2015-16) -- both were NCAA Tournament teams in those respective seasons.
Margin Call -- Drake currently leads the MVC and ranks No. 24 nationally in scoring margin (17.5). Only three MVC teams since 1950 have had a larger average margin of victory. Bradley’s scoring margin of 14.5 ranks 11th best since 1950.
MVC Scoring Margin, Since 1950
22.0 -- Cincinnati (1959-60)
20.6 -- Cincinnati (1957-58)
18.6 -- Wichita State (2016-17)
17.5 -- Drake (2024-25)
16.9 -- Cincinnati (1961-62)
Drake in Select Company -- Only five teams in Division I men’s basketball this season have held opponents to 57.0 points per game (or fewer) and limited their opponents to 42.0 shooting (or less) from the field. Drake leads the MVC and ranks second in the nation in scoring defense at 56.3 ppg (Houston leads at 55.3), while the Bulldogs are second in the MVC (behind Bradley) in field goal percentage defense.
| 57.0 Defense & 42.0 FG Pct. Def. |
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| Drake (12-0) |
56.3 ppg |
40.8 FG Pct. |
| Tennessee (12-0) |
56.6 ppg |
34.5 FG Pct. |
| North Texas (9-3) |
56.5 ppg |
41.4 FG Pct. |
| Houston (8-3) |
55.3 ppg |
34.1 FG Pct. |
| Wagner (8-5) |
56.5 ppg |
40.6 FG Pct. |
In Elite Company -- Drake’s Bennett Stirtz is one of only two men’s Division I players to average 17.5 points, 5.8 assists, and 2.4 steals per game this season. In fact, only eight players over the past 20 seasons (and four in the past 10 seasons) have averaged that statistical trifecta. Alos, Stirtz leads the NCAA in minutes played (37:42).
| PPG (17.5+); SPG (2.4+); APG (5.8+) |
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| Markquis Nowell, K-State (22-23) |
17.6 |
2.6 |
8.3 |
| Josh Sharkey, Samford (2019-20) |
18.0 |
2.7 |
7.2 |
| Bennett Stirtz, Drake (2024-25) |
17.8 |
2.4 |
5.8 |
| Sebastian Thomas, URI (2024-25) |
17.6 |
2.4 |
7.0 |
Rally Time -- An MVC team has fallen behind by 13 or more points in a game this year and rallied to win four times this season.
Date -- Final Score (Deficit)
12/20 -- Valparaiso 76, W. Michigan 73 (22)
11/19 -- Belmont 90, Oral Roberts 80 (17)
11/29 -- Belmont 83, Gardner Webb 74 (13)
12/07 -- Illinois State 72, Pacific 61 (13)
Making Shots -- Led by UNI at 59.3 percent, six MVC teams rank in the Top 50 in the NCAA in effective field goal percentage (through games of Sunday, Dec. 29). Also, UNI’s overall field goal percentage of 52.3 leads the NCAA. That figure ranks sixth best in MVC men’s basketball history.
| Effective Field Goal Percentage Leaders |
|
| 1. Liberty (CUSA) |
.610 |
| 2. Texas Tech (Big 12) |
.600 |
| 3. Auburn (SEC) |
.596 |
| 4. UNI |
.593 |
| 5. Texas (SEC) |
.591 |
| 6. Indiana State |
.591 |
| 7. Michigan (Big Ten) |
.590 |
| 8. Bradley |
.590 |
| 12. Illinois State |
.583 |
| 39. Drake |
.565 |
| 48. Belmont |
.561 |
Bradley’s three-point percentage (44.4) leads the nation - that figure is third-best in MVC history. The Braves make a league-best 11.2 treys per contest, which is No. 9 nationally. One season after finishing 339th in 3-point FG percentage (29.2), Illinois State is 10th in the NCAA in 3-point FG percentage (40.4).
| Three-Point Percentage Leaders (NCAA Rank) |
|
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| 1. Bradley |
146-of-329 |
44.4 |
| 10. Illinois State |
138-of-342 |
40.4 |
| 14. UNI |
99-of-249 |
39.8 |
Doing it With Defense -- Drake’s scoring defense of 56.3 is second in the NCAA, trailing Houston (55.3). Only six MVC teams since 1979 have held teams to below 57.0 points per game for a season.
| MVC Scoring Defense, Since 1970 |
Postseason |
| 54.6 UNI, 2014-15 |
NCAA 2nd Round |
| 55.1 UNI, 2009-10 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 56.1 Loyola, 2020-21 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 56.2 S. Illinois, 2006-07 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 56.3 Drake, 2024-25 |
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| 56.5 S. Illinois, 2005-06 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 56.8 MoState, 1991-92 |
NCAA 1st Round |
| 57.4 Wichita St., 2015-16 |
NCAA 2nd Round |
| 57.8 UNI, 2005-06 |
NCAA 1st Round |
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.