A Record-Setting Year:  MVC women’s basketball will send a record-tying seven women's basketball teams to the postseason as Drake (NCAA), Belmont (WBIT), Missouri State (WBIT), UIC (WNIT), Illinois State (WNIT), Murray State (WNIT) and UNI (WNIT) represent the Missouri Valley Conference.  The MVC previously had seven teams reach postseason play in 2012.  The MVC had six teams in the postseason in 1999, 2010, 2021, and 2023.
 
20 Something -- Since the start of the 1992-93 season only three 20-win MVC teams have not participated in postseason play. All five 20-win MVC teams in 2023-24 reached post-season play. Only six NCAA conferences have more than five 20-win teams heading into post-season play
 
Leagues with 5+ 20 Win Teams
7 - ACC, Big 12, SEC
6 -- Atlantic 10, Big Ten, Pac 12
5 – The Valley, CAA, Mountain West
 
Winning Ways -- Drake's men's and women's basketball programs have combined for 57 total wins -- that's the third-best total in the NCAA.
 
Total Wins (Men's/Women's Programs) in NCAA DI in 2023-24
60 -- UConn women (29-5); UConn men (31-3)
58 -- South Carolina women (32-0); South Carolina men (26-7)
57 -- Drake women (29-5); Drake men (28-6)
55 -- Gonzaga women (30-3); Gonzaga men (25-7)
54 -- James Madison women (23-11); James Madison men (31-3)
53 -- Fairfield women (31-1); Fairfield men (22-12)
53 -- Grand Canyon women (24-8); Grand Canyon men (29-4)
 
Winning Streak -- Drake enters the NCAA Tournament with a 14-game win streak (the MVC record is 23, set by Southern Illinois during the 1985-86 season).  Only South Carolina (32), Fairfield (29), FGCU (22), Jackson State (21), South Dakota State (21), Middle Tennessee (19), Norfolk State (15), Sacred Heart (15), UNLV (15) have longer active streak than Drake.
 
Drake's 29 wins is a school record and tied for the second-most in MVC women’s basketball history.
 
Most Wins, MVC All-Time
31, Missouri State (1991-92)
29, Drake (2023-24)
29, Wichita State (2014-15)
28, Illinois State (2009-10)
28, Drake (2016-17)
 
Valley History in NCAA -- The MVC has posted an overall record of 30-55 in NCAA Tournament play.  Drake is making its 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, only Missouri State (17) has more.  Drake's six NCAA Tournament victories also rank second-only to MSU (19).   MVC schools have combined for eight wins as a No. 9 seed or worse.  The MVC has two Final Four appearances (both by Missouri State, 1992, 2001), one additional Regional Final trip (by Drake in 1986), and another five additional Regional Semifinal trips.
 
Two Selected for WBIT -- Belmont and Missouri State earned berths into the NCAA-sanctioned inaugural WBIT this season.  The Bruins have won 25 games in a single season for the first time since 2018-19 and are one of only 10 teams to have won 20 or more games for nine consecutive years – UConn, Stanford, Baylor, South Carolina, Iowa, NC State, Indiana, South Dakota State and Florida Gulf Coast.  The Lady Bears secured their seventh consecutive 20-win season and made it to the MVC Championship game before falling at the buzzer to the top-seeded Drake Bulldogs.  The bid secures a ninth-straight postseason tournament appearance for the Lady Bears, excluding the 2019-20 COVID season.
 
Valley History in the WNIT -- For the second-straight year, The Valley has four teams in the WNIT field. It marks the fifth time the MVC has had four teams in the WNIT field. Valley teams are 63-72 all-time in the WNIT. UNI reached the second round of the WNIT in 2023 and recently (in 2021) reached the tournament semifinals. With 13 appearances and 18 total wins, Illinois State leads the MVC in both WNIT berths and WNIT victories.
 
WBIT
Thursday, March 21 [host sites]
Belmont (25-8) at Ball State (28-5), 3 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Missouri State (23-9) at Illinois (14-15), 6 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
 
NCAA
Friday, March 22 [Manhattan, Kan.]
#4 Kansas State (25-7) vs. #13 Portland (21-12), 3:30 p.m. CT (ESPNews)
#5 Colorado (22-9) vs. #12 Drake (29-5), 6 p.m. CT (ESPNews)
 
WNIT
Wednesday March 20 -- UAB/Southern Miss -- winner plays Murray State
Thursday, March 21 -- UIC at Southern Indiana, 7 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Thursday, March 21 -- Charleston/USC Upstate -- winner plays Illinois State
Thursday, March 21 -- Saint Louis/Central Arkansas -- winner plays UNI