Men's Basketball 1/6/2025 3:00:00 PM

MVC MBB Weekly Notebook - 1.6.2025

MVC Weekly Notebook (PDF)

MVC Player of the Week: Tayshawn Comer, Evansville
In Wednesday’s victory at Southern Illinois, Comer scored a career-high 26 points before recording 24 against Indiana State. For the week, Comer averaged 25 points, 4.5 assists, 2.5 boards and 2.5 steals per game. He played 79:07 out of a possible 80 minutes in the two games. Comer converted 51.7% of his attempts, 55.6% (5-9) from outside and 15-of-18 from the line (15-18). The junior eclipsed his previous scoring high of 23 points in both games of the week.

MVC Newcomer of the Week: Jonathan Pierre, Belmont
Pierre nearly averaged a 20-point double-double this past week as Belmont defeated UIC and lost a close game at Northern Iowa. Pierre averaged 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. The Hallandale, Florida native had 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals vs. UIC, including a basket with 15 seconds remaining with increased Belmont’s lead to three points. Pierre had 19 points and 11 rebounds at Northern Iowa. He leads the MVC in defensive rebounding and has five double-doubles.

MVC Freshman of the Week: All Wright, Valparaiso
Wright averaged 10.5 points and 3.0 assists per game this week, helping the Beacons to a 2-0 week. His efforts helped Valpo snap a nine-game head-to-head losing streak with Missouri State on Wednesday in Springfield before stopping a 15-game skid against teams picked first or second in the MVC by prevailing 80-73 vs. UNI on Saturday. Wright played a key role in the 73-72 New Year’s Day win that took place near the town where he spent the bulk of his youth - Joplin, Mo. He tallied 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and drilled his only 3-point attempt in that contest. This season, Wright ranks second among MVC rookies in points per game (10.3) and assists per game (2.9).

Nothing But Net -- The Missouri Valley Conference has seven teams rated in the Top 140, including three in the Top 81 (Bradley-75; Drake-77; UNI-81). 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 Jan. 6 numbers in brackets - the MVC’s top seven teams, on average, are 38.0 points higher than last year at this time.

Metrics	NET	KPI	KenPom
Bradley	75 [97]	55	89
Drake	77 [71]	43	85
UNI	81 [106]	82	100
Illinois State	103 [220]	123	130
Belmont	117 [145]	77	143
Murray State	129 [189]	113	114
UIC	133 [153]	93	172

Braves With 5-Straight -- Bradley has a current 5-game win streak (that’s tied for 21st-best in the nation among active streaks), and the Braves are the league’s only unbeaten team in league play (13-2, 4-0). The Braves lead the MVC in field goal percentage defense. Since 2010, all but four teams that have led the MVC in FG percentage defense have played in the NCAA Tournament. The Braves have led the league in field goal percentage defense in five of the past seven seasons. Notably, Bradley leads the nation in three-point field goal shooting at 42.9 - that ranks fifth-best in league history.

MVC Single-Season Bests for 3FG Pct.
.458 Illinois State (110-240), 1986-87
.453 Wichita State (194-428), 1987-88
.444 Illinois State (134-302), 1987-88
.440 Illinois State (188-427), 2002-03
.429 Bradley (163-380), 2024-25
.427 Evansville (181-424), 1994-95

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.

Three-Point Improvement -- Illinois State is No. 7 in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (40.8), which is second in the MVC to NCAA leader Bradley (42.9). The Redbirds finished 12th from the bottom in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage last year (29.2).

Stirtz Stuff -- Drake’s Bennett Stirtz is one of only 20 players in the MVC during the past 50 years to record 12 assists in a game. He’s the only MVC player on record (per Basketball Reference) to have a 12-assist, 30-point game (UIC on Jan. 1.) Notably, only Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson and Stirtz have been the only two MVC players on record to record a 30-point, 10-assist game (Oscar did it three times, all in the NCAA Tournament). Stirtz is the only player in the nation to lead his league in scoring (18.3), assists (6.1) and steals (2.5).

Road Warriors -- Murray State snapped Drake’s 28-game homecourt winning streak on Sunday, and league schools have combined for an 11-13 (.458) road record in league play -- that percentage is ninth-best among conferences. Notably, Drake has a 49-game non-conference homecourt winning streak - third-best in MVC history.

Getting to the Line -- Murray State leads the MVC and ranks 18th nationally in free throw attempts per game (25.2). The Racers trail only Valpo in the MVC stats in makes per game (17.7), and Murray State ranks 31st nationally in that category. Murray State ranked eighth in The Valley last year in free throw attempts per game with an average of 17.1 tries.

Roster Rebuilds -- Only three MVC teams returned more than eight players who were on their rosters last year (Bradley, Evansville, UNI). On average, MVC squads have 9.7 new players per team (116 total players across the MVC were not on their current rosters last year). Ten players started their careers at another MVC program and transferred to their current school. The league is rated 10th as a Conference in the NET (was also 10th last year), and seven teams have higher NET rankings than a year ago on this date.

Beacon Breakthroughs -- With Saturday’s win over UNI, Valpo Stopped a four-game skid against the Panthers and captured just the program’s sixth win in 39 all-time meetings with UNI. Valpo had dropped six of the previous seven matchups with five of those losses by double figures and the lone win requiring overtime. After that win, Valpo has its best record through 15 games in six years (9-6), is 2-2 in MVC play after starting 0-4 each of the last two years and has already surpassed last season’s overall win total by two.

In Rare Air -- Drake’s Bennett Stirtz is the only men’s Division I player to average 18.0 points, 6.0 assists, and 2.5 steals per game this season. In fact, only 21 players over the past 40 seasons (and four in the past 10 seasons) have averaged that statistical trifecta.

PPG (18.0+); SPG (2.5+); APG (6.0+)	PPG	SPG	APG
David Holston, Chicago St. (08-09)	25.9	3.0	6.4
Jalan West, Northwestern St. (13-14)	19.4	2.5	6.4
Josh Sharkey, Samford (2019-20)	18.0	2.7	7.2
Bennett Stirtz, Drake (2024-25)	17.8	2.4	5.8

Making Shots -- Led by Illinois State at 59.4 percent, six MVC teams rank in the Top 50 in the NCAA in effective field goal percentage (through games of Sunday, Jan. 5). Also, UNI’s overall field goal percentage of 51.6 leads the MVC and ranks second in the nation. That figure ranks seventh best in MVC history.

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.

Missouri Valley Conference

Sponsors