Two MVC Teams Still Perfect -- Belmont and UNI are both off to 3-0 starts through the first two weeks of the season.  The Panthers are 3-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 season when they won their first five games.  The Bruins are 3-0 for the first time since starting the 2020-21 season with three-straight wins.  Belmont last won its first four games of a season in 2018-19 (started 6-0).

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MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE 2025-26 MEN’S BASKETBALL
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MVC Player of the Week: Javon Jackson, Murray State
MVC Newcomer of the Week: Quel’Ron House, Southern Illinois
MVC Freshman of the Week: Rakim Chaney, Valparaiso
 

Winning Ways -- Belmont has won 20 or more games in 15-consecutive seasons (alongside Gonzaga, Kansas, and Oregon) and 19 or more games in 20-consecutive seasons (alongside Gonzaga, Kansas, and San Diego State).

Way Too Early Metrics -- The Missouri Valley Conference ranks 10th as a league in the early installment of KenPom.  Eight of the league’s 11 teams are in the Top 150 (UNI is at 96 to lead the way in KenPom). The Panthers head the list in BartTorvik, too, at 87.  Seven MVC teams are in the Top 150 of that metric.

Home Cooking -- MVC men’s basketball teams have posted a 20-4 mark at home this season.  Eight of the league’s 11 teams have yet to lose a home contest this season.  Valparaiso has won eight-straight home games against non-league teams.

Active Home Win Streaks vs. Non-Conference
8 -- Valparaiso
7 -- UNI
6 -- UIC; Illinois State

Start Him Up -- UNI’s Trey Campbell is expected to start his 100th career game on Tuesday vs. Northern Illinois (and 67th straight).  His 99 career starts are the most for any current MVC player.

Chasing History -- Illinois State’s Chase Walker hit the double-figure point plateau for the second time this season with a season-high 19 points in the win at Long Beach State. He was 13-of-14 from the free throw line in the game.  The 13 free throw makes are tied for the sixth-most makes in the NCAA this season (and most in the MVC).

Flames Take Two -- UIC won both of its games last week.  Freshman guard Andy Johnson scored a game-high (and season-best) 16 points and knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:28 remaining as UIC grinded out a tough 67-63 road win at Chicago State on Saturday.  Johnson has scored in double figures in all four UIC games.  He also had a season-high five rebounds.

Charity Tosses -- Murray State leads the MVC in both free throw attempts (112 in four games) and free throw percentage (80.4).  The 80.4 percentage ranks 19th nationally.

NCAA Leaders (Free Throw Percentage)
1. Colorado St. (Mountain West) -- 88.2
2. Saint Joseph’s (Atlantic 10) -- 86.0
3. Lipscomb (ASUN) -- 85.5
4. Colgate (Patriot) -- 84.5
5. Tulane (American) -- 83.7
19. Murray St. (MVC) -- 80.4

Coleman Shines Again -- Illinois State freshman Ty’Reek Coleman reached the double-figure scoring plateau for the third time in his last three games as ISU beat Long Beach State on Sunday.  He scored 19 points against The Beach and has 59 points over his last three games  Coleman tied his career-high with two assists.

It’s a Steal -- Jaquan Johnson of Bradley had nine steals against UT Martin, which matches an all-time MVC single-game record.  He’s tied for 5th nationally in steals per game.

MVC Single-Game Record, Steals
9 -- Michael Johnson, CU vs. St. Joseph’s, 12/14/81
9 -- Cam Johnson, UNI vs. St. Bonaventure, 12/19/92
9 -- Rob Dye, Bradley vs. Missouri State, 1/13/99
9 -- Anthony Manuel, Bradley vs. Wichita State, 1/8/88
9 -- Al Stewart, Drake vs. Illinois State, 2/14/67
9 -- Jaquan Johnson, Bradley vs. UT Martin, 11/12/25

NCAA Steals Leaders
1. Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green (MAC) -- 4.75
1. Tyler Cochran, Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) -- 4.75
3. Tamin Lipsey, Iowa St. (Big 12) -- 4.33
4. Cam Amboree, Southern U. (SWAC) -- 4.00
5. Jaquan Johnson, Bradley (MVC) -- 3.75
5. Amarri Monroe, Quinnipiac (MAAC) -- 3.75


Balanced Scoring -- For the fourth-straight game Drake had at least four players score in double figures. Junior guard Andrew Alia, one of two holdovers from 2024-25, came off the bench with a career-high 12 points (making all four three-point shots), eclipsing his previous career best of nine in Drake’s last game against Simpson. Wilguens Jr. Exacte also tallied 12 points; Okku Federiko Jalen Quinn each added 11 points.

Rally Time -- Trailing by as many as 22 in the second half, Evansville stormed back to get within two points before Middle Tennessee finished with a 77-72 win on Wednesday.  UE newcomer Keishon Porter set season highs with 14 points and six rebounds.

King of the Hill == Murray State’s Fred King leads the nation in field goal percentage.  He’s connected on 18 of 21 field goals this season (85.7 percent).  Indiana State’s Ian Scott (73.3 percent accuracy) also ranks among the national leaders (he’s 15th).

NCAA Leaders (Free Throw Percentage)
1. Fredrick King, Murray State -- 85.7
2. Matt Van Komen, Marshall -- 84.0
3. Jadis Jones, Lindenwood -- 82.4
4. Khamari McGriff, Kansas St. -- 81.8
5. Garry Clark, Utah St. -- 80.0
15. Ian Scott, Indiana State -- 73.3

Fab Freshman -- Only three freshmen nationally are averaging double-figure points AND also have double figure totals in rebounds, steals, and assists, in 2025-26.  Rakin Chaney of Valparaiso is on the list.  Notably, Illinois State’s Ty’Reek Coleman is averaging 15.5 points per game -- that’s tied for 25th best among all freshmen.

Going to Camp -- Camp Wagner of Indiana State averaged 13.5 in two games, including scoring 11 on a trio of three-pointers at No. 4 Duke on Friday. He averaged 31.8% from deep on the week. Wagner tallied four steals through the two games and dished out four rebounds. Against Duke, he made three triples for the third time in four games this season, and he grabbed a season-high five rebounds.

Strong Defensive Start -- UNI leads the MVC in scoring defense through three games (56.3) and has held opponents to 20.5% from beyond the three-point arc.

NCAA Leaders, Scoring Defense
1. Syracuse (ACC) -- 46.7
2. San Diego St. (Mountain West) -- 51.0
3. West Virginia (Big 12) -- 53.8
4. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) -- 54.3
5. Houston (Big 12) -- 55.5
6. Towson (CAA) -- 56.0
6. UT Arlington (WAC) -- 56.0
8. UNI (MVC) -- 56.3
8. Jacksonville St. (CUSA) -- 56.3

NCAA Leaders, 3FG Defense
1. Syracuse (ACC) -- 16.0
2. Weber St. (Big Sky) -- 16.3
3. Jacksonville St. (CUSA) -- 16.9
4. Middle Tenn. (CUSA) -- 19.2
5. UT Arlington (WAC) -- 19.7
6. New Orleans (Southland) -- 19.8
7. UNI (MVC) -- 20.5
8. Iona (MAAC) -- 20.7

Strong Offensive Start -- Murray State leads the MVC in scoring, averaging 95.75 points per game through the Racers’ first four contests.   Three other league teams are averaging better than 80.0 points per game this season.

MVC Scoring, PPG -- Diff. from 2024-25
1. Murray State, 95.75 -- +23.9
2. Southern Illinois, 88.33 -- +15.5
3. Belmont, 83.00 -- +3.7
4. UIC, 82.25 -- +6.2

Second Half for the Ages -- Valparaiso faced an eight-point halftime deficit, but an overwhelming second half that saw the Beacons outscore visiting Bryant 46-20 led to a 68-50 win over an NCAA Tournament team from last season. The 18-point margin of victory was Valpo’s largest against a Division I opponent since beating Eastern Illinois by 28 on Nov. 24, 2024.  At 3-1, Valpo is off to its best four-game start to a season since 2019-20.

Nation’s Second 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 119th season in 2025-26.

Four Postseason Teams in 2025 -- The Missouri Valley Conference had four teams in postseason play in men’s basketball as Drake (NCAA), Bradley (NIT), UNI (NIT), and Illinois State (CBI) represented the MVC.  MVC schools have combined for 12 wins in post-season play the past two seasons.  The six postseason wins in 2024-25 matches the ninth-best total in league history.

13-4 in NCAA First Round -- Including Drake in 2025, MVC teams are 13-4 in their first game in the NCAA tourney dating back to 2012. The league has combined for 21 wins in the NCAA Tournament in the past 12 NCAA championships and has had multiple bids 16 times since 1994.




MVC Player of the Week
Javon Jackson, Murray State
G, 6-3, 190, Sr., Houston, Texas (C.E. King High) | Southern Nazarene/Utah St./UIC
Jackson was the top scoring player in the MVC last week as he averaged 24.5 points per game as the Racers battled SMU and handled Nicholls at home.  For the week, Jackson was 5-of-9 from three-point range and made 16 of 17 free throw attempts.  In just 27 minutes in a 20-point win against Nicholls, he had 23 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals.  He had a team-high 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting at SMU.

MVC Newcomer of the Week
Quel’Ron House, Southern Illinois
G, 6-0, 180, So., Louisville, Ky. (Seneca High) | Jacksonville State
House scored 22 points in an overtime thriller against Nevada on Wednesday. He also had seven assists. He played 44 of 45 minutes during the game, and he is averaging 19.3 points per game this season.  His scoring average ranks second in the MVC.  He’s also in the Top 10 in the Conference in field goal percentage (58.5), assists per game (4.00) and assist:turnover ratio (2.00).

MVC Freshman of the Week
Rakim Chaney, Valparaiso
G, 6-3, 185, Fr., Rockford, Ill. (Rockford Auburn / 212” Sports Academy)
Chaney’s  24 points led all scorers in the win against Nicholls while he also racked up six rebounds, three assists and two steals. He was 8-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-5 from three-point range. He followed up Wednesday’s performance with 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in Sunday’s 68-50 win over Bryant. He became only the fifth Valpo freshman since 2010 with 18 or more points and eight or more rebounds in a game.  He is the first Valpo freshman with at least 18 points, eight rebounds and four made 3s in a game since Alec Peters in 2013.