Holiday Hoops -- Two league teams earned Holiday tournament championships this past week.  Belmont won the GEICO Coconut Hoops event -- it marked Casey Alexander’s second championship at Alico Arena; he led Lipscomb to the 2018 ASUN Championship and NCAA Tournament.  Illinois State won its first in-season MTE since 2010-11 after beating Furman in the title game of the ESPN Events International on Friday.

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Monday, Dec. 1	Network	Time (CT)
Coe at UNI	ESPN+	7:00 PM
Tuesday, Dec. 2	Network	Time (CT)
Eureka at Indiana State	ESPN+	6:00 PM
Western Illinois at Drake	MC22/ESPN+	6:30 PM
Valparaiso at Marquette	ESPN+	7:00 PM
Morehead State at Murray State	ESPN+	7:00 PM
Washington State at Bradley	ESPN+	7:00 PM
Wednesday, Dec. 3	Network	Time (CT)
Arkansas Pine Bluff at UIC	ESPN+	11:00 AM
Southern Illinois at High Point	ESPN+	6:00 PM
Richmond at Belmont	ESPN+	6:30 PM
Ball State at Evansville	ESPN+	7:00 PM
Eastern Kentucky at Illinois State	ESPN+	7:00 PM
Friday, Dec. 5	Network	Time (CT)
UAB at Drake	MC22/ESPN+	6:30 PM

Weekly Notebook (PDF)
 
MVC Player of the Week:  Tyler Lundblade, Belmont
MVC Newcomer of the Week:  Jalen Quinn, Drake
MVC Freshman of the Week:  Roman Domon, Murray State
 

Nothing But NET -- The Missouri Valley Conference is ranked No. 9 as a conference in the first installment of the NCAA NET ratings (Dec. 1).  Belmont (35) headlines a group of five MVC schools rating in the Top 135.  Last season, The Valley was the 10th-rated league and had five teams in the Top 135, led by Drake at 55.

NET Ratings, By Conference (Top 10)
1. SEC
2. Big 12
3. Big Ten
4. ACC
5. Big East
6. Mountain West
7. Atlantic 10
8. WCC
9. Missouri Valley
10. WAC

Belmont Is Perfect -- Belmont (8-0) completed its first undefeated November since its 37-2 season in 1994-95 after a decisive road win at the College of Charleston on Sunday, Nov. 30.  The Bruins are one of 25 unbeatens in NCAA Division I men’s basketball.

NCAA Unbeaten Teams (through Nov. 30)
8-0 -- Belmont, Buffalo, Duke, George Mason, Missouri, Nebraska, SMU, Vanderbilt
7-0 -- Arizona, California Baptist, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa St., LSU, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan St., Oklahoma St., Purdue, USC, UC San Diego, Utah St.
6-0 -- Miami (Ohio), New Mexico State

Doing it With Defense -- Belmont leads the MVC and ranks third nationally in field goal percentage defense (34.9).  Five MVC teams rank in the Top 100 in scoring defense, led by UNI, which ranks No. 2 nationally (58.4 ppg).  Belmont (12th, 25.9) and UNI (31st, 27.4) are also among the national best in three-point percentage defense this season.

Field Goal Percentage Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. Duke (ACC) -- 34.0
2. Michigan (Big Ten) -- 34.4
3. Belmont (MVC) -- 34.9
4. UC Irvine (Big West) -- 35.2
5. Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt) -- 35.7

Scoring Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. West Virginia (Big 12) -- 57.5
2. UNI (MVC) -- 58.4
3. Duke (ACC) -- 58.8
4. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) -- 59.0
5. Houston (Big 12) -- 59.1

Racing -- Murray State is the top-scoring team in the MVC at 89.4 ppg.  The Racers have five games of scoring 90 or more points and four halves of 50 points or more this season.  MSU ranks 38th nationally in scoring average, and its current average ranks third-best all-time in Conference history.

Highest Scoring Average, MVC History
92.5 -- Bradley, 1987-88
90.8 -- Tulsa, 1983-84
89.4 -- Murray State, 2025-26
88.8 -- Wichita State, 1978-79
88.8 -- Drake, 1979-80
86.4 -- New Mexico State, 1975-76
88.2 -- Wichita State, 1965-66
87.1 -- Drake, 1968-69

Panther Plaudits -- Trey Campbell sits just eight points shy of becoming the 47th player in UNI history to reach 1,000 career points as a Panther.  Will Hornseth’s career shooting percentage (.666) currently ranks first in UNI history for players with at least 100 made baskets. And Kyle Pock has set new career-high marks in scoring in each of his last two of his last games (14 at UC Irvine, 16 vs. Tulsa). Pock has also made at least four three-point baskets in each of his last three games, tying his career-high.

Helping Hand -- Nic McClain nearly posted Belmont’s first triple-double in four years as Belmont defeated College of Charleston. He had 12 points, nine rebounds, and a career-high 11 assists. McClain averaged 9.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game this past week.

NCAA Leaders, Assists Per Game
1. Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan St. (Big Ten) -- 9.9
2. Braden Smith, Purdue (Big Ten) -- 9.0
3. Robert McCray V, Florida St. (ACC) -- 7.9
4. Zach Cleveland, Liberty (CUSA) -- 7.7
5. Drake Allen, Utah St. (Mountain West) -- 7.5
6. Themus Fulks, UCF (Big 12) -- 7.4
7. Boopie Miller, SMU (ACC) -- 7.3
8. Nic McClain, Belmont (MVC) -- 7.0

Charitable Cause -- Bradley’s Jaquan Johnson leads the MVC and ranks among the NCAA leaders (14th) with 64 free throw attempts this year.  He’s ninth in the nation for guards.  His 49 makes are tied for 17th best in the NCAA.

NCAA Leaders, FT Attempts (Guards Only)
3. Daniel Freitag, Buffalo (MAC) -- 72
4. Terrence Brown, Utah (Big 12) -- 69
6. Keyshawn Hall, Auburn (SEC) -- 67
7. Rowan Brumbaugh, Tulane (American) -- 66
7. Brody Robinson, Oakland (Horizon) -- 66
7. Chase Ross, Marquette (Big East) -- 66
7. Dailin Smith, CSU Bakersfield (Big West) -- 66
12. Bryce Harris, Howard (MEAC) -- 65
14. Jaquan Johnson, Bradley (MVC) -- 64

Another Big Win by Drake -- Drake split a pair of games against teams from A4 leagues, losing to LSU and beating Georgia Tech in the Emerald Coast Classic. Drake has won its last two games played against teams from the ACC. The Bulldogs defeated Miami (Fla.), 80-69, in its opening game of the Charleston Classic last year. Jalen Quinn set a new career-high with 31 points and tied his career-best with seven assists. Quinn was the first Bulldog to score 30 points in a game since Bennett Stirtz went for 30 points against Southern Illinois on Feb. 1, 2025.

On a Roll -- Illinois State has won its last five games to lift its record to 6-2 on the season.  Ty Pence earned MVP honors of the ESPN Events International event last week.  Pence scored a career-high 20 points, his third double-figure scoring game this season and he tied his career-high with 10 rebounds, recording the second double-double of his career.

Longest MVC Winning Streaks, 2025-26
8 -- Belmont (current)
6 -- UNI
5 -- Illinois State
3 -- Valparaiso

Young Guns -- The UIC freshman guard duo of Andy Johnson and Rashund Washington Jr. combined for 34 points and each posted career scoring highs against Robert Morris.

MVC Freshman Scoring Leaders (NCAA Top 5)
1. Ebuka Okorie, Stanford (ACC) -- 23.0
2. Cameron Boozer, Duke (ACC) -- 22.9
3. Lewis Walker, N.C. A&T (CAA) -- 20.6
4. Caleb Wilson, North Carolina (ACC) -- 19.9
5. AJ Dybantsa, BYU (Big 12) -- 19.0
Andy Johnson, UIC -- 14.9
Rakim Chaney, Valparaiso -- 14.0
Ty’Reek Coleman, Illinois St. -- 13.6

Beacons Off to Fast Start -- Valpo owns a record of 5-2, the team’s best mark through seven games since beginning the 2017-18 season at 8-0. The Beacons hold a 4-1 home mark on the season. The team won its last road game, beating Cleveland State 90-75. A win on Tuesday at Marquette would give the team consecutive road victories for the first time since 2022-23.

It’s a Steal -- Against Alcorn State, Indiana State recorded 15 steals. The last time the Sycamores had 15+ steals in a game was Feb. 9, 2011 at Illinois State (16). Four Sycamores each recorded three steals (Camp Wagner, Xavier Hall, Enel St. Bernard, and Jo Van Buggenhout). Ian Scott leads the team in steals with 14, the only Sycamore in double digits.

MVC Leaders, Steals Per Game (NCAA Rank)
1. Jaquan Johnson, Bradley (7) -- 3.25
2. Trey Campbell, UNI (23) -- 2.57
3. AJ Smith, Bradley -- 2.00
4. Rakin Chaney, Valpo -- 1.86
5. Nic McClain, Belmont -- 1.75
5. Ian Scott, Indiana State -- 1.75

Making Shots -- Southern Illinois made 28-of-47 field goals in its last win (against Little Rock).  The Salukis own the best single-game field goal percentage performance in the MVC this season as they shot 65.6 percent from the floor against Kansas City (40-of-61) on Nov. 7.  SIU ranks second behind Belmont (52.0) in the Conference in field goal shooting this year (49.0)

MVC Field Goal Percentage Leaders, 2025-26
1. Belmont -- .520
2. Southern Illinois -- .490
3. UIC -- .477
4. Murray State -- .477

Block Party -- Connor Turnbull of Evansville picked up three blocks against the College of Charleston, and he now has 12 for the season to rank second in the Conference, behind UIC’s Abdul Momoh.

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
Tyler Lundblade, Belmont
G, 6-5, 195, Gr., Dallas, Texas (Greensboro Day School) | TCU, SMU
Lundblade averaged 19.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game as Belmont defeated College of Charleston, Toledo, and Saint Francis away from home this past week to cap an undefeated November. He made 15 3-point field goals in the three games, including six 3-pointers in a season-high 22 points vs. Toledo. He was named Coconut Hoops Tournament MVP. Lundblade had a team-high 18 points at College of Charleston and vs. Saint Francis.

MVC Newcomer of the Week
Jalen Quinn, Drake
G, 6-3, 190, Sr., Tuscola, Ill. (Tuscola High) | Loyola Chicago
Led Drake to a 1-1 weekend at the Emerald Coast Classic which included a win over Georgia Tech.  Quinn averaged a league-high 25.5 points per game in Drake’s two contests going for 20 points against LSU and a career high 31 points against Georgia Tech. He shot at an efficient clip from the field with a field goal percentage of .586 (17-of-29) and he did damage from the free throw line, making 15-of-16 attempts (.938). Quinn also averaged 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists including tying a career-best with seven helpers vs. Georgia Tech.

MVC Freshman of the Week
Roman Domon, Murray State
G/F, 6-9, 225, Fr., Amiens, France (BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque)
Domon led the Racers in scoring in the Caymans at 13.3 ppg on 11-of-24 field goal shooting, which included four of 13 from three-point range.  He made all 14 of his free throw attempts.  He scored in double figures in each game, including 11 points and six rebounds against Middle Tennessee, 14 points and seven boards against McNeese and an MSU career-best 15 points with eight caroms in the win against George Washington.