Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball enters the final stretch of regular-season non-conference play with a 73-43 mark against non-league teams. Only five non-league games remain, which includes four road games prior to Christmas Day.
Weekly Notebook (PDF)
MVC Player of the Week: Leon Bond III, UNI
MVC Newcomer of the Week: Layne Taylor, Murray State
MVC Freshman of the Week: Jack Smiley, Belmont
Nothing But NET: MVC at 9 -- The Missouri Valley Conference is ranked No. 9 as a conference in the NCAA NET ratings (Dec. 15). Belmont (55) headlines a group of seven MVC schools rated in the Top 160. Belmont is joined by Murray State (82), Illinois State (87), and UNI (88) in the Top 100 of the NET. The MVC is also rated No. 9 in KenPom.
NET Ratings, By Conference (Leaders)
1. SEC
2. Big 12
3. Big Ten
4. ACC
5. Big East
6. Mountain West
7. Atlantic 10
8. West Coast
9. Missouri Valley
Open Season -- Belmont defeated UIC on Dec. 13 in the league-opening game for both schools. By Sunday, Dec. 21, every MVC men’s basketball team will have opened conference play with at least one league game in the books. Here’s a look at how teams have fared in their opening MVC games since the 1998-99 season, including 2024-25. In its four seasons as an MVC member, Belmont is unbeaten in league openers, recording a perfect 4-0 record in its first MVC game of the season.
(Since 1998-99) Current MVC Streak
Belmont -- 4-0 (Won 4)
Bradley -- 11-16 (Won 1)
Drake -- 14-13 (Won 2)
Evansville -- 9-18 (Lost 6)
UIC -- 0-4 (Lost 4)
Illinois State -- 12-15 (Lost 1)
Indiana State -- 17-10 (Won 3)
Murray State -- 3-0 (Won 3)
UNI -- 11-16 (Won 1)
Southern Illinois -- 16-11 (Lost 2)
Valparaiso -- 1-7 (Lost 6)
*includes Belmont/UIC from 2025-26
Roster Rebuilds -- Only three MVC teams returned more than half of their playing roster from last season -- of the league’s total 166 roster spots in 2025-26, 61.4 percent of the players are new to their programs.
Road Streaks -- Drake and Belmont rank among the national leaders for active road win streaks. Drake’s nine-game winning streak in true road games trails only Houston (14). Belmont is tied for third nationally with its current five-game road win streak.
Active NCAA Road Win Streaks, thru Dec. 14
14 -- Houston
9 -- Drake
5 -- Belmont, Duke, Gonzaga, Michigan State
Racing -- Murray State rolled to a 115-100 victory over Akron in the Jack Jones Classic in Las Vegas over the weekend. The Racers scored 68 points in the second half (third-best in school history for a half), while the 115 points are the most for the Racers against a Division I opponent in a regulation game since at least 1950. Only 19 times in the past 50 seasons has an MVC member reached 115 points against a DI team in a regulation game.
Highest Scoring Average, MVC History
92.5 -- Bradley, 1987-88
90.8 -- Tulsa, 1983-84
90.5 -- Murray State, 2025-26
88.8 -- Wichita State, 1978-79
88.8 -- Drake, 1979-80
Doing it With Defense -- Belmont leads the MVC and ranks sixth nationally in field goal percentage defense (36.6). UNI, meanwhile, is No. 3 in the nation in scoring defense (58.0 ppg). UNI also boasts the MVC’s best assist/turnover ratio (ranking 5th nationally).
Field Goal Percentage Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. Duke (ACC) -- 34.1
2. UC Irvine (Big West) -- 35.2
3. Michigan (Big Ten) -- 35.8
4. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) -- 35.9
5. Jacksonville St. (CUSA) -- 36.1
6. Belmont (MVC) -- 36.6
11. UNI (MVC) -- 37.4
Scoring Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) -- 56.9
2. Houston (Big 12) -- 57.7
3. UNI (MVC) -- 58.0
4. Duke (ACC) -- 59.6
5. West Virginia (Big 12) -- 60.9
Assist/Turnover Ratio, NCAA Leaders
1. Xavier (Big East) -- 2.14
2. Vanderbilt (SEC) -- 2.06
3. Akron (MAC) -- 2.04
4. Purdue (Big Ten) -- 1.96
5. UNI (MVC) -- 1.96
Streaking -- Bradley and Murray State enter this week with the league’s longest active win streaks -- both teams have won their past four games. Bradley’s Jaquan Johnson led all scorers with 19 points and added six steals in Sunday’s win against North Central. He has 39 steals on the season, which is the most in the NCAA. His per game average (3.55) ranks second nationally through games of Dec. 14.
NCAA Leaders, Steals Per Game
1. Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green -- 3.70
2. Jaquan Johnson, Bradley -- 3.55
3. Cam Amboree, Southern U. -- 3.40
4. Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee St. -- 3.30
5. Tyler Cochran, Rhode Island -- 3.27
Trees With 3-Straight Wins -- Indiana State enters league play this week with a three-game winning streak after defeating Milwaukee on the road on Sunday. The Sycamore defense forced MKE to shoot 19.2% from three, tying for the second-lowest by an opponent. It was a season-low shooting day from downtown for Milwaukee. Five Sycamores reached double-figure points at MKE.
Three-Point Barrage -- Murray State hit a school-record 18 3-point baskets and zoomed past the Akron Zips 115-100 on Saturday in Las Vegas. And UIC’s Josiah Hammons torched the nets for a career-high 31 points, including 8-of-16 three-pointers -- just one made trey off UIC’s school record. Meanwhile, Belmont’s Tyler Lundblade ranks fifth in the NCAA with 104 three-point attempts, fourth with 3.73 made threes per game, and he’s fourth with 41 total threes made this year.
MVC Single-Game 2025-26 Bests, 3FGM
19 -- Drake vs Western Illinois (12/02/2025)
18 -- Murray State vs Akron (12/13/2025)
MVC Individual
10 -- Braden Appelhans (Drake) vs WIU (12/02/2025)
8 -- Josiah Hammons (UIC) at Belmont (12/13/2025)
Making The Shots -- Illinois State’s field goal percentage of .588 in the Saturday game against Utah State was the second-highest total this season for the Redbirds, and the highest against NCAA Division I competition. Ty Pence scored a career-high 21 points and made eight of his nine field-goal tries.
Efficient Offense -- Belmont is one of four programs nationally to rank Top 25 nationally in 2-point and 3-point field goal percentage, joining Iowa State, Liberty, and Colorado State. Belmont has 109 assists on 57 percent shooting in the second half of games this season. The Bruins rank fifth nationally in effective field goal percentage (60.9). Belmont ranks Top 50 nationally in 10 statistical categories.
NCAA Leaders, Effective Field Goal Percentage
1. Colorado St. (Mountain West) -- .654
2. Liberty (CUSA) -- .631
3. Miami (OH) (MAC) -- .616
4. Michigan (Big Ten) -- .612
5. Belmont (MVC) -- .609
Perfect at the Line -- Drake senior transfer guard Jalen Quinn led the Bulldogs with 24 points, including 14 in the first half. He added a team-high six assists against North Dakota State. He tied a Drake school single-game record in free throw percentage (minimum 10 attempts) by making 12 of 12 free throws.
Beacons Take on Northwestern -- Valpo owns a record of 6-4, the team’s best record through 10 games since also starting 6-4 in 2019-20. With a victory on Saturday, Valpo would be 7-4 through 11 games, its best 11-game start since beginning 8-3 in 2017-18. The Beacons take on Northwestern in their non-conference finale on Tuesday. Valpo is seeking its first win over a power conference opponent since beating Alabama 68-60 on Nov. 21, 2016.
Block Party -- Connor Turnbull of Evansville leads the MVC and ranks seventh nationally with 3.0 blocks per game this season. He had seven points, nine rebounds and four rejections on Saturday against Notre Dame.
2025-26 NCAA Leaders, Blocks Per Game
1. Jerald Colonel, SFA (Southland) -- 4.00
2. Aiden Sherrell, Alabama (SEC) -- 3.20
3. Kyle Evans, UC Irvine (Big West) -- 3.18
3. Matt Van Komen, Marshall (Sun Belt) -- 3.18
5. Oswin Erhunmwunse, Providence (Big East) -- 3.17
6. Devin Williams, FAU (American) -- 3.09
7. Connor Turnbull, Evansville (MVC) -- 3.00
7. William Kyle III, Syracuse (ACC) -- 3.00
Double Trouble -- Rolyns Aligbe led Southern Illinois with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the road contest at Richmond on Saturday. It marked the first double-double performance for a Saluki player this season.
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
Leon Bond III, UNI
G/F, 6-5, 200, Jr., Wauwatosa, Wis. (Wauwatosa HS) | Virginia
Bond led UNI with a season-high 26 points in UNI’s home win of Oakland as he notched his second 20+ point game of the season (and fourth of his career). He shot 64.2 percent from the field (9-of-13), including 50% from three-point range, tying the team lead with three made three-pointers. He added seven rebounds as the Panthers improved to 8-2.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Layne Taylor, Murray State
G, 5-11, 184, So., Farmington, Ark. (Farmington HS) | Central Arkansas
Taylor helped MSU to a program-record 18 3-pointers in 115-100 win over Akron as he scored 23 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting. The six made threes tied his career record for made threes in a game. Taylor also dished out eight assists with no turnovers. The sophomore leads the MVC in assist/turnover ratio (4.36).
MVC Freshman of the Week
Jack Smiley, Belmont
G, 6-2, 170, Fr., Valparaiso, Ind. (La Lumiere School)
Smiley continued his fine play, scoring 11 second-half points to lead Belmont to victory over UIC on Dec. 13 in the conference opener. Smiley’s conventional 3-point play with 1:40 left gave Belmont a 79-73 lead. The Valparaiso native added three rebounds and an assist. Smiley has three double figure scoring games and has scored 58 points over his last six games. He scored a career-high 17 points in 13 minutes vs. Saint Francis.