Non-Conference Season Winding Down — MVC teams enter the homestretch of non-conference play with a 68-38 (+30) non-conference record. Ten league teams will play their first league game by next Thursday (Dec. 18). The Conference season begins Saturday, Dec. 13, as Belmont hosts UIC in Nashville.
Weekly Notebook (PDF)
| Wednesday, Dec. 10 |
Network |
Time (CT) |
| UT Martin at Southern Illinois |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
|
|
|
| Saturday, Dec. 13 |
Network |
Time (CT) |
| North Dakota State at Drake |
MC22/ESPN+ |
1:00 PM |
| Evansville at Notre Dame |
ACC Network |
1:00 PM |
| UNC Wilmington at Valparaiso |
ESPN+ |
2:00 PM |
| *UIC at Belmont |
ESPN+ |
3:00 PM |
| Murray State at Akron |
BallerTV |
3:00 PM |
| Illinois State at Utah State |
|
4:00 PM |
| Southern Illinois at Richmond |
ESPN+ |
5:00 PM |
| Oakland at UNI |
ESPN+ |
5:00 PM |
|
|
|
| Sunday, Dec. 14 |
Network |
Time (CT) |
| North Central at Bradley |
ESPN+ |
1:00 PM |
| Indiana State at Milwaukee |
ESPN+ |
2:00 PM |
Player of the Week: Connor Turnbull, Evansville
Newcomer of the Week: Owen Dease, Valparaiso
Freshman of the Week: Mason Klabo, Illinois State
Nothing But NET: MVC at 8 -- The Missouri Valley Conference is ranked No. 8 as a conference in the NCAA NET ratings (Dec. 8). Belmont (51) headlines a group of seven MVC schools rated in the Top 150. Belmont is joined by Illinois State (87), Murray State (89) and UNI (97) in the Top 100 of the NET. The MVC is No. 9 in the KenPom conference ratings.
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. Missouri Valley
Metrics, MVC Leaders
| Team |
NET |
KenPom |
EvanMiya |
| Belmont |
51 |
73 |
61 |
| Illinois State |
87 |
108 |
100 |
| Murray State |
89 |
111 |
128 |
| UNI |
97 |
100 |
103 |
| Bradley |
129 |
122 |
213 |
| Drake |
142 |
127 |
223 |
| Southern Illinois |
148 |
132 |
183 |
Racing -- Murray State is 8-1 this season when it scores 80 or more points, with the only loss at SMU (Nov. 11) -- 102-91. The Racers are averaging a league-best 88.0 points per game, headlining four MVC schools that are averaging 80+ points per game this year (Belmont: 85.60; Illinois State: 81.50; and Southern Illinois: 80.00).
Highest Scoring Average, MVC History
92.5 -- Bradley, 1987-88
90.8 -- Tulsa, 1983-84
88.8 -- Wichita State, 1978-79
88.8 -- Drake, 1979-80
88.0 -- Murray State, 2025-26
86.4 -- New Mexico State, 1975-76
88.2 -- Wichita State, 1965-66
Beacons Rolling -- Valparaiso saw seven players reach double-figure points in a 98-58 victory over visiting Calumet College on Saturday. The Beacons improved to 6-3, their best record through nine games since 2017-18. Valpo moved the ball to the tune of 25 assists against 10 turnovers. This was the seventh time in nine games this season that the Beacons committed 10 turnovers or fewer.
Open Season — League play begins Saturday (Dec. 13) as UIC travels to Nashville to take on Belmont. Here’s a look at how teams have fared in their opening MVC games since the 1998-99 season, including 2024-25.
(Since 1998-99) Current MVC Streak
| Belmont -- 3-0 |
Won 3 |
| Bradley -- 11-16 |
Won 1 |
| Drake -- 14-13 |
Won 2 |
| Evansville -- 9-18 |
Lost 6 |
| UIC -- 0-3 |
Lost 3 |
| 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 |
Road Warriors -- Belmont has won all five of its games away from home this season by a combined 119 points. In its three ‘true’ road games, Belmont has a +67 point differential, winning road games by an average of 22.3 points per game.
NCAA Leaders, Road (true road) Margin of Victory
Penn State (1-0) -- 44.0
Georgia (1-0) -- 34.0
Duke (2-0) -- 30.5
Yale (3-0) -- 23.0
Iowa State (1-0) -- 23.0
Belmont (3-0) -- 22.3
Saint Louis (1-0) -- 21.0
Virginia (1-0) -- 19.0
Iona (3-0) -- 16.3
Doing it With Defense -- Belmont leads the MVC and ranks fifth nationally in field goal percentage defense (35.8). UNI, meanwhile, leads the nation in scoring defense (57.4 ppg). UNI also boasts the MVC’s second-best scoring margin at 16 points, behind Belmont (+18.9).
Field Goal Percentage Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. Duke (ACC) -- 34.1
2. Michigan (Big Ten) -- 34.6
3. UC Irvine (Big West) -- 35.2
4. Jacksonville St. (CUSA) -- 35.6
5. Belmont (MVC) -- 35.8
11. UNI (MVC) -- 37.1
Scoring Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. UNI (MVC) -- 57.4
2. West Virginia (Big 12) -- 58.4
3. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) -- 58.5
4. Duke (ACC) -- 59.6
5. Houston (Big 12) -- 60.0
Redbirds Win Again -- Chase Walker flirted with a triple-double, scoring 12 points with nine rebounds and nine assists, as Illinois State picked up a lopsided 90-53 win over Chicago State on Saturday. The win is ISU’s seventh straight, tied for the fifth-longest since 1992-93, and the longest since the 2016-17 season. ISU’s current streak is tied for 12th best in the NCAA for active winning streaks.
It’s a Steal -- Bradley won for the third-straight game with a 29-point lopsided home victory against Northern Illinois on Saturday. Jaquan Johnson scored 21 points and picked up two more steals -- he ranks fifth in the nation in steals per game (3.30).
NCAA Leaders, Steals Per Game
1. Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green (MAC) -- 3.70
2. Tyler Cochran, Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) -- 3.60
3. Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee St. (OVC) -- 3.44
4. Cam Amboree, Southern U. (SWAC) -- 3.38
5. Jaquan Johnson, Bradley (MVC) -- 3.30
Home Cooking -- Murray State and Illinois State have the longest active homecourt winning streaks in the MVC -- both at seven dating back to last season. The Racers and Redbirds are both 5-0 at home this year. Indiana State (5-0 at Hulman Center) and Southern Illinois (3-0 at Banterra Center) are also perfect at home this season.
Perfect at the Line -- Indiana State is 8-2 in its last 10 home games dating back to last season after a 22-point win against visiting Southern Indiana on Sunday. Camp Wagner made all four of his free throw attempts and has started the season with 19-straight makes. Only three others in the NCAA have started the year with longer free throw streaks.
2025-26 NCAA Leaders, Consecutive Made FTs
27 -- Kenny Noland, Columbia
24 -- Jaredy Frey, UMass Lowell
22 -- Almar Atlason, Miami (Ohio)
19 -- Camp Wagner, Indiana State
18 -- Cole Certa, Notre Dame
18 -- Javon Ruffin, Bowling Green
Helping Hand -- Belmont’s Nic McClain averaged 19.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.0 steals per game as Belmont won at Middle Tennessee and fell in the final minute to Richmond last week. He’s 11th in the nation in assists per game. The MVC has three teams (Belmont, Indiana State, UNI) in the Top 55 in the NCAA in assists per game, topped by Belmont (21st, 18.9 apg). UNI ranks 9th in the NCAA in assist:turnover ratio to lead The Valley.
NCAA Leaders, Assists Per Game
1. Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan St. (Big Ten) -- 9.8
2. Braden Smith, Purdue (Big Ten) -- 8.8
3. Zach Cleveland, Liberty (CUSA) -- 8.4
4. Themus Fulks, UCF (Big 12) -- 7.4
5. Christian Anderson, Texas Tech (Big 12) -- 7.0
11. Nic McClain, Belmont (MVC) -- 6.5
Double Trouble -- Ahmad Henderson II has scored in double figures in all nine UIC games this season. He joins Jaquan Johnson of Bradley (10 of 10) and Tyler Lundblade of Belmont (10 of 10) as MVC players to hit double figure points in all of his team’s games this season.
Block Party -- Connor Turnbull of Evansville recorded nine blocked shots at Western Kentucky on Saturday. Only two players in MVC history (Gene Wiley of Wichita State - 5 times; and Benoit Benjamin of Creighton - 5 times)have recorded 10 or more blocks in a game. Turnbull’s nine blocks is a UE single-game record besting the previous mark of eight, which was done on three occasions. The last MVC player to reach nine blocks in a game was Ehimen Orukpe of Wichita State (vs. Southern Illinois) on 1-9-2013.
2025-26 NCAA Leaders, Blocks Per Game
1. Jerald Colonel, SFA -- 4.00
2. Oswin Erhunmwunse, Providence -- 3.60
3. Kyle Evans, UC Irvine -- 3.18
4. Devin Williams, Fla. Atlantic -- 3.00
5. Miles Rubin, Loyola Chicago -- 2.90
6. Connor Turnbull, Evansville -- 2.89
Draining Threes -- Braden Appelhans’ record-breaking 3-point shooting helped Drake beat Western Illinois on Tuesday, 108-57. Appelhans knocked down a school-record 10 threes in scoring a career-high 30 points. His 10 three-pointers tied for the second-most in a game in MVC history.
Three-Pointers Made - Game (MVC History)
11 -- Troy Hudson, SIU vs. Hawaii-Hilo, 12/29/95
10 -- Troy Hudson, SIU vs. Indiana St., 2/21/96
10 -- Braden Appelhans, DU vs. WIU, 12/2/25
9 -- 13 times
Rally Time -- Southern Illinois trailed by 12 points at half (and by 14 in the contest) but rallied to win at High Point, 86-84 on Wednesday. The comeback was fueled by Damien Mayo’s 22-point second half.
Top MVC Comebacks, 2024-25
14 -- Southern Illinois 86, High Point 84 (12/3/25)
11 -- Drake 77, Northern Arizona 71 (11/3/25)
11 -- Bradley 87, UMass Lowell 77 (11/19/25)
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
Connor Turnbull, Evansville
F, 6-10, Sr., St. Paul, Mo. (Fort Zumwalt North) | Butler
Turnbull had a monster week for the Aces as Evansville went 1-1 with a home win against Ball State and a one-point road loss at Western Kentucky. He averaged 20.0 points in two games and was 16-of-26 from the floor (62.0 percent), collected 18 rebounds in two games (9.0 average), and had 14 total blocks (7.0 average). Turnbull’s nine blocks against Western Kentucky established UE’s single-game record and was the most by an MVC player since January of 2013.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Owen Dease, Valparaiso
F, 6-8, 200, R-Sr., Evansville, Ind. (Reitz) | Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Dease nearly propelled the program to its first win over a Power school since November 2016 as the Beacons pushed Marquette to the brink in a 75-72 overtime loss on Tuesday. He racked up 17 points in each of his two games this week (at Marquette, vs. CCSJ), leading the team in both contests. He also squeezed six rebounds against the Golden Eagles and followed with four vs. CCSJ. His points came at a high shooting clip as he went 5-of-6 at Marquette and 7-of-10 vs. CCSJ, going 4-of-6 from 3 for the week.
MVC Freshman of the Week
Mason Klabo, Illinois State
G, 6-2, 180, Fr., Fargo, N.D. (Fargo Davies)
Klabo led the Redbirds and all MVC freshmen in scoring while his field goal percentage on the week (.722) was fourth-best in the MVC. He scored 17 points with five rebounds in the victory against Eastern Kentucky and then followed that up with 16 points in the win against Chicago State. He was 13-of-18 from the field last week and 7-of-12 from three-point range as ISU improved its winning streak to seven games.