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Weekly Notebook (PDF)

MVC Player of the Week: Chase Walker, Illinois State
MVC Newcomer of the Week: Owen Dease, Valparaiso
MVC Freshman of the Week: Eoin Dillon, Belmont
 

Tuesday, Jan. 20	Network	Time (CT)
*Evansville at UIC	Marquee/ESPN+	7:00 PM
Wednesday, Jan. 21	Network	Time (CT)
*Indiana State at Bradley	ESPN+	6:00 PM
*Murray State at Drake	CBS Sports Net	6:00 PM
*Southern Illinois at Valparaiso	ESPN+	7:00 PM
*UNI at Illinois State	ESPNU	8:00 PM
Saturday, Jan. 24	Network	Time (CT)
*Drake at Indiana State	ESPN+	12:00 PM
*Murray State at UNI	CBS Sports Net	3:00 PM
*UIC at Bradley	ESPN+	7:00 PM
Sunday, Jan. 25	Network	Time (CT)
*Illinois State at Belmont	ESPN+	2:00 PM
*Southern Illinois at Evansville	ESPN+	3:00 PM
*denotes MVC contest; MVC TV = cleared on Gray Media affiliates, non-affiliate stations, and ESPN+

 

• The State Farm MVC Tournament will be contested for the 50th time in 2026.  This year's tournament is March 5-8, 2026, in St. Louis, Mo., at Enterprise Center.
• The Missouri Valley Conference is ranked No. 9 as a conference in the NCAA NET ratings (Jan. 19). Belmont (61) headlines six MVC programs that rank in the Top 150. The Bruins are joined by Murray State (65), and Illinois State (80) in the Top 100.Murray State’s 52 WAB (wins above bubble) tops the Conference.
• Murray State won its 12th-straight game with its victory against Indiana State on Saturday.  That’s tied for the fifth-longest active win streak in the nation.  MSU has won 12-straight games at home - tied for the 17th-best active streak in the nation.
• Belmont is 8-1 in true road games this season. The eight road victories are the most in the nation. The +13.0 scoring differential in true road games is third-best nationally (for teams with 4+ road games).
• For the first time as an MVC member, UIC has won four-straight league games with wins over Southern Illinois, Illinois State, UNI, and Drake.  Freshman Andy Johnson averaged 14.5 points per game in the wins over UNI and Drake last week. Johnson scored a career-high 21 points (making 4-of-6 three-pointers) vs. Drake.

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

Metrics, MVC Leaders
Team	NET	KP	BPI	KPI	SOR	WAB
BEL	61	65	101	50	62	70
MUR	65	87	97	63	53	52
ILS	80	89	87	117	117	121
UNI	102	107	104	111	140	145
BRAD	129	133	119	104	134	139
KP - KenPom; BPI - ESPN Power Index;
SOR - Strength of Record; WAB - Wins Above Bubble;

12-Straight Victories -- Murray State won its 12th-straight game with its victory against Indiana State on Saturday.  That’s tied for the fifth-longest active win streak in the nation.  MSU has won 12-straight games at home - tied for the 17th-best active streak in the nation.

NCAA Leaders, Active Win Streaks MBB
22 -- Nebraska
19 -- Miami (Ohio)
18 -- Arizona
14 -- UConn
12 -- Murray State
12 -- Gonzaga

Road Warriors -- Belmont is 8-1 in true road games this season. The eight road victories are the most in the nation. The +13.0 scoring differential in true road games is third-best nationally (for teams with 4+ road games).

NCAA Scoring Differential (Road Games)
+20.2 -- Duke (6-0)
+20.0 -- Gonzaga (5-0)
+13.0 -- Belmont (8-1)
+12.5 -- St. John’s (4-0)

Off to the Races -- Murray State has started league play with eight-straight victories.  Only two MVC teams in the past 10 seasons have won their first nine MVC games. Only five current MVC teams have started a league season with 10-straight victories.

Best MVC Starts, Last 10 Seasons
11-0 -- Illinois State (2016-17) -- Lost at Wichita St.
9-0 -- Drake (2020-21) -- Lost at Valpo

Current MVC Win Streaks
8 -- Murray State (next: at Drake, Wednesday)
4 -- Belmont (next: vs. Illinois State, Saturday)
4 -- UIC (next: vs. Evansville, Tuesday)

Close Calls in MVC Play -- There have been 45 league games (through games of Jan. 17).  Of those 45, 35 games have been decided by 10 points or less (including five overtime contests).  Average margin of victory: 8.44.  The league has had 12 of its 45 games decided by one possession (3 points or less) or in overtime — that’s the eighth-highest percentage for a conference in the NCAA (per KenPom).

Home Cooking -- Murray State (5-0) and Bradley (4-0) are perfect in league home games this season.  MVC teams are 26-19 (.577) in MVC home games in 2025-26.  Last year, MVC teams were 65-54 (.546) at home in league play.

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. ESPN research indicates Murray State is one of just nine DI programs with no players returning from last year’s roster.

Doing it With Defense -- Belmont, Michigan, Saint Louis, and Louisville are the only four programs in America to rank Top 10 nationally in 2-point field goal percentage offense and 2-point field goal percentage defense. The Bruins rank 8th nationally in the latter (38.4).  UNI boasts the NCAA’s top scoring defense (59.7) and ranks second in the NCAA three-point percentage defense (.256). The Panthers’ 9.2 turnovers per game are also the seventh-fewest in Division I.

Field Goal Percentage Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. Saint Louis (Atlantic 10) -- 35.6
2. Michigan (Big Ten) -- 36.0
3. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) -- 37.8
4. South Alabama (Sun Belt) -- 37.9
5. UC Irvine (Big West) -- 37.9
6. Virginia (ACC) -- 38.1
7. Kansas (Big 12) -- 38.2
8. Belmont (MVC) -- 38.4

Scoring Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. UNI (MVC) -- 59.7
2. Houston (Big 12) -- 60.1
3. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) -- 60.5

3FG Percentage Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. UT Arlington (WAC) -- 25.3
2. UNI (MVC) -- 25.6
3. Marist (MAAC) -- 26.8

On Target -- Belmont’s Tyler Lundblade leads the MVC and ranks sixth nationally with his 92.9 free throw percentage accuracy. That figure currently ranks sixth-best for a single season in MVC history.

NCAA Leaders, FT Percentage
1. Miles Barnstable, Tulsa (American) -- 94.6
2. Micah Thomas, Northwestern St. -- 94.3
3. Kenny Noland, Columbia (Ivy) -- 94.1
4. Joshua Dent, Saint Mary’s (CA) (WCC) -- 93.2
4. Isaiah Moses, Eastern Wash. (Big Sky) -- 93.2
6. Tyler Lundblade, Belmont (MVC) -- 92.9

MVC Single-Season Leaders, FT Percentage
.975 -- Blake Ahearn, Missouri St., 2003-04
.949 -- Rick Fields, Indiana State, 1982-83
.947 -- Blake Ahearn, Missouri St., 2004-05
.936 -- Blake Ahearn, Missouri St., 2005-06
.930 -- Mike Glenn, Southern Illinois, 1976-77
.929 -- Tyler Lundblade, Belmont, 2025-26
.925 -- Blake Ahearn, Missouri St., 2006-07
.920 -- Vince Greene, Illinois State, 2004-05

Block Party -- Murray State had a league season-best 13 blocks in the win against Indiana State on Saturday, Jan. 17. The 13 blocks is one shy of an MSU program record.  MSU had 14 blocks in 2006 at home against Morehead State and did it again in 2014 at home in the CIT title game over Yale.

MVC Single-Game Leaders, Blocks (All Time)
16 -- Creighton vs. St. Ambrose, 12/21/82
15 -- Wichita State vs. Purdue, 12/11/61
14 -- Tulsa vs. Southwest Missouri State, 1/22/91
14 -- Illinois State vs. Evansville, 3/3/17
14 -- Missouri State vs. Sam Houston, 12/9/23
13 -- Murray State vs. Indiana State, 1/17/26
13 -- Wichita State vs. Southern Illinois, 1/9/13

Flaming Hot -- For the first time as an MVC member, UIC has won four-straight league games with wins over Southern Illinois, Illinois State, UNI, and Drake.  Freshman Andy Johnson averaged 14.5 points per game in the wins over UNI and Drake last week. Johnson scored a career-high 21 points (making 4-of-6 three-pointers) vs. Drake.

Bird Banter -- Behind two players – Boden Skunberg and Chase Walker – who each scored 20 or more points, Illinois State ran away with a dominating 88-62 win over I-74 rival Bradley on Saturday, winning by an 88-62 final score. The win was the largest in the rivalry since ISU won 78-48 on Feb. 4, 2012.

It’s a Steal! -- The Braves lead the MVC in turnover margin and rank 8th in the NCAA (+5.2), while Bradley guard Jaquan Johnson leads the MVC and ranks second nationally in steals per game (3.17). His 64 total steals lead the NCAA.  Only two NCAA players are averaging 17.0 points and 3.1 steals per game: Bowling Green’s Javontae Campbell (17.9, 3.3) and Johnson (17.5, 3.17).

NCAA Leaders, Turnover Margin
1. McNeese (Southland) -- 7.4
2. High Point (Big South) -- 7.2
3. Houston (Big 12) -- 6.9
8. Bradley (MVC) -- 5.2

NCAA Leaders, Steals Per Game
1. Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green (MAC) -- 3.28
2. Jaquan Johnson, Bradley (MVC) -- 3.20
3. Tyler Cochran, Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) -- 3.06
4. Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee St. (OVC) -- 2.94

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
Chase Walker, Illinois State
F, 6-9, 280, Jr., Columbus, Ohio (St. Charles)
Averaged an Illinois State-best 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in a pair of games during the week, reaching the 20-point mark in each … Recorded his first double-double of the season on Saturday, Jan. 17, against Bradley with 20 points and 11 rebounds, making 8-of-12 shots in the game … Had the sixth-best scoring and rebounding average in the MVC during the week, while his field goal percentage was seventh-best … Was also ranked second in the conference in steals on the week, and had the fourth-most blocked shots over the two games.

MVC Newcomer of the Week
Owen Dease, Valparaiso
F, 6-8, 200, R-Sr., Evansville, Ind. (Evansville Reitz) | Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Dease had another huge week as he continued to lead the league in conference-only scoring average. Dease poured in 22.0 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game, while draining eight 3s and going 8-for-8 at the free-throw line in two games this week. He made a season-high five 3s and poured in 24 points on Tuesday at Belmont before leading Valpo to Saturday’s win over UNI with 20 points and seven rebounds, the latter tying a season high. He has scored 20 points or more in five of his last eight games.

MVC Freshman of the Week
Eoin Dillon, Belmont
F, 6-9, 200, R-Fr., Peoria, Ill. (Notre Dame HS)
Dillon continued his fine play in leading Belmont to victories vs. Valparaiso and at Southern Illinois this past week. Dillon averaged 15.0 points and 3.5 rebounds this past week on 73 percent shooting.  He scored 13 of his career-high 18 points in the second half at Southern Illinois. His five straight points tied the game at 62 with 2:42 left and sparked a 12-0 Belmont run down the stretch. Dillon had 12 points vs. Valparaiso Jan. 13, including the go-ahead basket with 1:07 left and the eventual game-winning assist with 11 seconds left. Dillon has scored in double figures in five MVC games this season.