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Player of the Week: Jalen Quinn, Drake
Newcomer of the Week: Elijah Crawford, UIC
Freshman of the Week:  Eoin Dillon, Belmont

Weekly MVC MBB Notebook (PDF)

 

Tuesday, Jan. 27	Network	Time (CT)
*Indiana State at UIC	ESPN+	7:00 PM
Wednesday, Jan. 28	Network	Time (CT)
*UNI at Southern Illinois	MVC TV/ESPN+	6:00 PM
*Evansville at Drake	MCC22/ESPN+	6:30 PM
*Belmont at Valparaiso	ESPN+	7:00 PM
*Illinois State at Murray State	MVC TV/ESPN+	8:00 PM
Saturday, Jan. 31	Network	Time (CT)
*Valparaiso at Indiana State	ESPN+	12:00 PM
*Evansville at UNI	ESPN+	3:00 PM
*Bradley at Drake	CBS SN	5:00 PM
*UIC at Southern Illinois	ESPN+	6:00 PM
*Murray State at Belmont	CBS SN	7:00 PM
Tuesday, Feb. 3	Network	Time (CT)
*Southern Illinois at Illinois State	MVC TV/ESPN+	6:00 PM
*UIC at Murray State	ESPN+	7:00 PM
*Indiana State at Evansville	ESPN+	7:00 PM
*Valparaiso at Bradley	ESPN+	7:00 PM
*Drake at Belmont	MVC TV/ESPN+	8:00 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. 26). Belmont (62) headlines nine MVC programs that rank in the Top 165. The Bruins are joined by Murray State (76), Illinois State (77), and UNI (98) in the Top 100. Murray State’s 67 WAB (wins above bubble) tops the Conference.  Belmont’s WAB is 69.
• Belmont and Murray State share the league lead (8-2) at the midway point of their 20-game MVC schedule in 2025-26.  From 1992-93 through 2024-25, 43 of 45 MVC teams in the lead (or co-lead) at the break have reached post-season play.  That has resulted in 32 NCAA bids, 10 NIT bids, and one CBI berth. In 2024-25, Bradley led the league at the midway point with a 9-1 league mark and represented the MVC in the NIT.
• UIC handed Bradley its first home loss of the season on Saturday with an 85-70 victory in Carver Arena.  It was UIC’s second consecutive road win at Bradley, while the Flames’ six-game winning streak is their longest since a seven-game run (coincidentally also in conference play, while in the Horizon League) from Jan. 18-Feb. 8, 2018.

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	62	64	100	45	59	69
MUR	76	90	102	77	74	67
ILS	77	87	91	103	116	115
UNI	98	108	106	89	133	154

Road Warriors -- Belmont leads the nation in true road victories (8) and road/neutral victories (10) through games played Jan. 24. The +13.0 scoring differential in true road games is third-best nationally (for teams with 4+ road games).

NCAA Scoring Differential (Road Games)
+20.17 -- Duke (6-0
+20.00 -- Gonzaga (5-0)
+16.20 -- Saint Louis (5-0)
+13.00 -- Belmont (8-1)
+11.14 -- Utah (5-2)

Road Warriors, Part II -- Belmont is 8-1 in true road games this season after going 9-4 in true road games last year.  The Bruins have five regular-season road games remaining on this year’s schedule.  Here are the MVC men’s basketball leaders for true road wins in a season (since 1975-76).

MVC MBB “True” Road Wins, Since 1975-76
13 -- Bradley (1985-86)* [NCAA Tournament]
12 -- Wichita State (2013-14)* [NCAA Tournament]
11 -- Bradley (1981-82)* [NIT Champions]
11 -- Southern Illinois (2003-04)* [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Indiana State (1978-79)* [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Wichita State (1982-83)* [NCAA probation]
10 -- Bradley (1987-88)* [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Tulsa (1993-94)* [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Illinois State (1997-98)* [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Evansville (1998-99)* [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Southern Illinois (2006-07)* [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Drake (2007-08)* [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Creighton (2011-12) [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Wichita State (2011-12)* [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Wichita State (2014-15)* [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Wichita State (2016-17)* [NCAA Tournament]
10 -- Drake (2024-25)* [NCAA Tournament]
*denotes MVC regular-season champ

Getting to 20 Wins -- In MVC men’s basketball history, there have been 209 programs to reach 20 wins in a season, including four teams last year. Belmont (18-3 with two games this week) could be just the fifth, however, to reach its 20th victory by Jan. 31.

MVC Teams To Record 20th Win By Jan. 31
2013-14 -- Wichita State (Jan. 22) -- final record: 35-1
1985-86 -- Bradley (Jan. 25) -- final record: 32-3
2011-12 -- Creighton (Jan. 28) -- final record: 29-6
2014-15 -- UNI (Jan. 31) -- final record: 31-4

UIC Win Streak Reaches Six -- UIC handed Bradley its first home loss of the season on Saturday with an 85-70 victory in Carver Arena.  It was UIC’s second consecutive road win at Bradley, while the Flames’ six-game winning streak is their longest since a seven-game run (coincidentally also in conference play, while in the Horizon League) from Jan. 18-Feb. 8, 2018.

Home Cooking -- Murray State (5-0) is the league’s lone unbeaten team in MVC home games this season.  MVC teams are 33-21 (.611) in MVC home games this year after going 65-54 (.546) last year.

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 the nation to rank Top 10 nationally in two-point field goal percentage offense and two-point field goal percentage defense, per Ken Pomeroy. The Bruins rank 7th nationally in field goal percentage defense.  UNI boasts the NCAA’s top scoring defense (60.5) and ranks second in the NCAA three-point percentage defense (25.8). The Panthers’ 9.1 turnovers per game are also the sixth-fewest in Division I.

Field Goal Percentage Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. Saint Louis (Atlantic 10) — 35.5
2. Michigan (Big Ten) —36.5
3. UC Irvine (Big West) —37.5
4. Kansas (Big 12) —37.9
5. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) —38.1
6. South Alabama (Sun Belt) —38.1
7. Belmont (MVC) — 38.3

Scoring Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. UNI (MVC) — 60.5
2. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) — 61.3
3. Houston (Big 12) — 61.6
4. Iowa (Big Ten) — 62.4

3FG Percentage Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. UT Arlington (WAC) — 25.2
2. UNI (MVC) — 25.8
3. Saint Louis (Atlantic 10) — 26.5
4. Marist (MAAC) — 27.1

On Target — Belmont’s Tyler Lundblade leads the MVC and ranks seventh nationally with his 93.5 free throw percentage accuracy. That figure currently ranks fifth-best for a single season in MVC history. Notably, Lundblade ranks seventh nationally in both three-pointers made (71) and attempts (181).

NCAA Leaders, FT Percentage
1. Cole Certa, Notre Dame (ACC) — 96.2
2. Kenny Noland, Columbia (Ivy) — 95.3
3. Miles Barnstable, Tulsa (American) — 94.4
4. Isaiah Moses, Eastern Wash. (Big Sky) — 94.2
5. Micah Thomas, Northwestern St. — 93.6
6. Joshua Dent, Saint Mary’s (CA) (WCC) — 93.6
7. Tyler Lundblade, Belmont (MVC) — 93.5

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
.935 -- Tyler Lundblade, Belmont, 2025-26
.930 -- Mike Glenn, Southern Illinois, 1976-77
.925 -- Blake Ahearn, Missouri St., 2006-07

Young Guns -- Murray State freshman Roman Domon scored a career-high 29 points in the loss at UNI on Saturday.  The last true freshman from Murray State to score 29 points in a game was MSU Hall of Famer Cameron Payne who did so at Belmont (2/6/2014). Domon’s 283 total points this year leads all MVC freshmen (and ranks 31st among NCAA men’s basketball freshmen).

MVC Freshman Scoring Leaders, 2025-26
283 -- Roman Domon, Murray State
264 -- Andy Johnson, UIC
218 -- JT Pettigrew, Valparaiso
210 -- Ty’Reek Coleman, Illinois State

Helping Hand -- Belmont’s Isaiah West had a career-high eight assists vs. Illinois State Jan. 24. Nine different MVC players have had eight or more assists in a game this year -- Belmont’s Nic McClain has a league season-best of 11 vs. College of Charleston.  Belmont leads the MVC and ranks 25th nationally in assists per game (17.8).

Mighty Quinn — Against Indiana State, Drake guard Jalen Quinn enjoyed his 10th 20-plus scoring game of the season, leading Drake with 27 points -- 18 in the second half. It marked Quinn’s fourth-straight 20-plus scoring game. He is averaging 27.5 points during that stretch: 21 at Southern Illinois, 28 at UIC, 34 vs. Murray State, 27 at Indiana State. His 18.52 scoring average currently leads the Conference.

It’s a Steal! -- The Braves lead the MVC in turnover margin and are 5th in the NCAA (+5.5). Bradley guard Jaquan Johnson leads the MVC and is second in the NCAA in steals per game (3.09). His 68 total steals leads the nation.

NCAA Leaders, Turnover Margin
1. High Point (Big South) — 7.4
2. McNeese (Southland) — 7.4
3. Houston (Big 12) — 6.7
4. Iowa St. (Big 12) — 5.6
5. Bradley (MVC) — 5.5

NCAA Leaders, Steals Per Game
1. Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green (MAC) — 3.35
2. Jaquan Johnson, Bradley (MVC) — 3.09
3. Tyler Cochran, Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) — 2.95
4. TJ Burch, Wright St. (Horizon) — 2.85

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
Jalen Quinn, Drake
G, 6-3, 190, Sr., Tuscola, Ill. (Tuscola) | Loyola Chicago
Led Drake to a 2-0 week with wins over Murray State and Indiana State…Averaged 30.5 points per game dropping 34 against the Racers and following with 27 against the Sycamores…His 34 points set a career-high…The 34 points were the second highest accumulated by a player in the Missouri Valley Conference this season…Shot at an efficient clip from the field going 25-for-42 (.595)…Converted 10-of-16 attempts from the charity stripe…Averaged 5.0 rebounds per game…Added 3.0 steals per game on the defensive end…Has totaled 10 games of scoring 20 or more this season, including four straight.

MVC Newcomer of the Week
Elijah Crawford, UIC
G, 6-3, 187, So., Augusta, Ga. (Brewster Academy) | BYU
Crawford set new career scoring highs in both of UIC’s wins last week while averaging 21.0 points, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game with a .615 field-goal percentage (16-of-26) and .667 three-point percentage (6-of-9) as the Flames extended their winning streak to six games (all against MVC opponents), their longest conference winning streak since 2018. The highlight of Crawford’s week came Saturday night on the road at Bradley, when he dropped in a career-high 26 points in 25 minutes on 9-of-14 shooting, including a career-high 5-of-6 from three-point range (notably a halftime buzzer beater that pushed the Flames’ lead into double figures en route to their second consecutive win in Peoria).

MVC Freshman of the Week
Eoin Dillon, Belmont
F, 6-9, 200, R-Fr., Peoria, Ill. (Notre Dame HS)
In Belmont’s lone game last week, Dillon led the Bruins with a game-high 16 points in 21 minutes off the bench in an 80-69 victory against visiting Illinois State.  The win lifted the Bruins into a first-place tie in the MVC race. He was 6-of-8 from the field, which included a 4-of-5 effort from three-point range.  He hit back-to-back three-pointers in a crucial stretch in the second half. He’s had six double-figure scoring games, including four in a row.