Men's Basketball 1/5/2026 4:00:00 PM

MVC Men's Basketball Weekly Notebook

MVC Ranks No. 9 in NCAA NET

Murray State (5-0), Illinois State (4-0), and UNI (4-0) are unbeaten in league play through Jan. 4.

Wednesday, Jan 7	Network	Time (CT)
*Belmont at UNI	MVC TV/ESPN+	6:00 PM
*Southern Illinois at UIC	ESPN+	7:00 PM
*Murray State at Evansville	ESPN+	7:00 PM
*Illinois State at Valparaiso	ESPN+	7:00 PM
*Drake at Bradley	MVC TV/ESPN+	8:00 PM

Saturday, Jan 10	Network	Time (CT)
*Evansville at Indiana State	ESPN+	12:00 PM
*Valparaiso at Murray State	ESPN+	3:00 PM
*UIC at Illinois State	ESPN+	4:00 PM
*UNI at Bradley	ESPNU	5:00 PM
*Belmont at Drake	ESPN+	5:00 PM

Tuesday, Jan 13	Network	Time (CT)
*UIC at UNI	MVC TV/ESPN+	6:00 PM
*Valparaiso at Belmont	ESPN+	6:30 PM
*Bradley at Evansville	ESPN+	7:00 PM

Wednesday, Jan 14	Network	Time (CT)
*Illinois State at Indiana State	ESPN+	6:00 PM
*Drake at Southern Illinois	ESPN+	7:00 PM

*denotes MVC contest; MVC TV = cleared on Gray Media affiliates, non-affiliate stations, and ESPN+

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MVC Player of the Week: Chase Walker, Illinois State
MVC Newcomer of the Week: Owen Dease, Valparaiso
MVC Freshman of the Week: JT Pettigrew, Valparaiso

Nothing But NET: MVC at 9 -- The Missouri Valley Conference is ranked No. 9 as a conference in the NCAA NET ratings (Jan. 5). Illinois State (55) headlines six MVC schools who rank in the Top 135. Murray State (64), UNI (72), and Belmont (73) join the Redbirds in the Top 75.

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. WAC

Metrics, MVC Leaders

Team	NET	KP	BPI	KPI	T-Rank	WAB
ILS	55	78	83	83	57	76
MUR	64	86	97	66	87	58
UNI	72	87	89	74	58	71
BEL	73	75	103	63	82	72

KP - KenPom; BPI - ESPN Power Index; T-Rank - BartTorvik; WAB - Wins Above Bubble

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE 2025-26 MEN’S BASKETBALL

NATIONAL COLLEGE BASKETBALL SITES / METRICS

Margin Call -- There have been 25 league games (through games of Jan. 4). Of those 25, 20 games have been decided by 10 points or less (including two overtime contests). Six games have been decided by three points or less. Illinois State (4-0) has the largest scoring margin average (+17.5)

MVC Leaders, Scoring Differential (MVC games)
17.5 -- Illinois State (4-0)
9.8 -- UNI (4-0)
8.4 -- Murray State (5-0)
3.2 -- Belmont (3-2)

Racing -- Murray State won its ninth-straight game with its victory against Bradley on Sunday. That’s tied for the 10th longest active win streak in the nation. MSU has won 10-straight games at home - tied for the 25th best active streak in the nation.

NCAA Leaders, Active Win Streaks MBB
18 -- Nebraska
15 -- Miami (Ohio)
14 -- Arizona, Iowa State, Vanderbilt
13 -- Michigan
11 -- UCF
10 -- BYU, UConn
9 -- Murray State, Gonzaga, Georgia Southern

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 -- UNI (37.7) and Belmont (37.8) rank among the national leaders in field goal percentage defense. Those figures would rank second- and third-best all-time in MVC history (only behind Wichita State at 37.7 in 2017). UNI’s scoring defense (57.3) would be 7th-best in the MVC since 1970. It currently leads the nation. UNI also leads the nation in 3FG percentage defense (24.0). That figure would establish an all-time MVC mark.

Field Goal Percentage Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. Michigan (Big Ten) -- 34.6
2. Saint Louis (Atlantic 10) -- 36.2
3. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) -- 36.4
4. Kansas (Big 12) -- 37.1
5. UConn (Big East) -- 37.1
10. UNI (MVC) -- 37.7
12. Belmont (MVC) -- 37.8

Scoring Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. UNI (MVC) -- 57.3
2. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) -- 59.1
3. Houston (Big 12) -- 60.0
4. Iowa (Big Ten) -- 60.1

3FG Percentage Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. UNI (MVC) -- 24.0
2. UT Arlington (WAC) -- 25.2
3. UConn (Big East) -- 25.5
4. Kansas (Big 12) -- 25.5

Bird Banter -- Illinois State is 12-3 for the first time since the 2008-09 season. The Redbirds are 4-0 in the MVC for the first time since 2016-17 (that team they won its first 11 games of the MVC season). And ISU is 4-0 in the conference for just the seventh time in program history. Murray State (5-0), Illinois State (4-0), and UNI (4-0) are unbeaten in league play through Jan. 4.

Previous Best MVC Starts for ILS, MUR, UNI:

Rec.	Team (Year)	Loss	Final
11-0	ILS (2016-17)	at Wichita St.	t1st (17-1)
7-0	UNI (2009-10)	at Wichita St.	1st (15-3)
2-0	MUR (2022-23)	Southern Ill.	7th (11-9)

Long-Range Bombers -- Murray State was 10-of-17 from the 3-point line in the first half in its Sunday win against Bradley. That was their best first half of the season in besting the eight threes they had vs. Akron (Dec. 3) in Las Vegas. MSU had seven different players connect on a 3-pointer, and Mason Miller extended his consecutive games streak of making a 3-pointer to 10. Murray State leads the MVC with 170 three-pointers (10.63 per game). Belmont ranks ninth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage, while Tyler Lundblade leads the nation in both 3-point field goals made (62) and attempted (144) this season. He’s fourth nationally with 3.44 made per game.

NCAA Leaders, 3FG Percentage
1. Yale (Ivy League) -- 43.1
2. Miami (OH) (MAC) -- 42.8
3. Cornell (Ivy League) -- 42.0
4. Iowa St. (Big 12) -- 41.9
5. Colorado St. (Mountain West) -- 41.8
9. Belmont (MVC) -- 39.8

NCAA Individual Leaders, 3FG Attempted
1. Tyler Lundblade, Belmont (MVC) -- 144
2. Brycen Blaine, Charleston So --142
3. Ryan Conwell, Louisville (ACC) -- 139
3. TJ Johnson, VMI (SoCon) -- 139
5. Jonah Hinton, Rhode Island (A10) -- 136

NCAA Individual Leaders, 3FG Made
1. Tyler Lundblade, Belmont (MVC) -- 62
2. Milan Momcilovic, Iowa St. (Big 12) -- 58
3. Larry Hughes II, CSUN (Big West) -- 56
4. Brett Decker Jr., Liberty (CUSA) -- 54
4. Honor Huff, West Virginia (Big 12) -- 54

Something’s Bruin -- Belmont ranks in the Top 25 nationally in 2-point field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage per Ken Pomeroy. Belmont joins Iowa State, Saint Louis, and Akron in this exclusive group. Belmont’s .514 field goal percentage would rank ninth-best all-time in MVC history.

NCAA Leaders, Field Goal Percentage
1. Miami (OH) (MAC) -- 53.6
2. Michigan (Big Ten) -- 53.1
3. Iowa St. (Big 12) -- 53.1
4. Iowa (Big Ten) -- 52.9
5. High Point (Big South) -- 52.8
15. Belmont (MVC) -- 51.5

NCAA Leaders, Effective Field Goal Percentage
1. Miami (OH) (MAC) -- .634
2. Liberty (CUSA) -- .621
3. Cornell (Ivy League) -- .620
4. Colorado St. (Mountain West) -- .615
5. Saint Louis (Atlantic 10) -- .611
11. Belmont (MVC) -- .602

Panther Prowls -- UNI is out to its first 4-0 start to league play since the 2009-10 season when they won their first seven conference games. The Panthers have held 14 of its first 15 opponents under 70 points this season, including nine under 60 points and two under 50 with their MVC-leading scoring defense (57.3 PPG allowed). UNI’s 48 points allowed at Evansville on Sunday were the second-fewest in a game in the league this season. UNI has held six straight opponents under 20% shooting from three-point range after holding Evansville to one-of-14 from beyond the arc on Sunday. The 48 points allowed were the fewest in a league game for UNI since surrendering just 44 in a 53-44 win against SIU on 2-2-22.

It’s a Steal! -- Bradley is 8-1 this season when allowing 70 points or less. The Braves lead the MVC in turnover margin, while guard Jaquan Johnson leads the MVC and ranks third nationally in steals per game. Johnson (17.2 ppg, 3.25 spg) joins Bowling Green’s Javontae Campbell (17.7 ppg, 3.4 spg) and Vanderbilt’s Duke Miles (17.1 ppg, 2.8 spg) as the only players in the nation who average 17.0 points per game and 2.5 steals per game.

NCAA Leaders, Turnover Margin
1. McNeese (Southland) -- 7.5
2. High Point (Big South) -- 7.4
3. Bowling Green (MAC) -- 7.3
4. Iowa St. (Big 12) -- 7.2
5. Houston (Big 12) -- 6.4
6. Bradley (MVC) -- 5.8

NCAA Leaders, Steals Per Game
1. Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee St. (OVC) -- 3.43
2. Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green (MAC) -- 3.40
3. Jaquan Johnson, Bradley (MVC) -- 3.25
4. Tyler Cochran, Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) -- 3.13
5. Brent Bland, Saint Peter’s (MAAC) -- 3.08

House Call -- Southern Illinois’ Quel’Ron House hit a floater with just 0.1 left to clinch a wild 68-67 victory over Belmont on Sunday in Nashville. SIU trailed by nine with just 2:44 remaining. Earlier in the week, the Salukis rallied from 20 down against Murray State, and the Salukis have the league’s biggest comeback win this year (down 14 points to High Point before winning the game).

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.

20124

MVC Player of the Week
Chase Walker, Illinois State
F, 6-9, 280, Jr., Columbus, Ohio (St. Charles)
Averaged 19.5 points per game on the week, the second-highest total in the MVC during the nomination period, as he helped the Redbirds remain undefeated in MVC play with a 2-0 week in lopsided wins at Drake and at home against Evansville. His field goal percentage was the fifth-best in the MVC during the time frame (65.2%). Against Evansville he scored a season-high 22 points, his sixth consecutive game scoring in double-digits, as he has scored 15+ in each of the last four games - all in MVC play. He has helped ISU improve to 12-3 for the first time since 2008-09, and to a 4-0 mark for just the seventh time in program history, and the first time since 2016-17.

MVC Newcomer of the Week
Owen Dease, Valparaiso
F, 6-8, 200, R-Sr., Evansville, Ind. (Evansville Reitz) | Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Dease scored 18 points at UNI and 26 at Southern Illinois as part of a week where he averaged 17.0 points per game over three contests. He went 19-of-23 (82.6 percent) at the free-throw line for the week and also averaged 4.7 rebounds per game. Dease’s 26 points at Southern Illinois led all scorers and surpassed his career high. He set a season high with seven rebounds against the Salukis and went 11-of-12 at the foul line in that game, a career high for makes.

MVC Freshman of the Week
JT Pettigrew, Valparaiso
F, 6-8, 220, Fr., Lisle, Ill. (Bolingbrook)
Pettigrew averaged 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game over three contests this week including a career-high 21 points to lead the Beacons to a win over UIC on Sunday. He went 10-of-10 at the free-throw line against the Flames, becoming just the fifth freshman nationally this season to go perfect at the stripe with at least 10 attempts and the first Valpo player to do so since 2018. That marked Pettigrew’s second straight game scoring a career high after 18 on Thursday at SIU.

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