- In MVC men’s basketball history, there have been 210 programs to reach 20 wins in a season, including four teams last year. Belmont (20-3) is just the fifth, however, to reach its 20th victory by Jan. 31.
- As of Monday, Feb. 2, there are 50 teams that have both 15+ Division I wins and three or more wins against the top two quadrants. Of those 50 teams, 38 teams have a +.500 record against the top two quadrants, including Belmont (3-0). Only Arizona (12-0) and Belmont (3-0) are unscathed in games against Q1 & Q2. Of the top six teams (for winning percentage against Q1/Q2), Belmont is the only one not ranked in the AP Top 6.
- UIC’s current eight-game winning streak is the Flames’ longest since 2012, when they also won eight in a row.
- Bradley guard Jaquan Johnson leads the MVC and is third in the NCAA in steals per game (3.0). His 69 total steals ranks second nationally.
MVC Player of the Week: Alex Huibregtse, Bradley
MVC Newcomer of the Week: Jalen Quinn, Drake
MVC Freshman of the Week: Eoin Dillon, Belmont
| 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 |
|
|
|
| Friday, Feb. 6 |
Network |
Time (CT) |
| *Bradley at UNI |
CBS SN |
7:00 PM |
| *Drake at Illinois State |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| *Evansville at Valparaiso |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| *Murray State at Southern Illinois |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| *Belmont at UIC |
ESPNU |
8:00 PM |
|
|
|
| Monday, Feb. 9 |
Network |
Time (CT) |
| *Southern Illinois at Indiana State |
ESPN+ |
6:00 PM |
| *Valparaiso at Drake |
MC22/ESPN+ |
6:30 PM |
| *Belmont at Bradley |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| *Illinois State at Evansville |
ESPN+ |
7:00 PM |
| *UNI at Murray State |
CBS SN |
9:00 PM |
|
|
|
| *denotes MVC contest; MVC TV = cleared on Gray Media affiliates, non-affiliate stations, and ESPN+ |
Getting to 20 Wins -- In MVC men’s basketball history, there have been 210 programs to reach 20 wins in a season, including four teams last year. Belmont (20-3) is 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
2025-26 -- Belmont (Jan. 31)
Comeback Kids -- In league history, a total of 35 teams have rallied from an 18-point deficit to win a game -- three of those have occurred this season. A total of 23 of those 35 18-point comebacks have been in league play, including all three of the rallies in 2025-26.
MVC Teams to Rally From 18 Points Down to Win
(League Games Only, 2025-26 Games Denoted)
Date -- (Deficit), Winning Team, Score
1/27/77 -- (28 pts at Bradley) N. Mexico State, 117-109
1/10/26 -- (25 pts at Drake) Belmont, 78-67
3/6/05 -- (23 vs Southern Illinois), Missouri State, 65-61
1/27/01 -- (23 vs Bradley), Evansville, 70-67 (ot)
1/17/24 -- (23 vs. Southern Illinois), Bradley, 70-69
2/19/08 -- (21 to Wichita St.), Indiana State, 83-73 (ot)
1/23/19 -- (21 to UNI), Southern Illinois, 70-62
1/16/22 - (20 to Bradley), Illinois State, 75-64
1/27/24 -- (20 to Murray State), Southern Illinois, 60-58
1/28/26 -- (19 to Evansville), Drake, 82-78
19 -- seven other times
1/31/26 -- (18 at Southern Illinois), UIC, 68-66
18 -- five other times
Halfway Home -- Belmont and Murray State shared 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 played in the NIT.
KenPom Stat Tidbits -- Murray State ranks 17th nationally in offensive tempo; Southern Illinois leads the nation with 61.1 percent of its offense coming from two-point field goals (conversely, SIU is No. 362 of 365 in the NCAA in points coming from 3-point field goals.)
Percentage of Opportunities -- As of Monday, Feb. 2, there are 50 teams that have both 15+ Division I wins and three or more wins against the top two quadrants. Of those 50 teams, 38 teams have a +.500 record against the top two quadrants, including Belmont (3-0). Only Arizona (12-0) and Belmont (3-0) are unscathed in games against Q1 & Q2. Of the top six teams (for winning percentage against Q1/Q2), Belmont is the only one not ranked in the AP Top 6.
Top 5 (Winning Percentage vs. Q1/Q2)
| Belmont |
MVC |
3-0 |
1.000 |
| #1 Arizona |
Big 12 |
12-0 |
1.000 |
| #2 Michigan |
Big Ten |
15-1 |
0.938 |
| #4 Duke |
ACC |
13-1 |
0.929 |
| #3 UConn |
Big East |
13-1 |
0.929 |
| #6 Gonzaga |
WCC |
8-1 |
0.889 |
Nothing But NET: MVC at 9 -- The Missouri Valley Conference is ranked No. 9 as a conference in the NCAA NET ratings (Feb. 2). Belmont (58) headlines seven MVC programs that rank in the Top 140. The Bruins are joined by Illinois State (69) and Murray State (89) in the Top 100. Belmont’s 63 WAB (wins above bubble) tops the Conference.
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
10. American
Metrics, MVC Leaders
| Team |
NET |
KP |
BPI |
KPI |
SOR |
WAB |
| BEL |
58 |
57 |
99 |
38 |
56 |
63 |
| ILS |
69 |
83 |
87 |
81 |
94 |
116 |
| MUR |
89 |
99 |
105 |
80 |
88 |
72 |
| UNI |
104 |
108 |
107 |
96 |
139 |
133 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| KP - KenPom; BPI - ESPN Power Index; SOR - Strength of Record; WAB - Wins Above Bubble; |
Home Cooking -- MVC teams are 38-26 (.593) in MVC home games this year after going 65-54 (.546) last year. For the second-straight year, no MVC team will have a perfect home record in league play. Drake (10-0 in 2023-24) as the last to go unblemished in Conference home games.
UIC Win Streak Reaches Eight -- UIC’s current eight-game winning streak is the Flames’ longest since 2012, when they also won eight in a row, all against non-conference opponents (one of which was against NDI foe Roosevelt). The Flames’ current eight-game winning streak has come entirely against both league opponents and D-I foes, the longest such streaks for UIC since Jan. 24-March 9, 2004, when it won 12 straight (10 regular-season Horizon League games, followed by two Horizon League Tournament games), capped by a 65-62 win at Milwaukee to claim the 2004 Horizon League Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Longest Winning Streaks By MVC Teams, 2025-26
12 -- Murray State (11-25-25 -- 1-17-26)
8 -- UIC (1-7-26 -- active)
8 -- Belmont (11-3-25 -- 11-30-25)
7 -- Belmont (1-7-26 -- active)
7 -- Bradley (11-26-25 -- 12-29-25)
7 -- Illinois State (11-16-25 -- 12-6-25)
Longest NCAA Win Streaks (Active), 2025-26
22 -- Arizona, Miami (Ohio)
17 -- UConn
15 -- Georgia, Saint Louis
12 -- Liberty
11 -- Illinois
9 -- Duke, North Dakota State
8 -- UIC, Winthrop, Akron
7 -- Belmont, SFA, St. John’s
20 Something: Elite Company -- Belmont is one of 11 programs to earn 20 or more victories in the first three months of the season (Nov.-Jan.) joining the likes of Arizona, Gonzaga, Miami (OH), UConn, Saint Louis, Michigan, Duke, Nebraska, George Mason, and High Point. With its victory over Murray State Jan. 31, Belmont joined Gonzaga in exclusive company as programs to win 20 or more games in 16 consecutive seasons (Kansas and Oregon can join).
Making Threes -- Bradley’s Alex Huibregtse connected on a career-high nine three-pointers, tying the Bradley program record for single-game three-pointers, previously set by Duke Deen during the 2023–24 season.
MVC Most Three-Pointers Made (2025-26)
10 -- Braden Appelhans, (DU) vs Western Ill. (12-2-25)
9 -- Alex Huibregtse (BRAD) at Drake (1-31-26)
Road Warriors -- Belmont leads the nation in true road victories (9). and road/neutral victories (10) through games played Jan. 31. The +11.8 scoring differential in true road games is seventh-best nationally.
NCAA Scoring Differential (Road Games)
+20.0 -- Gonzaga (5-0)
+19.3 -- Duke (7-0)
+16.2 -- Saint Louis (5-0)
+13.0 -- Florida (3-2)
+12.2 -- NC State (5-1)
+12.1 -- UConn (7-0)
+11.8 -- Belmont (9-1)
Road Warriors, Part II -- Belmont is 9-1 in true road games this season after going 9-4 in true road games last year. The Bruins have four 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
Efficiency -- Belmont, Saint Louis, and Liberty are the only three programs in America to rank Top 10 nationally in 2-point field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage. Belmont’s 1.459 points per possession per Ken Pomeroy represented its highest offensive output since a 1.466 performance in a 114-62 victory over SIU Edwardsville, Jan. 23, 2021. It also represented the highest single-game offensive efficiency by a Missouri Valley Conference program (vs. an NCAA Division I opponent) this season. Belmont ranks No. 5 nationally in effective field goal percentage (60.1).
Bird Banter -- Illinois State is looking for its first regular-season sweep of the Salukis since 2016-17. Since 2000, the two schools have split their season series 12 times. Notably, ISU has out-scored its MVC opponents by 55 points in the second half, the largest margin of any school in the MVC.
Doing it With Defense -- Belmont ranks 10th nationally in field goal percentage defense (38.9). UNI leads the nation in scoring defense (60.4) and ranks second in 3FG percentage defense (26.3). And Bradley is fourth nationally in turnover margin (+5.2). UNI has held 11 of its previous 13 opponents under 30% shooting from three-point range. The Panthers have held opponents under 60 points 12 times this year, going 10-2 in such games.
Scoring Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. UNI (MVC) -- 60.4
2. Houston (Big 12) -- 61.7
3. Louisiana Tech (CUSA) -- 62.2
3FG Percentage Defense, NCAA Leaders
1. UT Arlington (WAC) -- 25.5
2. UNI (MVC) -- 26.3
3. Saint Louis (Atlantic 10) -- 26.9
Turnover Margin, NCAA Leaders
1. High Point (Big South) -- 7.7
2. McNeese (Southland) -- 7.1
3. Houston (Big 12) -- 6.9
4. Bradley (MVC) -- 5.2
On Target -- Belmont’s Tyler Lundblade leads the MVC and ranks seventh nationally with his 93.0 free throw percentage accuracy. That figure currently ranks fifth-best for a single season in MVC history. Notably, Lundblade also ranks seventh nationally in three-pointers made (76).
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 -- Tyler Lundblade, Belmont, 2025-26
.930 -- Mike Glenn, Southern Illinois, 1976-77
.925 -- Blake Ahearn, Missouri St., 2006-07
It’s a Steal! -- Bradley guard Jaquan Johnson leads the MVC and is third in the NCAA in steals per game (3.0). His 69 total steals ranks second nationally.
NCAA Leaders, Steals Per Game
1. Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green (MAC) -- 3.23
2. Tyler Cochran, Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) -- 3.05
3. Jaquan Johnson, Bradley (MVC) -- 3.00
3. TJ Burch, Wright St. (Horizon) -- 3.00
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.
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
Alex Huibregtse, Bradley
G, 6-4, 200, Gr., Grafton, Wis. (Grafton) | Wright State
In the Braves’ lone contest this past week, Alex Huibregtse collected a season-high 29 points, along with four rebounds and two assists. Huibregtse connected on a career-high nine three-pointers, tying the Bradley program record for single-game three-pointers, previously set by Duke Deen during the 2023–24 season. Huibregtse’s 9-for-10 performance from beyond the arc marks the only game in BU history in which a Brave attempted at least seven three-pointers and finished shooting 90 percent or better.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Jalen Quinn, Drake
G, 6-3, 190, Sr., Tuscola, Ill. (Tuscola) | Loyola Chicago
Quinn averaged 29.0 points per game dropping 26 against Evansville and 32 against Bradley. His 32-point outburst against the Braves was just two shy of his career high. Quinn shot .515 (17-33) from the field last week including .400 from beyond the arc (4-10). He made 20-of-24 free throw attempts. Also averaged 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He scored 10 of the team’s last 11 points to help the Bulldogs rally from a 19-point deficit against Evansville, which tied the largest comeback victory in program history. His 29.0 scoring average last week tied for the MVC-best -- that tied for 7th-best nationally last week.
MVC Freshman of the Week
Eoin Dillon, Belmont
F, 6-9, 200, R-Fr., Peoria, Ill. (Notre Dame HS)
Dillon averaged 19.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game as Belmont defeated Valparaiso and Murray State. Dillon had a career-high 23 points and three assists on 7-for-11 shooting at Valparaiso. He made a go-ahead 3-point field goal with 1:51 left and made four free throws in the final nine seconds to secure the victory. He had 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists vs. Murray State. Dillon shot 62 percent from the field for the week.