Primarily a collection of news links about all 11 Missouri Valley League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
Belmont Bruins head coach Casey Alexander | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Saturday delivered a strong slate of college hoops, and Sunday
brings another group of intriguing matchups worth targeting.
Best Bets for Sunday, February 15, 2026
Bradley Braves at Southern Illinois Salukis
The Missouri Valley has been unpredictable all season, and this
matchup fits that theme.
Bradley
already beat Southern Illinois once and matches up well
stylistically. Expect another tight game that comes down to late
possessions.
Illinois State Redbirds at UIC Flames
A Land of Lincoln rivalry rematch. UIC won the first meeting in
Normal, but Illinois State now gets a shot at payback. The
Redbirds were preseason conference favorites and could show
flashes of that ceiling here.
Belmont Bruins at Murray State Racers
Murray State needs this one to stay alive in the MVC race.
Belmont
exploded for 103 points in the first meeting, but expect a
defensive adjustment from the Racers at home. This feels like a
narrow win for the host.
#62 Belmont (-1) at #107 Murray State, 6 PM ET, ESPN2.
If you are of a certain age, you will recognize this as the once-perennial
Ohio Valley Conference title game. Now, it's merely a matchup of the two
best* teams in the Missouri Valley and of possibly the most interesting
future option on the 12-seed line in the entire sport. The odds of this
ending up as the single most entertaining game of the weekend, especially
because of how vastly different each team plays, is higher than you'd think.
Belmont remains the same 4-in, 1-out offense they've been for 25 years, but
this edition is shooting 61% 2PT/41% 3PT and has the single best frontcourt
of any mid-major in the sport. Yes, I'm serious: the best.
No one in the MVC has been able to slow down the multifaceted combo of Sam
Orme, who is the best pick-and-pop stretch 4 in mid-major basketball this
year not named Allen Graves, and center Drew Scharnowski, he of a 117 ORtg
on 26% USG to go with an 8.4% Block%. The list of guys in this sport with a
110+ ORtg on 25%+ USG and a 8%+ Block%: Scharnowski, Nate Bittle, and Tarris
Reed.
Murray, meanwhile, is one of the five best teams in college basketball in
2026 in one very specific area: winning from three. The Racers have made 98
more threes than their opponents this season, only outpaced by Alabama,
Texas Tech, Charleston Southern (!), and Saint Louis. This is in large part
because no team allows fewer threes than Murray thanks to a relatively
unique defensive structure that keeps a big roughly 15 feet away from any
screening action:
This is reliant on the defending guard chasing hard over the top, similar to
an Illinois or Creighton system, but Murray's is as extreme a version of the
super drop as I've seen run. In the first matchup, Belmont completely
destroyed the super drop by running a record number of dribble handoffs,
with Tyler Lundblade thriving off of them because Lundblade needs
little-to-no space to get his shot off:
0:00
/0:08
The defensive equation is interesting, though. Belmont gave up a season-high
number of points on putbacks because Murray's numerous three-point attempts
banged off in every direction, meaning Murray's guards/wings were able to
react to these shots quickly and secure 16 offensive boards. It ended up
being pointless because Belmont got back 15 of their misses, but a better
shooting day (6-23 versus Belmont's 12-24 two weeks ago) and better
rebounding could give them what's necessary to get over the hump. And to
bring back some nostalgia. - Will Warren
Belmont
took a hit with the overtime loss to the Bradley Braves, a result that
narrows the margin in the Missouri Valley race and reinforces the
likelihood that the league sends just one team to the NCAA Tournament.
The
Bruins still hold a two-game conference lead with five regular-season
games remaining. That cushion matters. They return home Thursday to face
the Northern Iowa Panthers before a pivotal road trip to Murray State
Racers on Sunday.
Belmont controls its path, but the margin for error has disappeared.
-Belmont bounced back from their overtime loss at Bradley with a
91-86 win over a Northern Iowa team that had been playing really well,
but it’s probably not going to be enough to put them on the bubble even
if they win out. Another case of a good UTR team that would have made
it inside the bubble had they just had more opportunities during the
season to prove themselves.
The Illinois State Redbirds entered the season as the Missouri Valley
Conference regular-season favorite. It has not gone according to plan, but
there is still time to get hot before Arch Madness.
Valparaiso has been pesky all season, including a win over the Redbirds
earlier this year. The Beacons are just 3-8 on the road, though, and while
they have won back-to-back games, this feels like a tough turnaround spot.
Coach Ryan Pedon’s group needs a statement performance, and this sets up
well at home. Expect
Illinois State
to play with urgency and pull away in the second half.
Murray State Racers at Indiana State Sycamores
A solid Missouri Valley Conference matchup here. Murray State comes in at
18-8 and looking to bounce back after a loss. Indiana State sits at 10-15
and has struggled for consistency.
The Racers have the athletic edge and more firepower on both ends of the
floor. Against one of the bottom teams in the league, this feels like a spot
where Murray State controls tempo and pulls away.
Northern Iowa Panthers at Belmont Bruins
The Panthers head to Nashville to take on Belmont in a key Missouri Valley
showdown. Northern Iowa is 16-9, while Belmont sits at 22-4 and remains near
the top of the standings.
The Bruins are coming off a loss, which only adds urgency in this spot. If
Belmont wants to stay in control of the race, this is a must-win at home.
Look for the Bruins to respond with a strong offensive performance.
-Northern Iowa @ Belmont (Missouri Valley) – Belmont’s
at-large hopes may have vanished after their loss at Bradley over the
weekend. They face a very good and red hot Northern Iowa team that is
exceptionally dangerous now that they’re healthy. This should be a good
one tonight
A pristine Mid Major only slate today. Let's dive in...
A healthier Northern Iowa
has regained their footing in the Valley...[Subscriber content] Of course Belmont's
offensive structure can quickly render an elite rim denial defense
moot...[Subscriber content]
After that we run through the other 22 UTR leagues and look at how
Liberty is still unbeaten (albeit barely) in Conference USA, and Belmont
had a tough loss at Bradley that will probably end their at-large
hopes.
