The Men’s Other Top 25: Saint Louis remains at top, Tulsa surges into top
10--Mid-Major Madness
Here is the full ranking:
Ranking
|
Team (First-Place Votes)
|
Points
|
Last Week
|
|
13
|
Belmont
|
37
|
10
|
|
T-17
|
Murray St.
|
25
|
12
|
Illinois St. 5; Boise St. 4; Florida Atlantic 2; Utah Valley 1; William
& Mary 1
Week 13 Watchlist: Stay Glued to Your TV Set--Basket Under Review
Wednesday, January 28
A Games
#87 Illinois State at #90 Murray State (-3), 9 PM ET, ESPN+. This
is a potential MVC regular season title eliminator. Both of these teams
are very likely to finish top-4 in the league, but Illinois State is
down to just a 14% chance at a share of the MVC title after their loss
to Belmont, and Murray's shock 0-2 week has dropped them down to 38%.
It's now Belmont who's trying to run away with the league.
Illinois
State getting off the ground and forcing Murray into a three-game
tailspin requires the Redbirds to flex their muscles in their best
attribute: defensive rebounding. This team is #8 in America in DREB%,
which is highly, highly important against a Murray team that is 10-1
this year with the lone loss by five to UNI when they get a third or
more of their missed shots back. If ISUred forces a lot of one-shot
possessions, make or miss, it creates a game script that slants their
way.
Week Twelve Award Winners--Valley Hoops Insider
Drake’s Quinn is Exploding
(St. Louis, MO) – Heading into the conference season’s second half, Drake’s Jalen Quinn
is exploding. He and the other week twelve award winners are making
their marks in both the Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conferences.
Newcomer award winners are helping their teams jump up in their
respective conference standings.
Week Twelve Players of the Week
Quinn’s week sparked the Bulldogs to a pair of victories. The 6’3 guard scored 34 and 27 points and this week’s ‘Player of the Week‘
has averaged 27.5 points per game over Drake’s last four games. He’s
the Valley’s second leading scorer during conference play.
Newcomers Catapulting Their Teams
Illinois Chicago’s Elijah Crawford
has sparked life into the Flames’ season. Since returning from injury
seven games ago, UIC has won its last six games. The Valley’s ‘Newcomer of the Week‘ scored 26 points during a win against Bradley and averaged 21 points during the Flames’ two games.
Week Twelve Freshmen
Belmont’s Eoin Dillon’s recent emergence has added another layer to
the Bruin offensive attack. During the Bruins’ only game, the Valley’s ‘Freshman of the Week‘
scored 16 points for his fourth straight double digit scoring
performance. Belmont is now tied with Murray State for first place in
the Valley race.
MVC at the Halfway Point--Valley Hoops Insider
Belmont beats Illinois State for its fifth straight win--Main Street Nashville
What a Bradley icon said about the current era of BU basketball--Peoria Journal Star
MBB Preview: Bradley travels to Des Moines to take on Drake--bradleybraves.com
Bradley WBB Wins Ninth Straight at Home Over UIC--bradleybraves.com
Aces Defeat UNI for First Win in Cedar Falls Since 2008--gopurpleaces.com
Illinois State seeks success against Missouri Valley co-leader Murray State--The Pantagraph
Doneelah Washington earns third MVC player of the week honors--The Vidette
ISU focuses on late-game toughness to end tailspin, visits UIC Tuesday--Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Sycamores fall to Illinois State Redbirds--Indiana Statesman
Women’s basketball preview against Valparaiso--Indiana Statesman
UNI pins 2nd straight loss on Racer men--Murray Ledger and Times
Home Sweet Home - Racers Host Illinois State--goracers.com
The Women’s Other Top 25: Rhode Island jumps to No. 2--Mid-Major Madness
South Florida – 15;
Murray St. – 21; Oregon St. – 24
UNI men’s basketball visits Southern Illinois in January road finale--unipanthers.com
Saluki Basketball Welcomes UNI on Wednesday Night--siusalukis.com
1.27.26 Game Analysis--Basket Under Review
QUICK TAKES:
- UIC
has remarkably ripped off 6 straight MVC wins, which includes road wins
at Illinois State, UNI, and Bradley....[Subscriber Content] Indiana State has remained a strong rim and 3
offense under Matt Graves...[Subscriber Content]
Men's Basketball Back Home Tuesday to Welcome Indiana State--uicflames.com
Women's Basketball Hosts Kids Day Game Thursday Morning--valpoathletics.com
MVC Men's Basketball Weekly Notebook 1-26-2026--The Missouri Valley
MVC Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook (Jan. 26)--The Missouri Valley
