What's Up In The Missouri Valley

Friday, January 23, 2026

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 1/22/2026

Top 10 Mid-Major College Basketball Rankings--Busting Brackets

Mid-Major Top 10 Rankings
As of games played through January 20
10. Belmont Bruins (16–3, NET: 63)
Belmont cracks the rankings riding a four-game winning streak. After back-to-back losses at Indiana State and at home to Southern Illinois, the Bruins responded with wins over Northern Iowa, Drake, Valparaiso, and Southern Illinois. Belmont now sits second in the conference standings behind Murray State. The Bruins are back home Sunday afternoon against Illinois State before heading to Valparaiso on January 28.
8. Murray State Racers (16–3, NET: 67)
The NET rankings may be skeptical, but Murray State keeps winning. The Racers have taken a two-game lead in the conference and are riding a 12-game winning streak after edging Indiana State at home. That streak will be tested this week with road trips to Drake on Wednesday and Northern Iowa on Saturday.

Our Player of the Year predictions for the 10 best mens’ college basketball conferences--SB Nation

Missouri Valley
The Front-Runner:
Jaquan Johnson, Bradley
The Contenders:
Javon Jackson, Murray State
Tyler Lundblade, Belmont
Chase Walker, Illinois State
The Skinny:
This is an incredibly competitive mid-major race in a league where the respective fan bases are all going to have extreme opinions on which guy deserves top billing.
For now, the slight edge goes to Johnson, the 5’11 dynamo averaging a hair under 18 points per game for Bradley. If Murray State’s unexpected dominance of the league continues, however, it’ll be hard to not hand the hardware to Jackson.

Bradley basketball vs Indiana State: Braves make 11 straight defensive stops in comeback--Peoria Journal Star
How this former Metamora basketball star had a career day for Bradley--Peoria Journal Star
Ugly but resilient: Braves rally late past Indiana State to continue home win streak--The Bradley Scout
MBB Recap: Bradley rallies late and earns a comeback win over Indiana State--bradleybraves.com

Bradley WBB Hosts Valparaiso to Open Three-Game Homestand--bradleybraves.com

5 key numbers from Drake basketball's victory over Murray State--Des Moines Register
Bulldogs Take Down League Leaders Murray State, 101-90--godrakebulldogs.com

Women's Basketball Preview: Evansville & Murray State--godrakebulldogs.com

Hughes paces UE men in the Windy City--gopurpleaces.com

Women's Basketball Begins Iowa Trip Friday at Drake--gopurpleaces.com

Illinois State extracts victory from defensive struggle with Northern Iowa--The Pantagraph
Skunberg sparks second-half surge in tight MVC battle against UNI--The Vidette
Boden Skunberg Scores 20 in Defensive Win Over Northern Iowa--goredbirds.com

Road Trip To UIC, Indiana State Up Next For the Redbirds--goredbirds.com

Sycamores lose lead, game to Bradley--Terre Haute Tribune-Star
MARK BENNETT: Turnovers remains a key factor in MVC basketball outcomes--Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Defense and turnovers tilt the night as Bradley slips past Indiana State--Indiana Statesman
Sycamores drop close contest to Bradley on Wednesday night--gosycamores.com

Sycamores travel for road conference play--Indiana Statesman
Slow start sinks Sycamores at Southern Illinois--gosycamores.com

Under the Radar – Week 12--Hoops HD

We run through the other 22 leagues and discuss ...Murray State suffered an upset loss in the Missouri Valley

Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Thursday, Jan 22nd--Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:
-Murray State suffered their first conference loss as they fell 101-90 at Drake, and this one was a bit of a surprise. It’s never easy to win on the road, but all indications were that Murray would pull this one out.

Murray State men begin annual Valley Iowa excursion; Can they own Iowa again?; First-place Racers look for 2nd straight Hawkeye State road sweep--Murray Ledger and Times
The Valley bites back; Racer men take first loss in league play at defending champ Drake--Murray Ledger and Times
MSU Takes First MVC Loss At Drake--goracers.com
Racers Look For Bounce Back at UNI--goracers.com

Currie-Jelks Named to Mid-Major Player of the Year Watch List--goracers.com

College Men's Basketball: UNI can't shake cold start, drop fifth straight--Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
Offensive struggles plague Panthers--Northern Iowan
Panther men’s basketball comes up short in late rally at Illinois State--unipanthers.com

Goebel Takeover--Northern Iowan
UNI women's basketball: Panthers host Racers on Panthers and Paws night--unipanthers.com

Salukis get shut down against Beacons, lose 69-63--The Daily Egyptian
Southern's Losing Streak Reaches Four at Valpo--siusalukis.com

SIU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GAME CAPSULE Indiana State at SIU--Dawg Bites
Homestand for Women’s Basketball Comes to End on Thursday Versus Indiana State--siusalukis.com

Men's Basketball Wins Fifth in a Row, Rolling Past Evansville, 76-49--uicflames.com

Women’s Basketball Records 76-64 Home Win Over Illinois State--uicflames.com

Big scoring run lifts Valpo to fourth straight ARC win--The Victory Bell
Valpo Gets the Job Done at Home, 69-63--The Valpo Vault
Beacons Fend Off Salukis for Fourth Straight Home Win--valpoathletics.com

Women's Basketball Hits Road, Faces Bradley Friday--valpoathletics.com

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 1/20/2026

Teams of the Week: Bearcats Bounce Back--Basket Under Review

HONORABLE MENTION: REMAINING CONFERENCE AWARDS
MISSOURI VALLEY: UIC - Flames were thirsty for more after being a national team of the week one week ago. An impressive win at Northern Iowa is quite a headliner. The Flames also corralled Drake as well. Since the Christmas Holiday, UIC is the top team in the Valley per Torvik. That is pretty amazing. The data shows that the Flames have been continuously dominant defensively. Now 9th in the country since that break in the season in Defensive eFG%.

Explosive Scoring Earns Weekly Awards--Valley Hoops Insider

Explosive Scoring ‘Players of the Week’
Illinois State’s Chase Walker is on a scoring tear and has nabbed two MVC ‘Player of the Week’ awards in the last three weeks. Walker scored 21 and 20 points during the Redbirds’ (13-6, 5-3) two-game split. His double-double (20 & 11) sparked ILS to a dominating victory in this season’s first half of the ‘War on 74’ with Bradley.
Repeat Newcomers
Valparaiso’s Owen Dease has claimed three MVC ‘Newcomer of the Week’ awards in the last six weeks. Last week, Dease scored 24 points against Belmont and 20 against Northern Iowa and continues to lead Valley players in conference-only games in scoring (19.8 ppg) and three-point percentage (.475).
Deniusas & Others
The only first-time winner is Belmont’s Eoin Dillon. The Bruins (17-3, 7-2) won both of their games and Dillon racked up 18-point and twelve-point games. This week’s ‘Freshman of the Week’ hit the key basket in a win against Valparaiso and added the game-winning-assist against the Beacons.

Bradley basketball lands commitment from junior college wing--Peoria Journal Star
MBB Preview: Braves and Sycamores to meet Wednesday night--bradleybraves.com

Ellie McDermid named Busey Bank Scholar-Athlete of the Week--bradleybraves.com

Men's Basketball Hosts Northern Iowa in Mid-Week MVC Contest--goredbirds.com

Men's basketball battle-ready for the Braves on Wednesday--gosycamores.com

Sycamores take down Purple Aces at home--Indiana Statesman

Murray State basketball is back, and it’s here to stay--Mid-Major Madness
Racer men survive stubborn Indiana State--Murray Ledger and Times

Racer women use defense to take league lead from Belmont--Murray Ledger and Times

UNI men’s basketball visits Illinois State in midweek matchup--unipanthers.com

Salukis to Retire Glenn’s Jersey on February 6--siusalukis.com
Salukis Travel to Valpo for Wednesday Night Showdown--siusalukis.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 1/19/2026

The Men’s Other Top 25: Saint Louis, undefeated Miami (OH) elevate to top two spots--Mid-Major Madness

Here is the full ranking:

Ranking

Team (First-Place Votes)

Points

Last Week

10 Belmont 73 11

12 Murray St. 67 12

Others Receiving Votes:

Boise St. 14; Northern Colorado 14; Stephen F. Austin 11; Kent St. 11; George Washington 8; Illinois St. 6; South Florida 5; Saint Peter’s 5; Wyoming 4; Merrimack 4; San Francisco 3; Winthrop 2; Tennessee Martin 2; Portland St. 2; High Point 1

Dropped from Rankings:

High Point – 18; Boise St. – 22; Illinois St. – 23; George Washington – 24; Hofstra – 25

Ranking	Team (First-Place Votes)	Points	Last Week
10	Belmont	73	11
12	Murray St.	67	12

Week 12 Watchlist: Substitution, Mass Confusion--Basket Under Review

Wednesday, January 21
C Games
#107 Northern Iowa at #89 Illinois State (-6), 9 PM ET, ESPNU. The MVC conference race is likely Murray State vs. Belmont, which is really lovely for those of us of a certain age. But if a third team is going to have something to say about it, it kinda has to be Illinois State, who has the best positioning as the darkhorse in the race.

It’s a Grind in the Valley--Valley Hoops Insider

Bruins Falter at Murray State Sunday Afternoon--belmontbruins.com

Bradley WBB Comes Up Short in 73-70 Loss to UNI--bradleybraves.com

Purple Aces return to action Tuesday at UIC--gopurpleaces.com

ISU men on short end of 85-81 decision at MVC-leading Murray State--Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Sycamores push MVC leader Murray State in tight road game--Indiana Statesman

ISU women beat MVC rival Evansville for sixth victory--Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Coaching Carousel Breakdown: 1.18.26: Chapel Blues, Jerrod Calhoun, Rookie Head Coaches and Mid-Major Openings--Basket Under Review

Several first-time head coaches are having immediate success
Ryan Miller, Murray State
Long-time assistant coach and college basketball journeyman Ryan Miller finally got his first head coaching opportunity last spring and he's made the most of his wealth of experience. Miller's Murray State squad currently boasts the 5th longest winning streak in the country at 12 games. They're 16-3 overall and sit atop the Missouri Valley standings at 8-0.
Murray State has two clear objectives, play fast and efficient on offense, and take away the three on defense. Miller essentially took the Creighton model and put it into overdrive. The Racers are currently 23rd in adjusted tempo, 50th in 3PA/FGA on offense and 1st in 3PA/FGA on defense.
via CBB Analytics
The Racers maintain their tempo by subbing frequently and keeping fresh legs on the floor. Layne Taylor leads the team in minutes per game at only 25.7. Miller's current rotation stands at nine or ten players depending on the game and he doesn't appear to have any desire to shorten it as the season rolls on.
Miller's early success will likely draw the eye of several teams with openings this spring. His initial contract pays him $625K and the buyout sits at $1.5M. He's got ties all over the country, so in theory any job could be in play.

5 in 5: A Look at the Week Ahead in Women's College Basketball--Basket Under Review

5 Teams to Watch This Week
Murray State
Murray State has put themselves in a great spot through the first third of conference play. They are the sole leader in the Missouri Valley right now at 7-0 and will be traveling to take on 5-2 Northern Iowa later in the week. This is a huge game for Murray State because they can both put some additional room between them and Murray State, but also they will stay ahead of Belmont in the standings after beating them this past week. They also play at Drake this week, which is not as tough of a game as it has been in years past, but they will still need to make sure they don't slip up.

1/18 Racer Rewind--WPSD Local 6
Road Racers Take It To Drake For Second Meeting--goracers.com

The Women’s Other Top 25: Substantial shakeups throughout as we hit second half of January--Mid-Major Madness

Murray St. joined the ranking and came in at 21. The Racers sit at 16-2 as they ride a 14-game win streak. Colorado St. and UNLV owned the next two spots with Oregon St. at 24. Quinnipiac rounded out the poll at 25.

Here is the full ranking:

Ranking

Team

Last Week

21 Murray St. NR

Ranking	Team	Last Week
21	Murray St.	NR

Murray State uses dominant defensive effort to lock down 14th straight win with 69-48 win over Belmont--WPSD Local 6

College Women's Basketball: Breaking down Goebel's big day--Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

Salukis Douse Flames with Wild, 63-58, Win--siusalukis.com

Men's Basketball Welcomes Evansville To Town For Tuesday Night Matchup--uicflames.com

Men's Basketball Looks to Extend Home Winning Streak on Wednesday--valpoathletics.com

MVC Men's Basketball Weekly Notebook (1-19-26)--The Missouri Valley Conference

MVC Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook (Jan. 19)--The Missouri Valley Conference

Sunday, January 18, 2026

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 1/18/2026

‘We just got our butts whooped’: Bradley suffers largest loss in I-74 Rivalry since 2012--The Bradley Scout

Becker Leads Drake Women to 66-56 Win at Valpo--godrakebulldogs.com

Runner, Huber Notch Career Highs at Indiana State--gopurpleaces.com

CEFCU Arena crowd draws praise from Illinois State team after win over Bradley--The Pantagraph

Balanced attack propels Sycamores past Purple Aces--gosycamores.com

Dominant Performance Lands Racers at the Top of the MVC Standings--goracers.com

Women's College Basketball: Goebel posts career day at UNI clips Bradley--Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
UNI women’s basketball: Panthers outlast Braves inside the McLeod Center--unipanthers.com

Women’s Basketball Falls Short to Southern Illinois Sunday Afternoon--uicflames.com

Late run foils Beacons in strong showing--The Victory Bell
Women’s Basketball Falls to Drake--valpoathletics.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 1/17/2026

Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Saturday, Jan 17th--Hoops HD

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Indiana State @ Murray State (Missouri Valley) – Murray State is red hot and could potentially end up on the bubble if they can win out

-Belmont @ Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley) – I know Belmont has two conference losses, but each were by just a single point and I still think if they win out they can land inside the bubble. A win today gets them to 17-3 overall

Week 11 Weekend Watchlist--Basket Under Review

Saturday, January 17

C Games

#117 Bradley at #99 Illinois State (-7), 2 PM ET, ESPN2.

Illinois State enters this rivalry game reeling, having last 3 straight to what are probably all bottom half Valley teams. The common thread in ISUred's three game slide has been Chase Walker's defense either in straight up rim protection vs ISUblue or offenses like Valpo exploiting his lack of mobility with their multi-dimesional pair of 4 men. Bradley's ability to exploit drop coverage however is almost entirely reliant on the efficiency of Jaquan Johnson and Montana Wheeler in ball screen/dribble production, as they produce little offense at the rim and their frontcourt isn't particularly mobile. Johnson erupted against Evansville (and Bradley needed every one of his 35 points), but Bradley's two league losses came against drop coverages where he had his two worst offensive games of the year. If he's winning the ball screen and dribble vs ISU's drop, Bradley's going to have a great chance.

On the other end, Bradley is far more aggressive on the ball screen defensively, frequently hedging and disrupting. That leads to a high 3PTA and catch and shoot rate allowed by the Braves, where they've been unlucky defending them, with .20 PPP of regression owed on contested catch and shoots for opposing offenses. It's generally not recommended to hedge and help on Walker defensively, as ISU generates a 95th percentile open catch and shoot rate, and Walker is a strong passer out of the post and short roll.

0:00
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The final issue for Bradley is how dreadful they've been on the road, especially defensively (although that 3PT luck is a factor here, with home teams shooting 41%, but they also give up a high rate). Bradley was torched on the road by the league's best offenses in Belmont and Murray State, and needed 4OTs to beat Indiana State and Evansville. Unless Johnson can nuke in ball screens (very possible), I think we see ISUred finally back in the win column. - Jordan Majewski

#66 Belmont (-4) at #128 Southern Illinois, 7 PM ET, ESPN+.

I'm at least 4% Belmont Bruin, and at one point in my college career (Christmas break, freshman year), I did think about transferring to Belmont. This would have created a serious sliding doors event in my life that brings up some uncomfortable questions and hypotheticals, but on the other hand, I would have had a degree from the university responsible for some of the most fun men's basketball offenses of the last 20 years. Possibly worth it.

Anyway, in this game, I look for two things on the Belmont front: can they really continue to shoot 41.4% from 3 as they have since December 1, and are they really a +16.4% 2PT% team that indicates an elite two-way frontcourt? Belmont has routinely had good posts in my lifetime, but this Bruins team doesn't go through traditional post-ups all that often. Instead, Sam Orme and Drew Scharnowski are both excellent offensive fits for Belmont's numerous backdoor and perimeter cuts, which is where they're scoring most often.

This will be tested mightily against an SIU defense that may be best at eliminating backdoor cuts, instead preferring to sit back in drop coverage when possible. I don't love this matchup for them overall - any team that allows a lot of catch-and-shoots, even guarded ones, could be put in hell from tipoff by Belmont's nationally elite catch-and-shoot offense - but it's a home game in the MVC, and as I've said before, at some point if you want to be Southern Illinois again, you better win some big home games. - Will Warren

Saturday Staples: Five College Basketball Bets to Build Your Card--Busting Brackets

Bradley Braves at Illinois State Redbirds

The Missouri Valley Conference continues to be unpredictable. Illinois State stumbled after an unbeaten start, while Bradley appears to be climbing out of a recent slump.

This rivalry game sets up well for the Redbirds at home. If Illinois State shoots the ball reasonably well, they should be able to pull away.