Missouri Valley Conference 2007-08 Preview
by Neal Heston

The glass is half full
After unprecedented success the last few seasons, the Missouri Valley Conference will rely on a lot of new faces – both on the bench and the court – to continue its nice run. Twenty six players will occupy starting lineups for the first time [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

Competitive weekend ahead
Advancing to the semifinals is a must to even have a view of an NCAA berth. For most teams, reaching the title game would make hearts beat a lot slower come March 11.
Two statements can be made with high confidence about the league going into Thursday: Three [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

Brackets busted indeed
After a rough weekend on the court for the Missouri Valley Conference, the league may have decreased its potential number of tourney bids to two, with an outside chance for three. Southern Illinois continued its dominance after knocking down No. 12 Butler on the road, but Creighton, [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

Round 2 to Salukis
Northern Iowa was nearly perfect from behind the arc against Southern Illinois Tuesday, but the one that mattered was just off the mark in a 56-54 defeat that sent the Salukis past the Panthers for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The would-be buzzer-beater looked good [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

Too close to call
We’re almost halfway through the conference slate and six teams are within one game of first place in the Valley, and that isn’t including once-eighth-ranked Wichita State, who is showing signs of resurgence. The Shockers knocked off then league-leader Creighton to create a three-way tie for [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

Hoopville’s Player of the Week: Grant Stout, Northern Iowa
The senior forward has begun the conference slate on the right jump, scoring an average of 16 points and grabbing 11.3 rebounds in UNI’s 4-0 start.
Bradley (11-6 / 2-3)
Raining Threes
Only Wichita State has limited the Braves to less than 10 3-pointers [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

Quarterly Review
Buy now! Invest yourselves in the Missouri Valley Conference as soon as possible, because the MVC is positioning itself for another strong showing in March.
Considering what Valley squads have accomplished during the past few non-conference seasons, it sounds a little odd to say 2006 has been one of [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

The Missouri Valley Conference helped itself to quite a feast during Thanksgiving week: a 2-1 (nearly 3-0) record vs. the Big Ten, three wins over Final Four teams and a 2-0 mark against the nation’s top 10. Wipe out Bradley’s four-point defeat at Illinois, Drake’s upset loss to Troy [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

Early season surprises
Through Nov. 18, the Valley fought to a 14-8 non-conference record – slightly lower than what the quickly rising mid-major conference has been used to seeing the past two seasons. Wichita State has cruised to a 3-0 mark and is joined by Southern Illinois, Missouri State, and [...]

Missouri Valley Conference 2006-07 Preview
by Neal Heston

As if the upper half of the Missouri Valley Conference weren’t crowded enough. This season, two more teams, the Drake Bulldogs and Evansville Aces, will compete with the perennial contenders. Both squads return a large part of their talented 2005-06 rosters, which will make for an even more [...]

Missouri Valley Conference 2005-06 Season Recap
by Neal Heston

It seems as if the Missouri Valley Conference re-writes history each season. Two years ago, the league had one of its best non-conference seasons ever. That was followed by five teams reaching the postseason last year – including three in the NCAA Tournament. For the 2005-06 campaign, [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

Valley Tidbits

Don’t adjust the brackets; you read it correctly. Southern Illinois is not the top seed heading into the MVC Tournament this weekend – the first time in four years. However, No. 2 isn’t so bad – especially this season. Maybe not being No. 1 will give SIU a [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

Looking into the postseason
With Missouri State winning five of its last six games, including contests against Bradley and at Northern Iowa, the Missouri Valley now has another team worthy of grabbing an at large bid to the NCAA. Will the committee see it that way, though? Northern Iowa, Wichita [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

Putting the game in perspective
The UNI men’s basketball team will play a tough game this Saturday at home against Missouri State, but a more important event will take place during the contest.
As part of “Coaches vs. Cancer” weekend, the University of Northern Iowa will team up with the American [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

First to 20 wins?
The UNI Panthers are nearing their school-record of 23 wins, but they also have the opportunity to become the first 20-win team in the nation on Tuesday. Illinois also has the chance to hit the 20-win plateau on Tuesday when it plays at Wisconsin. Duke and [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

On pace for a match:
Last season the MVC saw four teams hit the 20-win plateau. Halfway through the conference slate, four are again on track for 20 wins before the league tournament in St. Louis during the first weekend of March.

Not counting remaining non-conference games, Northern Iowa is pacing [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

League race tightens: UNI downs SIU in double overtime
Northern Iowa has racked up some huge victories on its home floor during the last two seasons, but perhaps none were as large as the 71-65 double-overtime victory over Southern Illinois on Monday night. UNI (16-3, 6-2) kept pace with Southern [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

First Quarter Report Card

The conference season is four to five games deep now. Some of your typical straight-A teams will still make Mom and Dad proud. Others may want to forge signatures.

Southern Illinois (11-3, 4-0)
The Salukis definitely didn’t hit the panic button after a mediocre 2-3 start. SIU has [...]

Missouri Valley Conference Notebook
by Neal Heston

The conference season is finally here, and highly-anticipated competition can now begin in the Missouri Valley Conference. All 10 Valley squads will head into league play with .500 marks or better for the first time in more than 20 seasons.

Full MVC play begins on Wednesday, but one thrilling contest [...]

Missouri Valley Notebook
by Neal Heston

In the Valley, basketball is 24-7
That is, 24 wins and 7 losses in the non-conference slate – good for a .774 winning percentage. Five teams are undefeated after the first full week of action, and it could have easily been seven. Drake (3-1) nearly upset No. 10-ranked Boston College, but [...]

Missouri Valley Conference 2005-06 Preview
by Neal Heston

During the past few years, it seems as if the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) enters a new season following its best year ever. Well, the 2005-06 campaign will have a lot of expectations to live up to. Three teams (Southern Illinois, Creighton and Northern Iowa) from the Valley [...]

Missouri Valley Conference 2004-05 Recap
by Neal Heston

Most everyone thought the Missouri Valley Conference’s (MVC) success last season – two teams going to the NCAA Tournament and another two in the NIT – couldn’t be topped in the 2004-05 campaign. Well, topped it was, as three teams went dancing this season while another two qualified [...]