Indiana State’s Jayson Kent slams one home over Bradley’s Malevy Leons during Saturday’s MVC showdown at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute. (Photo courtesy: Indiana State Athletics)

Jason Barnes
Staff Writer

The second half of the 2023-24 Missouri Valley Conference basketball schedule will begin this week, but it will be hard pressed to top what has been a sensational first half of the season so far.

Eight of the league’s 12 teams have winning records, each is also ranked in the top 162 in the NET rankings, which has proven to be a good measure of which teams deserve to in the NCAA Tournament. Indiana State leads those rankings, among Missouri Valley teams, at No. 24. Drake is No. 47, and Bradley is No. 64.

Indiana State and Bradley played a thriller of a ballgame last Saturday, which ended in overtime with the Sycamores on the winning side of a 95-86 barnburner at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute. ISU’s Jayson Kent had 17 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Sycamores, while Bradley’s Duke Deen dropped 31 points, including six three-pointers to lead the Braves, who had their season-long win streak snapped at nine games.

ISU (18-3) was able to maintain its hold on first place in the MVC standings at 9-1. Drake (17-4) is second, with an 8-2 league mark, followed by Bradley (15-6), which is 7-3 in the conference.

In midweek action, Southern Illinois trailed by 20 points at Murray State in the second half on Jan. 27, only to rally for a 60-58 victory. It’s the third 20-point comeback by an MVC school this season.

Missouri State’s Alston Mason is coming off a career-high 36 points in Wednesday’s win over Drake. His outburst marked the most points by a Bear since Isaiah Mosley’s 40-point effort at Loyola on Jan. 22, 2022.

Weekly Honors
Player of the Week: Alston Mason, Missouri State
Mason averaged 29.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 threes and 6 assists per game on the week while shooting 48.9 percent from the field (22-of-45) and 50 percent from three (9-of-18). He started the week with a career-high (and game-high) 36 points against Drake, helping MSU match its third-largest deficit overcome in school history against the Bulldogs with 23 points in the second half and 29 after halftime (including overtimes). He also snagged 7 rebounds to go with 3 assists and a pair of steals against DU along with five threes. Mason followed that effort with a game-high 22 points in Saturday’s win at Valpo, racking up a career-high 9 assists to go with four more threes and 6 rebounds in the victory.

Newcomer of the Week: Isaiah Swope, Indiana State
Swope averaged 24.5 PPG (43.6% from the field), 4.0 RPG, 3.5 AST/G, and snagged a pair of steals while playing 40.3 minutes in two wins last week. At UIC, Swope recorded a career-high 30 points off 10-for-21 shooting from the floor, including knocking down six threes. In the overtime win against Bradley, he recorded 19 points with five rebounds and six assists playing in 43 minutes in the victory. Swope led all scorers in the overtime frame with seven points.

Freshman of the Week: Johnny Kinziger, Illinois State
Kinziger averaged 11.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game during a week in which the Redbirds went 1-1 … Made 7-of-11 shots from the field on the week, while converting on 1-of-2 from three-point range and 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the charity stripe … Played 32 minutes against Belmont on January 23, scoring 13 points with a career-high seven rebounds … Made 4-of-5 shots from the field against the Bruins, while making 5-of-6 free throws … also dished out three assists against just one turnover.

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS

SCHOOL	MVC	PCT.	ALL	PCT.	L10	STREAK
Indiana State	9-1	.900	18-3	.857	8-2	W5
Drake	8-2	.800	17-4	.810	7-3	W1
Bradley	7-3	.700	15-6	.714	9-1	L1
Southern Illinois	6-4	.600	14-7	.667	7-3	W2
Northern Iowa	6-4	.600	12-9	.571	8-2	L1
Belmont	5-5	.500	12-9	.571	4-6	W1
Murray State	5-5	.500	8-13	.381	5-5	L3
Missouri State	4-6	.400	12-9	.571	5-5	W2
Illinois State	4-6	.400	10-11	.476	3-7	L1
Evansville	3-7	.300	12-9	.571	3-7	W1
Valparaiso	2-8	.200	6-15	.286	2-8	L2
Illinois-Chicago	1-9	.100	8-13	.381	1-9	L6

Tuesday, January 30

Away	Home	Time	Location	Links
Illinois State	Murray State	7:00 PM	Murray, Ky. (Conf.)	TV: ESPN+

Wednesday, January 31

Away	Home	Time	Location	Links
Indiana State	Belmont	6:30 PM	Nashville, Tenn.
Illinois-Chicago	Evansville	7:00 PM	Evansville, Ind. (Conf.)
Missouri State	Southern Illinois	7:00 PM	Carbondale, IL (Conf.)	TV: ESPN Plus
Northern Iowa	Bradley	7:00 PM	Peoria, Ill. (Conf.)	TV: CBS Sports Network
Valparaiso	Drake	7:00 PM	Des Moines, Iowa (Conf.)	TV: ESPN+