The Belmont Bruins have won four straight games to move into a three-way tie for fourth place in the MVC standings. (Photo courtesy: Belmont Athletics)

Jason Barnes
Staff Writer

All of a sudden, the race to win the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship is a race again.

Until last week, Indiana State looked like it was going to run away with the title. The Sycamores were rolling.

They were 13-1 in the conference, 22-3 on the season, and had just busted into the national Top 25 poll.

But then last week came and the Sycamores lost two games most thought for sure they’d win. First, they lost 80-67 at home last Tuesday to Illinois State. Then on Saturday, the Sycamores got beat on the road by Southern Illinois.

That dropped Indiana State to 13-3 in the MVC. At the same time though, Drake has been rolling.

The Bulldogs have won four straight, including games over Murray State and Evansville last week.

Now Drake is also 13-3, and with just two weeks left in the regular season, the Sycamores and Bulldogs are tied for first place.

The teams don’t meet again this year and split the two games they played against each other earlier this season. Both teams won at home.

Going into these final two weeks, it would seem Indiana State has a bit of an edge. Each of the Sycamores’ final four opponents (Valparaiso, Illinois-Chicago, Evansville, Murray State) currently sit on one of the bottom six spots in the MVC standings, and of those teams, only Evansville has an overall winning record this season.

Drake, on the other hand, will face three of the top six teams in the MVC in its final four games, including prime time matchups this week against Belmont and Northern Iowa.

Belmont On A Roll
Speaking of Belmont, that’s the other MVC team that’s been rolling lately. Like Drake, the Bruins have won four straight and moved themselves into a three-way tie with Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa for fourth place in the league standings.

And that’s been a great turnaround for Belmont, which had lost six of its previous seven games before this run.

Last week, the Bruins knocked off Southern Illinois and Illinois-Chicago, and now this week, they’ll get to play in what most expect to be the MVC Game of the Week, as it will be the feature game on the MVC TV Network, Wednesday night at Drake. That game has serious playoff implications.

And then on Saturday, the Bruins will be featured on ESPNU, when they’ll host Missouri State in another league-wide feature game. Tip off for that contest is set for 5 p.m.

Xavier Johnson Still At The Top
Southern Illinois’ Xavier Johnson ranks 2nd nationally with 23.3 points per game and 4th with 191 made FTs. Johnson is looking to become the third player in MVC history to lead the MVC in both scoring and assists. He joins Trae Young of Oklahoma (2017-18) as the only Division I MBB players since 1993 to average 23.0 ppg; 6.0 assists; and 85 percent or better from the FT line. Johnson is on pace to finish in the Top 10 all-time in MVC history for free throws made in a season.

MVC Player of the Week — Johnny Kinzinger, Illinois State
Kinziger scored an MVC-high 49 points in two games on the week, including a career-high 31 against No. 23 Indiana State before following with 18 points at home in a win against Evansville. He made 69.6 percent of his shots on the week – another MVC-high on the week – and converted on 6-of-9 from long range and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe in the pair of games. He also dished out eight assists on the week with eight rebounds, three steals, and a blocked shot.

MVC Newcomer of the Week — Myles Foster, Illinois State
Foster averaged 19.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game for the Redbirds in a 2-0 week. He made 64.3 percent of his shots from the field (18-of-28), and all three of his free throw tries. He also added two steals and a blocked shot. His week opened with a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double on the road at 23rd-ranked Indiana State, where he converted on 8-of-13 shots from the field, while giving out a trio of assists. He followed up that performance with a 20-point, eight-rebound, four-assist effort against Evansville, hitting on a career-high 10 baskets on just 15 attempts. He also picked up a pair of steals against the Aces.

MVC Freshman of the Week — Kevin Overton, Drake
Overton averaged 19.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2 steals over two wins last week. He helped Drake to a 78-75 victory over Evansville on Tuesday with 15 points, four rebounds and two steals. In Sunday’s 95-72 win over Murray State, Overton racked up the game-high 23 points, adding two rebounds and two steals, while finishing 5-8 from beyond the arc.

Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Schedule
Wednesday, February 21

AwayHomeTimeLocationLinks
UNINorthern IowaIllinois StateIllinois State7:00 PMNormal, Il TV: ESPN+ 
EvansvilleEvansvilleUICIllinois-Chicago7:00 PMChicago, IL TV: ESPN+
Indiana StateIndiana StateValparaisoValparaiso7:00 PMValparaiso, IN
BelmontBelmontDrakeDrake7:00 PMDes Moines, IATV: MVC TV Network 
Murray StateMurray StateSouthern IllinoisSouthern Illinois7:00 PMCarbondale, IL TV: ESPN Plus 
BradleyBradleyMissouri StateMissouri State7:00 PMSpringfield, MOTV: ESPN+ 

Saturday, February 24

AwayHomeTimeLocationLinks
ValparaisoValparaisoMurray StateMurray State3:00 PMMurray, KY
DrakeDrakeUNINorthern Iowa5:00 PMCedar Falls, IATV: ESPN+
Missouri StateMissouri StateBelmontBelmont5:00 PMNashville, TNTV: ESPNU 
UICIllinois-ChicagoIndiana StateIndiana State7:00 PMTerre Haute, INTV: Bally Sports
Illinois StateIllinois StateBradleyBradley7:00 PMPeoria, ILTV: ESPN+ 

Sunday, February 25

AwayHomeTimeLocationLinks
Southern IllinoisSouthern IllinoisEvansvilleEvansville1:00 PMEvansville, IN TV: ESPN Plus 

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS

SCHOOLOVERALLMVCPCT.HOMEAWAYSTREAKL10
Drake22-513-3.8128-05-3W48-2
Indiana State22-513-3.8127-16-2L28-2
Bradley18-910-6.6256-24-4L16-4
Southern Illinois17-109-7.5625-34-4W15-5
Belmont16-119-7.5626-23-5W45-5
Northern Iowa15-129-7.5625-34-4W26-4
Murray State11-168-8.5004-44-4L14-6
Missouri State15-127-9.4384-43-5W15-5
Illinois State13-147-9.4383-54-4W25-5
Evansville15-126-10.3755-31-7L35-5
Illinois-Chicago10-173-13.1882-61-7L22-8
Valparaiso6-212-14.1251-71-7L81-9