11/13 KenPom rankings update
MBB: The Valley takes a big hit in all the computer metrics after going 1-3 Wednesday night
If the Missouri Valley Conference fails to get multiple teams into the NCAA Tournament this season, you have to believe Wednesday night will be on the list of reasons why.
After steady progress in the KenPom computer rankings over the last week-and-a-half, The Valley saw all that momentum evaporate in a two-hour period last night. MVC teams went 1-3 on the night, with the only win being Valparaiso holding on to beat #251 Nicholls, 68-63, at home.
Bradley tumbled 25 spots after losing to #291 UT Martin, 78-67, at Carver Arena last night. If there’s a silver lining to be found with UT Martin, while you never want to lose at home, there’s a chance this loss may not end up being as bad as it looks this morning. The Skyhawks started the year #330 in KenPom, but after road wins at UNLV and Bradley, UT Martin has jumped 96 spots in the last 10 days. If the Skyhawks can continue to outperform their preseason expectations, it will help lessen the sting of this loss for Bradley, but it won’t make it entirely go away.
Evansville and Southern Illinois also both last night, although the Salukis actually moved up six spots in KenPom after an overtime loss on the road against #91 Nevada.
Valley teams are now 14-11 against Division I opponents.
After last night’s games, here are this morning’s updated KenPom rankings for the Missouri Valley Conference:
#101 Northern Iowa — No change (Next: Hosts #162 Furman Friday)
#108 Belmont — No change (Next: At #288 Oral Roberts Saturday)
#121 Southern Illinois — Up 6 spots after 86-81 overtime road loss at #91 Nevada (Next: At #184 North Dakota State)
#125 Murray State — No change (Next: Hosts #268 Nicholls Saturday)
#126 Illinois State — No change (Next: Neutral-site game with #23 USC on Friday)
#127 Bradley — Down 25 spots after 78-67 home loss to #291 UT Martin (Next: At #85 San Francisco Saturday)
#130 UIC — Down 1 spot (Next: At #362 Chicago State Saturday)
#139 Drake — UP 1 spot (Next: Hosts #200 SIUE Friday)
#188 Indiana State — No change (Next: At #2 Duke Friday)
#277 Evansville — Down 14 spots after 77-72 home loss to #156 Middle Tennessee (Next: Hosts #194 UT Arlington Tuesday)
#286 Valparaiso — Up 2 spots after 68-63 home win over #251 Nicholls (Next: Hosts #305 Bryant on Sunday)
In the conference rankings, KenPom has the Missouri Valley Conference still listed as the 10th-best league in the country. The Bart Torvik computer metrics are also used by the NCAA Tournament committee, and Torvik has The Valley ranked 11th this morning. Last season, only seven conferences received multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament. Here are the updated KenPom conference rankings:
SEC +20.21
Big Ten +18.55
Big 12 +17.25
ACC +15.48
Big East +13.70
Mountain West +6.92
Atlantic 10 +5.50
West Coast Conference +3.49
The American +3.44
Missouri Valley +0.92 (Down -0.28)
Conference USA -1.14
Mid-American Conference -3.10