11/16 KenPom rankings update
MBB: Murray State is the big mover after their win over Nicholls
Missouri Valley Conference teams went 3-1 on Saturday as Murray State, Belmont and UIC picked up wins.
Murray State was the big mover in the KenPom rankings overnight, moving up nine spots to #114 overall after the Racers beat Nicholls, 99-79. Belmont moved up four spots after their road win at Oral Roberts. Despite having the night off, Northern Iowa also got a bump, as UNI moved up four spots to #98. It’s the first time this season a Missouri Valley team has been ranked in the Top 100.
Despite winning yesterday, UIC dropped 11 spots overall to #141, after they held on to beat #362 Chicago State on the road, 67-63.
Bradley’s early season struggles continued last night on the west coast. The Braves also dropped 11 spots after losing to #84 San Francisco, 75-64. Bradley is now 1-3 on the young season.
Illinois State and Valparaiso are the only Valley teams in action today.
After last night’s games, here are this morning’s updated KenPom rankings for the Missouri Valley Conference:
#98 Northern Iowa — Up 4 spots (Next: Hosts #304 Northern Illinois Tuesday)
#104 Belmont — Up 4 spots after 83-60 road win at #292 Oral Roberts (Next: Hosts #266 Lipscomb Wednesday)
#114 Murray State — Up 9 spots after 99-79 win over #264 Nicholls (Next: Hosts #211 Little Rock Tuesday)
#121 Southern Illinois — Down 1 spot (Next: At #189 North Dakota State Monday)
#126 Illinois State — No change (Next: At #257 Long Beach State tonight)
#135 Bradley — Down 10 spots after 75-64 loss at #84 San Francisco (Next: Hosts #336 UMass Lowell Wednesday)
#141 UIC — Down 11 spots after 67-63 road win at #362 Chicago State (Next: Neutral-site game vs. #92 High Point on Thursday)
#148 Drake — No change (Next: At #155 Charleston Monday)
#196 Indiana State — Up 1 spot (Next: Hosts #187 Louisiana Tech Wednesday)
#268 Evansville — Up 5 spots (Next: Hosts #194 UT Arlington Tuesday)
#284 Valparaiso — Up 3 spots (Next: Hosts #305 Bryant today)
In the conference rankings, KenPom has the Missouri Valley Conference still listed as the 10th-best league in the country. Last season, only seven conferences received multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament. Here are the updated KenPom conference rankings:
SEC +19.49
Big Ten +18.66
Big 12 +17.44
ACC +15.59
Big East +13.72
Mountain West +6.65
Atlantic 10 +5.37
West Coast Conference +3.65
The American +3.16
Missouri Valley +0.84 (Up +0.03)
Conference USA -0.98
Mid-American Conference -3.23