11/18 KenPom rankings update

MBB: Drake picks up the biggest road win for a Valley team so far this season

(Photo: Drake Athletics)

Drake made the big move overnight in the KenPom rankings after they picked up a road win at Charleston Monday night, 71-62. With the win, the Bulldogs jumped nine spots to #139 in KenPom.

The win over Charleston was also the third-best win by a Valley team so far in the non-conference:

1. #156 South Dakota State (Northern Iowa)

2. #164 Cornell (Illinois State)

3. #178 Charleston (Drake)

4. #188 SIUE (Indiana State)

5. #191 Furman (Northern Iowa)

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Southern Illinois had a chance to jump onto that list, but lost to #190 South Dakota State, 92-85, With the loss, the Salukis dropped a dozen spots in the KenPom rankings to #133.

Tonight, there are games in the conference. Aside from Murray State hosting Little Rock, Evansville will host UT Arlington, and Northern Iowa will try to stay perfect on the season as they welcome in Northern Illinois to Cedar Falls.

After last night’s games, here are this morning’s updated KenPom rankings for the Missouri Valley Conference:

• #96 Northern Iowa — No change (Next: Hosts #304 Northern Illinois tonight)

• #104 Belmont — No change (Next: Hosts #267 Lipscomb Wednesday)

• #116 Murray State — Down 2 spots (Next: Hosts #214 Little Rock tonight)

• #131 Bradley — Up 2 spots (Next: Hosts #343 UMass Lowell Wednesday)

• #133 Southern Illinois — Down 12 spots after a 92-85 road loss to #190 North Dakota State (Next: Hosts #228 Delaware Sunday)

• #134 Illinois State — No change (Next: Hosts Non-D1 Rockford on Thursday)

• #139 Drake — Up 9 spots after 71-62 road win at #153 Charleston (Next: Friday vs. Non-D1 Buena Vista)

• #140 UIC — No change (Next: Neutral-site game vs. #85 High Point on Thursday)

• #197 Indiana State — No change (Next: Hosts #171 Louisiana Tech Wednesday)

• #258 Valparaiso — Up 1 spot (Next: At #254 Cleveland State Wednesday)

• #269 Evansville — Up 1 spot (Next: Hosts #158 UT Arlington tonight)

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:

1. SEC +19.45

2. Big Ten +18.55

3. Big 12 +17.17

4. ACC +15.62

5. Big East +13.75

6. Mountain West +7.14

7. Atlantic 10 +5.14

8. West Coast Conference +3.73

9. The American +3.30

10. Missouri Valley +0.97 (Up +0.03)

11. Conference USA -1.13

12. Mid-American Conference -3.26