11/20 KenPom rankings update

MBB: The Valley sweeps the non-conference slate and grabs four wins Wednesday night

Indiana State improved to 3-2 on the season with a home win over Louisiana Tech. (Photo: Indiana State Athletics)

All four Missouri Valley Conference teams won their non-conference games on Wednesday, but it was a mixed bag of movement in the KenPom computer rankings. The good news overall is that the floor of the league raised significantly overnight.

Valpo was the big mover, jumping 37 spots to #222, after a 90-75 road win at #253 Cleveland State. The Beacons have moved up 62 spots since Sunday after their last two wins.

Indiana State picked up their second Top-200 KenPom win on Wednesday as they beat Louisiana Tech, in Terre Haute, 60-51. The Sycamore moved up 15 spots to #184 overall.

Belmont and Bradley both grabbed home wins last night, but neither win was impressive enough to gain any ground with the computer metrics. The Bruins dropped seven spots to #110 after their 75-68 home rivalry win over #265 Lipscomb last night. The Braves needed a late surge at home to beat #339 UMass Lowell, 87-77, and dropped one spot overall.

There are two games in The Valley tonight, with just one being against a Division I opponent. UIC has an opportunity to grab the league’s biggest non-conference win as they’ll challenge #86 High Point in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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

• #97 Northern Iowa — No change (Next: At #133 UC Irvine Saturday)

• #110 Belmont — Drops 7 spots after 75-68 home win over #265 Lipscomb (Next: Hosts Non-D1 Fisk Friday)

• #111 Murray State — Drops 1 spot (Next: Neutral-site game vs. #152 Middle Tennessee Sunday)

• #130 Illinois State — Up 3 spots (Next: Hosts Non-D1 Rockford tonight)

• #131 Southern Illinois — Up 4 spots (Next: Hosts #221 Delaware Sunday)

• #132 Bradley — Drops 1 spot after 87-77 home win over #339 UMass Lowell (Next: Neutral-site game vs. #254 Princeton Monday)

• #137 Drake — Up 1 spot (Next: Friday vs. Non-D1 Buena Vista)

• #138 UIC — Up 1 spot (Next: Neutral-site game vs. #86 High Point tonight)

• #184 Indiana State — Up 15 spots after 60-51 home win over #177 Louisiana Tech (Next: Hosts #268 Ball State Saturday)

• #222 Valparaiso — Up 37 spots after 90-75 road win at #253 Cleveland State (Next: Hosts #312 Southern Indiana Wednesday)

• #281 Evansville — Up 2 spots (Next: Neutral-site vs. #136 Oregon State Friday)

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 +19.21

2. Big Ten +18.47

3. Big 12 +17.19

4. ACC +15.28

5. Big East +13.73

6. Mountain West +6.64

7. Atlantic 10 +5.81

8. West Coast Conference +4.02

9. The American +3.20

10. Missouri Valley +1.12 (Up +0.09)

11. Conference USA -1.24

12. Mid-American Conference -3.07