11/23 KenPom rankings update
MBB: Northern Iowa picked up The Valley's best non-conference win last night at UC Irvine
If there’s a wilder ending this season than what we witnessed last night on the west coast between Northern Iowa and UC Irvine, I can’t wait to see it.
With UNI leading by two in overtime, UC Irvine’s Darin Saran dribbled the length of the floor before scoring and being fouled with 9.7 seconds left to tie the game at 67. Saran missed the free throw, but got his own offensive rebound and laid it in to put UCI up 69-67.
Then it was Trey Campbell’s turn to play hero for Northern Iowa.
The senior guard dribbled the length of the floor himself, as he laid it in off the glass, and he was fouled, with 0.6 seconds left. Campbell completed the three-point play to lift UNI to the 70-69 road win over UCI, KenPom’s #131 team.
With the win, Northern Iowa now has The Valley’s two best non-conference wins this year:
#130 UC Irvine (Northern Iowa)
#135 South Dakota State (Northern Iowa)
#156 Oregon State (Evansville)
#172 Charleston (Drake)
#180 Cornell (Illinois State)
The Valley has bounced back nicely in the non-conference in the last week. Along with Indiana State and UIC winning games on Saturday, since Monday, Valley teams have gone, 14-3 overall and 11-3 against Division I teams. The Sycamores were the biggest mover overnight, as they jumped 25 spots to #165 after their 70-52 win over #275 Ball State.
There are four Valley teams in action today, as Evansville will have a chance at a Top-75 KenPom win vs. Akron, and Murray State can get a Top-150 KenPom win against Middle Tennessee.
After last night’s games, here are this morning’s updated KenPom rankings for the Missouri Valley Conference:
#92 Northern Iowa — No change after a 70-69 overtime road win at #131 UC Irvine (Next: Neutral-site game vs. #246 Loyola-Chicago Tuesday)
#107 Belmont — No change (Next: Hosts #360 Saint Francis Monday)
#112 Murray State — No change (Next: Neutral-site game vs. #149 Middle Tennessee today)
#129 Southern Illinois — Up 1 spot (Next: Hosts #217 Delaware today)
#133 Illinois State — No change (Next: Hosts #190 Coastal Carolina today)
#134 Bradley — Up 1 spot (Next: Neutral-site game vs. #219 Princeton Monday)
#140 Drake — Up 1 spot (Next: Friday vs. #36 LSU)
#143 UIC — No change after an 84-73 neutral-site win over #313 Southern Indiana (Next: Road game at #218 Robert Morris Wednesday)
#165 Indiana State — Up 25 spots after a 70-52 home win over #275 Ball State (Next: Road game at #195 Louisiana Tech Wednesday)
#220 Valparaiso — Down 2 spots (Next: Hosts #317 Southern Indiana Wednesday)
#264 Evansville — Down 1 spot (Next: Neutral-site game vs. #71 Akron 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 +19.20
Big Ten +18.12
Big 12 +17.29
ACC +15.37
Big East +13.93
Mountain West +6.80
Atlantic 10 +5.85
West Coast Conference +3.94
The American +3.05
Missouri Valley +1.25 (Up +0.18)
Conference USA -1.13
Big West -3.11