11/27 KemPom rankings update
MBB: There's only one unbeaten team remaining in the Missouri Valley Conference
Wednesday was not the best of days for Missouri Valley Conference teams in the non-conference, as the league went 2-5 overall. The good news is the two wins were some of the best wins, according to the KenPom computer rankings, The Valley has grabbed in November.
The most significant win of the day was by Belmont, as the Bruins beat #146 Toledo, 87-72, to clinch the Coconut Hoops Championship in Fort Myers, Florida. With the win, Belmont, the only unbeaten Valley team remaining, moved up five spots to #90, and took the throne as KenPom’s highest-ranked Valley team.
Bradley picked up the league’s second-best win this month by knocking off #88 Liberty, 74-64, down in Orlando. The Braves jumped eight spots to #122.
Northern Iowa lost for the first time this year, to #90 Tulsa, to drop three spots back to #94.
UIC fell 17 spots, while Valpo plummeted 28 spots in the rankings after each lost on Wednesday.
Even with a day off, Murray State dropped two spots to #119, but with all the other losses in the league, the Racers are now ranked third amongst Valley teams in Ken Pom.
After last night’s games, here are this morning’s updated KenPom rankings for the Missouri Valley Conference:
#90 Belmont — Up 5 spots after 87-72 neutral-site win vs. #146 Toledo (Next: At #160 Charleston Sunday)
#94 Northern Iowa — Drops 3 spots after 63-60 neutral-site loss vs. #90 Tulsa (Next: Hosts non-D1 Coe Monday)
#119 Murray State — Down 2 spots (Next: Home game vs. #302 Morehead State Tuesday)
#120 Illinois State — Down 4 spots (Next: Neutral-site game vs. #192 Charlotte today)
#122 Bradley — Up 8 spots after 74-64 neutral-site win vs. #88 Liberty (Next: Hosts #162 Washington State Tuesday)
#133 Southern Illinois — Drops 5 spots after 74-58 loss at #71 Memphis (Next: Hosts #260 Little Rock Saturday)
#141 Drake — Down 3 spots (Next: Friday vs. #37 LSU)
#165 UIC — Down 17 spots after 88-74 road loss to #213 Robert Morris (Next: Hosts #363 Arkansas Pine Bluff Wednesday)
#166 Indiana State — No change after 75-73 road loss at #198 Louisiana Tech (Next: Hosts #333 Alcorn State Friday)
#250 Valparaiso — Down 28 spots after 64-56 home loss to #317 Southern Indiana (Next: Hosts #236 Western Michigan Saturday)
#305 Evansville — Up 1 spot (Next: Hosts #290 Ball State Wednesday)
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 +19.08
Big Ten +18.00
Big 12 +16.90
ACC +15.23
Big East +14.32
Mountain West +6.75
Atlantic 10 +5.75
West Coast Conference +3.80
The American +3.19
Missouri Valley +1.68 (Down -0.09)
Conference USA -1.83
Mid-American Conference -2.82