11/30 KenPom rankings update
MBB: The Valley had a great Saturday winning all three non-conference games
Missouri Valley Conference teams went 3-0 in the non-conference on Saturday, which produced two big movers in the KenPom computer rankings overnight.
The biggest mover was Valparaiso. The Beacons jumped 42 spots to #208 after the throttled Western Michigan, 84-55, at home. At 5-2, Valpo is off to their best start in eight seasons.
Drake ended the Emerald Coast Classic on a high note with an 84-74 win over #113 Georgia Tech down in Destin, Florida. With the victory, the Bulldogs moved up 17 spots to #126.
Southern Illinois returned home for the first time since November 7th, beating #260 Little Rock, 74-65. Despite the win, SIU dropped five spots to #140.
There’s only one game in The Valley today, as Belmont will try to remain the league’s only unbeaten when they travel to South Carolina to face #157 Charleston.
After last night’s games, here are this morning’s updated KenPom rankings for the Missouri Valley Conference:
#88 Belmont — Down 1 spot (Next: At #157 Charleston today)
#93 Northern Iowa — Up 1 spot (Next: Hosts non-D1 Coe Monday)
#111 Illinois State — Up 1 spot (Next: Hosts #271 Eastern Kentucky Wednesday)
#117 Murray State — Up 1 spot (Next: Home game vs. #309 Morehead State Tuesday)
#120 Bradley — Up 1 spot (Next: Hosts #167 Washington State Tuesday)
#126 Drake — Up 17 spots after 84-74 neutral-site win vs. #113 Georgia Tech (Next: Hosts #347 Western Illinois Tuesday)
#140 Southern Illinois — Down 5 spots after 74-65 home win vs. #260 Little Rock (Next: At #78 High Point Wednesday)
#168 UIC — Down 6 spots (Next: Hosts #363 Arkansas Pine Bluff Wednesday)
#200 Indiana State — Down 1 spot (Next: Hosts non-D1 Eureka Tuesday)
#208 Valparaiso — Up 42 spots after 84-55 home win vs. #237 Western Michigan today (Next: At #79 Marquette Tuesday)
#302 Evansville —Up 3 spots (Next: Hosts #329 Ball State Wednesday)
In the conference rankings, KenPom has the Missouri Valley Conference still listed as the 10th-best league in the country. After yesterday, The Valley has closed the gap with The American as much as they have all season. Last season, only seven conferences received multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament. Here are the updated KenPom conference rankings:
SEC +19.66
Big 12 +17.71
Big Ten +17.67
ACC +14.76
Big East +14.318
Mountain West +6.83
Atlantic 10 +5.73
West Coast Conference +3.25
The American +2.82
Missouri Valley +1.92 (Up 0.40)
Conference USA -1.28
The Ivy League -2.70
I’ll be very curious as to how your final posted MVC KENPOM ranking will correlate with the final MVC Regular Season Ranking.