11/8 KenPom rankings update
MBB: The Racers move up four spots after their win over Mississippi Valley State
Missouri Valley Conference teams went 3-2 on Friday, highlighted by Murray State’s 48-point win over Mississippi Valley State and Southern Illinois beating Kansas City, 101-78.
Evansville’s 92-50 win over Calumet College featured the return of reigning Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Year Connor Turnbull, but the victory over the Non-D1 school does not impact the Purple Aces’ metrics.
Valparaiso got blown out at #9 Kentucky, 107-59, and UIC was edged on the road by Oregon State, 76-73.
Murray State and SIU will have the two best non-conference opportunities for the Valley coming up in the next week. The Racers will be at SMU (#49 in KenPom) on Tuesday, while the Salukis travel to Nevada (#75 in KenPom) on Wednesday.
After last night’s games, here are this morning’s updated KenPom rankings for the Missouri Valley Conference:
#102 Northern Iowa — Up 1 spot (Next: Hosts #165 South Dakota State Sunday)
#106 Belmont — No change (Next: Hosts #242 Tennessee State Today)
#115 Bradley — No change (Next: Hosts #268 Central Michigan Today)
#121 Southern Illinois — Up 9 spots after 101-78 home win over #313 Kansas City (Next: At #75 Nevada Wednesday)
#122 Murray State — Up 4 spots after 108-60 home win vs. #365 Mississippi Valley State (Next: At #49 SMU Tuesday)
#124 Illinois State — Down 1 spot (Next: Hosts #180 Cornell Sunday)
#127 UIC — Down 3 spots after 76-73 road loss at #143 Oregon State (Next: vs. Non-D1 St. Francis (IL) Tuesday)
#136 Drake — Up 1 spot (Next: Hosts Non-D1 Simpson Monday)
#224 Indiana State — Drops 8 spots (Next: At #232 SIUE Monday)
#261 Evansville — Drops 8 spots after 92-50 home win vs. Non-D1 Calumet College (Next: Hosts Non-D1 Oakland City Sunday)
#290 Valparaiso — No change after 107-59 loss at #3 Kentucky (Next: Hosts #255 Nicholls on Wednesday)
In the conference rankings, KenPom has the Missouri Valley Conference listed as the 10th-best league in the country. Last season, only seven conferences received multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament:
SEC +19.97
Big Ten +18.20
Big 12 +16.87
ACC +14.81
Big East +14.52
Mountain West +6.78
Atlantic 10 +5.58
The American +3.77
WCC +2.31
Missouri Valley +0.95 (Up +0.12)
Conference USA -1.09
Ivy League -3.33