Missouri Valley Schedule Release

Headlining Games

(St. Louis, MO) – There are three types of games that interest included in the Missouri Valley schedule release. While games between the top contenders are massively important, long-term rivalry contests are equally significant.

Contests between those teams that are searching for an identity will be critical in the filling out of the conference race. Surprise teams will emerge and the schedule release gives us the opportunity to break down the key matchups in all three of these categories.

Schedule Release Rivalry Games

While Drake and Bradley have seemingly played one another one million times and Southern Illinois and Murray State are relative neighbors, those are not the rivalry games we know and love.

The ‘War on 74’ between Bradley and Illinois State leads the way, but rivalry battles await between the Valley’s Iowa-based teams (Drake and Northern Iowa) and between former Ohio Valley Conference rivals Belmont and Murray State.

Fan bases of these teams sometimes view these games as important as ranking high in the conference race and losing rivalry games can be a fireable offense,

The Valley’s schedule release reveals the conference’s wisdom. All six of these games come later in the season and all six are being played on the weekend! MVC schedule makers got this one right.

January 24 is the first installment of the ‘War on 74’ as Illinois State visits Bradley. Northern Iowa visits Drake on January 30 and then Belmont and Murray State face off in Murray, Kentucky on February 6 and in Nashville on February 20.

Drake visits UNI on February 21 and on the second last day of the regular season, Bradley travels to Illinois State.

These are ‘must-see’ events.

Top Four Teams Face One Another

We believe the preseason poll will list Murray State, Illinois State, Illinois Chicago and Valparaiso as the league’s top four teams. Each team will play the other three squads twice and how this ‘round-robin’ plays out will determine a great deal about the league race.

The first game of the schedule release finds Valparaiso visiting UIC in a tone-setting game. Both the Beacons and Flames return significant players from last year’s teams. Barttorvic.com reports that Valpo and UIC return the MVC’s most ‘returning possession minutes’. These are the league’s only two teams with more than fifty percent of last year’s possession minutes returning.

The two teams meet at Valpo on January 8.

Illinois State brings the league’s third most ‘returning possession minutes’ largely in the Chase Walker/Johnny Kinziger package to Murray State on December 17. Walker (13.7 ppg) and Kinziger (11.5) have combined to score over 2,200 career Redbird points.

The Racers return MVC ‘Sixth Man’ Roman Domon (14.2 ppg) and coach Ryan Miller has loaded up on veteran talent, including former Atlantic Ten all-rookie team member Christian Jones (10.0 at George Washington).

The two, title-contenders square off in Normal, Illinois on February 12.

When the Flames visit Murray State (December 29), five of last year’s top freshmen will be on display. Freshman of the Year Roman Domon leads the Racers against UIC’s Andy Johnson. The 6’6 Johnson averaged over eleven points per game and Rashund Washington and Jayce Nathaniel all logged heavy minutes.

Domon and fellow returning French native Mathis Courbon were sensational during their rookie seasons. They reconnect in Chicago on February 3.

Valpo travels to Illinois State (January 16) and another pair of rising sophomores, J.T. Pettigrew and Rakim Chaney will battle the Redbirds. Pettigrew was a third-team, all-Valley selection and part of the all-freshmen team. Illinois State has added talent around their ‘known stars’. Former Bradley Brave, DeMarion Burch and former Missouri State Bear Zaxton King will help lift the offensive load.

These two teams play in the shadow of the Victory Bell on February 9.

There are two heavy-weight battles on January 30. While the Beacons travel to Murray State and face former teammate Shon Tupuola, Illinois State visits UIC. The Flames and Redbirds square off six-days-later in Normal. Valpo finishes the season (2/27) at Murray State.

Mystery Teams

Southern Illinois, Bradley, Northern Iowa and Indiana State all return fewer than fourteen percent of their possession minutes. The Sycamores return ZERO! While Belmont and Evansville return some significant experience, the Bruins have a new coach and the Purple Aces won just seven games last season.

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