You know all about the Power 6 conferences in college basketball. You hear about those more than any other, and those groups often dominate the March Madness conversation. There are 31 other conferences out there, however, and our goal is to get you up to speed on the teams, players and fights in the standings to know before the conference tournaments, Selection Sunday and the official start of March Madness.
It’s time for you to get to know a mid-major: this time, it’s the Missouri Valley Conference.
The “Valley” has a long history – it’s the fourth-oldest collegiate conference in the nation, having formed way back in 1907, and the Big Ten is the lone Division I conference even older than it is. Back then it was known as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, and a number of its members eventually split to form what would be known, down the line, as the Big 8 — the predecessor to the Big 12. There’s history in the Valley, as the oldest mid-major there is, and parent, as it were, to an existing power conference.
In the present, the MVC has 11 teams. To account for the drop from 12 to 11 teams, in this year’s conference tournament, seeds 6 through 11 will face off in the first round, with the winners moving on to the quarterfinals. The winner of 8 vs. 9 will face the top seed, 7 vs. 10 takes on the second and the third gets the victor in 6 vs. 11. No. 4 and No. 5 will face each other in the same round, meaning, five teams now receive a first-round bye to keep things mathematically even in an odd-numbered conference.
Winning the Missouri Valley Conference championship is vital, as the Valley has sent just its automatic bid recipient to March Madness in each of its last three years, on both the men’s and women’s side.
Men’s Basketball: A League Getting Bigger
This season, MVC coaches prioritized size, with forty players on rosters standing at least 6’9”. Evansville boasts four players meeting that standard, and no player on their roster is shorter than 6’3”. The league also sees a welcome return of experienced players, with First-teamer Chase Walker (Illinois State) and Second-teamer Johnny Kinziger (Illinois State) remaining with their teams, and Third-teamer Trey Campbell leading a group of eleven returning players at Northern Iowa.
There’s been coaching turnover as well. Eric Henderson replaces Ben McCollum (Iowa) at Drake, the league champion, and Ryan Miller takes the helm at Murray State, formerly an assistant coach at Creighton. Missouri State has departed for Conference USA.
As of February 18, 2026, Belmont leads the conference with a 14-3 record, a comfortable three games ahead of UIC and Bradley. Murray State is 11-7, while Illinois State and Northern Iowa are tied at 10-7. Valparaiso (9-8) rounds out the teams with winning records, followed by Southern Illinois (7-10), defending conference champ Drake (6-12), Indiana State (3-14), and Evansville (2-14).
Jalen Quinn of Drake leads the conference in scoring with 19.9 points per game, while Fredrick King of Murray State dominates the boards with 8.6 rebounds per game. Xavier Hall of Indiana State averages 4.4 assists, Jacqan Johnson of Bradley records 2.7 steals, and Fredrick King also leads in blocks with 2.0 per game.
Belmont, despite its MVC dominance, is considered a bubble team, ranked 54th in Wins Above Bubble and the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). Illinois State and Northern Iowa are also within the top 100 in NET rankings. The conference tournament, however, offers opportunities for upsets, as demonstrated by Murray State’s potential to secure an automatic bid despite lower rankings.
Fredrick King of Murray State is a key player to watch. He leads the MVC in rebounds and blocks, boasts the highest shooting percentage (64.9%), and has the highest Player Efficiency Rating (27.0). Shutting him down is crucial for any opponent.
Women’s Basketball: A Wide-Open Race
The women’s side of the Missouri Valley Conference presents a different landscape, with Murray State leading at 13-1, followed by Belmont (12-2), Bradley (11-4), Illinois State (9-5), and Northern Iowa (9-6). Drake and UIC are 7-8, Southern Illinois is 6-9, and Evansville and Indiana State are 4-12, with Valparaiso at 0-16.
Unlike the men’s side, there is no bubble-caliber team on the women’s side. Belmont is the only team within the top 100 in NET, ranked 91st, with Murray State close behind at 101.
Northern Iowa’s Ryley Goebel stands out as a versatile player, averaging 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game. She leads the conference in shooting percentage (59.3%) and several other statistical categories.
Murray State’s Sharnecce Currie-Jelks is another force to be reckoned with, averaging a double-double with 18.6 points and 11.6 rebounds. Alongside Halli Poock (16.8 points), Haven Ford (16.8 points), and Keslyn Secrist (12.4 points), she forms a potent offensive unit. However, Murray State’s defense allows 75.9 points per game, ninth-worst in the conference.
Valparaiso’s winless season (0-27) adds an element of unpredictability to the conference tournament, as any win would be a major upset.
The Missouri Valley Conference, both on the men’s and women’s sides, promises an exciting conference tournament and a potentially surprising March Madness outcome.
