VALLEY MINI-SERIES
The fourth Valley women’s basketball telecast of the season will hit the air on Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Kansas City, Fox College Sports and Comcast SportsNet Chicago, on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m., when Missouri State heads to Wichita to take on the Shockers.  Scott Warmann and Laura Leonard will have the story from Charles Koch Arena, as the  Shockers look to avenge their loss to the Lady Bears last month.

X, I VOTED
In the latest (February 15) USA Today ESPN Division I Top-25 Coaches’ Poll, UNI received four votes, equating to No. 33 in the poll.

STREAK FOR THE CASH
UNI enters this weekend’s matchup at Southern Illinois riding an 11-game winning streak, its longest in program history.  Only 14 NCAA Division I teams have current winning streaks of 11 games or more. 

PERFECT AT HOME
Illinois State is a perfect 12-0 at home this season, which ties the best home court start in Redbird history.  Illinois State is one of 18 programs in NCAA DI to remain undefeated at home, and is one of 11 to be perfect with 12+ wins.

THE COMPANY WE KEEP
Illinois State finds itself in some excellent company as one of 11 NCAA Division I teams to be perfect at home with 12 or more victories.  Seven of the other 10 schools are ranked in RPI’s top-10, including:

RPI - Team (Home Record) 
1 -  Duke 13-0
2 - Connecticut 13-0
3 - Tennessee 12-0
5 - Baylor 16-0
6 - Stanford 12-0
8 - Xavier 12-0
10 - Michigan State 14-0
11 - DePaul 14-0
16 - Miami (FL) 18-0
36 - UW-Green Bay 12-0
67 - Illinois State 12-0

FOUR IN THE TOP 70
Four Valley teams rank in the RPI’s Top 70, led by Missouri State (44).  UNI (50), Creighton (65) and Illinois State (67) also represent the MVC among the nation’s top teams in the RPI.

SEASON STREAKS
UNI is currently riding an 11-game hot streak just past the mid-point of the conference season.  Below is a list of the longest winning streaks of the season.

2010-11 Longest Winning Streaks
UNI - 11 (J6-present)
Illinois State - 7 (J20-present)
Creighton - 5 (J22-F10)
Missouri State - 5 (D3-D17)
Bradley - 4 (D1-D18)
Drake - 3, twice (N26-N30 and J6-J13)
Wichita State - 3 (N16-N26)

STREAK FOR THE CASH
UNI enters this weekend’s matchup with Southern Illinois riding an 11-game winning streak, its longest in program history.  Only 14 NCAA Division I teams have current winning streaks of 11 games or more. 

Current Winning Streaks (9+ Games)
20 - Baylor
18 - Marist
16 - Stanford
15 - Tennessee, UW-Green Bay
14 - UALR
12 - Connecticut, Gonzaga, Temple
11 - UNI, Chicago State, Houston, Louisiana Tech, Xavier

HOME, SWEET HOME
Following two-thirds of MVC action, Valley teams are 40-23 (.635) on their home courts. 

In 2007-08, Missouri Valley Conference teams finished the conference season with the country’s best home court winning percentage (61-29, .678), ahead of the Big Ten (.667), WAC (.638)and WCC and America East (.625).

Over the past eight seasons, the MVC has led the nation in home court winning percentage twice (2002-03 and 2003-04) and has finished in the top-10 seven times.

PERFECT AT HOME
Illinois State is a perfect 12-0 at home this season, which ties the best home court start in Redbird history.  Illinois State is one of 18 programs in NCAA DI to remain undefeated at home, and is one of 11 to be perfect with 12+ wins. 

THE RPI REPORT
The Missouri Valley Conference moved up one spot to No. 8 in the latest (Feb. 14) Collegiate Basketball News RPI Report.  As a conference, the MVC has the ninth-best strength of schedule, also up one position from a week ago.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
The league’s two new head coaches, Stephanie Glance of Illinois State and Teri Moren of Indiana State, have had no problem breaking into the mix of the Missouri Valley Conference.  With 17 total wins already this season, Coach Glance has become the most successful first-year head coach in Redbird program history, surpassing Robin Pingeton’s 16-13 overall record in 2003-04.  Coach Moren is just one win away from matching the most wins by a first-year Sycamore head coach, as Andi Myers finished 13-15 in 1982-83.  Below is a breakdown of the most coaching wins of Valley first-year coaches:

MOST COACHING WINS, FIRST-YEAR COACHES
Name, School (Years) League Overall
Jim Flanery, Creighton (2002-03) 13-5, 24-9
Lisa Stone, Drake (2000-01) 16-2, 23-7
Connie Yori, Creighton (1992-93) 12-4, 20-8
Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, MSU (2002-03) 11-7, 18-13
Stephanie Glance, Illinois St. (2010-11) 9-3, 17-6
Darryl Smith, Wichita State (1998-99) 10-8, 16-12
Donna Freitag, Bradley (1996-97) 9-9, 16-12
Robin Pingeton, Illinois St. (2003-04) 9-9, 16-13
Amy Stephens, Drake (2003-04) 11-7, 16-15
Lisa Boyer, Bradley (1986-87) 10-8, 15-13
Misty Murphy, Evansville (2008-09) 4-14, 15-19
Karen Harden, WSU (1983-84) 12-6, 14-14
Tricia Cullop, Evansville (2000-01) 8-10, 13-15
Andi Myers, Indiana State (1982-83) -- 13-15
Lisa Bluder, Drake (1990-91) 10-8, 13-17
Tanya Warren, UNI (2007-08) 8-10, 13-18
Jody Adams, Wichita St. (2008-09) 4-14, 13-18
Teri Moren, Indiana State (2010-11) 6-6, 12-11
Valerie Goodwin, MSU (1983-84) 8-10, 12-16
Nyla Milleson, MSU (2007-08) 9-9, 11-19
Paula Buscher, Bradley (2000-01) 5-13, 10-17
Jim Wiede, Indiana St. (2000-10) 7-11, 9-13
Missy Tiber, So. Illinois (2009-10) 4-14, 5-24
Dana Eikenberg, SIU (2004-05) 1-17, 3-24

TOP-FOUR TEAM HIGHLIGHTS
UNI (19-5, 12-1 MVC)
 • Winners of 16 of last 18 games
 • Currently on an 11-game winning streak -
 Tied for 10th longest streak in NCAA DI
 • 14 double-digit victories (tied for most in MVC)
 • RPI of 50 in latest CBN rankings (Feb. 14)
 • No. 3 in nation in turnovers/game (13.3)
 • Nine road/neutral wins
 • +12.5 scoring margin

Creighton (16-8, 10-3 MVC)
 • Winners of six of last seven games and 10 of last 13
 • Allowing just 58.3 ppg
 • Six road/neutral wins
 • Non-conference schedule strength of 24 (CBN)
 • One-fourth (two) losses to top-25 teams
 • One of two MVC teams (MSU) with top-75 RPI rank each week

Illinois State (17-6, 9-3 MVC)
 • Winners of 12 of last 15 games
 • Currently on a seven-game winning streak
 • Perfect 12-0 at home this season (one of 18 DI undefeated teams)
 • 17 wins - Top total in ILS history under first-year coach
 • Five double-digit comeback victories
 • .441 FG % ranks No. 27 in NCAA DI

Missouri State (17-8, 8-5 MVC)
 • Only MVC team with top-60 RPI rank each week
 • 14 double-digit victories (tied for most in MVC)
 • Double-digit victories in all eight league wins
 • Non-conference schedule strength of 16 (CBN)
 • Four wins against RPI top-100 teams
 • No. 5 in NCAA in Blocks/game (6.2)
 • No. 7 in NCAA in FG % defense (33.6%)

FEW AND FAR BETWEEN
UNI ranks No. 3 in the nation in turnovers per game (13.3), having not committed more than 19 turnovers in any game this season.  The Panthers limited themselves to single-digit turnovers three times this season (6 at Indiana State, 8 vs. Northern Illinois and 8 vs. South Dakota).  UNI junior Jacqui Kalin ranks fifth in the nation with a 2.64 assist/turnover ratio.

GET THAT STUFF OUTTA HERE
The Lady Bears No. 5 in the nation in blocks/game, swatting 6.2 blocks per contest.  Missouri State sophomore Tia Mays ranks sixth in the nation with 3.6 blocks per game.  

LOCKDOWN COUNTY JAIL
Missouri State ranks No. 7 in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding oponents to a .336 percentage.  The Lady Bears have held eight opponents to under .300 shooting percentage, while holding one opponent (Morgan State) to a season-low .194.

MAKES 'EM WITH HER EYES CLOSED
Missouri State guard Casey Garrison currently ranks second in the nation in free-throw percentage, converting at a whopping 92.6 percent.  Through 25 games this season she has missed just nine free-throws, going 113-of-122 from the charity stripe.

NOT SO CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
In league play, there have been just three overtime games and seven games (of 63 total) decided by five or fewer points.  Conversely, the outcome of 41 games (.651 percent) have been decided by more than 10 points this season.

20 SOMETHING
Drake’s Kristin Turk leads the league in scoring at 19.8 points per game and is challenging to become the first league player to average better than 20 points a game since Missouri State’s Tarise Bryson led the league with a 20.2 figure during the 2005-06 season.

SPEAKING OF SCORING
Missouri State’s Casey Garrison is secon in the league in scoring at 18.1 points per game and with a strong finish to the season, is hoping to uproot Kristin Turk as the league’s top scorer.  Should Garrison accomplish this feat, she will become just the fifth player in Valley women’s basketball history to repeat as the individual scoring champion, and the first since Indiana State’s Kourtney Mennen did it is 2001-02 and 2002-03.  Below are the four MVC women’s basketball players to achieve this feat:

WINNING AT THE HALFWAY POINT
Over the past 12 seasons, teams that have won or shared the regular-season championship in the MVC have reached the half-way point of the league season with at least 8 wins 12 times (15 total teams). Three times – DU in 2008, CU in 2003 and MSU in 1999 – teams have had as many as three losses and gone on to the regular-season title.

VALLEY HOME WINNING STREAKS
Illinois State currently holds the longest active home winning streak in Valley contests at 14, following its victories over Wichita State and Missouri State last weekend.  Below is a look at the longest home Valley winning streaks of all-time (minimum of 10 consecutive wins):

66 – Missouri St. (Mar. 3, 1989 – Jan. 20, 1997)
28 – Creighton (Feb. 2, 2001 – Feb. 13, 2004)
20 – Missouri State (Feb. 15, 2003 – Mar. 3, 2005)
20 – Illinois State (Jan. 30 1988 – Feb. 28, 1990)
20 – Illinois State (Feb. 4, 1985 – Jan. 1, 1988)
19 – Drake (Feb. 3, 1996 – Jan. 17, 1998)
18 – Southern Illinois (Jan. 21, 1995 – Jan. 5, 1997)
15 – Missouri State (Feb. 18, 2000 – Jan. 31, 2002)
14 – Illinois State (Jan. 21, 2010 – Present)
14 – Missouri State (Jan. 9, 1999 – Feb. 5, 2000)
12 – Wichita State (Feb. 25, 1999 – Jan. 18, 2001)

STREAK OF A DIFFERENT SORT
Creighton’s 50-48 overtime victory versus Wichita State was its 11th consecutive win over the Shockers, matching the Valley’s longest active winning streak against a conference opponent -- Illinois State also owns an 11-game winnnig streak over Bradley.

Longest Winning Streaks v. MVC Opponent (From 1983-84)
27 - Southern Illinois over Bradley (1983-95)
25 - Missouri State over UNI (1989-00)
21 - Illinois State over UNI (1984-94)*
20 - UNI over Wichita State (2000-09)
20 - Drake over Southern Illinois (1997-05)
19 - Drake over Bradley (1996-04)
19 - Missouri State over Southern Illinois (1997-06)
19 - Missouri State over Wichita State (1988-97)
18 - Creighton over Bradley (1997-05)
17 - Drake over UNI (1987-95)
17 - Southern Illinois over UNI (1984-92)
16 - Missouri State over Bradley (1992-97)
11 - Illinois State over Bradley (2006-Present)
11 - Creighton over Wichita State (2007-Present)
*ILS won 22-straight in the series; SIU won 17-straight over MSU from 77-89

WILDCARD WEEKEND SELECTIONS
The Valley has selected its final two regular-season women’s basketball games for television as part of the league’s Wildcard Weekend. 

On Friday, February 25, UNI (10-1 MVC) visit Bradley (4-7 MVC) at Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria, Illinois, in a 5:30 p.m. contest.

On Sunday, February 27, Creighton (9-2 MVC) and Missouri State (7-4 MVC) will close Wildcard Weekend’s televised action, as the Lady Bears play host to the Bluejays at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri, in a noon game.

THREE STRAIGHT UNDER 40
UNI held three consecutive opponents to under 40 points (BU - 34, SIU - 39, UE - 37).  The last time UNI held three straight opponents to fewer than 40 points was in the 1971-72 season when the Panthers topped Upper Iowa 58-36, Luther 39-35 and Upper Iowa 49-35 in consecutive contests.  Not only have the Panthers held their last three opponents to fewer than 40 points, but each of those three opponents has scored 16 or fewer points in the first half.  Bradley’s 34 points are the second fewest allowed by the Panthers since topping Iowa Wesleyan 75-24 on Feb. 9, 1974.

FLAN WINS 100TH MVC GAME
In the Bluejays’ 50-48 overtime victory versus Wichita State, Creighton head coach Jim Flanery tallied his 100th career Missouri Valley Conference win, becoming just the seventh coach in league history to reach the milestone.

TITLE TOWN
The league has had eight different regular-season champions in the past eight seasons (CU/ILS-2003, MSU-2004, MSU-2005, INS-2006, SIU-2007, DU/UE/ILS-2008, ILS-2009, ILS-2010).

15 IS ALMOST ALWAYS ENOUGH
In 26 conference seasons, MVC regular-season champions have won at least 15 conference games 18 times.  No team has finished the Valley regular-season with 15 wins and finished lower than second-place.   Just two second place 15-win teams have finished more than one game behind the league winner.

The 1985-86 Drake teams finished 16-2 behind an undefeated Southern Illinois team and the 1991-92 Southern Illinois team finished 15-3 behind a 17-1 Missouri State team that went on the play in the Final Four.

.500 MAGNUM
The Missouri Valley Conferece completed its regular-season non-conference schedule with a record of 62-49 (.559).  The Valley has posted non-conference records above .500 in 15 of the last 19 seasons, and have not recorded back-to-back below .500 seasons since 1992.

FOURTH BEST ALL-TIME
The Missouri Valley Conference completed its non-conference schedule with a 62-49 (.559) record in 2010-11.  This marks the fourth best winning percentage in the history of the Valley. 

LOST IN TRANSLATION
Of the MVC's 49 losses in non-conference action, 25 (.510) have come against teams in the RPI's top-100, including seven against teams in the RPI's top-25 and 10 versus teams in the RPI's top-50.

AGAINST THE FIELD
The MVC holds a winning record against 14 leagues in non-conference play (Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Colonial, Conference USA, Great West, Horizon, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Mountain West, Ohio Valley, Southern, Southland, Summit and Sun Belt) and an even .500 mark against another three (Atlantic-10, Big West and West Coast).

CAN'T HANG
The MVC holds an unblemished record in non-conference action against eight other leagues, including Atlantic Sun (1-0), Big Sky (2-0), Big South (1-0), Colonial (2-0), Conference USA (1-0), Mid-Eastern (2-0), Southern (1-0) and Southland (1-0).

TOPPING POSTSEASON TEAMS
To date, MVC teams have 17 wins against teams that participated in either the NCAA, WNIT or WBI postseason events last season.  The 17 wins over postseason teams almost doubles the league total of nine last year.

RANK AND FILE
So far this season, Missouri Valley Conference schools have yet to knock off a ranked opponent, combining for a 0-9 mark against top-25 teams. The league was 1-6 against top-25 teams a year ago, but the last time the Valley had more than one win against top-25 teams was in the 2002-03 season (2-5).

PRETTY TRUSTWORTHY
Preseason voters have correctly selected the conference's regular-season champion 17 times in 27 seasons, but, since the poll was expanded to include sports information directors and media in 1994-95, pollsters have accurately predicted 12 of the 16 champions.  Preseason favorites have played in 19 postseasons, including 14 NCAA Tournaments with one Sweet 16 and one Final Four appearance.

BID-WORTHY LEAGUE
2010 marked the 11th-straight season that the Missouri Valley Conference has earned at least three post-season bids.  In fact, the Valley matched a league-high tying six teams earning post-season berths, which also occurred in 1999 (2 NCAA, 4 WNIT).