Still Up for Grabs
With one weekend remaining in MVC play, the regular-season title and top seed for the 2013 edition of the Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament is still up for grabs. Wichita State (14-3 MVC), Creighton (13-3 MVC) and Illinois State (12-4 MVC) all still have a chance to grab the No. 1 seed.

Wichita State is seeking its first-ever regular-season Missouri Valley Conference title, while Creighton is hoping to win its third regular-season league championship. Illinois State has won the regular-season six times (tied with Drake for the second-most in league history).

Cream of the Crop
Creighton (13-3 MVC) has won at least 12 conference games for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The Bluejays have won 12 or more league games 13 time in program history.

Illinois State (12-4 MVC) is another perennial power at the top of the league standings. The Redbirds have an active streak of winning 12+ Valley games in seven consecutive seasons and have recorded 12 or more MVC wins 16 times in program history.

Wichita State (14-3) recorded back-to-back seasons of 12+ league wins for the first time in program history. The Shockers have tallied 12 or more league wins just four times total.

First to 20
Creighton became the first Valley women’s basketball team to reach the 20-win plateau this season. For the 15th time in program history (since the 1982-83 season), the Bluejays have won at least 20 games, including a streak of four straight (1991-92 – 1993-94), three different streaks of three straight (1985-86 – 1987-88, 2002-03 – 2004-05, 2008-09 – 2010-11), and now two straight (2011-12 – 2012-13). This is also the seventh time under head coach Jim Flanery that Creighton has posted 20 or more wins in a season.

Shockers Get to 20 Wins
Wichita State earned its 20th win of the season after a 63-53 victory at Indiana State on Sunday afternoon, tying the school record for overall wins (also had 20 wins in 1980-81, 1999-00 and 2011-12). The win was the Shockers 14th league victory of the season, which also ties a program record (1999-00). This marks the first time Wichita State has ever had back-to-back 20-win seasons.

Redbirds Grab 20th Win, Too
Illinois State got to the 20-win plateau after an 81-60 victory over visiting Missouri State on Sunday afternoon, marking the sixth time in the last seven years that the Redbirds have accomplished this feat.

Illinois State joins Creighton (21-6) and Wichita State (20-9) in the 20-win column, and this marks the sixth-straight season that at least three Valley teams have topped the 20-win plateau.

History of 20-Win Seasons
The Valley record for consecutive 20-win seasons is six, held by both Drake (1996-97 - 2001 -02) and Missouri State (1990-91 - 1995-96).  Drake, Illinois State and Southern Illinois both had five 20-win seasons in a row (DU, 1981-82 - 1985-86; ILS, 2006-07 - 2011-12; SIU, 1982-83 - 1986-87), while Creighton and Missouri State and have had 20-win seasons in four consecutive years (CU, 1990-91 - 1993-94; MSU, 1997-98 - 2000-01). 

Active 20-Win Seasons in the Valley
3 - Missouri State (2009-10 - 2011-12)
2 - Creighton (2011-12 - 2012-13)
2 - Wichita State (2011-12 - 2012-13)

Speaking of 20 Wins
Since the start of the 1992-93 season only two 20-win MVC teams have been left out of the postseason. In that time, 42 of 44 20-win Valley teams have advanced to the postseason. Last season Missouri State, Wichita State and Creighton each earned postseason bids after winning at least 20 games.

MVC Tournament Seeding Scenarios
Dozens of possible seeding scenarios for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament could be played out during the final weekend of conference play. Here’s a look at what COULD happen with SPECIFIC results simulated and what we know for sure heading into the final weekend.

There are several other game results possibilities and the following listings are not all-inclusive, just selected Thursday results scenarios. More definite seeding scenarios will be available after Thursday’s games.

CERTAINTIES:
 • Wichita State, Creighton and Illinois State are all still in the mix for the No. 1 seed;
 • Wichita State can finish with as many as 15 wins and as few as 14 wins;
 • Creighton can finish with as many as 15 wins and as few as 13 wins;
 • Illinois State can finish was as many as 14 wins and as few as 12 wins;
 • Indiana State and UNI can finish with as many as 11 wins and as few as 9 wins;
 • Bradley can finish with as many as 9 wins and as few as 7 wins;
 • Evansville can finish with as many as 8 wins and as few as 6 wins;
 • Missouri State can finish was as many as 7 wins and as few as 6 wins;
 • Drake can finish was as many as 6 wins and as few as 4 wins;
 • Southern Illinois will be the No. 10 seed.

If HOME Teams Win on Thursday - Below are the possible seeds if all of the home teams (BU, CU, DU, UNI) win on Thursday, March 7 (based on record alone).

1. Wichita State/Creighton
2. Wichita State/Creighton
3. Illinois State
4. UNI
5. Indiana State
6. Bradley
7. Evansville/Missouri State
8. Evansville/Missouri State
9. Drake
10. Southern Illinois

If ROAD Teams Win on Thursday - Below are the possible seeds if all of the road teams (UE, ILS, INS, SIU) win on Thursday, March 7 (based on record alone).

1. Wichita State
2. Creighton/Illinois State
3. Creighton/Illinois State
4. Indiana State
5. UNI
6. Bradley/Evansville
7. Bradley/Evansville
8. Missouri State
9. Drake
10. Southern Illinois

If Teams Currently HIGHER in the MVC Standings  Win on Thursday - Below are the possible seeds if all of the teams currently higher in the MVC standings (CU, DU, ILS, INS) win on Thursday, March 7 (based on record alone).

1. Wichita State/Creighton
2. Wichita State/Creighton
3. Illinois State
4. Indiana State
5. UNI
6. Bradley
7. Evansville/Missouri State
8. Evansville/Missouri State
9. Drake
10. Southern Illinois

If Teams Currently LOWER in the MVC Standings  Win on Thursday - Below are the possible seeds if all of the teams currently lower in the MVC standings (BU, UE, UNI, SIU) win on Thursday, March 7 (based on record alone).

1. Wichita State
2. Creighton
3. Illinois State
4. UNI
5. Indiana State
6. Bradley
7. Evansville
8. Missouri State
9. Drake
10. Southern Illinois

Top-Three Team Highlights
Wichita State (20-9, 14-3 MVC)
 • Winners of 14 of last 17 games
 • Tied a program-record 10-game winning streak (J3-F8)
 • Tied a program record with 20 wins
 • Tied a program record with 14 MVC wins
 • Opened league play at 10-0 (T-3rd best all-time)
 • 13 double-digit victories (T-2nd in MVC)
 • RPI of 65 in latest CBN rankings (Mar. 4)
 • No. 54 Non-conference strength of schedule
 • 8-3 road record 
 • Four wins against top-100 teams (T-2nd in MVC)
 • No. 16 in CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll
 • Allowing just 53.4 ppg (Best in MVC)

Creighton (21-6, 13-3 MVC)
 • Winners of 19 of last 23 games
 • First win over a ranked opponent since 2008 (Beat No. 25 Nebraska, 66-57, Dec. 6)
 • League-best RPI of 26 in latest CBN rankings (Mar. 4)
 • Only MVC team with top-50 RPI rank each week
 • No. 20 Non-conference strength of schedule
 • 14 double-digit victories (Most in MVC)
 • Six wins against top-100 teams (Most in MVC)
 • No. 13 in CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll
 • Rank 1st in nation in three-point FGs per game (9.4)
 • +7.4 scoring margin (Best in MVC)

Illinois State (20-8, 12-4 MVC)
 • Winners of 14 of last 18 games
 • Currently on a league-best seven-game winning streak
 • Won 20+ games for the sixth time in seven seasons
 • 13 double-digit victories (T-2nd in MVC)
 • Four wins against top-100 teams (2nd in MVC)
 • Eight road wins (2nd in MVC)
 • RPI of 70 in latest CBN rankings (Mar. 4)

Title Town
The league has had eight different regular-season champions in the past 10 seasons (CU/ ILS-2003, MSU-2004, MSU-2005, INS-2006, SIU-2007, DU/UE/ILS-2008, ILS-2009, ILS-2010, UNI-2011, MSU-2012). Bradley and Wichita State are the only two league teams that not have won the regular-season title.

15 is Almost Always Enough
In 28 conference seasons, MVC regular-season champions have won at least 15 conference games 19 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.

Valley Home Winning Streaks
Creighton currently holds the longest active home winning streak in Valley contests at nine and will look to extend that streak when the Bluejays host Evansville and Southern Illinois this weekend. Below is a look at the longest home Valley winning streaks of all-time:

66 – Missouri State (Mar. 3, 1989 – Jan. 20, 1997)
28 – Creighton (Feb. 2, 2001 – Feb. 13, 2004)
24 – Illinois State (Jan. 21, 2010 – Feb. 23, 2012)
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 – Missouri State (Jan. 9, 1999 – Feb. 5, 2000)
12 – Wichita State (Feb. 25, 1999 – Jan. 18, 2001)
9 – Wichita State (Mar. 3, 2012 – Feb. 8, 2013)
9 – Creighton (Feb. 17, 2012 – Present)

Streak of a Different Sort
Illinois State own the Valley’s longest active winning streak against a conference opponent – a 15-game winning streak over Bradley – which the Redbirds will put on the line this weekend in Peoria. Below is a look at the longest winning streaks over a Valley opponent in league history:

Longest Winning Streaks vs. 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)
15 – Illinois State over Bradley (2006-Present)
11 – Bradley over Southern Illinois (2009-Present)
11 – Illinois State over Southern Illinois (2008-Present)
11 – Creighton over Wichita State (2007-2011)
10 – Creighton over Southern Illinois (2008-Present)
10 – Indiana State over Southern Illinois (2010-Present)
10 – UNI over Evansville (2009-Present)
*ILS won 22-straight in the series; SIU won 17-straight over MSU from 77-89

The RPI Report
The Missouri Valley Conference holds steady at the No. 10 position in the latest (Mar. 4) Collegiate Basketball News RPI Report. As a league, The Valley also has the 10th-best strength of schedule.

Three in RPI’s Top 70
Three Valley teams rank in the RPI’s Top 70, led by Creighton (26). Wichita State (65) and Illinois State (70) also represent the MVC among the nation’s top teams in the RPI.

At Large and In Charge?
The MVC has not had an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament since 2002, a streak of 10 years. However, history could be on our side this season if Creighton keeps pace at its current RPI (No. 26) – should the Bluejays not win the MVC Tournament. According to the most recent version of the Collegiate Basketball News RPI, teams with n RPI rank of 1-30 on Selection Sunday have a 99+% chance of earning an at-large bid. The chances drop to 84% with a RPI rank of 31-40.

Non-Traditional Double-Double
Southern Illinois sophomore Cartaesha Macklin tallied her third double-double of the season, turning in 18 points and 10 assists in the Salukis’ loss to Bradley. This marks the second time this season that Macklin has registered a points-assists double-double (19 points, 10 assists - at Chicago State, Dec. 29). The only other player to record a points-assists double-double this season is UNI’s Jacqui Kalin (28 points, 10 assists - vs. Evansville, Feb. 2).

Calm, Cool and Collective at the Line
Sophomore Mallory Ladd is on pace to break Evansville’s single-season free throw percentage record after going 4-for-4 from the free throw line in a pair of games last weekend. Ladd is shooting 94.9 percent from the charity stripe this season, more than four points higher than the current record of 90.6 set by Amy Humphries during the 1988-89 season.

Triple Threat
After hitting just 30 three-pointers in the first 26 games, Jess McDowell finished the weekend against Evansville and Southern Illinois with 13 triples. She knocked down six treys against the Salukis and tied the school record with seven three-pointers at Evansville.

Warren Earns 100th Career Victory
Tanya Warren earned her 100th career coaching win at UNI with the Panthers’ 70-57 win at Evansville Friday night. She joins Creighton’s Jim Flanery (215 wins) and Missouri State’s Nyla Milleson (115 wins) as the league’s third active coach to notch 100+ wins in their current program. Since the 1982-83 season, 16 league coaches have gone over the century mark in overall wins.

Super Sophomores
The Valley’s sophomore class is having an outstanding 2012-13 season, with six sophomores in the league’s top-25 in scoring, including three in the top-10. Kyndal Clark is second (15.0), Cartaesha Macklin is fourth (14.7), while Janae Smith is 10th (13.4). Racheal Mahan is 110th (13.3), Shronda Butts ranks 12th (12.4) and Alex Harden is 19th (10.7).