Will Valley Teams ‘Level Up’ Their Schedules?

Promising Signs of Upgraded Schedules

(St. Louis, MO) – Missouri Valley Conference teams must upgrade their schedules. For Valley teams to get noticed by the NCAA Selection Committee, they must ‘level up’ their opponent base. Leading the way this offseason is Missouri State and there are promising signs in the MTE arena.

The Bears are the first MVC squad to announce its non-conference schedule and it is outstanding. Dana Ford’s club battles four 2023 NCAA Tournament teams and one NIT participant. MO-State opens against the Big Twelve’s West Virginia and will face nationally known powers Tulsa, Oral Roberts, Middle Tennessee and St. Mary’s throughout the season.

Ford’s team also participates in the Paradise Jam which contains four, twenty-win teams of the eight participating schools.

While ‘strength of schedule’ is measured in different ways, no Valley squad played a top 100 schedule last season. Kenpom.com ranked the Bears’ 2022-23 as the league’s toughest with a 156 rating. Sports.betmgm also rated last season’s schedule (134) as the best of MVC teams. This season’s challenge seems even more demanding. While says Kenpom only four other MVC teams tested themselves with a top 200 schedule, at least one NCAA site rates the number higher. Nine Valley teams ranked in the top 196 with Bradley leading the way with the 108th rated schedule.

 

MTE’s & Special Events Help Level Up

Drake came in at 191 and is participating in this season’s Cayman Islands Classic. The Classic contains four other teams that claimed at least 19 wins last year. Utah State (26-9) participated in March Madness.

Southern Illinois will participate in the Cancun Challenge. The Salukis will be tested by James Madison squad that won 22 games last season, but the rest of their side of the bracket contains Fresno State (11) and New Mexico State (9) who won a combined 20 games last season.

Indiana State’s involvement in the Indy Classic has major benefits. The Sycamores play a quality opponent (Ball State) on a neutral floor and are part of a high profile double-header in Indianapolis. Purdue faces Arizona in the other contest played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

While we wait for other scheduling updates from Valley teams, we believe Missouri State’s schedule should a blue print of how MVC colleagues should level up.

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