2009–10 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season


The 2009–10 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season marks the 101st season of Missouri Valley Conference basketball.

2009–10 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
DurationDecember 29, 2009
through February 27, 2010
Number of teams10
TV partner(s)Fox Sports Midwest, ESPN, CBS Sports
Regular Season
Tournament
Basketball seasons
← 08–09
10–11 →
2009–10 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Northern Iowa 15 3   .833 30 5   .857
Wichita State 12 6   .667 25 10   .714
Illinois State 11 7   .611 22 11   .667
Creighton 10 8   .556 18 16   .529
Bradley 9 9   .500 16 15   .516
Indiana State 9 9   .500 17 15   .531
Missouri State 8 10   .444 24 12   .667
Drake 7 11   .389 14 19   .424
Southern Illinois 6 12   .333 15 15   .500
Evansville 3 15   .167 9 21   .300
2010 MVC tournament winner
As of March 20, 2010
Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason edit

In the preseason, Northern Iowa was the conference favorite – returning all five starters and 9 of the top 10 players from their MVC championship team. UNI received all but one first-place vote in the preseason poll of MVC coaches, media, and sports information directors. Creighton received the other first place vote. The preseason player of the year was 2009 MVC conference tournament MVP Osiris Eldridge of Illinois State – who tested the NBA draft waters over the offseason.[1]

Also in the preseason, three MVC players were named to the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award preseason candidate list: Dodie Dunson of Bradley, Adam Koch of Northern Iowa and Josh Young of Drake.[2]

MVC Preseason Poll edit

Rank Team Votes
1 Northern Iowa (38) 389
2 Creighton (1) 336
3 Illinois State 299
4 Southern Illinois 272
5 Wichita State 216
6 Bradley 208
7 Indiana State 173
8 Drake 105
9 Missouri State 92
10 Evansville 55

Preseason All-MVC Team edit

  • Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Northern Iowa
  • Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State
  • Tony Freeman, Southern Illinois
  • Adam Koch, Northern Iowa
  • P'Allen Stinnett, Creighton
  • Josh Young, Drake

Preseason Player of the Year

  • Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State

Regular season edit

Non-conference edit

Bradley was dealt a tough blow in their season opener as, for the fourth consecutive season, the Braves suffered an injury to a key player. Senior guard Dodie Dodson broke two bones in his forearm in Bradley's home opener against Idaho State. Bradley won the game, 74–69, but likely lost Dodson for the season.[3] In another memorable opening games, Creighton hung tough at number 21 Dayton, but ultimately lost down the stretch 70–60. The Bluejays led 46–41 at the half and were within 3 points with 2 minutes left to play.[4] Jake Kelly also made his debut for Indiana State, scoring 16 in an 88–58 win over Nebraska-Kerney. Kelly transferred to Indiana State from Iowa to be closer to home after the death of his mother.[5]

Mountain West – Missouri Valley Challenge edit

The Missouri Valley Conference won the inaugural challenge with 6 wins to the Mountain West's 4 wins. 2009 marked the inaugural year of the Mountain West - Missouri Valley Challenge – matching teams from the MVC against teams from the Mountain West Conference in an effort to bolster strength of schedule for both leagues. Match-ups were set in January 2009 and were based on 2008–09 preseason projections.[6]

Conference season edit

Postseason edit

MVC Tournament edit

Conference awards & honors edit

Weekly awards edit

MVC Players of the Week
Throughout the conference season, the MVC offices name a player and newcomer of the week.

Week Player of the week Newcomer of the week
November 16[7] Carlton Fay, SIU Wayne Runnels, CRE
November 23[8] Kyle Weems, MSU Dwayne Lathan, IN ST
November 30[9] Kwadzo Ahelegbe, UNI Adam Leonard, MSU
December 7[10] Jordan Eglseder, UNI Colt Ryan, UE
December 14[11] Kwadzo Ahelegbe, UNI Tony Freeman, SIU
December 21[12] Clevin Hannah, WSU Marc Sonnen, UNI
December 28[13] Jordan Eglseder, UNI Dwayne Lathan, IN ST
January 4 Osiris Eldridge, ISU Jermaine Mallett, MSU
January 11 Jordan Eglseder, UNI Jackie Charmichael, ISU
January 18 Bill Todd Joey G
January 25
February 1
February 8
February 15
February 22
March 1
March 8

References edit

External links edit