2019–20 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox sports season
| title = 2019–20 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season
| color =
| color text =
| league = NCAA Division I
| sport = Basketball
| logo =
| pixels = 230px
| caption =
| duration =
| no_of_teams = 10
| attendance =
| TV = CBS, CBSSN, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN+, FSI, FSKC, FSMW, NBCSC
| season = Regular Season
| season_champs = Northern Iowa
| season_champ_name = 2020 MVC Champion
| season_runner-up =
| league_champs =
| league_champ_name =
| second_place =
| MVP = A. J. Green, Northern Iowa
| MVP_link = Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
| top_scorer =
| top_scorer_link =
| promote =
| promoted_from =
| relegate =
| relegate_to =
| playoffs =
| playoffs_link =
| conf1 =
| conf1_link =
| conf1_champ =
| conf1-runner-up =
| conf2 =
| conf2_link =
| conf2_champ =
| conf2-runner-up =
| playoffs_MVP =
| playoffs_MVP_link =
| finals = Tournament
| finals_link = 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
| finals_champ = Bradley
| finals_runner-up = Valparaiso
| finals_MVP = Darrell Brown Jr., Bradley
| finals_MVP_link = Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament#Champions
| seasonslist =
| seasonslistnames = Basketball
| prevseason_year = 2018–19
| nextseason_year = 2020–21
}}
{{2019–20 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings}}
The 2019–20 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2019, followed by the start of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 5, 2019. Conference play began in late December 2019 and concluded in March with the Missouri Valley Conference tournament at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
Northern Iowa captured the regular season title at 14–4.
Bradley defeated Valparaiso in the championship game to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and thereby would have received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Northern Iowa, by virtue of winning the regular season title, but not winning the conference tournament, would have received the conference's automatic bid to the National Invitational tournament.
All subsequent postseason tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Head Coaches
= Changes =
On March 6, 2019, Southern Illinois head coach Barry Hinson resigned.{{cite news|url=https://www.coachesdatabase.com/barry-hinson-steps-down-southern-illinois/|title=Barry Hinson steps down as Southern Illinois head coach|date=March 9, 2019|work=coachesdatabase.com|access-date=March 9, 2019}} He finished with a seven-year record of 116–106. The school announced on March 20 that former Loyola-Chicago associate head coach (and Saluki alumnus) Bryan Mullins had been named head coach.{{cite news|url=https://www.coachesdatabase.com/bryan-mullins-hired-southern-illinois/|title=Former Saluki Bryan Mullins named head coach at Southern Illinois|date=March 20, 2019|work=coachesdatabase.com|access-date=March 20, 2019}}
=Coaches=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;font-size:90%;" |
| width="130" | Team
! Head coach ! Previous job ! Years at school ! Overall record ! MVC record ! MVC titles ! NCAA Tournaments |
|---|
| style={{NCAA color cell|Bradley Braves}}|Bradley
|Green Bay |4 |58–75 |28–44 |0 |1 |
| style={{NCAA color cell|Drake Bulldogs}}|Drake
|Creighton |1 |24–10 |12–6 |1 |0 |
| style={{NCAA color cell|Evansville Purple Aces}}|Evansville
|Boston Celtics |1 |11–21 |5–13 |0 |0 |
| style={{NCAA color cell|Illinois State Redbirds}}|Illinois State
|Vanderbilt |7 |139–96 |76–50 |1 |0 |
| style={{NCAA color cell|Indiana State Sycamores}}|Indiana State
|Indiana State |9 |148–142 |80–82 |0 |1 |
| style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|Loyola Ramblers}}|Loyola-Chicago
|Saint Louis |8 |141–125 |60–82 |2 |1 |
| style={{NCAA color cell|Missouri State Bears}}|Missouri State
|Tennessee State |1 |16–16 |10–8 |0 |0 |
| style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|Northern Iowa Panthers}}|Northern Iowa
|Northern Iowa |13 |266–168 |139–95 |2 |4 |
| style={{NCAA color cell|Southern Illinois Salukis}}|Southern Illinois
|Loyola-Chicago |0 |0–0 |0–0 |0 |0 |
| style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|Valparaiso Crusaders}}|Valparaiso
|Valparaiso |3 |54–44 |13–23 |0 |0 |
Notes:
- All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
- Overall and MVC records are from time at current school and are through the beginning of the season.
- Lottich and Moser's conference records only includes MVC play, not other conference records.
{{clear}}
Preseason
= Poll =
| class="wikitable"
!Rank !Team !Points |
| 1.
|Missouri State (29) |410 |
|---|
| 2.
|Bradley (5) |368 |
| 3.
|Northern Iowa (3) |343 |
| 4.
|Loyola-Chicago (6) |340 |
| 5.
|Drake |243 |
| 6.
|Indiana State |210 |
| 7.
|Illinois State (1) |193 |
| 8.
|Evansville |132 |
| 9.
|Valparaiso |98 |
| 10.
|Southern Illinois |83 |
| colspan="3" valign="middle" |(First-Place Votes) |
=All-Conference Teams=
| class="wikitable" border="1" |
| Honor
!Recipient |
|---|
| Player of the Year
|Cameron Krutwig, Loyola-Chicago |
| rowspan="6" valign="middle" | First Team |
| Darell Brown Jr., Bradley |
| Tulia Da Silva, Missouri State |
| A. J. Green, Northern Iowa |
| Tyreke Key, Indiana State |
| Cameron Krutwig, Loyola-Chicago |
| rowspan="6" valign="middle" | Second Team |
| Jordan Barnes, Indiana State |
| Elijah Childs, Bradley |
| Keandre Cook, Missouri State |
| Javon Freeman-Liberty, Valparaiso |
| Ryan Vazekas, Valparaiso |
| rowspan="7" valign="middle" | Third Team |
| Zach Copeland, Illinois State |
| Gaige Prim, Missouri State |
| Lamont West, Missouri State |
| D. J. Wilkins, Drake |
| DeAndre Williams, Evansville |
| Lucas Williamson, Loyola-Chicago |
{{clear}}
Regular season
= Changes =
On December 27, 2019, Evansville placed head coach Walter McCarty on administrative leave and named current Evanville assistant coach (and former Samford head coach) Bennie Seltzer as interim head coach.{{cite news|url=https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/college/evansville/2019/12/27/ue-places-walter-mccarty-leave-alleged-title-ix-violations/2757199001/|title=UE places Walter McCarty on leave for alleged 'unwelcome conduct'|last=Lindskog|first=Chad|date=December 27, 2019|work=courierpress.com|access-date=December 28, 2019}} McCarty was in his second season at the school with an overall record at the time of 20–25. The school terminated McCarty's contract on January 21, 2020{{cite news|url=https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/college/evansville/2020/01/21/walter-mccarty-resigns-evansville-basketball-coach/4483959002/|title=University of Evansville fires Walter McCarty as head men's basketball coach|last=Lindskog|first=Chad|date=January 21, 2020|work=courierpress.com|access-date=January 22, 2020}} and announced later that same day that former Marian, Butler and Iowa head coach, as well as Evansville associate head coach, Todd Lickliter would return as head coach, effective immediately.{{cite news|url=https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/college/evansville/2020/01/22/todd-lickliter-named-new-evansville-basketball-coach-walter-mccarty/4536727002/|title=Evansville hires Todd Lickliter as basketball head coach hours after firing Walter McCarty|last=Lindskog|first=Chad|date=January 21, 2020|work=courierpress.com|access-date=January 22, 2020}}
=Conference Matrix=
This table summarizes head-to-head results between teams in conference play; each team will play eighteen conference games, facing each team twice.
| class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;font-size:90%;" |
| colspan=1 style="background:white; border-top-style:hidden; border-left-style:hidden;" width=95|
!style={{NCAA color cell|Bradley Braves}} width=95|Bradley !style={{NCAA color cell|Drake Bulldogs}} width=95|Drake !style={{NCAA color cell|Evansville Purple Aces}} width=95|Evansville !style={{NCAA color cell|Illinois State Redbirds}} width=95|Illinois State !style={{NCAA color cell|Indiana State Sycamores}} width=95|Indiana State !style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|Loyola Ramblers}} width=95|Loyola-Chicago !style={{NCAA color cell|Missouri State Bears}} width=95|Missouri State !style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|Northern Iowa Panthers}} width=95|Northern Iowa !style={{NCAA color cell|Southern Illinois Salukis}} width=95|Southern Illinois !style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|Valparaiso Crusaders}} width=95|Valparaiso |
|---|
| style="text-align:center;"
!style={{NCAA color cell|Bradley Braves}} width=95|vs BU | – | |1–1 |0–2 |0–2 |1–1 |2–0 |0–2 |2–0 |0–2 |1–1 |
| style="text-align:center;"
!style={{NCAA color cell|Drake Bulldogs}} width=95|vs DU |1–1 | – | |0–2 |1–1 |1–1 |1–1 |1–1 |2–0 |2–0 |1–1 |
| style="text-align:center;"
!style={{NCAA color cell|Evansville Purple Aces}} width=95|vs UE |2–0 |2–0 | – | |2–0 |2–0 |2–0 |2–0 |2–0 |2–0 |2–0 |
| style="text-align:center;"
!style={{NCAA color cell|Illinois State Redbirds}} width=95|vs IlSU |2–0 |1–1 |0–2 | – | |1–1 |2–0 |2–0 |1–1 |2–0 |2–0 |
| style="text-align:center;"
!style={{NCAA color cell|Indiana State Sycamores}} width=95|vs InSU |1–1 |1–1 |0–2 |1–1 | – | |1–1 |1–1 |1–1 |0–2 |1–1 |
| style="text-align:center;"
!style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|Loyola Ramblers}} width=95|vs LU |0–2 |1–1 |0–2 |0–2 |1–1 | – | |1–1 |1–1 |1–1 |0–2 |
| style="text-align:center;"
!style={{NCAA color cell|Missouri State Bears}} width=95|vs MSU |2–0 |1–1 |0–2 |0–2 |1–1 |1–1 | – | |2–0 |1–1 |1–1 |
| style="text-align:center;"
!style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|Northern Iowa Panthers}} width=95|vs UNI |0–2 |0–2 |0–2 |1–1 |1–1 |1–1 |0–2 | – | |1–2 |0–2 |
| style="text-align:center;"
!style={{NCAA color cell|Southern Illinois Salukis}} width=95|vs SIU |2–0 |0–2 |0–2 |0–2 |2–0 |1–1 |1–1 |1–1 | – | |1–1 |
| style="text-align:center;"
!style={{CollegePrimaryStyle|Valparaiso Crusaders}} width=95|vs VU |1–1 |1–1 |0–2 |0–2 |1–1 |2–0 |1–1 |2–0 |1–1 | – | |
| style="text-align:center;"
!Overall !11–7!!8–10!!0–18!!5–13!!11–7!!13–5!!9–9!!14–4!!10–8!!9–9 |
{{clear}}
Postseason
=Coaches=
| class="wikitable" border="1" |
| Honor
!Recipient |
|---|
| Coach of the Year
|Ben Jacobsen, Northern Iowa |
=All-Conference Teams=
| class="wikitable" border="1" |
| Honor
!Recipient |
|---|
| Larry Bird Player of the Year
|A. J. Green, Northern Iowa |
| Defensive MVP
|Isaiah Brown, Northern Iowa |
| Sixth-Man of the Year
|Marquise Kennedy, Loyola-Chicago |
| Newcomer of the Year
|Marcus Domask, Southern Illinois |
| Freshman of the Year
|Marcus Domask, Southern Illinois |
| rowspan="6" valign="middle" | First Team |
| Javon Freeman-Liberty, Valparaiso |
| A. J. Green, Northern Iowa |
| Tyreke Key, Indiana State |
| Cameron Krutwig, Loyola-Chicago |
| Austin Phyfe, Northern Iowa |
| rowspan="6" valign="middle" | Second Team |
| Darrell Brown Jr., Bradley |
| Elijah Childs, Bradley |
| Keandre Cook, Missouri State |
| Marcus Domask, Southern Illinois |
| Liam Robbins, Drake |
| rowspan="6" valign="middle" | Third Team |
| Jordan Barnes, Indiana State |
| Tate Hall, Loyola-Chicago |
| Nate Kennell, Bradley |
| Roman Penn, Drake |
| Gaige Prim, Missouri State |
=Conference tournament=
{{main|2020 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament}}
{{clear}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball navbox}}
{{2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball conference season navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season}}
Category:Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament