The 2026–27 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season will begin with practices in October 2026, followed by the start of the 2026–27 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play is scheduled to begin in December 2026 and end in March of 2027. Northern Iowa is the defending conference champion, having made the NCAA tournament in 2026 after winning the MVC tournament title.
Head coaches
Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Year at school Overall record MVC record MVC championships NCAA TournamentsBelmontEvan BraddsDuke(asst.)10-00-000BradleyBrian WardleGreen Bay12207-160113-9321DrakeEric HendersonSouth Dakota State214-206-1400EvansvilleDavid RaglandButler(asst.)540-9118-6200Illinois StateRyan PedonOhio State(asst.)571-6537-4300Indiana StateMatthew GravesIndiana State(asso. HC)325-3912-2800Murray StateRyan MillerCreighton(asst.)220-1312-800Northern IowaKyle GreenIowa State(asst.)10-00-000Southern IllinoisScott NagyWright State330-3518-2200UICRob EhsanStanford(asst.)336-3022-1800ValparaisoRoger Powell Jr.Gonzaga(asst.)440-5920-4000 Notes: All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Year at school includes the 2026–27 season. Overall and MVC records are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2025-26 season.
Preseason Preseason polls
RankTeam 1. UIC 2.Illinois State 3.Murray State 4.Valparaiso 5.Belmont 6.Bradley 7.Drake 8.Southern Illinois 9.Evansville 10.Northern Iowa 11.Indiana State (first-place votes)
Preseason Missouri Valley media teams
Honor Recipient MVC Media First Team MVC Media Second Team
Regular season
Early season tournaments The following table summarizes the multiple-team events (MTE) or early-season tournaments in which teams from the Missouri Valley Conference will participate. +TeamTournamentDatesResult † Denotes Neutral Site
MVC records vs other conferences The MVC has a record of 0-0 in non-conference play during the regular season.The MVC has a record of 0–0 during tournament play.
Regular season +Power conferencesConferenceRecordACC0–0Big East0–0Big Ten0–0Big 120–0SEC0–0Combined0–0 Other conferencesConferenceRecordAmerican0–0American East0–0ASUN0–0Atlantic 100–0Big Sky0–0Big South0–0Big West0–0CAA0–0C-USA0–0Horizon0–0Independents0–0Ivy League0–0MAAC0–0MAC0–0MEAC0–0Mountain West0–0NEC0–0Ohio Valley0–0Patriot League0–0Southern0–0Southland0–0SWAC0–0Summit0–0Sun Belt0–0WCC0–0WAC0–0Non-Division I0–0Combined0–0
Thru May 4, 2026
Postseason
+Power ConferencesConferenceRecordACC0–0Big East0–0Big Ten0–0Big 120–0SEC0–0Combined0–0 Other conferencesConferenceRecordAmerican0–0American East0–0ASUN0–0Atlantic 100–0Big Sky0–0Big South0–0Big West0–0CAA0–0C-USA0–0Horizon0–0Independents0–0Ivy League0–0MAAC0–0MAC0–0MEAC0–0Mountain West0–0NEC0–0Ohio Valley0–0Patriot League0–0Southern0–0Southland0–0SWAC0–0Summit0–0Sun Belt0–0WCC0–0WAC0–0Combined0–0
Thru May 2026
Record against ranked opponents This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll at time of the game): Date Visitor Home Site Significance Score Conference record † Denotes Neutral Site Thru May 4, 2026
Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
BelmontBradleyDrakeEvansvilleIllinoisStateIndianaStateMurray StateNorthernIowaSouthernIllinoisUICValpovs BU – 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-00-00-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0vs BR 0-0 – 0-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-0vs DU 0-0 0-0 – 0-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-0vs UE 0-0 0-00-0– 0-0 0-00-00-00-00-00-0vs IlSU 0-0 0-00-00-0– 0-00-00-00-00-00-0vs InSU 0-0 0-00-00-00-0 – 0-00-00-00-00-0vs MrSU 0-0 0-00-00-00-0 0-0– 0-00-00-00-0vs UNI 0-0 0-00-00-00-0 0-00-0– 0-00-00-0vs SIU 0-0 0-00-00-00-0 0-00-00-0– 0-00-0vs UIC 0-0 0-00-00-00-0 0-00-00-00-0– 0-0vs VU 0-0 0-00-00-00-0 0-00-00-00-00-0– Total 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Player of the week Periodically, throughout the season, the Missouri Valley Conference named a player of the week, a newcomer of the week, and a freshman of the week. DatePlayer of the weekNewcomerof the weekFreshman of the week
Honors and awards All-Conference awards and teams
HonorRecipient Larry Bird Player of the Year Coach of the Year Defensive MVP Sixth Man of the Year Newcomer of the Year Freshman of the Year First Team Second Team Third Team
Postseason
MVC Tournament
NCAA Tournament
The winner of the MVC tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Seed Region School Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship W–L (%): Total:
National Invitation Tournament
Seed Bracket School 1st round 2nd round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship
References