2009–10 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season | |
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League | NCAA Division I |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | December 29, 2009 through February 27, 2010 |
Number of teams | 10 |
TV partner(s) | Fox Sports Midwest, ESPN, CBS Sports |
Regular Season | |
Tournament |
2009–10 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 St. | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 22 | – | 11 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Creighton | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 17 | – | 15 | .531 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana St. | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 17 | – | 15 | .531 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bradley | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 16 | – | 15 | .516 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Missouri St. | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 21 | – | 12 | .636 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 |
The 2009–10 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season marks the 101st season of Missouri Valley Conference basketball.
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.
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.
Preseason Player of the Year
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. 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. 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.