The Missouri Valley is one of the premier mid-major leagues in college basketball, and it’s usually a fairly predictable one despite its competitiveness.
But this season holds a bit of intrigue. Five programs turned over their head coach this offseason, and only one player returns from last year's three All-Conference squads.
Which team shall we choose to take the pole position into Arch Madness? Here's my 2024-25 Missouri Valley Conference betting preview.
2024-25 Missouri Valley Regular Season NCAAB Conference Title Odds
| Team Name | Odds (Via BetMGM) |
| Bradley | +125 |
| Murray State | +400 |
| Northern Iowa | +600 |
| Drake | +800 |
| Southern Illinois | +1000 |
| Belmont | +1000 |
| Indiana State | +2500 |
| Illinois State | +2500 |
| UIC | +3500 |
| Missouri State | +4000 |
| Valparaiso | +5000 |
| Evansville | +8000 |
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Missouri Valley Favorite
Bradley Braves
The Braves are hands-down the best team in the Valley this season.
Duke Deen is the lone All-Conference returnee, and he’s the odds-on favorite for Player of the Year. He’s book-ended by another potential All-League star in Darius Hannah.
Head coach Brian Wardle is on the precipice of earning a promotion to a better program, and this might just be his best season yet. The Braves rank in the top 40 nationally in continuity and welcome back a boomerang transfer in Zek Montgomery.
Bradley is properly priced in the market as the heavy favorite, but it’s still worth a dabble at +180. The Braves could win the conference by multiple games.
Missouri Valley Contenders
Northern Iowa Panthers
Ben Jacobson is the dean of Valley coaches, entering his 19th season at the helm of the purple Panthers. He has a stud wing returning in Tytan Anderson, and he bolstered his roster with talent and experience.
UNI’s floor is very high, and outside of Bradley, it seems to have the narrowest range of expected outcomes.
To see the Panthers finish outside the top three would be surprising.
Murray State Racers
It’s hard to trust Steve Prohm, but let’s remember he once led a dominant Ohio Valley program in his first stint with the Racers.
Perhaps his (second) third year will be the charm.
The talent is substantial on this roster, and Murray has enough returning – led by JaCobi Wood and Nick Ellington – to compete for a league title.
Drake Bulldogs
Drake is worth a look simply due to its head coach. It’s rare a program loses a fantastic leader to a promotion at a bigger job and arguably replaces him with an equal-if-not-better coach.
Ben McCollum finally decided to leave the Division II ranks, where he dominated at Northwest Missouri State for over a decade. During his time in the minors, McCollum won four National Championships – yes, really.
He brings with him four starters from last year’s D-II Sweet 16 squad.
Those that doubt him are fools, and Drake is a better bet than Murray or UNI at the current odds.
Belmont Bruins
The Bruins are the best value bet on the board at +1200. Yes, they lost three players to power programs in the portal this offseason, but head coach Casey Alexander is always competitive.
Keep tabs on Memphis transfer Jonathan Pierre. He was a starter on the 36-0 D-II national champs back in 2023 and could very well be an All-Conference stud this season.
Belmont is being priced as the sixth- or seventh-best team in the league, but it’s much closer to the top three.
Missouri Valley Long Shot
Southern Illinois Salukis
Like Belmont, SIU offers some value in the betting market at +1000.
Scott Nagy, most recently the Wright State head coach, takes over for Bryan Mullins, which is surely an upgrade.
Nagy was the key architect in the rise of the South Dakota State program, and he’s been to five NCAA Tournaments.
The roster is made up entirely of transfers, so the range of finishes could be wide. But the transfers are talented, and the coach is good.
Don’t Bother
Illinois State Redbirds
At +1000, Illinois State represents the worst value on the board.
The Redbirds are priced higher than Belmont and the same as SIU despite ranking 25 spots and 48 spots behind them in KenPom’s preseason ranks, respectively.
MVC media poll voters love ISU’s continuity, but Ryan Pedon still hasn’t proved anything in two seasons, and his team isn't nearly as talented as the top dogs.
UIC Flames
Rob Ehsan takes over for Luke Yaklich and has an interesting group of transfers filling out his roster.
If everything clicks, UIC could crash the top half of the Valley standings, but the Flames are still far from a contender.
Indiana State Sycamores
ISU Blue could be the biggest faller in the country this season after losing Josh Schertz and its entire starting five from last year’s juggernaut squad.
Matthew Graves takes over, a coach who produced mediocre results across five seasons at South Alabama.
ISU could very well finish last in the MVC and isn't worth a dabble in the futures market.
Evansville Purple Aces
Evansville had its second-best KenPom season since 2018 and still finished 6-14 in the MVC (10th).
This year’s roster will be scrappy, but it lacks the star it had in current Illinois Illini Ben Humrichous and the post presence in current Seton Hall Pirate Yacine Toumi.
Missouri State Bears
Cuonzo Martin’s group will be too physical and tough on the glass to fall all the way to the basement, but it severely lacks the firepower and overall talent to sniff a conference title.
It’s crazy to see the Bears priced at 35/1 given their history, but that’s the current state of the rebuilding program.
Valparaiso Beacons
Last year’s bottom feeders have a potential First Team All-Conference talent in Cooper Schwieger, but their second star — Isaiah Stafford — could be sidelined for a long time.
Roger Powell Jr. will keep this group competitive game-to-game, but it’s unlikely it crosses the .500 mark in conference play.
