# 2021–22 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season

The 2021–22 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2022 and ended in February.
With a win over Loyola Chicago on February 26, 2022, Northern Iowa clinched the regular season championship.
The MVC tournament was held March 3 through March 6, 2022 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Loyola Chicago won the tournament championship for the second consecutive year, defeating Drake in the championship game.
Northern Iowa point guard A. J. Green was named the conference's player of the year. Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson was named conference coach of the year.
The season was the final season for Loyola Chicago in the conference as they joined the Atlantic 10 Conference on July 1, 2022.

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

The preseason awards and coaches' poll was released by the league office on October 20, 2021.
| Rank | Team |
| 1. | Drake (29) 411 |
| 2. | Loyola Chicago (8) 363 |
| 3. | Northern Iowa (6) 354 |
| 4. | Missouri State 325 |
| 5. | Southern Illinois 228 |
| 6. | Bradley 171 |
| 7. | Valparaiso 151 |
| 8. | Evansville 141 |
| 9. | Indiana State 147 |
| 10. | Illinois State 68 |
| (first place votes) ||

### Preseason All-Missouri Valley teams

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | AJ Green, Northern Iowa |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | AJ Green, Northern Iowa |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Tyrke Key, Indiana State |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Roman Penn, Drake |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Gaige Prim, Missouri State |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Marcus Domask, Southern Illinois |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | ShanQuan Hemphill, Drake |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Ben Krikke, Valparaiso |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Austin Phyfe, Northern Iowa |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Lucas Williamson, Loyola Chicago |
| Preseason All-MVC Third Team | Shamar Givance, Evansville |
| Preseason All-MVC Third Team | Ja'Shon Henry, Bradley |
| Preseason All-MVC Third Team | Lance Jones, Southern Illinois |
| Preseason All-MVC Third Team | Rienk Mast, Bradley |
| Preseason All-MVC Third Team | Braden Norris, Loyola Chicago |
Source

## Regular season
### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| | Bradley | Drake | Evansville | Illinois State | Indiana State | Loyola Chicago | Missouri State | Northern Iowa | Southern Illinois | Valparaiso |
| vs BU | – | 71–83 59–68 | 47–79 41–76 | 74–65 64–72 | 76–71 52–67 | 78–71 (OT) 61–68 | 71–69 83–67 | 71–69 65–78 | 62–70 65–57 | 56–71 55–79 |
| vs DU | 83–71 68–59 | – | 59–60 51–73 | 75–86 88–89 (OT) | 67–85 58–74 | 68–77 76–83 | 61–56 66–62 | 74–82 (OT) 74–69 (OT) | 59–60 60–62 | 66–73 65–71 |
| vs UE | 79–47 76–41 | 60–59 73–51 | – | 94–56 53–56 | 56–65 80–77 (2OT) | 77–48 82–31 | 72–58 88–79 | 83–61 64–59 | 54–52 69–62 | 72–56 74–69 |
| vs IlSU | 65–74 72–64 | 86–75 89–88 (OT) | 56–94 56–53 | – | 60–57 66–86 | 78–64 59–50 | 74–79 (OT) 88–63 | 79–64 72–70 | 75–69 90–69 | 81–76 (OT) 75–78 (OT) |
| vs InSU | 71–76 67–52 | 85–67 74–58 | 65–56 77–80 (2OT) | 57–60 86–66 | – | 88–76 64–56 | 72–76 79–70 | 80–74 (OT) 88–82 | 63–55 76–72 | 75–73 79–72 (2OT) |
| vs LU | 71–78 (OT) 68–61 | 77–68 83–76 | 48–77 31–82 | 64–78 50–59 | 76–88 56–64 | – | 79–69 62–71 | 58–85 102–96 (OT) | 47–59 39–44 | 74–81 (2OT) 69–71 |
| vs MSU | 69–71 67–83 | 56–61 62–66 | 58–72 79–88 | 79–74 (OT) 63–88 | 76–72 70–79 | 69–79 71–62 | – | 85–84 95–75 | 76–81 54–69 | 57–74 66–84 |
| vs UNI | 69–71 78–65 | 82–74 (OT) 69–74 (OT) | 61–83 59–64 | 64–79 70–72 | 74–80 (OT) 82–88 | 85–58 96–102 (OT) | 84–85 75–95 | – | 68–69 44–53 | 65–92 83–80 (OT) |
| vs SIU | 70–62 57–65 | 60–59 62–60 | 52–54 62–69 | 69–75 69–90 | 55–63 72–76 | 59–47 44–39 | 81–76 69–54 | 69–68 53–44 | – | 60–63 55–77 |
| vs VU | 71–56 79–55 | 73–66 71–65 | 56–72 69–74 | 76–81 (OT) 78–75 (OT) | 73–75 72–79 (2OT) | 81–74 (2OT) 71–69 | 74–57 84–66 | 92–65 80–83 (OT) | 63–60 77–55 | – |
| Total | 11–7 | 13–5 | 2–16 | 5–13 | 4–14 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 14–4 | 9–9 | 6–12 |

### Player of the week

Every Monday, throughout the season, the Missouri Valley Conference named a player of the week and a newcomer of the week.
| Date | Player of the week | Newcomer of the week |
| November 15, 2021 | Antonio Reeves, Illinois State | Thomas Kithier, Valparaiso |
| November 22, 2021 | Trae Berhow, Northern Iowa | Ryan Schwieger, Loyola |
| November 29, 2021 | A. J. Green, Northern Iowa | Antoine Smith Jr., Evansville |
| December 6, 2021 | Shamar Givance, Evansville | Terry Roberts, Bradley |
| December 13, 2021 | Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State | Ben Coupet Jr., Southern Illinois |
| December 20, 2021 | A. J. Green, Northern Iowa | Jaylen Minnett, Missouri State |
| December 27, 2021 | Terry Roberts, Bradley | Terry Roberts, Bradley |
| January 3, 2022 | Sy Chatman, Illinois State | Zach Hobbs, Indiana State |
| January 10, 2022 | Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State | Ryan Schwieger, Loyola |
| January 17, 2022 | Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State | Terry Roberts, Bradley |
| January 24, 2022 | Isiaih Mosely, Missouri State | Terry Roberts, Bradley |
| January 31, 2022 | Rienk Mast, Bradley | Tucker DeVries, Drake |
| February 7, 2022 | Lucas Williamson, Loyola | Tucker DeVries, Drake |
| February 14, 2022 | Cooper Neese, Indiana State | Mikey Howell, Bradley |
| February 21, 2022 | A. J. Green, Northern Iowa | Tucker DeVries, Drake |
| February 28, 2022 | Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State | Ben Coupet Jr., Southern Illinois |

## Honors and awards
### All-Conference awards and teams

The MVC announced its all-conference teams and major playing honors on March 1, 2022, and its Coach of the Year award two days later.
| Honor | Recipient |
| Larry Bird Player of the Year | A. J. Green, Northern Iowa |
| Coach of the Year | Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa |
| Defensive MVP | Lucas Williamson, Loyola Chicago |
| Sixth-Man of the Year | Bowen Born, Northern Iowa |
| Newcomer of the Year | Terry Roberts, Bradley |
| Freshman of the Year | Tucker DeVries, Drake |
| First Team |
| First Team | A. J. Green, Northern Iowa |
| First Team | Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State |
| First Team | Gaige Prim, Missouri State |
| First Team | Terry Roberts, Bradley |
| First Team | Lucas Williamson, Loyola Chicago |
| Second Team |
| Second Team | Noah Carter, Northern Iowa |
| Second Team | Tucker DeVries, Drake |
| Second Team | Marcus Domask, Southern Illinois |
| Second Team | Antonio Reeves, Illinois State |
| Second Team | Garrett Sturtz, Drake |
| Third Team |
| Third Team | Ben Krikke, Valparaiso |
| Third Team | Rienk Mast, Bradley |
| Third Team | Cooper Neese, Indiana State |
| Third Team | Braden Norris, Loyola Chicago |
| Third Team | Roman Penn, Drake |

## Postseason
### MVC Tournament

| Opening Round Thursday, March 3 MVC TV | Opening Round Thursday, March 3 MVC TV | Opening Round Thursday, March 3 MVC TV | Quarterfinals Friday, March 4 MVC TV | Quarterfinals Friday, March 4 MVC TV | Quarterfinals Friday, March 4 MVC TV | Semifinals Saturday, March 5 CBSSN | Semifinals Saturday, March 5 CBSSN | Semifinals Saturday, March 5 CBSSN | Final Sunday, March 6 CBS/Paramount+ | Final Sunday, March 6 CBS/Paramount+ | Final Sunday, March 6 CBS/Paramount+ |
| | | | 1 | Northern Iowa | 78 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Illinois State | 58 | 8 | Illinois State | 65 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Indiana State | 53 | | | | 1 | Northern Iowa | 43 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Loyola Chicago | 66 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Loyola Chicago | 66 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Bradley | 50 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 4 | Loyola Chicago | 64 |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | Drake | 58 |
| | | | 2 | Missouri State | 67 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Valparaiso | 81 | 7 | Valparaiso | 58 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Evansville | 59 | | | | 2 | Missouri State | 78 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Drake | 79* | | | |
| | | | 3 | Drake | 65 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Southern Illinois | 52 | | | | | | |

### NCAA Tournament

The winner of the MVC tournament, Loyola Chicago, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. No other team received a bid to the tournament.
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First Round | Second Round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 10 | South | Loyola | N/A | lost to (7) Ohio State 41–54 | | | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 0–1 (.000) |

### National Invitation Tournament

Northern Iowa, having one the regular season conference, but failing to win its conference tournament, received an automatic bid to the NIT. Missouri State received an at-large bid as well.
| School | First round | Second Round | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Championship |
| Northern Iowa | defeated (3) Saint Louis 80–68 | lost to (2) BYU 71–90 | | | |
| Missouri State | lost to (1) Oklahoma 72–89 | | | | |
| W–L (%): | 1–1 (.500) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 1–2 (.333) |

### College Basketball Invitational

Drake received an invite to the CBI tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.
| Seed | School | First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
| 1 | Drake | defeated (16) Purdue Fort Wayne 87–65 | lost to (9) UNC Wilmington 75–76 | | |
| W–L (%): | 1–0 (1.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 1–1 (.500) |