# 2020–21 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season

The 2020–21 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2021.

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

The preseason awards and coaches' poll was released by the league office on October 14, 2020.
| Rank | Team |
| 1. | Northern Iowa (30) 426 |
| 2. | Loyola–Chicago (13) 405 |
| 3. | Bradley (1) 341 |
| 4. | Indiana State 282 |
| 5. | Southern Illinois 235 |
| 6. | Missouri State 210 |
| 7. | Drake 207 |
| 8. | Valparaiso 148 |
| 9. | Illinois State 112 |
| 10. | Evansville 54 |
| (first place votes) ||

### Preseason All-Missouri Valley teams

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | A. J. Green, Northern Iowa |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Elijah Childs, Bradley |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | A. J. Green, Northern Iowa |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Tyreke Key, Indiana State |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Cameron Krutwig, Loyola–Chicago |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Austin Phyfe, Northern Iowa |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Donovan Clay, Valparaiso |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Marcus Domask, Southern Illinois |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Jake LaRavia, Indiana State |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Roman Penn, Drake |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Gaige Prim, Missouri State |
| Preseason All-MVC Third Team | Trae Berhow, Northern Iowa |
| Preseason All-MVC Third Team | Keith Fisher III, Illinois State |
| Preseason All-MVC Third Team | Tate Hall, Loyola–Chicago |
| Preseason All-MVC Third Team | Marquise Kennedy, Loyola–Chicago |
| Preseason All-MVC Third Team | Tremell Murphy, Drake |

## 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 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs DU | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs UE | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs IlSU | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs InSU | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs LU | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs MSU | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs UNI | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs SIU | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 |
| vs VU | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – |
| Total | 6–12 | 15–3 | 7–11 | 4–14 | 11–7 | 16–2 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 5–13 | 7–11 |

### Player of the week

Throughout the season, the Missouri Valley Conference named a player of the week and a newcomer of the week each Monday.
| Week | Player of the week | Newcomer of the week |
| 1 | Elijah Childs, Bradley | Josiah Strong, Illinois State |
| 2 | Marcus Domask, Southern Illinois | Ben Harvey, Southern Illinois |
| 3 | Cameron Krutwig, Loyola-Chicago | ShanQuan Hemphill, Drake |
| 4 | Marcus Domask, Southern Illinois Gaige Prim, Missouri State | ShanQuan Hemphill, Drake |
| 5 | Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State | Samari Curtis, Evansville |
| 6 | Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State | Rienk Mast, Bradley |
| 7 | Tate Hall, Loyola-Chicago | Terry Nolan Jr., Bradley |
| 8 | Ben Krikke, Valparaiso | Kyler Filewich, Southern Illinois |
| 9 | Cameron Krutwig, Loyola-Chicago | Darnell Brodie, Drake |
| 10 | Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State | Sheldon Edwards, Valparaiso |
| 11 | Tyreke Key, Indiana State | Darnell Brodie, Drake |
| 12 | Gaige Prim, Missouri State Joseph Yesufu, Drake | Emon Washington, Illinois State |
| 13 | Shamar Givance, Evansville | Bowen Born, Northern Iowa |

## Postseason
### Coaches

Source
| Honor | Recipient |
| Coach of the Year | Darian DeVries, Drake |
Source

### All-Conference Teams

Source
| Honor | Recipient |
| Larry Bird Player of the Year | Cameron Krutwig, Loyola–Chicago |
| Defensive MVP | Lucas Williamson, Loyola–Chicago |
| Sixth-Man of the Year | Joseph Yesufu, Drake |
| Newcomer of the Year | ShanQuan Hemphill, Drake |
| Freshman of the Year | Bowen Born, Northern Iowa |
| First Team |
| First Team | Tyreke Key, Indiana State |
| First Team | Cameron Krutwig, Loyola–Chicago |
| First Team | Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State |
| First Team | Roman Penn, Drake |
| First Team | Gaige Prim, Missouri State |
| Second Team |
| Second Team | Elijah Childs, Bradley |
| Second Team | Shamar Givance, Evansville |
| Second Team | ShanQuan Hemphill, Drake |
| Second Team | Jake LaRavia, Indiana State |
| Second Team | Lucas Williamson, Loyola–Chicago |
| Third Team |
| Third Team | D J Horne, Illinois State |
| Third Team | Lance Jones, Southern Illinois |
| Third Team | Ben Krikke, Valparaiso |
| Third Team | Austin Phyfe, Northern Iowa |
| Third Team | Aher Uguak, Loyola–Chicago |
Source