The 2018–19 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 6, 2018. Conference play began in late December 2018 and concluded in March with the Missouri Valley Conference tournament at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Defending regular season and tournament champion Loyola shared the regular season title with Drake at 12-6.

Bradley defeated Northern Iowa in the championship game to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and thereby received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Bradley received the conference's only bid to the NCAA Tournament and lost to Michigan State in the first round, 76-65. Loyola-Chicago received a bid to the NIT and lost in the first round at Creighton, 70-61.

Drake was the only other conference school that received a bid to a postseason tournament, receiving a bid to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round at Southern Utah, 80-73.

Head coaches

Coaching changes On March 3, 2018, Missouri State announced that head coach Paul Lusk had been fired. He finished with a seven-year record of 106–121. The school announced that former Tennessee State head coach Dana Ford had been named head coach of the Bears on March 21.

On March 13, 2018, Evansville fired head coach Marty Simmons. He finished at Evansville with an 11-year record of 184–175. On March 22, the school hired Boston Celtics assistant coach, former Kentucky player and Evansville native Walter McCarty as head coach.

On March 22, 2018, Drake announced that head coach Niko Medved had accepted the head coaching position at Colorado State, where he had previously served as an assistant. A week after Medved's departure, Drake hired Creighton assistant and Iowa native Darian DeVries for the head coaching job.

Coaches

Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record MVC record MVC titles NCAA TournamentsBradleyBrian WardleGreen Bay338–6019–35 0 0DrakeDarian DeVriesCreighton(Asst.)10–00–0 0 0EvansvilleWalter McCartyBoston Celtics(Asst.)10–00–0 0 0Illinois StateDan MullerVanderbilt(Asst.)6122–8075–481 0Indiana StateGreg LansingIndiana State(Asst.)8133–12673–71 01LoyolaPorter MoserSaint Louis(Asst.)7121–11142–58 1 1Missouri StateDana FordTennessee State10–00–0 0 0Northern IowaBen JacobsonNorthern Iowa(Asst.)12250–150130–8624Southern IllinoisBarry HinsonKansas(Adm.)699–9647–55 0 0ValparaisoMatt LottichValparaiso(Asst.)239–266–12 0 0 Notes: All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Overall and MVC records are from time at current school and are through the beginning of the season. Ford, Lottich, and Moser's conference records only includes MVC play, not other conference records.

Preseason

Preseason poll Source RankTeam 1.Loyola (29) 2.Illinois State (10) 3.Southern Illinois (4)4.Bradley5.Northern Iowa 6.Indiana State 7.Valparaiso 8.Missouri State 9.Drake 10.Evansville(first place votes)

Preseason All-MVC teams

Honor Recipient Preseason Player of the YearClayton Custer, Loyola Preseason All-MVC First TeamJordan Barnes, Indiana StateClayton Custer, LoyolaPhil Fayne, Illinois StateArmon Fletcher, Southern IllinoisMilik Yarbrough, Illinois State Preseason All-MVC Second TeamDarrell Brown, BradleyKeyshawn Evans, Illinois StateCameron Krutwig, LoyolaKavion Pippen, Southern IllinoisMarques Townes, Loyola Source

Regular season

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 18 conference games, playing each team twice.   BradleyDrakeEvansvilleIllinois StateIndiana StateLoyolaMissouri StateNorthern IowaSouthern IllinoisValparaisovs. Bradley – 2–00–20–21–11–12–01–11–11–1vs. Drake0–2 – 1–12–00–22–00–21–10–20–2vs. Evansville2–01–1 – 2–02–01–11–12–02–00–2vs. Illinois State2–00–20–2 – 1–11–11–11–11–12–0vs. Indiana State1–12–00–21–1 – 2–02–01–12–00–2vs. Loyola1–10–21–11–10–2 – 2–00–21–10–2vs. Missouri State0–22–01–11–10–20–2 – 2–01–11–1vs. Northern Iowa1–11–10–21–11–12–00–2 – 2–01–1vs. Southern Illinois1–12–00–21–10–21–11–10–2 – 2–0vs. Valparaiso1–12–02–00–22–02–01–11–10–2 – Total9–912–65–139–97–1112–610–89–910–87–11

Postseason

Coaches Source HonorRecipientCoach of the YearDarian DeVries, Drake

All-Conference Teams Source HonorRecipientLarry Bird Player of the YearMarques Townes, Loyola-ChicagoDefensive MVPNick McGlynn, DrakeSixth-Man of the YearSpencer Haldeman, Northern IowaNate Kennell, BradleyNewcomer of the YearTulio Da Silva, Missouri StateFreshman of the YearA. J. Green, Northern Iowa First TeamTulio Da Silva, Missouri StatePhil Fayne, Illinois StateCameron Krutwig, Loyola-ChicagoNick McGlynn, DrakeMarques Townes, Loyola-Chicago Second TeamDarrell Brown, BradleyBrady Ellingson, DrakeArmon Fletcher, Southern IllinoisTyreke Key, Indiana StateMilik Yarbrough, Illinois State Third TeamElijah Childs, BradleyKeandre Cook, Missouri StateClayton Custer, Loyola-ChicagoA. J. Green, Northern IowaKavion Pippen, Southern Illinois

Missouri Valley Conference tournament

References