Drake coach Darian DeVries and UNI coach Ben Jacobson says the Missouri Valley Conference is much improved this season. The Valley is ranked as the ninth best conference in the country right now and the Bulldogs suffered their first league loss on Sunday 87-65 to a Belmont team that has the look of a contender.

That’s Drake coach Darian DeVries. The Bulldogs are 3-1 and host an Indiana State team on Wednesday night that is at the top of the standings with a 4-0 record.

UNI is 1-3 in the Valley after Sunday’s 77-66 loss at home to Indiana State.

That’s Panther coach Ben Jacobson who says the Valley is much better this season.

The Panthers are at home on Wednesday night to host Illinois-Chicago.