How Mississippi Valley State, with a schedule that went viral, notched its 'best loss' in 14 years

Mississippi Valley State is playing one of the toughest nonconference schedules in college basketball Nov 10, 2026 at 11:47 am ET • 1 min read Getty Images Mississippi Valley State is in the midst of one of the toughest nonconference and most grueling schedules in college basketball. The Delta Devils don't have a home game until Jan. 9 and will begin the season by playing 16 consecutive road games with only buy games on the slate.On Monday, Mississippi Valley State recorded one of its "best losses" in over a decade during a 77-64 defeat against Washington. It marked the first time since 2012 the Delta Devils lost a game by less than 15 points against high-major competition. The last time that happened was during the 2012-13 campaign when MVSU lost 86-81 to Northwestern on the road. It also snapped a streak of 57 consecutive losses to high-major opponents by at least 15 points.Mississippi Valley State — a team coming off a 3-30 season with the lone wins coming against Mississippi U for Women, Texas Southern and Arkansas-Pine Bluff — has several high-major games remaining before conference play begins at the turn of the calendar year. Inside the most absurd nonconference schedule: Why Mississippi Valley State has no home games for two months Isaac Trotter Notable games Mississippi Valley State will play during the next month and a half include matchups against Oregon, Oregon State, Arkansas, Michigan, UConn, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Texas Tech and Baylor. The Delta Devils' first home game is against Prairie View A&M. Mississippi Valley State will earn upward of $100,000 apiece in those buy games. In total, MVSU has now played 1,457 basketball games since results were tracked in 1978. It has never beaten a high-major opponent. Although the loss against Washington will count the same on the stat sheet, it will go down as MVSU's most competitive defeat against high-major competition in over a decade.