St. Louis ? These days, you can call the Missouri Valley Conference the Big Valley.

The mid-major conference was fifth in the latest conference RPI rankings released earlier this week, ahead of the Big 12 and Big East. It ranked second in the Sagaran conference ratings. And it was a very impressive 62-20 in non-conference play.

“It compares favorably with any year in our history,” conference commissioner Doug Elgin said. “It’s really been a terrific year.”

Elgin believes it’ll be a terrific March, too. Using this start as a springboard, he predicts the Valley will send more than two teams to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.

“It’s early, and we don’t want to beat our chests too much,” Elgin said. “But the basketball committee needs to take close notice, and I know they will. I definitely think we’re deserving of multiple berths.”

Top to bottom, the Missouri Valley has been a competitive league.

Illinois State, picked to finish last, is 8-2 with a victory over the Big East (St. John’s), Southeastern Conference (Mississippi) and Big 10 (Penn State).

Bradley, picked to finish seventh, is 6-1 and is the conference’s top team in the RPI with a victory over Pepperdine.

There’s more. Creighton beat Missouri, and Wichita State beat Providence.

Illinois State's Trey Guidry, left, defends Southern Illinois' Darren Brooks. Surprising Iliinois State won eight of its first 10 games and helped the Missouri Valley post a 62-20 record in nonconference games. The Valley ranks fifth in the nation in RPI, ahead of the Big 12 and the Big East.

WSU, coached by former Kansas University player and assistant Mark Turgeon, is 7-0.

Northern Iowa routed Iowa State, lost by only three at Iowa and lost in double overtime to Cincinnati. Evansville lost by one to Purdue. Indiana State lost by four to Indiana.

“Those games, we usually lose by a lot,” associate commissioner Mike Kern said. “But we don’t have any cellar-dwellers that are dragging us down.”

Only two teams, Drake and Indiana State, were below .500.

Elgin said continuity in the league is the reason. Historically, the Valley has been known as a good league for a coach just starting out. But lately there hasn’t been much turnover.

“I think it’s about the coaches who are able to establish programs and administrations that have committed to a budget and salary package to keep coaches in place,” Elgin said. ” Nationally, I think people are fully aware that this is a great place to be a head coach.

“We’ve done an excellent job as a group, and that’s the key.”

So far, the Valley has seven teams ranked in the top 10 in the RPI. The conference plays a double round-robin schedule and it promises to be interesting.

“There’s nowhere you can go in this league and expect to win,” Elgin said.

“That’s not the way it’s been in previous years.”

Kern said by this time of the year it’s usually fairly easy to determine which four have-not schools will play on the first day of the conference tournament in early March. Not this year.

“I can’t do that,” Kern said. “It’s going to be a wicked, nasty conference race.”