Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Preview
by Neal Heston
Arch Madness set to be as mad as it ever has been
The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament is set to probably be the most important it has ever been. Southern Illinois enters the weekend as the only lock for the NCAA Tournament. Quarterfinal losses or even semifinal losses by Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Creighton are unacceptable to remain alive for an at-large berth to the NCAA. This conference is good enough to get as many as three teams Dancing. Four may be worthy, but that may be pushing it with the parity in college basketball this season. Other teams such as SMS and Illinois State will hope to improve their resumes this weekend for an NIT bid – if they are unable to run the table (i.e. as SMS almost did last season). Here is a preview of the opening games.
Friday, 6:05 p.m. – (8) Bradley vs. (9) Indiana State
First two meetings: Bradley won Jan. 2, 76-66; Indiana St. won Jan. 29, 73-63
This match pits two teams together who began the season well, but have not made many marks in the win column during the last month (Bradley 2-9 since Jan. 22; Indiana St. 2-10 since Jan. 15). Don’t take that as a sign this will be a boring game, though. This contest pits Bradley’s Marcellus Sommerville, the third-leading scorer in the MVC against INS’ David Moss, who tallies about 15 points per game. The winner of this game faces a tough task on Saturday, as it will have to face 25th-ranked Southern Illinois.
Friday, 8:35 p.m. – (7) Drake vs. (10) Evansville
First two meetings: Drake won both on Feb. 5, 76-72 (OT) and Feb. 26, 83-81
This game features two teams in opposite directions. Drake enters with a four-game winning streak while the Purple Aces have lost four in a row (though two of those four were to SMS and Creighton). The Bulldogs enter the tournament hot, but will need to overcome some difficulties to make a run. Excluding Evansville, Drake is 0-6 against the teams in its half of the bracket. (Evansville is 2-6 against Drake, Wichita State, Creighton and Illinois State.)
Saturday, noon – (1) Southern Illinois vs. Bradley or Indiana State
The Salukis don’t have to worry about winning one game this weekend to make the NCAA Tournament, but don’t tell them that. Two-time MVC Player of the Year Darren Brooks would surely like to end his career by finally cutting down the net on Monday night.
SIU enters with the top seed for the fourth consecutive season. Getting that No. 1 seed the last three years hasn’t helped much with two championship losses to Creighton and a semifinal loss to SMS last season. With stingy teams such as Northern Iowa and SMS, both who nearly won at SIU, the Salukis may face another semifinal loss.
Saturday, 2:35 p.m. – (4) Northern Iowa vs. (5) Southwest Missouri State
First two meetings: Northern Iowa won both on Jan. 12, 68-63 and Jan. 18, 62-53
After beating a team twice in the regular season, you usually don’t want to face that same team again until next year (just ask the Green Bay Packers). Northern Iowa enters with that same dilemma after taking down the Bears twice this season. Now the Panthers will rely on All-MVC member Ben Jacobson, MVC Freshman of the Year Eric Coleman and MVC-All Defensive Team member Grant Stout to beat SMS for a third time. UNI can’t afford to go down in the quarterfinals if it wants any chance for an at-large bid to the NCAA. SMS would like nothing more than to crush those hopes and end a four-game skid to the Panthers.
Saturday, 6:05 p.m. – (2) Wichita State vs. Drake or Evansville
It’s pretty simple for Wichita State – make it to the championship. Anything less than that might mean a return trip to the NIT. If Creighton makes it past Illinois State on Saturday, that could spell doom for WSU, which dropped both contests to the Bluejays this season. Before that though, WSU may have to worry about a stingy Drake team that almost knocked the Shockers out of the tournament last season.
The Shockers are just 1-5 after their 18-3 start – not numbers a team wants heading into March.
Saturday, 8:35 p.m. – (3) Creighton vs. (6) Illinois State
First two meetings: Illinois St. won on Jan. 22, 82-77 (OT), Creighton won on Feb. 28, 64-59
Creighton enters with a five-game losing streak after beating Illinois State on the final night of the regular season. The ‘Birds begin the tournament on a six-game skid. This game features two very fun players to watch with Creighton’s Nate Funk and Illinois State’s Lorenzo Gordon. The two average 18 and 16.6 points per game, respectively.
Creighton has the opportunity to crush the hopes of a couple other MVC foes, UNI and Wichita State. If the Bluejays are able to capture the tournament title, which wouldn’t be surprising after their late season surge, a possible at-large bid for UNI or Wichita State likely disappears.
