While it isn’t the main week for conference tournaments around the country, many smaller conferences host tournaments this weekend, seeing the first few teams punch their ticket to The Big Dance.
One of those is happening right here in Missouri, over on the eastern side of the state as the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament claims St. Louis as the host city for the 32nd year in a row.
For the first time in two years there will also be a new champion of Arch Madness, as previous champion Loyola Chicago moved on to the Atlantic 10 conference. Replacing the Ramblers is University of Illinois-Chicago, Belmont and OVC champion Murray St. The latter squad lost a ton of its personnel from last year. The Racers and UIC are nowhere near favorites to win this tournament. So who is?
The Favorites:
Bradley:
The Bradley Braves won the MVC tournament only three years ago, their third time winning Arch Madness in program history. Coach Brian Wardle is back once again after a slower year last season which saw Bradley lose to eventual champion Loyola Chicago.
The Braves won the MVC regular season, taking down Drake in their final game of a stellar campaign. Bradley plays incredible defense, limiting opponents to 61 points per game which is best in the conference. The Braves are the only team in the conference holding their opponents to under 40% from the field.
Offensively, Bradley is quite average. The Braves have a couple of quality scorers in Rienk Mask and Malevy Leons averaging 14 and 11.5 points per game, respectively. Mask, a big man, is also averaging eight rebounds per game which is second best in the league. Leons stands at 6’9 and is leading the conference in blocks.
This team can definitely win this tournament. However they are not my pick.
Drake:
After falling to Loyola Chicago in the championship game last year, the Drake Bulldogs are back once again, and are much improved. Despite losing Tremell Murphy and Shanquan Hemphill, many folks including myself would argue this Drake team is much better than last season.
The Bulldogs still return a ton of key pieces like Roman Penn, Darnell Brodie and Garrett Sturtz. All three were starters last season, and now they are back for their final year of college basketball looking to make The Big Dance.
Most importantly however, Drake has a star in Tucker DeVries. Coach Darian DeVries has an incredibly talented son who will be in the NBA someday. Tucker is averaging 19 points per game and a very efficient volume, leading many to believe he will win MVC tournament MVP.
Drake also brought in Sardaar Calhoun from Texas Tech. DJ Wilkins, Connor Enright and Nate Ferguson round out a really solid rotation for coach DeVries. Drake is stronger offensively than most teams in the conference, but if teams can slow down Tucker DeVries, the Bulldogs may face some trouble.
The Contenders
Indiana State:
After a rather disappointing year one for coach Josh Schertz, the Sycamores are a much more competent squad this year. Led by star guard Courvoisier McCauley, Indiana State has the potential to make a run at this year’s tournament.
Unfortunately for the Sycamores, they have to play on the first day of the tournament. They will absolutely destroy Evansville because they’re terrible but just having to play is still not something coach Schertz will want.
Indiana St. is averaging 76 points per game as a team which is the best in the conference, so if they can get and stay hot, it could mean success for McCauley and co.
Southern Illinois:
Southern Illinois is a team that nobody is talking about but it had a quietly impressive season. As the Arch Madness’ third seed, they await the winner of Missouri State and UIC. While I think Southern Illinois is a more talented squad than both of those teams, this is Arch Madness for a reason, so you never truly know.
Marcus Domask took a large leap this season and is now one of the more talented guards in the league, but in general this offense is incredibly lackluster.
This isn’t a very fun team, and for that reason I do not think they will win this tournament. However it is unfair to the Salukis to not mention them at all.
Belmont:
New to the league, the Belmont Bruins had a very strong opening campaign, finishing 14-6 in conference play, good enough to earn them the fourth seed in this tournament.
Fourth year coach Casey Alexander has a strong squad this year and a matchup with Indiana State looms in the quarterfinals. This would be a fascinating matchup as these teams did meet once earlier this season with the Bruins getting a 89-88 victory over the Sycamores.
If Belmont can get past Indiana State, a more familiar opponent appears in the semifinals with Bradley, a team it beat twice this year. The Braves are more than ok with getting a rematch with the Bruins, looking to exact revenge.
Ben Sheppard is third in the conference in points per game with 18.8. Sheppard can score from everywhere as he shoots 40% from three point range. That is also third best in the conference, only behind teammates Drew Friberg and Cade Tyson. Needless to say, this team lives and dies by the 3-point shot.
Sneaky for sure.
Long Shots
Northern Iowa:
Northern Iowa won the regular season last year but lost its two best players. AJ Green went to the NBA and Noah Carter came to Columbia and joined Dennis Gates’ Missouri Tigers. Despite having a losing record, the Panthers could make a Cinderella run to the final for sure.
This team has a star guard in Bowen Born, and he is a stud averaging 17 points per game. UNI faces off against Illinois State in the first game of the tournament. If the Panthers move on, they will take on Bradley in the quarterfinals the next day.
Coach Ben Jacobson and company will need to find the glass slipper, but it’s not impossible.
Murray State:
Murray State lost so much from last season including its coach Matt McMahon who is currently leading LSU to the No. 14 seed in the SEC Tournament.
The days of Ja Morant are long gone. Rob Perry and DJ Burns are both very strong players, but I just don’t see it to be enough to get by Drake in the quarterfinals.
The Racers are a very strong program, and I have no doubt that they will find a way to win this tournament some day.
Missouri State:
Mo State is another team that had a lot to replace, most notably star guard Isiaih Mosley. Dana Ford is a good basketball coach, and this is a team that lost in heartbreak fashion last season, 79-78.
Donovan Clay is really good, and Jonathan Mogbo is a strong piece too, but I do not see the Bears making a run this year. Watch out for Missouri State vs Southern Illinois to be the most defensive game ever played. A perfect end to Friday night if you ask me
See you next season
Valparaiso:
Ben Krikke leads the league in scoring, and Kobe King is also a super talented player. I don’t really like anything else about this team.
Illinois State:
Antonio Reeves is gone, and now nobody cares about this team. Northern Iowa will obliterate them.
UIC:
This team is new so I won’t be so hard on them, but I am really just confused on why they joined the league in the first place.
Evansville:
This team is terrible and one of the worst in the country. Sorry Anthony Kristensen.
My picks:
Tournament winner: Drake
Tournament MVP: Tucker DeVries
All-Tournament Team: Roman Penn, Courvoisier McCauley, Tucker DeVries, Malevy Leons, Rienk Mask
Tucker DeVries is just too much for each team and leads his team to the NCAA tournament. Drake returns to The Big Dance for the first time in a few years, and Brian DeVries starts to get serious looks at a bigger job.