March Madness is underway which means that Division 1 college basketball conference tournaments are starting to take place. Thirty-one teams will automatically qualify for the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament by winning their respective conferences.
The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament takes place today through Sunday in St. Louis, and will be the fourth conference champion to be decided for the NCAA Tournament. The first three champions determined will be from the Ohio Valley Conference, the Big South Conference and the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The top four seeds in the MVC Tournament get a first-round bye into the quarterfinals and those teams are the Drake Bulldogs, the Northern Iowa Panthers (UNI), the Bradley Braves and the Belmont Bruins. The first-round games between the rest of the conference will determine who these teams play.
Four games, starting at noon on March 6 with the 8 seed vs 9 seed matchup of Southern Illinois (SIU) and Indiana State. The Salukis and Sycamores only met once in the regular season, with the Sycamores beating the Salukis by 18 in Terre Haute, Indiana by a score of 95-77. SIU will look to get revenge and extend their trip to St. Louis for a chance to play top-seeded Drake.
The second game will be the 5-12 matchup between the Illinois State Redbirds and the Missouri State Bears. The Redbirds won both matchups against the Bears in the regular season, winning the first game by six points and the second game by two. Missouri State didn’t have an ideal send-off season, going 9-22 overall in their final season as a member of the MVC before they join Conference USA next year. The winner of this game will play Belmont.
The Murray State Racers and the Evansville Aces kick off the second session of the first day in the 7-10 matchup. This is the second time in three years that the Racers are playing in the 7-10 game. They played in this game during their inaugural season in the MVC where they beat Valparaiso for the third time that season. Murray State and Evansville split the regular season series this year. Both teams defended home court, with the Racers winning 63-61 at the CFSB Center and the Aces winning 78-74 at the Ford Center. Bradley will play the winner of this game.
The final first-round game is the 6-11 game between the Illinois Chicago Flames and the Valparaiso Beacons. UIC won both games against the Beacons in the regular season and have the opportunity to beat them for a third time this season. UNI awaits the winner on Friday.
Conference tournaments are the prelude to one of the best tournaments in American sports and what better way to enjoy your weekend than by tuning in to see which MVC team will go to The Big Dance. The Murray State News will be in St. Louis all weekend long providing tournament coverage for all games. All coverage of the MVC Men’s Basketball Tournament by The News comes courtesy of our sponsors at EXIT Realty Key Group and Suiter Insurance.
