CBB: Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Preview

Favorites (odds below +500)

Indiana State Sycamores (+155): Indiana State has been a revelation this year. They run a beautiful offensive scheme that gets their players in space and leads to open shots. While they have shooters on the outside, the man in the middle Robbie Avila is who everyone is excited to see in March. He’s already everyone’s hero and the madness hasn’t even started yet. They’ve been great all year with exception of a 2 game stretch where they had a couple injuries. Provided the committee does the right thing (and who knows if they will) Indiana State should hopefully be in the tournament if they don’t win the conference championship.

Drake Bulldogs (+220): Drake is another fun At-Large worthy team in this league. The Bulldogs have some nice quality wins to help their resume but what may keep them out of the tournament are some head-scratching losses. This is a team with an electric player in their own right in Tucker DeVries who seemingly has been with the program forever at this point. Drake has experience in this situation winning the conference tournament last year.

Bradley Braves (+360): Bradley is another dangerous team in this conference. The Braves looked like a clear At-Large bid contender after their first 6 games, a stretch that included a win over Utah State, however they promptly lost 5 in a row after that. Inconsistency has been their identity most of the year and the other challenge has been their inability to beat either Indiana State or Drake, but they get one last chance to change that.

Sleepers (+500 or above)

Belmont Bruins (+1900): Belmont struggled a lot of this year but this is a proud program that won’t stay down for long. That proved to be true when the Bruins got hot late. They’ve won 7 of their last 8 so they can be dangerous if they take this hot streak into the tournament.

Illinois State Redbirds (+11000): You want a longshot? This is a strong longshot. Illinois State struggled most of the year but late in the year they seemed to figure some things out. Including a stretch where they won 4 out of 5, including a road win over Indiana State and only close loss in a rock fight to Drake.

Northern Iowa Panthers (+1400): This was expected to be the year that Northern Iowa made a return to the tournament. The Panthers seemed like they could get there when they had an early lead in the Battle 4 Atlantis, alas they couldn’t keep it together in the 2nd half, and then fell by 2 in a heartbreaker to Texas Tech the following game. That set the tone for most of the year they were closer but not quite there. This conference tournament is their opportunity to change that.

My Pick:

Indiana State Sycamores (+155): I believe in this Indiana State team to get the job done. They’ve been the best team in the conference all year and their offensive scheme is set to work anywhere. Arch Madness will always be a battle though!