MVC jump starts the Madness
Friday, March 3rd, 12:41CST – Are you as giddy about the Missouri Valley Conference tournament as I am? To me, it’s the official start to "March Madness." The opening round games were fantastic and were highlighted by Indiana State’s remarkable Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde performance yesterday afternoon. The Sycamores rolled into the Saavis Center in St. Louis (for "Arch Madness" – how cute) ready to make a run. In its last five games, Indiana State had defeated Drake on the road, lost a two-point game to Evansville, lost a five-point road game to Creighton, and defeated Western Michigan and Northern Iowa. Then, the Sycamores put together a pitiful first half performance in its opening round game, scoring just 10 points. 10 points! Doomed, right? Nope. The Sycamores dropped 62 second half points on Drake and advanced.
And Indiana State isn’t even one of the six MVC teams hopeful of securing an NCAA at-large berth. The best non-BCS basketball conference dots the top 45 spots of the RPI like Kanye West does the Top 100 singles. Missouri State – 18, Wichita State – 23, Northern Iowa – 27, Creighton – 28, Southern Illinois – 42, Bradley – 45. Think that makes Cincinnati nervous (RPI 33)? Think it makes Texas A &M (RPI 50) a little shaky? It should. Twice the conference has received as many as three bids to the NCAA Tournament; it is almost a certainty that it breaks that record this year. It looks like Missouri State, Wichita State, Northern Iowa and Creighton are solid locks. It’s Bradley and Southern Illinois that’ll be fighting like drowning rats to get an invite. It’s Bracket Buster on steroids at the MVC tournament this weekend.
Saturday, March 4th, 8:41CST – There should be one question that the NCAA Tournament selection committee remembers to ask itself when evaluating bubble teams – When the hot lights of the theater were turned on you, did you perform or did you run off stage looking for mommy? Take Bradley, for example, who entered the MVC Tournament needing to win at least a couple games for realistic consideration. In its opening round contest against higher-seeded Creighton, they found themselves down 29-21 just a few minutes into the second half. It looked like an NIT berth was waiting patiently for them on the sideline, counting down the seconds. But then the Braves went on an 8-0 run and seized control of the second half. They dominated the second half, defeated the Blue Jays 54-47, and advanced. Contrast that to Syracuse, who entered its Thursday contest against DePaul in a must-win situation. It looked, though, as if DePaul should offer minimal resistence. The young Blue Demons had won just four conference games all season. And while they were playing at home, the home-court advantage for DePaul is laughable. The arena is 25+ miles from campus and it draws more people from the area for B-music acts and flea markets than basketball games. On a weeknight, few students take the bus to see a losing team play. Furthermore, the Thursday night slate of college basketball games is quite light, allowing Syracuse to nail down an important win and receive adequate press coverage. The committee would definitely hear about this one. Easy win for a motivated team, right? Depaul 108, Syracuse 69. The worst beat-down of Coach Jim Boeheim’s long career. If your team can’t show up in early March when its season is dangling precariously, then it shouldn’t be playing in late March. In my mind, there’s no doubt Bradley is far more deserving than Syracuse.
Sunday, March 5th, 8:55CST – Going into the MVC conference tournament, it was Bradley and Southern Illinois that had the most to prove. The Braves started their season slowly, losing to Loyola (Chi.) and Butler in its first five games. They played both games without sophomore seven-footer Patrick Bryant (a 13.1ppg, 8.2rbg contributor). Even with Bryant’s return, they struggled in the early conference season, dropping four of their first six. By January 11th, after a three-game losing streak, it looked more likely they’d be playing dorm foosball tournaments than in the NCAA tournament. Since that time, they’ve lost just three times in 15 games, and that includes the last two games in the MVC tournament. The latest victim – top-seed Wichita State.
Southern Illinois took a different path. It too started out slowly, losing to Monmouth and (gasp!) Eastern Washington. But then reeled off 11 consecutive wins in December and early January. Much like previous seasons, the Salukis looked like NCAA Tournament locks. But losing seven of their next 12 put them in a precarious position. Going into the MVC Championship game, they still do not sit comfortably. They have 21 wins, an RPI of 38, and seven wins against the Top 50. A solid tournament-worthy resume, but history has shown that as your RPI approaches 40, you enter into the territory of the overlooked, especially if your conference doesn’t play football in the fall. Bradley should feel more comfortable, sitting at an RPI of 28, with 20 wins and eight against Top 50 competition. But since Bradley makes NCAA tournament appearances about as frequently as Britney Spears dresses formally, I’d guess they’re not taking any chances. It is quite possible that the NCAA Tournament committee may select six teams from the MVC (Wichita State, Creighton, Northern Iowa, Missouri State, Southern Illinois and Bradley). And I’m guessing that none of them will be an easy out.
