MVC Tournament - UIC vs Drake triple OT - Remember MVC 2020 Tournament

[Rocky-Mountains-Brave]

With UIC taking Drake into "Triple OT" this past week - just shows me that virtually all teams are going to be tough games.

Remember the 2020 MVC Tournament when #7 Valparaiso shocked #2 Loyola and made it to the final game - eventually running out of gas.

I honestly believe that this years 2024 MVC Tournament final will not be Indiana State vs Drake. Robbie Avila - Indiana State's poster child is not the greatest and can be stopped. And UNI's Ben Jacobson will have his Northern Iowa team running on all cylinders come tournament time - he always has. UNI embarrassed Drake a week ago. So keep an eye on UNI.

My point being - there are going to be a lot of tough games during this years MVC tournament. Nothing will surprise me. So stay tune !

[Dub]

Good post. I can’t wait to get down there and see it all in person next wk.

[bigjimmy]

Looking forward to seeing who gets matched up with whom on Thursday, especially who gets the #6 seed (more than likely the loser of the UNI/SIU game) and has to play UIC who could certainly pull the upset. Can't wait to be there in person to see it again.

[Stryker]

This is going to be true of the NCAA tournament this year as well. The NIL, transfer rules, and COVID eligibility extensions are causing chaos nationwide. Outside of the top 3 teams in the country, every ranked team has 6 or more losses. We could see a 7 or maybe even an 8 loss 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Going to be a really interesting March imo.

[BUfan39]

I also have suspect that the championship game won’t feature Indiana State vs Drake. While both are good teams, they are beatable. There are a lot of solid teams in the league this year so I expect a handful of close games in St. Louis. Can’t wait!

[Rocky-Mountains-Brave]

One huge upset that I am predicting is UNI over Indiana State on Saturday. Ben Jacobson showed this past Sunday that his UNI team is ready. Another that "may" occur earlier. Mo State lost to Indiana State by 2 at home - so if Mo State can get by Murray State and have a good 1st game and Indiana State comes out rusty on Friday - then anything is possible - they are playing on a neutral court. Should be a fun week of watching each team play. GO BRAVES !!!!

[Da Coach]

One huge upset that I am predicting is UNI over Indiana State on Saturday. Ben Jacobson showed this past Sunday that his UNI team is ready. Another that "may" occur earlier. Mo State lost to Indiana State by 2 at home - so if Mo State can get by Murray State and have a good 1st game and Indiana State comes out rusty on Friday - then anything is possible - they are playing on a neutral court. Should be a fun week of watching each team play. GO BRAVES !!!!

I do expect a few upsets this coming weekend, though UNI over Indiana State on Saturday is not the one I'd bet on.
The 12 noon game on Thursday- Missouri State (8-12) vs Murray State (9-11) is maybe the best matchups on the first day. Both Missouri State and Murray State are loaded with talent. but both teams have underachieved. Murray State beat Missouri State twice this season, so they will be favored. But both teams have pulled upsets and played the top teams well this year. Murray State beat UNI and Bradley in the regular season, and they had close losses to Indiana State, SIU (twice), and Belmont. Missouri State has beaten Drake, SIU, and Belmont, and they had near-upset 2-point losses to Indiana State and UNI.

The other three Thursday games could be interesting-
Valpo (3-17) vs Belmont (12-6)- Valpo got beat twice by Belmont, but they are coming off a win yesterday over Illinois State. Belmont has won 7 of their last 8 games, and 6 of the 7 wins were blowout wins. The only loss was to Drake.
Evansville (6-14) vs Illinois State (9-11)- they split their two regular season games, but Evansville has lost the last 7 games since they beat Bradley a month ago on that last second shot by Duke that was disallowed. OTOH, ILSU had been playing better until their loss to Valparaiso yesterday.
UIC (4-16) vs SIU (11-9)- UIC has lost twice to SIU, but both games were fairly close, and UIC seems to play everyone fairly close, including their triple-overtime loss to Drake.

Bracket-

[Dub]

Thursday can’t come soon enough!

[LittleBrave]

I don't see anyone knocking off Drake except for the boys from Bradley. Indy St very beatable, but whoever beats them will have to bring their A-game!

Watch out for the winner of UNI vs Belmont...gonna be awfully tough.
Belmont I believe will be a Top-3/4 Valley team next season as they add some more pieces.

[Tommy]

I don't see anyone knocking off Drake except for the boys from Bradley. Indy St very beatable, but whoever beats them will have to bring their A-game!

Watch out for the winner of UNI vs Belmont...gonna be awfully tough.
Belmont I believe will be a Top-3/4 Valley team next season as they add some more pieces.

Agreed LB. I usually agree with your takes - I get the impression you are watching a lot of MVC games!

You're going to the tournament this year, right?