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2025 Arch Madness

Da Coach

Da Coach

Moderator
Staff member
Tickets for the individual sessions just went on sale this morning (at 10 am). Of course, we don't know which session Bradley will play in yet. Pretty high likelihood Bradley will not be playing in one of the two sessions on Thursday, March 6.
There are two sessions on Friday, March, 7 (4 quarterfinal games), one session on Saturday, March 8 (2 semifinal games- 2:30 pm and 5:00 pm), and one session on Sunday, March 9 (championship game 1:10 pm).

Arch Madness website- https://mvc-sports.com/feature/25Arch
Team Hotels- https://mvc-sports.com/sports/2019/12/6/ArchHotels.aspx
Arch Madness game schedule- https://mvc-sports.com/feature/25Arch (scroll down to bottom)

And the 2025 Arch Madness Bracket-
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If the standings stay the same as they are today (2-20-2025), here is how the bracket would look (thanks to March to the Arch Podcast) - https://x.com/MarchArchPod/status/1892713939831591044

Bradley would be the # 3 seed, and would get a bye for the Thursday, March 6 games. Then in the Friday, March 7 night session (Session 4), Bradley would play the second game of the session (Game # 8 ) versus the winner of the # 6 Evansville vs. #11 Valparaiso game from Thursday, March 6.

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3 games to go and about the only guarantee is Missouri State as the 12 seed and Drake, UNI and BU will not play on Thursday. And they surely won't be anything decided after this weekend either.
 
egib52 said:
I actually like our current draw better than having to play the ISUs.
Click to expand...

I agree, this would be a decent path for us. Make it to the championship and play a hopefully exhausted Drake team. Our depth would be beneficial in Arch Madness.
 
egib52 said:
I actually like our current draw better than having to play the ISUs.
Click to expand...

I do too. But there is a good chance it will change. If Bradley wins out (beating Murray State, Valpo, & UNI) they will likely move back to the # 2 seed, since they have the NET tiebreaker against UNI.
Current NET ranking- https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings
Drake 59
Bradley 84
UNI 90
ILL State 113
UIC 132
Belmont 140
Murray St. 149
SIU 192
IND State 210
Valparaiso 231
Mo State 233
Evansville 246
 
Da Coach said:
If the standings stay the same as they are today (2-20-2025), here is how the bracket would look (thanks to March to the Arch Podcast) - https://x.com/MarchArchPod/status/1892713939831591044

Bradley would be the # 3 seed, and would get a bye for the Thursday, March 6 games. Then in the Friday, March 7 night session (Session 4), Bradley would play the second game of the session (Game # 8 ) versus the winner of the # 6 Evansville vs. #11 Valparaiso game from Thursday, March 6.

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Click to expand...

I have Bradley finishing 2nd and playing Ind. St. or Murray St. with Ill. St. in 5th playing Mo. St. with the winner playing Belmont. Just a guess because predicting this year is not easy. Never figured us to lose 3 home games.
 
I would think we would clinch no lower than a 3 seed if we win tonight because of the difference in NET rankings between us and Belmont. We just need to take care of business.
 
bigjimmy said:
I would think we would clinch no lower than a 3 seed if we win tonight because of the difference in NET rankings between us and Belmont. We just need to take care of business.
Click to expand...

Yes, with 2 games left, Belmont is 2 games behind Bradley, and the teams split the two head-to-head games. So the tiebreaker would be the NET rank.
Today's NET numbers will change a little, but there is no way for Belmont to catch Bradley. Bradley is guaranteed no lower than the # 3 seed.
Drake 58
Bradley 84
UNI 90
ILL State 115
UIC 131
Belmont 140
Murray St. 150
SIU 191
IND State 210
Valparaiso 232
Mo State 234
Evansville 2467

Standings - https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/standings/_/group/18

The only way Bradley could get the # 1 seed is if Drake loses their final 3 games, and Bradley wins their final 2. That scenario is also dependent on UNI not only beating Drake tomorrow, but also losing their other 2 games, because if all 3 end up in a 3-way tie, the tiebreaker is different (a mini-round robin format) and Bradley, with a 1-3 record against Drake and UNI doesn't win that.
If Bradley ends up in a tie with UNI for 2nd place, Bradley would be the # 2 seed by virtue of a better NET.
If Drake finished 1st and UNI finishes ahead of Bradley, Bradley will get the # 3 seed.
 
Yes, with 2 games left, Belmont is 2 games behind Bradley, and the teams split the two head-to-head games. So the tiebreaker would be the NET rank.
Today's NET numbers will change a little, but there is no way for Belmont to catch Bradley. Bradley is guaranteed no lower than the # 3 seed.
Drake 58
Bradley 84
UNI 90
ILL State 115
UIC 131
Belmont 140
Murray St. 150
SIU 191
IND State 210
Valparaiso 232
Mo State 234
Evansville 2467
Click to expand...


Evansville has really fallen apart :)

​
 
Hey now... it was late, and I might have celebrated a little too much last night. :)

Here are today's NET numbers-
Drake 58
Bradley 84
UNI 91
ILSU 111
UIC 135
Belmont 137
Murray State 148
SIU 201
Ind. State 208
Valpo 230
MO. State 235
Evansville 245 (quite an improvement)
 
Da Coach said:
Hey now... it was late, and I might have celebrated a little too much last night. :)

Here are today's NET numbers-
Drake 58
Bradley 84
UNI 91
ILSU 111
UIC 135
Belmont 137
Murray State 148
SIU 201
Ind. State 208
Valpo 230
MO. State 235
Evansville 245 (quite an improvement)
Click to expand...

Just pulling your chain, really appreciate all the effort you put into the site :)
 
After this weekend's games not much has been decided. Drake will clinch the regular season championship with a win at Evansville on Wednesday or at home against Missouri St on Sunday. Belmont can clinch 4th with a win at Missouri St on Wednesday or a win at home Sunday against Murray State. As for anything else not too sure much will be decided after the games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
Our situation is pretty clear - win Sunday finish second and play at 6pm on Friday. Lose Sunday and make me stay up for the 830 pm game because we finish 3rd
 
houstonbrave said:
Our situation is pretty clear - win Sunday finish second and play at 6pm on Friday. Lose Sunday and make me stay up for the 830 pm game because we finish 3rd
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I did some research, and to have the 2-seed is a considerable adv. over the 3-seed in Arch Madness since 1999. Only 4 times has a 3-seed made it to the Championship game with 2 eventual championships, with the last being Indy St. in 2011. But 19 times has the 2-seed made it to the Finals in that period! Could it be that waiting so long to play your 1st game and the late start and short turnaround to play on Sat. have an effect? I would bet it does, and last season with BU the 3-seed, we got out to a scorching start, but seems Drake had more energy to outlast us, and then go on to win the title as the 2-seed.

That last game of the season will be a big one to get the 2-seed, while also helping our chances for a home game in the NiT should we not win in St. Lou.
That 3-game slide a few weeks back really hurt us, but we've done well to refocus...still not playing our best, though the games vs SIU and at Drake were good signs.
 
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If we win our last 2 games we more then likely will play the winner of the Ind. St. or Murray St. game. If we finish 3rd it looks like us playing Valpo or UIC for our first game.
 
The MVC has assigned the sections of the Enterprise Center for each school. Bradley looks like they have some of the better locations and more sections than the other schools.
The team benches are located behind Sections 102 and 104.

Seating-map.png
 
houstonbrave said:
Our situation is pretty clear - win Sunday finish second and play at 6pm on Friday. Lose Sunday and make me stay up for the 830 pm game because we finish 3rd
Click to expand...


Though there might be a statistically minuscule chance of Bradley leaping over Drake and getting the # 1 seed, that is so unlikely that realistically Bradley is looking at either the # 2 or # 3 seed.

To get the #1 seed, Bradley would have to finish 2-0, while Drake would have to lose both their remaining games at Evansville and at home against Missouri State. That would result in the 2 teams tying at 15-5. But, then, somehow, Bradley's NET would have to move ahead of Drake's for the Braves to win that tiebreaker. Drake is currently at 58, Bradley at 84. That big of a change is not going to happen.
So Bradley needs a win against Northern Iowa and a tie with UNI in the final standings, and that should result in Bradley getting the # 2 seed, by virtue of their better NET. A loss to UNI would almost certainly give Bradley the # 3 seed.

Most seasons, the # 2 seeded team is going to be a better team and would play a weaker team in the quarterfinals than the # 3 seed would play. That explains why far more # 2 seeds advance than # 3 seeds. But this season is unusual, in that I think there won't be as much difference in the chances of the # 2 versus the # 3 seed advancing. But it would be important to go into the tournament on a winning note.
 
Bradley will be playing in the night session on Friday, March 7 (Session 4), regardless of what happens against UNI Sunday.
If they finish with the # 2 seed, they will play in the 6:00 pm game Friday, March 8 (Game 7)
If they finish with the # 3 seed, it will be the 8:30 pm game (Game 8 ).

Bracket-
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For those looking at single game tickets for a small group, this is a great deal. Might not have a choice in where you sit, but can’t beat the price.

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