Arch Madness 2006 & 2007 – The ‘Losers’ Become Sweet

(St. Louis, MO) – 2006 & 2007 found three different Missouri Valley Conference teams heading to the ‘Sweet Sixteen’ and not one of them picked up a championship at ‘Arch Madness’. The largest and fourth largest crowds in St. Louis history showed up those two years. There were nationally ranked teams, star players, Sports Illustrated covers and deep NCAA runs.

2006 was a magical year for the Valley. Wichita State was the regular season champion and earned the top seed in the post season tournament, but the Shockers didn’t make it to the championship game. Instead it was Bradley and Southern Illinois.

The Salukis were a deep team and played aggressive, physical defense. Randall Falker was leaper that could rebound with anyone in the league. Matt Shaw was a physical force down low and he could shoot the three. Jamall Tatum played passionate perimeter defense and could burn on offensive slashes to basket.

Bradley was a team with size and star power. Marcellus Sommerville and Patrick O’Bryant gave the Jim Les coached team legitimate size and sizzle. Second Seeded SIU won the title game over the fifth seeded Braves, but there was so much more basketball to be played.

The ‘losers’ (Wichita State and Bradley) exploded in the NCAA tournament and both went to the ‘Sweet Sixteen’. Somehow the teams that couldn’t get it done in St. Louis, could accomplish great things on the national stage. Bradley took down mighty Kansas in the first round and Pittsburgh in the second.

Mark Turgeon’s Shockers eliminated Seton Hall and Tennessee. SIU’s turn would come one year later.

Anticipation was at an all time high when Arch Madness 2007 came to St. Louis. Perrenial power Creighton rolled into St. Louis looking for another title. Regular season champion Southern Illinois was nationally ranked and now nationally regarded. In 2005 guard Darren Brooks made it to the cover of Sports Illustrated. In 2006 they were Arch Madness title winners and ‘Floor Burn U’ was turning heads.

The attendance and energy at Scottrade Center was second to no one. The Semi-finals and Finals were sold out at over 22,000 fans. Courtside noise was deafening. National media was starting to notice ‘the little conference that could’ and downtown St. Louis was a buzz.

The Egyptian Dogs had practically their whole championship team back from 2006 and Creighton was loaded too. With Scottrade Center rocking the two MVC heavy weights went a full 15 rounds. Guards Nate Funk (CU) and Tatum from SIU were brilliant. Funk finished with 19 points and Tatum scored 21.

Creighton would win the title 67-61 in one of the greatest games I’ve been a part of, however Southern Illinois went to the ‘Sweet Sixteen’. In 2006 & 2007 three teams went to that third round of the NCAA tournament after losing in St. Louis.  Last season Wichita State lost at Scottrade and went to the Final Four.

Perhaps winning the Arch Madness trophy isn’t as important as we thought.

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