Arch Madness Semifinal Saturday

Top Four Teams are Still Alive

(St. Louis, MO) – After three upsets during Thursday’s opening round games, the top four seeds took care of business on Friday and semifinal Saturday will feature seeds 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Regular season champion Indiana State plays in one semifinal against fourth seeded Northern Iowa and defending tournament champion and second seeded Drake faces old rival Bradley.

Afternoon Session

Indiana State had no problem taking care of Missouri State, turning a tight three point advantage into a 75-59 win. Four Sycamores reached double figures in scoring as Ryan Conwell scored 20, Robbie Avila 14, Isaiah Swope 13 and Jayson Kent 12.

Julian Larry picked up a double-nueve (nine points and nine assists).

Josh Schertz’s team (27-5) has reached the last two Arch Madness semifinals and the Sycamores have won 50 games over the last two seasons. Kent recorded a double-double by adding 14 rebounds.

Missouri State’s (17-16) Donovan Clay was outstanding in his final collegiate game. The Alton, Illinois native scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Sycamores face Northern Iowa at 2:30 pm.

Northern Iowa won a tight battle with Belmont 67-62. The Panthers’ never led by more than six points as the teams played tight, determined defense. Each team recorded their season-low shooting percentage.

Forward Tytan Anderson was spectacular, scoring 19 points and grabbing 19 rebounds in an historic Arch Madness performance. His 19 rebounds tied the MVC Tournament record set by Evansville’s Egidijus Mockevicius and tied by Missouri State’s Alize Johnson.

Belmont’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out six assists.

Saturday’s First Matchup

Top Seeded Indiana State continues its quest to earn either a tournament title or an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament with a 2:30 pm contest with Northern Iowa. Since the Valley doesn’t play a true, round-robin schedule, the two teams played just one time.

The Sycamores won the home contest 77-66 after outscoring UNI 19-9 during the opening ten minutes. Jayson Kent was outstanding, scoring 26 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Center Robbie Avila recorded a triple-ocho with eight points, ten rebounds and eight assists.

UNI’s Bowen Born scored 27 points in the loss.

Over the past month the Panthers have adjusted their rotations and adopted Ben Jacobson’s ‘play hard and play fast’ mantra and he is getting great support from his second unit. His goal is to get ten players to play at least ten minutes and to keep his starters fresh. Since the change, the Panthers have won four straight games and six of their last seven.

That depth could be a problem for the Sycamores who have just six players that log significant minutes. If the Panther depth can wear down the Sycamore stars, we could have an upset in the making. All six of those Sycamores received some kind of league-wide honor. They are extremely talented.

Second Game of Semifinal Saturday

Drake and Bradley have played one another more than any two-team combination in the Valley. The traditional rivals have faced one another 165 times with Bradley holding the all-time edge (93-72), but Drake has won three straight against the Braves, including last year’s championship game at Arch Madness.

The Bulldogs swept this season’s games by practically identical scores. Drake scored 74 points in each contest and allowed 67 and 66. Tucker DeVries totaled 51 points across the two contests and Drake’s depth was too much for Bradley to handle.

The long and athletic Braves struggled to control the fast-paced Drake offense, but they have the ability to shut down any offensive team behind the work of two-time, Defensive Player of the Year Malevy Leons. Offensively Leons racked up 33 points during the team’s two games with Drake.

What’s at Stake on Semifinal Saturday

Obviously all four of Saturday’s semifinalists have their eye on winning and getting to and winning Sunday’s championship and heading to March Madness.

But ….

Indiana State cannot afford to lose today. While Northern Iowa is a quality opponent, the NET (national evaluation tool) ranks the Panthers as the 104^th best team and this is a Quadrant Three game for the Trees. If the Sycamores (29 in the NET) hope for solid ‘at-large’ status or a favorable seed in the NCAA Tournament, this is a ‘must win’. Q3 losses do not look good on the Selection Committee’s report.

Drake and Bradley are in similar positions. Since Drake’s NET has climbed to 46, this is a Quad 1 game for Bradley. With the Braves reaching 57 in the NET this is a Q2 game for Drake. In each case, the winner receives a boost in the NET with a potential Quad One game on Sunday. These two teams could see great movement in their NET ranking by Sunday evening.

Northern Iowa has won five MVC Tournament championships, with all five coming during Arch Madness. Bradley has won four, with two of theirs predating the St. Louis version of the tournament. Indiana State has claimed three titles. Larry Bird’s 1979 championship came long before the St. Louis-based event. Drake’s victory last year was its second and both have come in the Gateway City.

These coaches have very solid Arch Madness records. Ben Jacobson is the longest tenured head coach and owns the league record for most conference wins, he’s also 20-12 at Arch Madness. Drake’s DeVries (11-4) and Bradley’s Wardle (11-6) have been making their mark in the Gateway City. This is Schertz’s third trip to St. Louis and his record is 3-2.

At least one of these teams will be dancing in March Madness and how these semifinal games shake out will determine a great deal as to whether it could be more than one team.

Despite the fact that many of our Valley media member friends have left town with the elimination of the teams they cover, semifinal Saturday is the best day of Arch Madness

Do Good

 

Editor: Cover photo courtesy of the Missouri Valley Conference.