(St. Louis, MO) – Evansville and Bradley were Thursday night winners in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference post-season tournament, but are they just fodder for the all powerful Illinois State Redbirds and Wichita State Shockers?
The combined league record of the co-champions was 34-0 against every other Valley team.
Illinois State swept Evansville in two relatively close games (12 and 10 points), and Wichita State buried Bradley by 34 at Koch Arena, but by a relatively close 15 points in Peoria.
Evansville head coach Marty Simmons says his team has a difficult task before them, but if they limit their turnovers and play solid team defense, he likes his teams chances.
The seventh seeded Braves have won four straight games and sophomore Duane Lautier-Ogunleye and junior Donte Thomas are confident that recent improvements point to a better result than the previous two losses. Head coach Brian Wardle is glad his players have hung together, believed in the process and are building a positive basketball culture in Peoria.
It’s not likely that either of these teams will pull off the upset, but both Evansville and Bradley are playing their best basketball at the right time.
The second day of Arch Madness is a special day. Four games and post season hopes are on the line in every game.
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Flooding, lightning strikes, etc. have cost @RacersHoops two home games. Had to play 'neutral site' tonight instead of at home and Wednesday's goes from home to away. Tough break for the Racers, and the whole area has been hit with difficulties. #FatherHarry
Murray State's scheduled home game Wednesday vs. Southern Illinois being moved to Banterra Center in Carbondale. #ValleyHoops
Gigantic game for @BradleyUMBB today in Des Moines. If they have a chance to catch @DrakeBulldogsMB, they have to win today. The Bulldogs can basically win the title today. @BustingBrackets breaks it all down. #FatherHarry https://bit.ly/3EGiVgi
Not rooting for any particular @ValleyHoops, but chaos is always fun. If things break certain ways, after today there could be a six-way tie for fifth place.
Fun to listen to @MLBLarry on the @SIU_Basketball/@BelmontMBB game tonight. Good job brother. #FatherHarry
