Top Seeds Gone – The Ramifications
(St. Louis, MO) – Arch Madness has never been this mad. Top seeds have fallen in an unprecedented fashion and ‘Arch Chaos’ has ensued. For the first time in the league tournament the number one seed has fallen. For the second time in tournament history the second seed has failed to reach the semifinals.
What does the madness mean?
Ancient Rivals Collide
Reigning tournament champion Bradley (21-11) is now the highest remaining seeded team (4) and they play Drake (20-13). These teams are the longest tenured Missouri Valley Conference teams. Drake (108 years) and Bradley (68) are the league’s senior citizens and have played 155 times.
The Bulldogs shared last year’s regular season title with Loyola but were bounced in last year’s semifinals. While this will be the eighth seeded team’s third game in three days, their convincing win over Northern Iowa (77-56) has the Drake faithful confident.
Darian DeVries’ team was able to repay the Panthers’ for last season’s semifinal, upset loss.
Why are you still awake?
If you’re in STL, we need you rested and ready to go.
If you’re in #DSMUSA you need to be on the road by 8 a.m.
So watch this one last time and get some 😴!#DSMHometownTeam #ArchMadness30 pic.twitter.com/OAKYSoXTh3
— Drake Basketball (@DrakeBulldogsMB) March 7, 2020
Bradley, who seems to carry the proverbial ‘chip on their shoulder’ with them all the time, enters the semifinals as the favorite to win. Brian Wardle’s team has reached 20 wins for three straight season and their win total of 21 is the most since 2009.
Upstarts Challenge
While Valparaiso had to play on Thursday because of a tie-breaker with Missouri State, the Bears had the privilege to skip that day’s action. The Bears were the preseason pick to win the regular season title and are playing their best basketball of the season. They’ve won six of nine and dominated Indiana State in the quarterfinals.
The Bears’ obvious athleticism and skill has now been matched by the toughness and leadership coach Dana Ford has been pursuing. Center Gaige Prim is a force inside and seems to have taken a leadership role on a ‘point guardless’ team. MSU’s guards are good players, but none appears to be cast in that typical ‘run the offense’ mold, so leadership comes from other places.
Ford, who stalks the MSU side-lines with an intense glare, was able to celebrate with his team after the win.
PUT IT ON THE BOARD!!!#MSUBears pic.twitter.com/uwuhhrQW8H
— MSU Bears Basketball (@MSUBearsHoops) March 7, 2020
The other ‘play-in round’ member of this quartet is playing with house money. Valparaiso won their third, very close game with Evansville on Thursday and then came from behind and defeated Loyola in Saturday’s overtime win. They could be extremely tired today.
Valpo’s best player, Javon Freeman-Liberty is still battling sickness and is yet to resemble himself in this tournament. He could be the X-factor today. The two teams split their regular season games and MSU earned the higher seed on a tie-breaker. Now they get to break the tie the old fashion way, right on the court.
What Does the Madness Mean?
Northern Iowa’s NCAA Tournament hopes are on life-support. Though the Panthers’ NET rating was 36 prior to Friday’s loss, we in Valley Country know the Selection Committee rarely throws MVC teams a life-line.
The professionals that predict these things (and fairly well) differ on the Panthers. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had them playing in Dayton in ‘First Four’, while CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm predicted they would miss the dance.
How other league tournaments play out will now be huge factor in UNI’s hopes. While we often think of upsets and improbable participants ‘stealing bids’, like what is happening in the Valley, also how UNI’s non-conference opponents play is a factor. If West Virginia, South Carolina and Colorado do some damage this week, it could help the Panthers.
It means we enjoy Saturday and Sunday, celebrate the winners, mourn with the losers and wait a week to see where the tournament champs are placed and keep our fingers crossed for the Panthers.
Do Good
Twitter Feed
.@SEMOMBB wins at home and is 2-0, tied with @MSUEaglesMBB atop the @OVCSports. Our prayers are with the @LRTrojans after the death of one of their managers Josh Claxton. Their game with EIU was postponed today.
Good officiating in the @SEMOMBB/@SIUEMBB in a little late game dust up.
BTW, @LindenwoodWBB is 2-0. @CoachAmyEagan has that program headed the right direction.
With @SkyhawkHoops winning on the road and @LUMensBball winning at home, right now, 5 @OVCSports teams are 1-1.
