The Belmont Bruins won the MVC regular season championship and will be the No. 1 seed for Arch Madness at Enterprise Center this week. (Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO — After a long and thrilling regular season, the brackets are set for Missouri Valley Conference Championship Tournament — better known as Arch Madness — which will be played Thursday through Sunday at Enterprise Center.
Regular season champion, Belmont (26-5 overall and 16-4 in conference play) will be the No. 1 seed after dominating its way to the regular season title.
Three other 20-win teams in Bradley, Illinois State, and Murray State (all 20-11 and 12-8) will make up the 2-, 3-, and 4-seeds, with Illinois-Chicago, Northern Iowa, Valparaiso, and Southern Illinois all also looking like teams that could make a run at the championship.
Player of the Year candidate Tyler Lundblade leads Belmont with a 15.8 points per game average and ranks among the nation’s best with 112 made three-pointers. (Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Belmont did not sneak into the No. 1 seed. They earned it.
They lead the conference in scoring at 84.0 points per game and own the best scoring margin at +11.5. They can run, they can shoot, and they rarely panic.
Tyler Lundblade averages 15.8 points and has made 112 threes. Sam Orme adds 12.5. Drew Scharnowski gives them interior presence and toughness.
No. 2 seed Bradley, which won back-to-back MVC Tournament titles in 2019 and 2020 is steady. The Braves score 77.5 points per game and defend as well as any other team in the conference as well. Senior Jaquan Johnson leads Bradley by scoring 17.4 points per night, while sharpshooting junior Alex Huibregtse stretches defenses with 92 made threes.
Illinois State, which vaulted into the No. 3 seed by knocking off Belmont in the regular season finale Sunday night, might be the most balanced team in the bracket. The Redbirds allow just 68.3 points per game and own a +7.6 scoring margin. They are comfortable playing in the low 70s and winning ugly.
The Illinois State Redbirds earned a huge win over top-seeded Belmont in Sunday’s regular season finale in Normal. (Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Murray State scores 83.5 per game, second in the league.
Javon Jackson averages 16.0 points. Roman Domon scores 14.1. Fredrick King adds 13.2.
They can score with anyone. The concern is defense. They allow 79.5 points per game, last in the conference. If their offense dips for five minutes, they can be in trouble.
If it doesn’t, they can blow open any game against any opponent quickly.
The whole event begins on Thursday, with what are always exciting quarterfinals on Friday and semifinals on Saturday that set up Championship Sunday.
Many believe the MVC will be a one-bid league this season — meaning only the team who wins it all will get a berth in the NCAA Tournament, everyone else will likely be on the outside looking in.
That sets up a dramatic four days of the best basketball the city of St. Louis will see this season.
Let it all begin.
2026 Arch Madness Schedule
All games at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. (All times CDT)
Thursday, March 5 — First Round
Game 1 — #9 Drake vs. #8 Southern Illinois — 3:30 pm
Game 2 — #10 Indiana State vs. #7 Valparaiso — 6 pm
Game 3 — #11 Evansville at #6 Northern Iowa — 8:30 pm
Friday, March 6 — Quarterfinals
Game 4 — Winner Game 1 vs. #1 Belmont — 12 pm
Game 5 — #5 Illinois-Chicago vs. #4 Murray State — 2:30 pm
Game 6 — Winner Game 2 vs. #2 Bradley — 6 pm
Game 7 — Winner Game 3 vs. #3 Illinois State — 8:30 pm
Saturday, March 7 — Semifinals
Semifinal #1 — Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 — 2:30 pm
Semifinal #2 — Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7 — 5:00 pm
Sunday, March 8 — Championship Game
Championship Game — Semifinal 1 Winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner — 11 am