The Indiana State Sycamores have already clinched a share of the league title heading into Sunday’s final day action. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Jason Barnes
Staff Writer
The final day of the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball regular season is Sunday, and with Arch Madness coming next weekend, there is still a lot left to be decided.
Each team will play on Sunday and several have a lot to play for. Indiana State (25-5, 16-3) holds first place and has already clinched at least a share of the league championship by way of the combination of its win and Drake’s loss last Saturday.
The teams came into that day tied for first, but the Sycamores were able to take hold and have held it firm coming into today. Indiana State will host Murray State in a 3 p.m. game today that will be televised on Bally Sports Midwest.
If the Sycamores win, they win the MVC title outright.
To have any chance at winning the title, Drake (24-6, 15-4) needs a win over Bradley. That game will be at 2:30 p.m. and will be on ESPN2.
The Bulldogs would also need some tiebreaker help. Indiana State leads that too.
The tiebreaker would come down to NET ranking, and Indiana State (NET 28) has a healthy cushion over reigning tourney champion Drake (NET 51).
Bradley (21-9, 13-6) has locked down the No. 3 seed. No matter what the Braves do on Sunday against Drake, they can not move up nor will they fall down. Bradley is the 3.
The race for the fourth seed, which entitles the recipient to the final first-round bye, is the biggest unknown. Three teams are tied for fourth, and two of them face one another on Sunday.
Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa, and Belmont are all 11-8. Northern Iowa will be in Carbondale on Sunday to face SIU. The winner of that game would most likely claim the four seed, even if Belmont also won.
SIU has a NET ranking about 15 spots better than Belmont. A road win for Northern Iowa would likely give the Panthers the edge in NET over Belmont. The Bruins hosts 10th place Evansville on Sunday in a game that won’t help their ranking.
There are weird scenarios where this won’t play out, but the most likely occurrence will be the winner of the UNI-SIU game will be the No. 4 seed, the loser will be the No. 6 seed, and Belmont will be the No. 5 seed.
Illinois State will likely be the No. 7 seed and Murray State the No. 8. The Redbirds need either a win or a Murray State loss to claim that seventh seed. Murray State, as mentioned above, will be on the road to face first-place Indiana State. The Racers are by far the biggest underdog of the day on Sunday.
The bottom four seeds are locked in: Missouri State will be No. 9, Evansville is No. 10, Illinois-Chicago is No. 11 and last place Valparaiso is No. 12.
MVC Men’s Basketball Schedule – Sunday, March 3
| Away | Home | Time | Location | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Illinois-Chicago |  Missouri State | 1 PM | Springfield, MO | TV: ESPN+ Stats Radio: Bears Radio Network |
 Illinois State |  Valparaiso | 1 PM | Valparaiso, IN | TV: ESPN+ Stats Radio: WJBC AM 1230 / FM 93.7 / The Varsity Network |
 Northern Iowa |  Southern Illinois | 1 PM | Carbondale, IL | TV: ESPN Plus Stats Radio: SIU Radio Network / 101.5 WCIL FM |
 Bradley |  Drake | 2:30 PM | Des Moines, IA | TV: ESPN2 Stats Radio: 1350/102.1 ESPN Des Moines |
 Evansville |  Belmont | 4 PM | Nashville, TN | Stats |
 Murray State |  Indiana State | 4 PM | Terre Haute, IN | Stats Radio: 105.5 The Legend Video |
MVC Arch Madness Tournament Schedule
March 7-10 at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO
Thursday, March 7, First Round
Game 1 – No. 8 Murray State vs. No. 9 Missouri State, 12 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Game 2 – No. 5 Belmont vs. No. 12 Valparaiso, 2:30 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Game 3 – No. 7 Illinois State vs. No. 10 Evansville, 6 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Game 4 – No. 6 Southern Illinois vs. No. 11 Illinois-Chicago, 8:30 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Friday, March 8, Quarterfinals
Game 5 – Game 1 winner vs. No. 1 Indiana State, 12 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Game 6 – Game 2 winner vs. No. 4 Northern Iowa, 2:30 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Game 7 – Game 3 winner vs. No. 2 Drake, 6 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Game 8 – Game 4 winner vs. No. 3 Bradley, 8:30 pm, Bally Sports Midwest
Saturday, March 9, Semifinals
Semifinal #1 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2:30 pm, CBS Sports Network
Semifinal #2 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 5 pm, CBS Sports Network
Sunday, March 10, Championship Game
Championship Game – Saturday’s semifinal winners, 1 pm, CBS
Schedule updated once final games completed.