Missouri Valley Conference NCAA Tournament Betting
The Northern Iowa Panthers finished the regular season 18-10, but they are the No. 1 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament ahead of three teams that finished the regular season with 22 wins. Northern Iowa went 14-4 against MVC opponents, while Missouri State, Drake, and Loyola Chicago all finished a game behind at 13-5. That should make this one of the most interesting conference tournaments, and the Missouri Valley has a habit of pulling off upsets in the NCAA Tournament.
Northern Iowa went 4-7 in non-conference play, but the Panthers had a loaded schedule. They played five teams that are ranked in Ken Pomeroy’s top 100, and their only bad loss came against Nicholls State. That helped them get ready for MVC play though, and two of their conference losses came in overtime with a third being by two points. The Panthers needed to come from behind to beat Loyola Chicago and win the MVC regular season title in their season finale, and A.J. Green came up big with 32 points.
The computers love Loyola Chicago, so the Ramblers have a chance to earn an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament even if they don’t win the conference tournament. Ken Pomeroy has this team ranked 29th nationally, as Loyola nearly knocked off Michigan State at a neutral site earlier this season and hung close with Auburn for most of the game. The Ramblers rank fourth nationally in effective field goal percentage, and Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris are superb three-point shooters.
Missouri State is a team to be reckoned with this year. The Bears haven’t won the conference tournament in 30 years, but Isiaih Mosley and Gaige Prim are two of the best players in the MVC. Mosley is averaging 20.0 PPG and 6.2 RPG while making 50.6% of his field goals and 43.4% of his treys, and Prim is averaging 16.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG while sinking 57.2% of his field goals.
Missouri Valley Tournament Format
Since moving the conference tournament to St. Louis in 1991, the MVC Tournament has been nicknamed Arch Madness. All ten MVC teams will take part in the conference tournament, and the bottom four teams will get started on Thursday, March 3. The winners of those games will face No. 1 seed Northern Iowa and No. 2 seed Missouri State in the quarterfinals, while No. 3 seed Drake takes on No. 6 seed Southern Illinois and No. 4 Loyola Chicago faces a tough test in No. 5 Bradley.
The semifinals will be held on Saturday, March 5, starting at 2:30 p.m. ET. The MVC champion will be the third team to claim an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament, and that game will begin at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 6, on CBS Sports Network.
Most Wins All-Time in Missouri Valley Tournament
| WINS |
TEAM |
LAST |
| 12 |
Creighton |
2013 |
| 5 |
Southern Illinois |
2006 |
| 5 |
Northern Iowa |
2016 |
| 4 |
Bradley |
2020 |
| 4 |
Tulsa |
1996 |
| 4 |
Illinois State |
1998 |
| 4 |
Wichita State |
2017 |
| 3 |
Indiana State |
2011 |
| 2 |
Loyola |
2021 |
| 1 |
Missouri State |
1992 |
| 1 |
Drake |
2008 |
The Valley has had some awesome teams over the years, including a Wichita State squad that was once a No. 1 seed following an undefeated season. The Shockers won the MVC four times before heading to the AAC, but the team with the most conference tournament titles is Creighton. The Bluejays won a dozen MVC titles before leaving for the Big East, and no other school has claimed more than five championships.
Evansville is the only team in the MVC to have never won the conference tournament after Loyola’s incredible run in 2018. The Ramblers were the top team in the regular season before winning the MVC Tournament that season, and then they went on a magical run in the NCAA Tournament. Loyola nipped Miami (FL), Tennessee, and Nevada by a single bucket before hammering Kansas State in Atlanta to earn a trip to the Final Four.
Loyola is also the only team in the history of the Valley to win a national championship. The Ramblers won it all in 1963 as an independent, flattening Duke in the Final Four before edging Cincinnati in the title game.
Illinois State has made it to the MVC Championship Game six times since 2008, but the Redbirds failed to win any of those games. Two of those losses (2009 and 2012) came in overtime too, so it’s been an excruciating absence for the program.
Missouri Valley Tournament Championship Games
| YEAR |
WINNER |
RUNNER-UP |
VENUE |
| 2021 |
Loyola |
Drake |
Enterprise Center |
| 2020 |
Bradley |
Valparaiso |
Enterprise Center |
| 2019 |
Bradley |
Northern Iowa |
Enterprise Center |
| 2018 |
Loyola |
Illinois State |
Scottrade Center |
| 2017 |
Wichita State |
Illinois State |
Scottrade Center |
| 2016 |
Northern Iowa |
Evansville |
Scottrade Center |
| 2015 |
Northern Iowa |
Illinois State |
Scottrade Center |
| 2014 |
Wichita State |
Indiana State |
Scottrade Center |
| 2013 |
Creighton |
Wichita State |
Scottrade Center |
| 2012 |
Creighton |
Illinois State |
Scottrade Center |
| 2011 |
Indiana State |
Missouri State |
Scottrade Center |
| 2010 |
Northern Iowa |
Wichita State |
Scottrade Center |
| 2009 |
Northern Iowa |
Illinois State |
Scottrade Center |
| 2008 |
Drake |
Illinois State |
Scottrade Center |
| 2007 |
Creighton |
Southern Illinois |
Scottrade Center |
| 2006 |
Southern Illinois |
Bradley |
Scottrade Center |
| 2005 |
Creighton |
Missouri State |
Savvis Center |
| 2004 |
Northern Iowa |
Missouri State |
Savvis Center |
| 2003 |
Creighton |
Southern Illinois |
Savvis Center |
| 2002 |
Creighton |
Southern Illinois |
Savvis Center |
| 2001 |
Indiana State |
Bradley |
Savvis Center |
| 2000 |
Creighton |
Missouri State |
Kiel Center |
NCAA Basketball Conferences
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