(St. Lous, MO) – All three home teams won last night in Missouri Valley Conference action and the standings are getting more interesting. At this point in the season, teams not named Wichita State and Indiana State are fighting for seeding position in ‘Arch Madness’.
Some are fighting to stay out of the Thursday night ‘play-in’ game while others are striving for third place to avoid the powerful Shockers until the championship game in St. Louis.
So what happened Tuesday night? Suddenly unstoppable Anthony Beane Junior scored 27 points and Southern Illinois defeated Bradley 75-64. The Bradley loss means the Braves (11-17, 6-9) fell into the dreaded seventh slot in the standings and a Thursday night tip at Scottrade Center.
Beane has eclipsed the 20 point mark for the sixth straight game and the Salukis (11-17, 7-8) stay within one game of third place Illinois State.
The Redbirds (15-12, 8-7) were home court winners 67-63, over Missouri State (17-10, 7-8) and now stand alone in third place. Five Redbirds reached double figures in scoring, led by reigning ‘player of the week’ Daishon Knight’s 17. The Bears fell into a tie with SIU and Northern Iowa for 4th through 6th place, just one game ahead of Bradley.
Drake’s home win over Northern Iowa allowed the Bulldogs to at least dream of getting out of the Thursday night games. Drake (14-13, 5-10) trail that big pack of teams by two games with three to play. As we say often in the Valley, “anything is possible”! Drake defeated UNI 70-67 behind Richard Carter’s 19 points as they fought off a furious comeback by the Panthers (13-14, 7-8).
The biggest match up of the coming weekend related to these seeding battles is Sunday in Cedar Falls when Northern Iowa hosts Illinois State.
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Opening round of #ArchMadness is today. The only quarterfinal we know is @UIC_MBB v @RacersHoops tomorrow at 2:30. We look at their contrasting styles heading into the @MVCsports tournament. #FatherHarry
Don't look now, but @BustingBrackets tells us some of the hottest teams coming into #ArchMadness aren't the teams at the top of the bracket. @ValpoBasketball, @SIU_Basketball & @UNImbb shouldn't be overlooked. #FatherHarry
ICYMI: @BelmontMBB & @BradleyUMBB are two of the best at being committed to development and succeeding at the same time. #ArchMadness
Congrats to @RogerPowellJr, @CoachJonny_B & @NdotSmitty being named to the Ben Jobe Award finalist list. Well deserved!
