Wichita State is the first team since 2004 to finish the regular season undefeated, and the Shockers are overwhelming favorites to come out on the other side of the Missouri Valley Tournament with their unblemished record intact. If another MVC team does manage to knock off Gregg Marshall’s squad during Arch Madness (the tournament is held in St. Louis, you see), it would represent one of the bigger conference tournament surprises in recent memory.
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament 2014: Can anyone take down Wichita State?
Unless a Missouri Valley underdog can knock off the Shockers, the MVC is likely to be a one-bid league.
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Wichita State is No. 6 in the latest KenPom rankings, and the next-highest ranked MVC teams are No. 95 Northern Iowa and No. 109 Indiana State. The way the tournament is seeded, at least one of those teams will be eliminated by the time they get to the Shockers. Missouri State came closer to upsetting WSU than any other team did, falling 72-69 in overtime on Jan. 11. The Bears would face Wichita State in the semifinals if they’re able to get past No. 5 seed Illinois State in round two.
If Wichita State wins, the Shockers would earn their first MVC automatic bid since 1987.
First round: Thursday, March 6 (MVC TV Network)
Game 1: No. 8 Drake Bulldogs vs. No. 9 Evansville Aces, 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 2: No. 7 Bradley Braves vs. No. 10 Loyola Ramblers, 9:35 p.m. ET
Quarterfinals: Friday, March 7 (MVC TV Network)
Game 3: No. 1 Wichita State Shockers vs. Game 1 winner, 1:05 p.m. ET
Game 4: No. 4 Missouri State Bears vs. No. 5 Illinois State Redbirds, 3:35 p.m. ET
Game 5: No. 2 Indiana State Sycamores vs. Game 2 winner, 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 6: No. 3 Northern Iowa Panthers vs. No. 6 Southern Illinois Sycamores, 9:35 p.m. ET
Semifinals: Saturday, March 8 (MVC TV Network)
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 2:35 p.m. ET
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5:05 p.m. ET
Final: Sunday, March 9 (CBS Sports)
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 2:05 p.m. ET
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