When asked how excited his team is about the opportunity to play for an NCAA Tournament spot, Missouri State head coach Dana Ford put it perfectly.
“I think there are 10 teams that should be excited about that,” Ford said in his Arch Madness press conference Thursday afternoon. “I don’t think our guys are any different.”
He’s absolutely right — and there’s a strong chance the Missouri Valley Conference becomes a multiple-bid league for the first time in five years.
All 10 Missouri Valley Conference teams are in St. Louis for Arch Madness, which tips off Thursday night at 5 p.m. If last year was any indication, we could be in for a show this weekend.
ShanQuan Hemphill Ruled Out for Drake
MVC Coach of the Year Darian DeVries has not only exceeded expectations in his third season at Drake, but did so while dealing with some key injuries down the stretch.
One was senior guard Roman Penn, who’s out for the season with a broken foot. The other was junior big man ShanQuan “Tank” Hemphill, who also suffered a broken foot but hadn’t been ruled out for Arch Madness.
That is, until DeVries met the media Thursday.
“Tank met with the doctors yesterday and felt it was in his best interest to not play this weekend [and] give it a little more time,” DeVries said. “He is progressing well and excited about what that means for us as we move forward. He’ll continue to go day by day as we move forward here.”
This means the No. 2-seeded Bulldogs will again be down arguably the top point guard in the league and the 2021 league Newcomer of the Year. Drake is 2-1 without Penn and Hemphill in the starting lineup, including a loss to No. 8 seed Bradley Feb. 27 to wrap up the regular season.
The Bulldogs are set to play either No. 7 seed Northern Iowa or No. 10 seed Illinois State in Friday’s quarterfinal round.
Loyola Chicago’s Tournament to Lose?
BetMGM lists No. 20-ranked and No. 1-seeded Loyola Chicago as a -255 favorite to win Arch Madness.
That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering the Ramblers enter the weekend ranked No. 18 in the NET and still boast the nation’s top defense, to the tune of 55.7 points per game.
One of Loyola Chicago’s biggest strengths is its depth. Six Ramblers average between 7.0 and 7.9 points per game, and Moser’s seven-man rotation consists of “seven starters.”
That depth could be crucial to the Ramblers’ second Arch Madness title in four years.
That’s one of the things that we really talk about with our program: It isn’t one person,” Moser said. “We want to win, and I think the numbers are a byproduct of that. … I like our team, I think we’re deep and I think we’re unselfish, and I think that goes a long way in March.”
The Valley: A League of its Own
Of the 31 conferences in Division I, The Valley was the only one to get all 90 games in this season during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s quite an accomplishment and speaks to the protocols the league had in place.
“I really applaud the league … that was awesome,” said Valparaiso head coach Matt Lottich. “We’re walking through this building and there is no one here right now. It is different, but again, I do applaud the league and am excited to compete and really happy that we were able to get a year in when in a lot of ways, at times for us this year, it just didn’t look like it was gonna happen.”
The tournament kicks off with No. 8-seeded Bradley taking on No. 9-seeded Southern Illinois Thursday night at 5 p.m. before No. 7-seeded Northern Iowa takes on No. 10-seeded Illinois State at 8 p.m. The winners get dates with No. 1-seeded Loyola Chicago and No. 2-seeded Drake, respectively.
Southern Illinois enters as a 3-point favorite and Northern Iowa is favored by 6.5, according to the Action Network. You can watch Thursday’s games on the MVC TV Network and NBC Sports Chicago+.