MVC: Arch Madness Day 1
The first day of Arch Madness has concluded. The results show we should check the rims in St. Louis.
The first day of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament has come to an end and we had to say goodbye to four teams:
Murray State
Illinois State
Valparaiso
Southern Illinois
It was an interesting day to say the least. One might think there was something wrong with the rims at the Enterprise Center with the way every game had struggles offensively. Let’s recap what all happened.
The Bears out race the Racers
Arch Madness is the most wonderful time of the year, for many of us, it’s like Christmas Day for children. There was a great slate in No. 8 Murray State vs No. 9 Murray State to kick off the festivities at 12pm CDT. However, if you watched this game, you may be able to receive compensation for your pain.
Missouri State was up 27-14 at halftime and would go on to win 60-35.
In the first half, neither team looked like they deserved to win. Murray State was 0-8 from three and shooting just 17.9% from the floor. Missouri State stepped up somewhat in the second half where they were led by Alston Mason’s 22 points.
For Murray, things just never got better. They started showing some life behind Quincy Anderson where they cut the lead to 12 at the 9:51 mark in the second half. Overall, Jacobi Woods led the way for the Racers with 12 of their 35 points.
I thought this was the worst basketball game I watched all year, but Pacific quickly took that title home after starting the game on a 0-26 run against Pepperdine. Pacific had just 9 points at half, so yeah, it can get worse.
It was an up-and-down season for Murray State. They showed at times they could compete in the Valley, then at other times they looked like they were lost. For Racer fans, I hope that Prohm can reload in the transfer portal and bring back winning basketball in Murray.
For Missouri State, the Bears had a date with Indiana State on Friday at 12pm CDT. It’ll be a tough match up for the Bears who lost a close one to Indiana State last time out, but regardless hopefully we don’t see a performance like today.
The Bruins put out the Beacons
It was all Bruins from the start in this one. Belmont was up 20 points within the first 5 minutes of the game, in which the lead grew to a whopping 39 points in the second half.
This was the cap of a rough season for Valpo who finishes with a 7-25 record. However, there is hope for the Beacons. Cooper Schweiger finished the year strong with a 13.2/5.3/1 average per game, which earned him the Missouri Valley Freshman of the year. This day and age, it’s hard to tell what these kids are going to do with the transfer portal being wide open and NIL money flowing, but I hope for Beacons fans that he stays another year. I think they can build something strong up in Valpo.
For Belmont, the Bruins are peaking at the right time. They’ve won 8 out of their last 9 games, Tyson, Dia, and Gillespie are all high-level players, and Brigham Rogers is starting to shine off the bench with back-to-back 13 point and 15 point performances in his last two games. This is a dangerous team that has the talent level to upset Indiana State shall they meet in the Semi-Finals. However, they first have to get through North Iowa on Friday at 2:30pm CDT.
The Bruins and Panthers split the season series, where Belmont won by 20 at home and Northern Iowa won by 10 at home. This is going to be the game to watch on Friday afternoon.
The Aces deal the final hand to Illinois State
Continuing the slow trend of the games on Thursday, it was a rough offensive showing for both Evansville and Illinois State in the first half. At one point, both teams were a combined 2-16 from three point with Evansville’s Gage Bobe holding both of those made three pointers.
Thanks to some sloppy ball handling by Evansville, Illinois State was able to cut the lead to just 4 going into half with a 25-21 deficit. The second half fortunately started off a lot better offensively for both teams. Illinois State never led the game, but it was back and forth as Evansville would attempt to stretch the lead, the Red Birds would pull it right back in.
For Evansville, the difference make was Ben Humrichous who picked up his first double-double of the season with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists, despite shooting just 4-16 from the field. For Illinois State, Myles Foster led the way with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Illinois State saw an up and down season, but their hot streak at the end of the season gave fans hope which saw them pick up the first AP Top 25 win in the Valley against #23 Indiana State, then wins against Evansville and Northern Iowa. With Myles Foster and Johnny Kinziger, there’s a lot to build off for next season.
This was Evansville’s first win in Arch Madness since 2017. After a rough stretch under three different coaches, it’s impressive what David Ragland has been able to build in just two years. After winning just 5 games last season, Evansville is now 16-16 on the season and has a date with Drake at 6pm CDT. They’ll be looking for revenge after Drake stunned the Aces on their home court in a 73-70 victory which ended in a half-court banked shot by Drake at the buzzer for the win.
The Flames dim the Dogs
Arch Madness went out with a bang last night as the best game of the day didn’t end till close to midnight central time. The UIC Flames led at halftime 41-27, while holding Xavier Johnson to just 7 points on 2-7 shooting. It was all Flames from the beginning in this one, with Ethan Pickett, Isaiah Rivera, and CJ Jones all stepping up.
The second half got interesting, with SIU clawing their way back into it and tying the game up at 49-49 at the 7:15 minute mark. Xavier Johnson took complete control of the game, ending the second half with 25 points. From that mark, it was a back and forth game for the remainder of the game. With 16 seconds left, Trent Brown missed a free throw that would have put the Salukis up 3 points. CJ Jones tied it up with a tough layup, leading the game to overtime.
The first overtime was no different, with a back and forth effort the whole time. Isaiah Rivera took over early with a quick 5 points to put the Flames up 68-63. Xavier Johnson fouled out at the 1:24 mark, but that didn’t stop Trent Brown and Troy D’Amico from stepping up with back-to-back three pointers to put the Salukis up 71-69. However, Rivera continued his clutch overtime performance with a hard drive to the rim with 3 seconds left to head to the free throw line and nail both free throws to tie it at 71-71. Double Overtime.
With no Xavier Johnson, it was an uphill climb for Southern Illinois. SIU climbed to a 74-73 lead and never recovered. Rivera led the way for the Flames with 8 points in the double overtime period.
UIC has been a sneaky team all season, they had a close loss to Indiana State, they lost in triple overtime to Drake just a week ago. Their record does not show the true talent of this team. Last night, Rivera had 28 points, Pickett had 18, and CJ Jones had 15. It was an outstanding performance and a program building win for this team.