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Arch Madness is here, and the field is loaded.
The Missouri Valley Conference tournament — better known as Arch Madness — annually producing one of the most thrilling conference tournaments of the men’s college basketball slate. This year should be no exception.
Indiana State won the conference in the regular season behind breakout bespectacled big man Robbie Avila, who has taken the country by storm with his all-around skill set. The Sycamores went 26-5 overall and 17-3 in conference. They split the seasons series with Drake, who will be their biggest competition as the tournament’s No. 2 seed.
Drake has made the NCAA tournament in two of the last three years. Star wing Tucker DeVries is having his best season yet in his junior year, averaging career-highs in points (21.9 points per game), rebounds (6.9 per game), assists (3.5 per game), and steals (1.7 per game). DeVries does the heavy lifting on offense for the Bulldogs, posting a sky-high 31.8 percent usage rate with solid scoring efficiency of 57.3 percent true shooting.
Can another team make a Cinderella run to stun the conference? Bradley and Belmont are the two best bets to do it.
The Missouri Valley conference hasn’t gotten multiple bids to the men’s NCAA tournament since 2021. It’s happened five times since 2010. Can Indiana State and Drake both get in this year? Neither team wants to risk it. Just win Arch Madness, and you’re in. No pressure.
The 2024 Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball tournament is played in St. Louis, MO at the Enterprise Center. We’ll keep you updated with results in this post.
Arch Madness bracket 2024: Dates and times for MVC tournament
Arch Madness First round schedule, Thursday March 7
Game 1: No. 8 Murray State vs. No. 9 Missouri State, 12 p.m.
Game 2: No. 5 Belmont vs. No. 12 Valparaiso, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 7 Illinois State vs. No. 10 Evansville, 6 p.m.
Game 4: No. 6 Southern Illinois vs. No. 11 Illinois-Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals schedule, Friday March 8
Game 5: No. 1 Indiana State vs. Winner 1, 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 4 UNI vs. Winner 2, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 Drake vs. Winner 3, 6 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 Bradley vs. Winner 4, 8:30 p.m.
Arch Madness semifinals schedule, Saturday March 9
Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 7, 2:30 p.m.
Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 5 p.m.
Arch Madness championship game, Sunday March 10
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.
