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Bradley Earns MVC Regular-Season Men’s Basketball Title

For the first time since 1996, Bradley has earned the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball regular-season title. The Braves did it with a convincing 73-61 win against Drake in front of a sold out Carver Arena on the last day of the season.

Bradley has earned the Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball regular-season title in front of a sold out crowd.

02/27/2023 4:30 PM

Missouri Valley Conference Release: For the first time since 1996, Bradley has earned the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball regular-season title.  The Braves did it with a convincing 73-61 win against Drake in front of a sold out Carver Arena on the last day of the season.

The Drake-Bradley matchup featured two of the hottest teams in the nation.  Drake had won 10-straight games, and Bradley entered today’s contest with nine-straight wins.  The regular-season men’s basketball title marked the 7th for Bradley in its history.  The Braves enter the State Farm MVC Championship (March 2-5) as the league’s No. 1 seed with a 23-8 overall record and 16-4 league mark.  Drake fell to 15-5 in league play and 24-7 overall.  The Bulldogs earned the No. 2 seed.

For the first time in MVC history, five teams will enter Arch Madness with 20+ wins as Southern Illinois (22), Belmont (21), and Indiana State (20) join Bradley and Drake with 20-win campaigns prior to the tournament.  The previous league record for 20-win teams entering Arch Madness had been three.  

Also for the first time in league history, the league has 12 teams — all 12 will head to St. Louis this week.  The league champion will earn the MVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

2023 STATE FARM MVC TOURNAMENT
Enterprise Center  •  St. Louis, Missouri

THURSDAY, MARCH 2
12 pm — GAME 1 (#8 UNI vs. #9 Illinois State)
2:30 pm — GAME 2 (#5 Indiana State vs. #12 Evansville)    
6 pm — GAME 3 (#7 Murray State vs. #10 Valparaiso)
8:30 pm — GAME 4 (#6 Missouri State vs. #11 UIC)

FRIDAY, MARCH 3
12 pm — GAME 5 (#1 Bradley vs. Game 1 winner)
2:30 pm — GAME 6 (#4 Belmont vs. Game 2 winner)    
6 pm — GAME 7 (#2 Drake vs. Game 3 winner)
8:30 pm — GAME 8 (#3 Southern Illinois vs. Game 4 winner)

SATURDAY, MARCH 4
2:30 pm    GAME 9 (Game 5 & 6 winners)
5 pm    GAME 10 (Game 7 & 8 winners)

SUNDAY, MARCH 5
1 pm    MVC Championship Game

Against the Top 25
MVC teams are 2-2 vs. Top 25 non-conference teams this season and 3-5 against teams from Power leagues.  Drake beat No. 15 Mississippi State on Dec. 20, and Murray State knocked off No. 24 Texas A&M in the opening round of the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

Vs. Non-MVC
The league finished the regular season with a 74-55 record vs. non-league teams (.574).  That record includes an impressive 46-10 slate in home non-league games. MVC teams were 71-54 (.568) in non-league play in 2021-22.

Power Play
MVC teams combined for three wins against power conferences in 2022-23, but only had eight tries. During the last four seasons, the MVC has averaged 12.5 games a year against teams from power leagues.  In the six seasons prior (2013-14 through 2018-19), MVC teams averaged twice as many contests against teams from power leagues (25.0).

NCAA Success
Notably, the MVC has combined for 20 wins in the NCAA Tournament in the past nine NCAA championships and has earned multiple bids 17 times since 1994.  Since 2010, The Valley has had two Final Four appearances and 12 Sweet 16 appearances (by 7 different schools)

The Valley Runs Deep
From 2012-2019, MVC teams garnered 10-straight first-round wins in the NCAA Tournament.  Since 2012, the MVC is now 12-3 in first-round games, which includes wins in 8 of the past 10 tourneys.

Postseason Power Play
Additionally, since 1994, an MVC member has beaten the following teams from power conferences in the NCAA Tournament:  Alabama, Arizona, Cincinnati, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois (twice), Indiana, Kansas (three times), K-State, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh (twice), Seton Hall, Tennessee (four times), Texas, Texas Tech, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin.