Welcome to Arch Madness! Viewed as a transition year for the Missouri Valley Conference after Loyola-Chicago left and Isiaih Mosley left Missouri State, the Missouri Valley has been a lower conference this season. Belmont was a newcomer to the conference, which ideally alleviated some of the quality lost with the Loyola program, which ranks last in the Atlantic 10. However, this was a lower level of Belmont basketball compared to years previous ones, where they could have been a Cinderella in past tournaments. Still, the Bruins possess arguably the best offense in the conference. Instead, the Drake Bulldogs and Bradley Braves have been the class of the Missouri Valley for much of the year.
Missouri Valley will be a one-offer conference this season, so this should carry additional weight for the teams involved. Arch Madness sees the top four seeds (Bradley, Drake, Belmont, and Southern Illinois) receive first-round byes in their bracket.
The Favourite: Drake +155
Just barely edging out Bradley, Drake is the favorite to win Arch Madness this year and head to the NCAA Tournament. Backed by elite shooting and rim protection, the Bulldogs have a consistent guard game to knock out a 5th seed in March Madness this year. Tucker DeVries, whose father Darian is the head coach, is the star, and Garrett Sturtz is the best 6’3″ rebounder in the country and an underrated glue.
The contenders: Bradley +190, Southern Illinois +600, Indiana State +700
Lots of potential winners here. The top seed Bradley has two deft post presences in his Dutch forwards Mienk Rast and Malevy Leons. Additionally, they limit attacking attempts to the rim on defense, ultimately forcing opposing teams to make difficult shots.
Southern Illinois has made a living on the defensive end, putting in some impressive defensive performances against the top seeds in this league. Still, ultimately, his ineffective offense will likely end his season.
Indiana State is the only team mentioned here playing in the first round. They are the most balanced team offensively and defensively in the league. While they lack quality rim protection, they have enough length, size and shot to dominate the table at the Missouri Valley Tournament.
Betting: Indiana State +700
While I agree that the DeVries family is running the show for the best team, this tournament is wide open. Despite this, the level of play has been balanced among the best teams in the league. As a result, there is significant value in betting on sycamores this year. Although they lost two games to end the year, they have arguably been the hottest team in the Missouri Valley for the past month and a half. With one of their best players, Cam Henry, healthy and ready to play this week, expect Indiana State to make a run at Arch Madness.
All odds courtesy of BetOnline
