The Missouri Valley always seems to produce an exciting conference tournament, and this year should be no exception. Northern Iowa finished at 15-3 in league play to win the regular season crown by three full games over Wichita State. The Cyclones once held out hopes for an at-large bid but will need to run the table to make the Big Dance. Some (including me) would say that Northern Iowa needs to win it as well, or at the very least advance to the title game. Their best wins are over Old Dominion and Siena, both of whom are in the bubble conversation as well. The Panthers will definitely be gunning for a tournament championship to avoid having to sweat things out on Selection Sunday. Here's a quick breakdown of some teams and players to watch as the MVC Tournament tips off in St. Louis on Thursday.
Schedule (All Times EST)
Thursday
Game 1: #8 Drake Bulldogs (13-18. 7-11) vs. #9 Southern Illinois Salukis (15-14, 6-12), 5:00 PM
Game 2: #7 Missouri State Bears (19-11, 8-10) vs. #10 Evansville Aces (9-20, 3-15), 7:30 PM
Friday
Game 3: #1 Northern Iowa Panthers (25-4, 15-3) vs. Winner of Game 1, 11:00 AM
Game 4: #4 Creighton Blue Jays (16-14, 10-8) vs. #5 Bradley Braves (15-14, 9-9), 1:30 PM
Game 5: #2 Wichita State Shockers (23-8, 12-6) vs. Winner of Game 2, 5:00 PM
Game 6: #3 Illinois State Redbirds (21-9, 11-7) vs. #6 Indiana State Sycamores (17-13, 9-9), 7:30 PM
Saturday
Game 7: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 12:30 PM
Game 8: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, 3:00 PM
Sunday
Championship: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 2:00 PM, CBS
Sleeper Team: Illinois State Redbirds
During the conference tournament season, there are always a few senior-laden teams who make a run to the Big Dance as their last hurrah. So with Wichita State struggling down the stretch and Northern Iowa at least looking vulnerable, I'll take a shot on the Redbirds as my sleeper. They struggled early on in conference play but won six straight before dropping the season finale at UNI by just six points. Illinois State is led by a trio of seniors all averaging in double figures, and all of whom still have a bitter taste in their mouth after losing to Northern Iowa in the tournament final last season and missing out on March Madness. The backcourt of Osiris Eldridge (15.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.4 spg) and Lloyd Phillips (10.4 ppg, 4.2 apg, 1.9 spg) is easily one of the Valley's best. I'll touch more on Eldridge in a few minutes, but Phillips may well hold the key to their success. He has been fairly inconistent this season, but if he can harness the prowess displayed in his 22-point, eight-assist game against Wichita State, the Redbirds will be a tough out. Inside, 6-foot-8 Dinma Odiakosa (13.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg) finished the regular season with 12 straight games in double figures. On the year, he had 11 double-doubles, and if he can stay out of foul trouble, he's talented enough to give opposing big men fits.
Potential Bust: Wichita State Shockers
Less than a month ago, the Shockers sat at 20-5 overall and 9-4 in the conference, and they were starting to garner consideration for a potential at-large bid. Then they dropped a game at last-place Evansville and the wheels started to fall off. In total, Wichita State lost three of their last six with all of the wins coming against the league's bottom dwellers, including a two-point home win over Missouri State and an OT victory over Evansville. Interestingly enough, they'll face one of those teams in the quarterfinals, and even if they emerge there, the aforementioned Redbirds would likely await in the semis. In contrast to Illinois State and even Northern Iowa, the Shockers have just one senior (Clevin Hannah) on their entire roster. Their recent struggles have coincided with a slump from second-leading scorer Toure' Murry, who has scored in single-digits in four of the last six.
Players to Watch:
Taylor Brown, F, Bradley Braves
The 6-foot-6 sophomore saw his playing time nearly triple this season, and he's certainly made the most of it by averaging 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in 25 games. Brown scored in double figures in 20 of those contests and also posted six double-doubles. He shot a respectable 47.8% from the field and saw his free throw percentage shoot up to 82.0%. However, some of that explosiveness has been overshadowed by his propensity to get suspended, with his most recent transgressions on Twitter leading to him missing the Bracket Buster game versus Drexel. In all, he's missed four games due to three separate violations. Brown has come off the bench the last two contests, and he scored a season-high 27 points in the season finale against Creighton. It's unclear whether he'll be re-inserted into the starting lineup for the MVC Tournament, but if the Braves make any noise in St. Louis (good or bad), it's a safe bet that Brown will be involved.
Jordan Eglseder, C, Northern Iowa Panthers
Obviously, the 7-foot center's size makes him a tough player not to watch, but there are other reasons to keep an eye on the top-seeded Panthers' senior post man. Eglseder missed three games toward the end of the season after being being arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. I'd argue that "sentence" was a little light, but it allowed him to return for the regular seaon finale where he scored 13 points in a win over Illinois State. With only one game after the suspension, it's not a large enough sample size for me to determine what kind of impact (if any) it had on him. The other interesting factor for me is his playing time. Due to his size, he averaged just 22.0 minutes this season, and the prospect of having to play three games in three days might make it tough on him to have an impact for long stretches. Still, he averaged 12.2 points and 7.5 boards during his somewhat limited playing time, so he can clearly affect the game even in shorter spurts.
Osiris Eldridge, G, Illinois State Redbirds
In addition to averaging 15.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists this season, Eldridge enters the MVC Tournament as its reigning Most Outstanding Player after receiving the honor in a losing effort last season. Overall, his scoring has risen since his junior campaign while his rebounding has seen a slight drop. Eldridge got off to a hot start, scoring at least 19 points in each of the first six contests and reaching double figures in 15 of the first 16 games. He then turned in four single-digit performances in early 2010 but finished strong with at least 12 points in the final five games. In addition to being a terrific scorer, Eldridge has the ability to affect the game at the defensive end, as evidenced by his 1.4 steals per game and his spot on the MVC All-Defensive Team last year. If the Redbirds are to make me look smart in my prediction of them above, Eldridge will need to have another solid tournament run.
Clevin Hannah, G, Wichita State Shockers
As the Shockers' leading scorer and assist man, Hannah must constantly walk the tightrope of getting his teammates involved and producing his own offense. How he does that during the conference tournament will go a long way toward salvaging a once-promising season for Wichita State. Despite averaging 12.2 points, Hannah has only scored in double figures in 18 of 28 games. Better than 56% of his field goal attempts come from beyond the arc, but luckily he makes 43.1% from deep. He enters the tournament just six of his last 18 from three-point land, and he'll need to heat up for the Shockers to advance in the tournament. Hannah has dished out at least five assists in 17 games this season, including the last five. The continuation of that streak would likely mean that Toure' Murry and J.T. Durley are making shots, which would be some much-needed good news for Wichita State after their late-season swoon.
Kenny Lawson Jr., C, Creighton Blue Jays
The 6-foot-9 junior post man is certainly entering the MVC Tournament with plenty of confidence. Over the last seven games, Lawson has averaged 16.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks while shooting 58.6% from the field and 87.5% from the line. Apparently, the Creighton coaching staff has also been stifling his long-range shooting, as he shot zero three-pointers in the first 25 games but is 3 of 5 from deep over the last five. Lawson has also posted three of his six double-doubles this season down the stretch. With P'Allen Stinnett suspended, Lawson has been asked to shoulder even more of the offensive load as the team's only player averaging double-digit points. He's responded well, and if the Blue Jays can knock off Bradley, he's also the kind of low post talent who could give Eglseder trouble down low.