I did, as usual, write up my annual travelogue (Last Hurrah), but since two of the tournaments I normally attend will transform considerably - and not without controversy - I wanted to do a deep dive on why I do this every year.
What Makes Arch Madness Magical?
Now that the Missouri Valley has seen fit to change the format of the conference tournaments by (1) bringing the women's tournament (currently known as Hoops In The Heartland) to the Enterprise Center and moving it up a week to combine it with the men's tournament, (2) excluding the 11th place team in both brackets, and most importantly (3) giving the top two teams in each bracket a bye to the semifinals, I'd like to explore the question of what makes Arch Madness in its 2026-and-before form so special.
It was the third change above that seemed to generate the most negative reaction among MVC fans, which suggests that these fans think the magic is in the standard, conventional bracket where some teams escape playing on Thursday - because the math requires it - but the only way to play in the semifinals is by winning in the quarterfinals. In other words, the 1 seed has to beat either the 8 or the 9 seed in order to play in the semifinals.
To be clear, I also think that it is bad form to give the 1 and 2 seeds a bye all the way to the semifinals. But my question is: is that the sole reason Arch Madness is magical? Is the new setup not magical in any way? I ask because I saw some comments to the effect that some have no intention of attending the tournament unless their team makes it to Sunday (or perhaps it was Saturday).
Apparently, there are some fans who will only think seriously about coming to the tournament if their team plays on Friday on a level field with everyone else, so they have to win the same number of games to reach Sunday as everyone else has to. In other words, a complete lack of favoritism in the bracket from Friday on is the inducement needed to get them to commit to coming to the tournament.
What I wonder is: how many fans come to Arch Madness to see the whole tournament, not just their own team? To be fair, not everyone is free to just automatically commit to the whole tournament. Coming at all represents a sacrifice of some sort, and they will make the sacrifice only if they think it is worth it. At the same time, this has often been an issue even with the traditional bracket at a neutral venue. There have always been fans who come only to games their team is playing in. This new bracket doesn't seem to change anything for those fans.
Of the fans who will refuse to come unless their team makes it to the semifinals or title game because of the new bracket, how many of them have ever attended all or almost all of the games at Arch Madness in the past? What percentage of the entire attendance for the event will that be? These are questions that fascinate me.
If you are like me, and you're lucky enough to not be encumbered by outside obligations, would you still scale back your attendance as a form of protest against the new bracket? I would not, but I can't speak for anyone else and how they should look at it. I anticipate still taking in the entire event in 2027 (with the possible exception of attending a send-off rally for my team). I don't like the 1 and 2 seeds getting a double bye, but I still look forward to gathering with a decent group of Valpo fans as I have in past years, and being able to see both women's and men's tournament game during the same week at the same venue.
There is more than one way to enjoy a tournament. Purely as an MVC fan, my favorite Arch Madness game remains a quarterfinal game from 2023 between Belmont and Indiana State. That game was magical to me, a Valpo fan.
What was magical about Arch Madness 2026?
I had more fun this year than in previous years interacting with fans from other teams. I was able to break the ice with some Bradley fans, who all made me feel respected as a Valpo fan. I was able to parlay with a couple of Bradley fans on Thursday night over that tense semifinal battle we had in 2025. And after an even more tense double OT quarterfinal this year, a couple of Bradley fans stopped me in the concourse and engaged me in a wonderful, fun conversation for at least a half hour (or at least it seemed that long). I felt like both myself and Valpo were respected on equal footing (and that has not always been my impression in the past). Needless to say, this year's Arch Madness was magical to me, and the magic for me had little to do with the structure of the bracket.
Part of the magic, no doubt, resulted from the increasingly good vibes around the Valpo fan base, more of whom showed up this year than in previous years - to say nothing of the team's performance in the tournament, of course. The Beacons were a few degrees horizontally in either direction (a half court buzzer beater at the Ford Center) from earning a 5 seed, which would have been unprecedented.
Obviously Drake fans loved seeing their team make it all the way to the semifinals. As a Valpo fan, I remember what that felt like in 2025. Of course, if we had been using the new bracket in 2026, Belmont and Bradley would have gotten double byes, Evansville would have been excluded, and Illinois State, Murray State, and UIC would have been playing in the opening round instead of getting byes. Drake would have faced Murray State instead of Belmont, and might have lost. But even if they had won, it probably would not have been as magical a game for them and their fans. They would have had to make it to Saturday to get their chance at Belmont (being the 9 seed puts them in line to play the 1 seed in the semifinals).
This won't affect someone like me, but there may well be some Drake fans who wouldn't be willing to show up until their Bulldogs make it to Saturday. From the conference's point of view, the only operative question is: what is the MVC going to do to convince those fans to show up earlier than Saturday? The onus is on the conference, and one possible conclusion is to not switch to a lopsided bracket in the first place. In 2017, the Horizon league did two colocated tournaments in 5 consecutive days at Joe Louis Arena with both tournaments using traditional brackets. It makes sense: no matter how you slice it, a total of 18 games are needed to end up with a men's champion and a women's champion. I believe the stated reason for the double-bye bracket is basically the same rationale used by the Horizon League after 2002 - increasing the chance of doing damage in March Madness.
Magic is possible, no matter what bracket is used. It just depends on where you find your magic, I guess. From the standpoint of MVC fans, it seems to me the operative question should be: am I going to see more magic or less? Is magic defined by the upset factor only? Or do you look for magic in well-played games in which the two teams are going at each other like a couple of heavyweight boxers going the full 15 rounds? Does that mean precision offense, a clean game, breathtaking 3 point shooting (Belmont - Indiana State, 2023) or a bloody, physical game that goes to double overtime (Valpo - Bradley, 2026). There have been games I have experienced where my attention was so completely captured that the outside world disappeared for a couple of hours, and only one of them involved two teams with a huge separation in seed numbers. In 1997, I was spell bound for two hours watching (on TV) Arizona beat Kentucky in overtime for the national title. In 2005, #7 Oakland University knocked off #1 Oral Roberts in the Mid-Con title game, and I and another Valpo fan sat there in attendance mesmerized - hypnotized even - for the whole game. It wasn't necessarily a well-played game, but it was the opposite of boring. We were on pins and needles - and Valpo had been eliminated in the opening round.
It will be far from impossible to find magic in Arch Madness in 2027. Some fans may even discover the MVC women can play some exciting tournament basketball as well. And, of course, much fun can be had interacting with fans of other teams, as I mentioned above. In 2026, had we used the new bracket, Valpo's first game would have been against UNI. That would have been interesting. The winner would have probably played Illinois State in the 2nd round for the right to take on Bradley in the semifinals (though Indiana State might have given the Redbirds a run for their money and scored the upset, of course). I wonder who would have won Drake-Murray State or SIU-UIC? And maybe the fan interactions I experienced would have been different. But it wouldn't have killed the magic, just changed it.
I'm going to skip Hoops In The Heartland because for me anyway, there has never really been anything especially magical about the MVC Women's tournament, and now this tournament will be folded into Arch Madness starting in 2027. I don't think that tournament has ever been boring. There are at least a handful of teams who put on a good show every year. But I mostly am by myself and the extracurricular entertainment is nothing special.
What is magical about the Horizon League tournament?
The main thing that is great about the HL tournament is the halftime entertainment. There's the professional Simon Says guy. There's the Pacers dunk fest tumbling team. There's the frisbee catching dog. These are always fun.
For me, getting to say hi to some friends I still keep in touch with is always special, including a few from Green Bay who I sit with every year. I am also privileged to know a couple of guys from The HoriZone Roundtable, which covers HL basketball better that most of the traditional media in the Horizon League's so-called "Major Cities". And if Oakland makes it to the semifinals, I try not to miss a chance to say hi to my friend Greg Kampe (their head coach). This is what makes it magical for me. My Green Bay friends have been going to their team's conference tournament every year going back to the 1990s, so they have been doing this even longer than I have.
Mind you, the HL has an even weirder - if more traditional - bracket than what the MVC will use in 2027. The event starts on a Tuesday night, with the 10 seed hosting the 11 seed in a play-in game. Then on Thursday night, #1 hosts the play-in winner, #2 hosts #9, #3 hosts #8, #4 hosts #7, and #5 hosts #6. The winners of those games head to the neutral site (Indianapolis in 2026, Noblesville - on the outskirts of Indianapolis - starting in 2027). The five remaining teams are reseeded, with #4 playing #5 in a semi-final play-in game on Sunday, and the winner of that game plays #1 on Monday, while #2 plays #3. The semi-final winners play for the title on Tuesday. Both men and women use the same bracket and meet up at the same neutral site with their final 5. I have to say, the MVC has a great track record in consistency compared to the wishy-washy HL, which has changed its format at least a half-dozen times since Valpo joined in 2007.
For me, the magic is in my familiarity with the teams and the friends I made from 2007-2017. But the tournament itself - the games I mean? How about this: teams that in the recent past have been perennial doormats have seriously contended for the title. Robert Morris joined in 2021, and struggled to compete, but in 2025 they won the tournament, after winning the regular season title. This year they were the 2 seed. Youngstown State has been a doormat for a long time in the Horizon League. They are the team RMU beat in the 2025 title game. That was their first conference championship game since 1998 when they got blown out by Valpo in the Mid-Con title game. They've only made the semifinals once or twice since them (their last semifinal loss was in 2023, and their coach at the time succeeded at Utah State and now coaches the UC Bearcats in the Big 12 starting in the 2026-2027 season). If Green Bay makes it to the semifinals, Doug Gottlieb might be worth the price of admission all by himself. Detroit Mercy has been a disaster since the Ray McCallum era, but this year they made it all the way to the championship game and almost prevailed. And I'm probably just getting started. The conference is not top-heavy any more. There are no bottom feeders.
Meanwhile, in 2022, Wright State handled Bryant in the First Four pretty easily. In 2023, NKU gave 1 seed Houston nightmares before finally succumbing. In 2024, Greg Kampe's Oakland Golden Grizzlies toppled Kentucky and almost took down ACC darling NC State. In 2025 Robert Morris led Alabama late in the 2nd half before losing. Last year, Wright State led Virginia by 5 at the half, trailed by 4 mid-way through the 2nd half, and ended up losing by 9. The Horizon League is once again not a pushover in March Madness, no matter who gets the auto-bid.
So, to sum up, the magic in the HL tournament has consisted of parity, halftime entertainment, and good friends.
What is special about the First Four?
Let me count the ways it is special, perhaps even magical. Here too, a major change will be implemented starting in 2027. But through 2026, the play-in round has been completely hosted by the University of Dayton Arena.
There is some sentiment out there that the NCAA Tournament actually starts on Thursday with the round of 64, and that these 4 games in Dayton on Tuesday and Wednesday are beneath us. I want to state at the outset that I fundamentally disagree with such sentiments. No one is required, of course, to pay attention to the play-in round, but for those of us that do, these games absolutely are part of the tournament. That, as the kids like to say, is a hill I'll die on.
Anyway, I have now been to 10 First Fours (2015-2019, 2022-2026), and I can say the following:
Every year, without fail, UD Arena is at least about 3/4ths full, and a significant (though not major) portion are UD fans. It is true that in 2015 Dayton was one of the last four in and was part of the First Four so they got a home game in the tournament, but in all other years, I still saw bunches of UD fans at the event every other year I was there (when Dayton was not in the First Four).
The hotels in the area roll out the red carpet for the 8 teams coming in. A couple of times I've stayed in hotels which hosted two of the teams. I've seen the welcome when the team bus rolls up. I've seen the hallways and elevators plastered with framed highlights of each team's season.
Monday evening and Tuesday early afternoon, open practice is held and everyone is invited to attend for free. One year, the local news channel sent reporters and photographers to do a feature story for the nightly news.
There's at least one great (admittedly a bit pricey) restaurant on or near the campus that is really popular during the First Four and among First Four fans. I and some friends make it a point to go at least once each year.
Even if not every fan is on board with it, the First Four is treated like the beginning of the tournament in several important ways:
The NCAA tournament logos are everywhere on the court.
The official tournament program and official tournament merchandise (including the standard "Road to the Final Four" T-shirts) art sold at the event. The program covers the entire tournament and is the exact same one sold at every other tournament site all the way to the Final Four.
The broadcast (although shown on TruTV) is literally the same as the broadcast at every other site. The announces are the same ones who do pbp in the other rounds. Except for 2026, halftime included a snippet of the halftime show from the broadcast being shown on the jumbotron at the arena. It's the same halftime show involving the same people who man tournament HQ throughout the tournament.
During timeouts and halftimes, the scoreboard runs the same NCAA Tournament promos, trivia quizzes, contests, and ads as in every other round.
The 8 teams that play there are announced on Selection Sunday along with the other 60 as one group, known as the field of 68.
In short, every NCAA official and every media outlet involved in the First Four treats it like it is the beginning of the tournament.
In addition, if you've been to a 1st or 2nd round site, you would notice the same crowded concourses at the First Four that you experience at those other sites.
Needless to say, the University of Dayton and the Dayton community do an outstanding job of putting on this event every year. Certainly the at-large teams bring a significant amount of fans, and sometimes the autobids do as well. But the Dayton community itself attends this event. I can only assume they do because they love basketball more than anything and love the tournament and that they get to host 4 games.
Oh, and a story from this year: I sat next to a UD fan on Tuesday night who told me about why Dayton was playing their first round NIT game in Peoria at Bradley even though the Flyers were the higher seed. 7 years ago, they would have just rescheduled the game at UD arena for Thursday night after the First Four was over. However, in 2021, when the NCAA saw fit to move the First Four to the state of Indiana, the city of Dayton scrambled to fill the void, and the OHSAA reached out to ask if their boys high school basketball tournament could be held at UD arena during the time when the NCAA tournament was conducting it's first and second rounds. Of course UD Arena enthusiastically embraced the opportunity. Apparently the event was so successful that the OHSAA signed a 7-year contract to continue the event. So, the normal reschedule option wasn't available this year, and Dayton was forced to play a road game which they were supposed to host. Again, an avid UD fan tells me this as we're sitting together in UD Arena watching the First Four. He was not on the road to Peoria to follow his Flyers. He was enjoying the First Four.
What will the Play-in round look like in 2027?
Next year, the field is expanding to 76, and the play-in round is expanding to 24 teams, with 12 being sent to Dayton and 12 being sent to Wichita, Kansas. All we know is that there will be 3 games at each site on Tuesday and 3 games at each site on Wednesday. We don't know if each night will be a single session, running continuously - which would alter typical plans to have dinner somewhere before the games - or if there will be one early afternoon game and two evening games with plenty of time in between sessions for dinner (concession stands are not exactly rife with quality dinner menus). Or maybe it will be some schedule I haven't thought of.
I will be interested to see if the Wichita community truly can put on as good an event as Dayton does, and whether the Wichita and Shockers communities will be as supportive as the Dayton and UD communities have been.
I'm also not sure what the breakdown of at-large teams and autobid teams will be starting next year, and when the start times will be for each play-in game. All I do know is that the Dayton officials who are in charge of putting on the event every year have stated that they are confident they will be able to continue their fine tradition in 2027 with 2 extra games to support. I personally am willing to take the chance that the event in Dayton next year will be just as magical as it has always been.
In conclusion
Even though things are changing for possibly questionable reasons, I think it is an exaggeration to say that Arch Madness or the NCAA Tournament has been ruined. I wasn't clamoring for these changes either. The traditional MVC bracket was just fine with me, and I was fine with 68 teams in the NCAA tournament. Solutions "in search of problems" always opens us up to making things worse rather than better. Or as the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." People deserve a chance to be convinced the "problem" being solved is real.
At the same time, I still think it will be possible to find true March magic and madness in 2027 and beyond.
I consumed most of this game by listening to Luke Martin call the game while waiting in the hotel for the Beacons to attend their send-off and eating a makeshift dinner.
Got to the arena midway through the second half and watched Drake break a long losing streak against a team that came in on a 4 game winning streak. Most of Drake's nine straight losses were hard fought games where they had a late lead or tie but couldn't finish. It was not that surprising to me that they finally got a win. Also, SIU has been snake-bitten this year for some reason.
Early evening: #10 Indiana State Sycamores 62 vs. #7 Valparaiso Beacons 63
Valpo led for a grand total of 2 minutes and 1 second in this game. Indiana State got so many easy layups because Valpo was trying to defend the 3 point line. ISU's offense is very difficult to defend because they run it so well. Meanwhile, Valpo could not seem to get much going in the paint and relied on 3s to stay with the Trees. It took a Chaney 3 at the buzzer to avoid going to halftime with a double-digit deficit.
On the other hand, Valpo did draw a bunch of fouls in the paint, which continued their conference play in 2026 of leading the value in FTR (via kenpom) of 40.1 (FTA*100/FGA). ISU did not go the line once in the first half. Valpo did go several times, though they still missed too many for their standards this season.
In the end, this was a typical Valpo-Indiana State game. Valpo's 3 wins were by a total of 6 pts.
The Sycamores led 62-55 (with 4+ minutes to go!!) and Valpo scored the last 8 points of the game.
Late evening: #11 Evansville Purple Aces 59 vs. #6 Northern Iowa Panthers 68
We sat behind 4 Bradley fans who had several page of prop bets they were tracking either for this game or for the tournament. Indeed, over 100 prop bets covering games 2 and 3 today.
We ended up having some fun talking with them. The game started out lopsided, but Evansville stormed back. AJ Casey drained a 3 at the halftime buzzer to put the Aces up 36-35.
Looking back, this has to be UNI's toughest game of the entire tournament. They had their hands full with the Purple Aces the whole game.
Friday
Early afternoon: #9 Drake Bulldogs 100 vs. #1 Belmont Bruins 79
You know it's a Belmont game when the first offensive set is Tyler Lundblade coming across a high ball screen, receiving a perfect pass and draining a 3 as casually as you and I draw oxygen. Of course he proceeded to miss his next 3....
Meanwhile, Jalen Quinn continued to be a force on the court. He and Owen Larsen kept Drake neck and neck with Belmont. The Bulldogs also got a few easy layups through the back door.
[It wasn't until the under 12 media timeout that I noticed all the rugrats in the end zone seats]
At the 8 minute media timeout, the fouls were Drake 7 Belmont 1.
It was strange to see Drake flipping the switch after losing 9 straight to end the regular season.
Halftime: Drake 48, Belmont 41
Drake played them tight in Des Moines, losing 78-76, and the game in Nashville was a high scoring affair with the Bruins winning 103-90.
But I am confused as to how Belmont was losing and how Drake was looking nothing like they did in the regular season. How are the Bulldogs so good in Arch Madness and so bad in the regular season (6-14)?
Under 8 media timeout, Drake is up by 18, and I am at a loss for words. This is bizzaro world.
With 3 minutes to go, Drake achieved a statistically safe lead. I am reminded they did the same thing 6 years ago to #1 UNI.
Late afternoon: #5 UIC Flames 92 vs. #4 Murray State Racers 79
First true oddity of Arch Madness: Momoh of UIC flipped one up at the rim as he was fouled and the ball just laid resting on the back of the rim.
This blowout I saw coming. Murray State really struggled down the stretch. They started the conference season 8-0, and went 4-8 the rest of the way. At times they looked undisciplined during that stretch, and when this game started getting away from them, those tendencies came out. I listened to Jeff Bidwell do play-by-play for one final time before he transitions to full-time attention to his new job, and I could tell how sad he was to see their run end before it could start. I suspect he was not really shocked. I also felt sorry for Murray State fans who probably were so pumped about the season at one point.
Early evening: #7 Valparaiso Beacons 84 vs. #2 Bradley Braves 90, 2OT
This game sticks out like a sore thumb because it went to 2 overtimes while the other 3 games were blowouts. Valpo-Bradley was the opposite extreme. The MarchToTheArch podcast reported in their Arch Madness review episode that as the game wore on, UNI and Illinois State fans started rooting for Valpo, so that the rooting was evenly distributed throughout the Enterprise Center.
6 years ago, Valpo ran out of gas midway through the second half, which probably led to Valpo's 14 point loss to Bradley. Last year, Darius got crunched late in the game, which may or may not have led to Valpo's 5 pt. loss to Bradley in regulation. This year, Rakim Chaney got a concussion, Shon Tupuola lost a tooth, Owen Dease cramped up, and all of that may or may not have led to Valpo's loss by 6 to Bradley - in double overtime.
Baby steps...
After the game, I started walking around the concourse and was stopped by a couple of Bradley fans who wanted to commend Valpo's performance. Had such a great conversation that I missed the start of the Illinois State vs. UNI game.
Suddenly the total lack of respect from a couple of UNI fans on Twitter no longer bothers me.
Late evening: #6 Northern Iowa Panthers 74 vs. #3 Illinois State Redbirds 52
I think I made it back to my seat before halftime. During my conversation and walking the concourse, I noticed that UNI maintained a lead and seemed to be dominating play even if they weren't leading by a ton. In the second half, the Panthers gradually lengthened their lead until the Redbirds were struggling to stay with 12 or 13, then after the final media timeout the lead stretched to 20 and the game was over.
Saturday
Afternoon: #9 Drake Bulldogs 51 vs. #5 UIC Flames 72
If Drake had won this game, my plan was to leave bright and early Sunday morning to catch the two semifinal play-in games in Indy because I've had my fill of Drake in the title game, and to be honest, I've had my fill of Northern Iowa and Bradley as well. Fortunately, UIC easily prevailed.
Actually, it took them the better part of the game to put Drake away. UIC led almost the entire game and pretty much kept Drake at bay, but around the 6 minute mark, the Flames finally achieved comfortable separation. Jalen Quinn was still impressive, but against UIC he was simply not enough. In the final minutes, Drake just ran out of gas. So, I came back for the title game after all.
Still waiting to hear the Avengers theme song from the UNI band this weekend, but during a timeout in the midst of Bradley's furious comeback, their band gave me Blitzkrieg Bop (Spiderman: Homecoming).
UNI's path to the title game was somewhat reminiscent of Valpo's run in 2020 (both highest seed playing on Thursday). Question: How do the Panthers keep hitting every shot???? Their roughest game was against Evansville on Thursday. That struggle was never to be seen again in St. Louis. And how are they making it seem so easy? Well, in 2020, Valpo was not 100% healthy. John Kaiser played the whole tournament with a bum foot. Javon Freeman Liberty was still recovering from pneumonia. There may have been one or two others who were toughing it out. I spotted no such limitations among the UNI Panthers this year.
Meanwhile, Bradley was pushed to the limit on Friday, while UNI had an easy time against Illinois State. In 2020, Valpo went to overtime to beat Loyola after staging a huge 2nd half comeback with a full court press, and did pretty much the same thing the following night to get past Missouri State.
Bradley did storm back in the 2nd half and UNI started missing more, so perhaps this was the game when the Panthers felt some fatigue. But like Valpo in 2020, they had enough in the tank. Well, just barely. In the final minutes, play got very ragged. UNI kept turning it over, leaving the door open for Bradley to complete the comeback, and Bradley kept fumbling their opportunities.
Sunday
#6 Northern Iowa Panthers 84 vs. #5 UIC Flames 69
I got off the Metrolink at the Enterprise Center and walked with a very young couple who were UNI fans. Most likely they came down on Sunday. They asked me how Valpo did in the tournament. I said, "Valpo lost to Bradley in double OT Friday, and YOU'RE WELCOME!!!" They laughed.
Glory Hallelujah! I finally got my Avengers theme song from the UNI band - well a snippet of it during a 2nd half media timeout. It's the least they can do after becoming the first team to win 4 games in 4 days at Arch Madness.
Horizon League Tournament
Crazy detour through Illinois. I-70 closed just as I got to Effingham. I didn't make it back to 70 until I was near the Indiana border. In between I must have used half dozen state/county roads (some of which were gravel).
While I toured the Illinois countryside, I listened to the NKU-Green Bay men's play-in game (the women's game coincided with the Arch Madness title game), and I was surprised at how the Norse completely dominated the Phoenix. I was also sad for my Green Bay friend who I know was there watching and had to take in such a one-sided game that meant the end of the road for his team.
I had seen this before, but had forgotten: when you're at the game and someone scores, you can then look up at the scoreboard and watch the score change.
Except at Corteva Coliseum. By the time you look up, the score has already changed. The scoreboard operators here are lightning fast, or else the scoreboard is extremely simple to operate.
Monday women's semifinals
(5) Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons vs. (1) Green Bay Phoenix
My friend loved this game for obvious reasons. I was kinda hoping the Mastodons would find a way to win because they've been surging in recent years and because Green Bay is the gold standard in the Horizon League, and I have a tendency to find that boring.
(3) Cleveland State Vikings vs. (2) Youngstown State Penguins
Weirdest play I saw so far. Halfway through the 4th quarter, with a 4 point lead and the ball, Cleveland State was in danger of a shot clock violation. One of their guards literally threw the ball at the basket just in time. Result: a fortuitous wedgie, because the Vikings had the possession arrow.
Shot taken with 1-2 seconds left on shot clock
Wedgie achieved
Saved by the possession arrow! Note: ESPN score bug had been slow to recognize which team had the arrow.
Later in that same quarter came a rarely seen play: Viking defender ran over a Penguin screener just as her teammate drained a 3, and they decided to count the 3-pointer and assess the foul, which gave YSU another possession. They ended up splitting FTs after a foul - though at first the Vikings got a steal, only to cough it up back to the Penguins. So it was a rather unconventional 4-pt play (only because the 3-pt shooter wasn't the one fouled). This also was a crucial turning point in the game. CSU had led for most of the 2nd half, and only trailed by 1 before this play. It did not lead to YSU pulling away - the Vikings actually fought back to take a 1 point lead with about 35 seconds to go, but YSU countered with a wide open 3 by one of their hot shooters, and that ultimately sealed CSU's fate.
This was a much more entertaining game, and it was YSU's first HLWBB semifinal win ever, and set up a possibly exciting championship game with Green Bay.
The interlude between sessions is always spent at the Valeo Fanzone across from the entrance to Corteva Coliseum. They have big screen projectors set up with the ability to select games to show. This year they also decided to go to the YouTube March Madness channel and play the Oakland-Kentucky game from 2024. Always fun to see Jack Gohlke torch Kentucky for 10 3s.
Monday men's semifinals
(7) Northern Kentucky Norse vs. (1) Wright State Raiders
As of the under 8 media timeout in the first half, this is looking like it will go down to the wire. It has been tight so far, and there have been many very athletic play by both teams.
Halftime featured Simon Says guy. This year he had to ask for a better microphone. Otherwise it was pretty much the same show as last year.
It took most of the game, but Wright State finally pulled away and won by 13. For 30 minutes, it was a pretty exciting game.
(3) Detroit Mercy Titans vs. (2) Robert Morris Colonials
After winning the regular season title and the conference tournament title last season, Andy Toole had to rebuild around 1 returner (Valpo fans should find this familiar). So, they did that and finished second this season. RMU has finally figured out how to compete in the Horizon League, portal be damned.
This game was extremely exciting. Detroit Mercy started to pull away halfway through the second half, but this time it still went down to the wire, but the Titans held on to win. For the first time since 2012, they make it to the Horizon League championship game.
Tuesday
Women's title game: (2) Youngstown State Penguins vs. (1) Green Bay Phoenix
Like an idiot, I waited until halftime to scrounge a chocolate chip cookie from one of the concession stands, forgetting that the place is crawling with elementary school children, LOL.
This was a very fun, exciting game. I thought it was well played. Green Bay finally started pulling away with about 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. Crucial was a negated turnover on the Green Bay end.
YSU stole the ball in the post
But the ball was loose and lodged in between the legs of a YSU player
As she reached down to extricate the ball from between her legs, the ref on the baseline called a kick ball violation
Sarah Baker can't believe it
Neither can Melissa Jackson, her coach
The Phoenix promptly drained a 3 on the ensuing out of bounds play to extend their lead to 4. The Penguins never completely recovered after that.
In between, my Green Bay friend and I ate lunch at our usual spot, The Ale Emporium, where they serve Diet Mt. Dew! Of course we stayed for the championship ceremonies so my friend could gets some pictures. Speaking of pictures, before we headed off to dinner, we took this picture with the National Championship trophy:
Men's title game: (3) Detroit Mercy Titans vs. (1) Wright State Raiders
This game started weirdly enough. The Titans won the tip, but the recipient caught the ball just barely in the front court and casually flipped the ball back to his teammate who had not yet crossed the timeline. Oops!
This game was also fun and exciting. Really the only boring game I witnessed was the first Women's semifinal where Green Bay blasted Purdue Fort Wayne.
The difference in this game is that after a tight first half, Detroit Mercy built up an 11-point lead on the Raiders in the early part of the 2nd half. Then the Raiders stormed back and took a 6 point lead with less than 2 minutes to go, but amazingly enough, the Titans had a shot to tie with a few seconds left. Lovejoy found an open path to the basket and went up for a layup, but Kellen Pickett (a freshman!) met him at the hoop and blocked his shot without fouling. The Raiders held on for a 3 point win (after splitting a pair of free throws after a Detroit Mercy foul).
This is goodbye to Corteva Coliseum, because next year the neutral site portion will be held in Noblesville (a suburb of Indianapolis) in a newer arena where the Pacers G-League team plays.
On Wednesday, I went from 70s and rain in Indy to just above freezing in Corralville.
Thursday
I noticed a walkway that ran from my hotel to Xtream Arena that snaked under the I-80 ramps and over the highway, which is cool, so I gave it a try. It .9 miles one way and took a half hour to walk. I left an hour before game time, so I got there in plenty of time.
I asked one of the event staff why some random seats were colored yellow in Xtream Arena:
The answer I got was basically "Just to be different! No special significance."
Afternoon: (9) Indiana State Sycamores vs. (8) Southern Illinois Salukis
The Lady Salukis suffered the same fate as their manly counterparts - losing to the 9 seed. The Trees built a 9 point lead at the half, and extended it out to 11 at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, and I worried that this was going to be a blowout. Indiana State drew several charging fouls and just looked better. But then in the 3rd quarter, SIU found something and cut the lead to 3 after a successful appeal of an out-of-bounds call. They began the 4th quarter with the ball, but then lost a tie-up before they could get a shot, and the Trees reasserted themselves and put the game away in the final seconds.
Early evening: (10) Evansville Purple Aces vs. (7) UIC Flames
A lot more Evansville fans behind their bench than the Sycamores had. All during the second half, the UIC coach was complaining very demonstrably to the refs (Ron Hunter would be proud). At one point, the Aces fans started yelling at her to get off the court.
Except for a short stretch in the first half, this game was anybody's game until the final minute when Evansville built a 5 point lead and held UIC at bay, but the game always felt like the Aces were in control the whole way.
Late evening: (11) Valparaiso Beacons vs. (6) Drake Bulldogs
That's me in yellow T-shirt and Brown Valpo hat, 2nd from the right.
I was gifted a courtside ticket for this game and got to sit with coach Boyd's family just a few feet from the action. It has its drawbacks visibility wise, but all in all it was fun. Valpo actually led by a point at the end of the 1st quarter, but from then on - as often happened this season - they steadily fell further and further behind. Coach Boyd said during the post game that it was a typical issue this year - "We execute the game plan in the first quarter, and then forget the plan after that." It could just be that they struggled to deal with the opponent's adjustments.
Friday
Early afternoon: (9) Indiana State Sycamores vs. (1) Murray State Racers
I decided to risk missing the first part of this game and grab lunch at a nearby Subway. Then I drove to the arena to see if I could figure out parking. Event parking is on the opposite corner of the block, but I didn’t see an event price, just a per hour price. It seemed like it would be a long walk, so I just drove back to my hotel. I had to pee so I ducked into my room. When I emerged from my room, the Bradley send-off had completely taken over the lobby. I had a bit of trouble finding another exit, but eventually I did.
Once inside the arena I asked one of the event staff where the fan parking was, and he confirmed what I discovered. I asked how much it was, and he said I should have been presented the option to purchase a parking pass for the tournament that would have allowed me to park without paying each time.
This game was in the middle of the 3rd quarter and the Racers were leading the Trees by 25 or so. I sat down in my seat during a media timeout and the Indiana State pep band treated me to their rendition of Elton John's I'm Still Standing.
I'm not sure rhere's a more competitive coach in MVC WBB than Rochelle Turner. Even up 20+, she is intense.
Late afternoon: (5) Bradley Braves vs. (4) Northern Iowa Panthers
Brian Wardle is here to watch his daughter play for the Braves. My impression is that Mya Wardle is the quarterback of this team when she's out there. Expect nothing less from a Wardle.
This game was a lot of fun, once the Braves got their act together. It looked like a blowout in the 1st quarter, but for most of the 2nd half, Bradley ratcheted up the intensity, and though they had to hang on for dear life, UNI matched their effort and prevailed in the end.
Early evening: (10) Evansville Purple Aces vs. (2) Belmont Bruins
With about 3 minutes to go in the third quarter, KK Brodie of Belmont has 7 blocked shots at the basket, and every time she looks like she's taking out the trash and hates it. Maybe she looks miserable doing it because her teammates can't hit the broadcast side of a barn or get any stops on the other end. They have trailed Evansville for most of this game. At the end of the third quarter, the Aces led 53-42 (I looked up after writing this and the arena scoreboard had them leading 105-42. I mean, Evansville seems to be dominating, but really!).
1 seed Belmont MBB lost by 21 to 9 seed Drake. 2 seed Belmont WBB loses by 13 to 10 seed Evansville. Oh, the humanity!
Late evening: (6) Drake Bulldogs vs. (3) Illinois State Redbirds
I have forgotten everything about this game except that ISU won. I do enjoy watch Kristen Gillespie coach. She can be intense, but her players embody that intensity so much that the coach can often be seen trying to calm them down: "We're okay!"
Saturday
Early afternoon: (4) Northern Iowa Panthers vs. (1) Murray State Racers
We know now what the problem is with the scoreboard, because it happened again in this game. When they review a called 3 and downgrade it to a 2, the software running the board malfunctions. So they have to leave the score where it is, and the next point scored by that team is ignored.
Murray State jumped out to a huge lead, but UNI battled back to even take the lead in the 3rd quarter. It was a fun, well-played game. The Racers, unlike their manly counterpart 1 seed (Belmont Bruins MBB), took nothing for granted. They brought their A-game every day of the tournament. Notably, UNI was the only team to beat Murray State this year. I was genuinely unsure which way I thought this game was going to go.
Late afternoon: (10) Evansville Purple Aces vs. (3) Illinois State Redbirds
This was also a great game that went to overtime, but the story here is that the 10 seed made it to the title game, which was unexpected. I didn't check the stats, but it sure seems like Camryn Runner had herself a hell of game and tournament for Evansville. They almost won it in regulation, but Mary Gillespie drew up two straight out-of-timeout plays that her players executed to force overtime - the second one tied the game with a few seconds left. Evansville got a corner 3, but the shot was short. In OT, the Aces built a 5 point lead, but the Redbirds didn't go down without a heroic fight, at one point cutting their deficit to 1 with about 15 seconds to go, and had another chance to tie it with a 3 but the shot fell short, and that was it.
Sunday
The two restaurants next door to the arena I have eaten at both serve diet mountain dew. I love this place!
And the person running their Twitter account is absolutely hilarious.
(10) Evansville Purple Aces vs. (1) Murray State Racers
Like Valpo MBB 6 years ago, the Aces ran out of gas on Sunday and Murray State prevailed again. They are now unquestionably the gold standard in MVC WBB, having won two straight tournament championships and 2 straight outright regular season titles.
First Four
Lots of snow on the drive to Dayton, but most of the time it was light - and never scary.
Tuesday
Supper at the Pine Club solo again. Friend Ben was running late and his friend Brian was under the weather and couldn't make it. Was almost finished with my dinner when the proprietor recognized me as someone who ate there last year. The food (rainbow trout) was excellent, and the server was friendly. On the whole, it was a great dining experience.
As I walked out, someone noticed my Valpo hoodie and asked if the Crusaders were playing. Setting aside the absurdity of even asking the question, I corrected his mascot mistake.
"We're the Beacons now."
With a shocked look on his face: "That's politically correct!"
"It's marketing, branding." (Dude, it's only about mascot, I'm thinking to myself). "There's nothing sacred about the name."
"Not anymore, anyway!"
"Nor should it be."
"Have to disagree."
(16) UMBC Retrievers vs. (16) Howard Bison
Broke the ice with some fans behind me when I overheard one of them ask, "What is UMBC?" I turned and said, "University of Maryland in Baltimore County." "Thank you, Valpo fan!" Later, he was opining that there was no way Charles Barkley was going to be on the broadcast for the second game. He also doubted that Dick Vitale was going to be there because he was staying the same hotel and saw him today and said he looked kind of shaky.
(11) Texas Longhorns vs. (11) North Carolina State Wolfpack
As the game time approached, Vitale was noticeable at the broadcast spot, but they were still doubting that Barkley was there. The cameras were clearly on, so I pulled up NCAA March Madness Live app on my phone and showed them that indeed Charles was in the house. At first one of them assumed that I was showing a picture on my phone (?!?!?!??!), but his friend pointed out it was a video of the live broadcast.
To my left was a Dayton fan who I had some good conversations with as well. Nevertheless, I left at halftime. Before the game, the guys behind me asked who I was rooting for, to which I said, "Neither team. I don't do power conference basketball."
Wednesday
The proprietor at the Pine Club recognizes me now. Each night he made a point of saying hi and engaging me in friendly conversation. The fact that I missed my friends this year was offset by the number of people who I was able to interact with both at dinner and at the games. I hope next year Ben, Brian, and Steve are able to make it, however. And maybe one or two others will be interested. As I walked from the UD parking lot to the north entrance, a women noticed my Valpo hat and introduced herself as someone who works in Valparaiso University Athletics Department. She recognized me from Arch Madness this year in St. Louis. She told me this was her first ever time going to the First Four.
(16) Prairie View A&M Panthers vs. (16) Lehigh Mountain Hawks
I didn't have any interesting interactions during this game, though during the 2nd half I found myself surrounded by Redhawks fans (Miami, OH). Just to fill in something about this game, which was entertaining, College Basketball Reference has the following 4 Factors which do tell the story of the game:
The first half was tight, PVAM's defense was suffocating at times. I like FT/FGA, which measures a team's (or an individual's) ability to draw shooting fouls from their opponent. I suspect neither team was particularly exemplary at this (During the MVC conference season, Valpo was in the low 40s, percentage wise, according to kenpom).
(11) Miami (OH) Redhawks vs. (11) SMU Mustangs
I was impressed by the fact that the worst weather at the first four since 2015 by far did not dampen attendance one bit at this year's event. Announcement near the end of both nights put attendance upwards of 11K out of 13K and change. And most of that was out of town fans. That's pretty damn good.
The Redhawk fans certainly made their presence known, and their team responded accordingly, though it was a tight battle down to the finish.
St. Louis
I normally don't go to a 1st round site anymore, but this one was in St. Louis so I figured why not. I don't have to book a hotel.
Paul Oren and the March to the Arch guys were there on Friday, but they had media passes and there really was no way for me to bump into them to say hi. I was kind of bummed about that, but they don't owe me such a privilege.
Friday afternoon
The only game of the 3 I attended that was any good was the first afternoon game, and Santa Clara's dramatic regulation win was snatched away by a banked in 3 that would have made AJ Casey proud. I hate it when P5 teams get so damn lucky! UGH
The second game was a laugher, but during halftime, the Iowa State pep band served up a couple of minutes of the Iron Man 3 end credits song. YAY!
Friday evening
I wore my Carson Schweiger Valpo T-shirt, that anomaly the NIL store sent me when I ordered the Cooper Schweiger T-shirt a year and a half ago, but the ticket I bought was in section 334 (one of the end zones). It ended up feeling like an empty gesture, unfortunately. I did enjoy watching Carson start the game and play decent. He hit a couple of 3s. But he is clearly a role player and not the main guy. Every time he scored or grabbed a tough rebound or got a steal, I clapped loudly, and the Purdue fans around me didn't give me any dirty looks, so that's a win.
Of course, by the under-12 media timeout in the 2nd half, Purdue had a statistically safe lead, so I got up and left (the 2nd game is Mizzou-Miami - not staying for two P5 teams playing each other). I also did not return on Sunday for the same reason.
2015: Last time Valpo went to the NCAA Tournament (out of the Horizon League). They came darn close to beating #4 Maryland. Keith Carter is still waiting for the ref that stood 5 feet away to upchuck the whistle he swallowed and call the obvious foul. Head coach Bryce Drew stewed in the locker room after the game, wondering aloud if there was any way to appeal the no call (when he settled down, I'm sure he realized how silly that was).
2020: Matt Lottich's crew became the first team in the history of Arch Madness to make it from Thursday's play-in round to Sunday's title game (and Valpo led that game midway through the 2nd half - 10 minutes away from an auto-bid that wouldn't turn out to be worth anything). They just barely beat winless Evansville Thursday night, then knocked off #2 Loyola in overtime, and beat #6 Missouri State in the semifinal.
2025: Roger Powell, Jr.'s crew became the first 11 seed to make it to the semifinals in the 3 year history of the 12 team bracket (and the 3rd team to make it from Thursday to Saturday - the last team not named Valpo to do this was Bradley in 1998). This time they smashed #6 UIC, then knocked off #3 Northern Iowa (it was a blowout until the Panthers made a huge run in the 2nd half), and came darn close to finally exacting revenge on #2 Bradley in the semifinal, losing by 5.
Every 5 years, Valpo reminds the world that theyare still capable of greatness. The seasons in between tend to be disappointments (2016 was arguably a really good year with a run to the NIT title game, and both 2016 and 2017 saw regular season titles in the Horizon League, but still below expectations).
The general mood around the Horizon League is a feeling of betrayal or just disappointment in Valpo's decision to join the MVC. The bridge feels burned.
The general mood in some parts of the MVC is buyer's remorse, feeling like the Valpo they got was not the one they were promised. For the few UNI fans who regularly fantasize about kicking Valpo out of the conference, I can only roll my eyes and think, "Yeah, that's never gonna happen." If Valpo can kick up a dust storm every 5 years, perhaps these folks will find some serenity.
In the meantime, like I always say, there's more to my March Madness than Valpo basketball. Good thing, because as I work on this, 8 of Valpo's players are in the transfer portal, and Cooper Schweiger, Valpo's all-conference player has committed to Wake Forest.
Arch Madness
Wednesday evening, 6 Valpo fans including yours truly gathered for a fine dinner at the Broadway Oyster Bar in downtown St. Louis just a few blocks south of Busch Stadium:
Lower left to lower right: Terry, Ken, Mark, Mel, Steve, Me
For the first time in my life, I had Garlic Parmesan Fries, and let me tell you. They were to die for!
Thursday
Game 1 (Noon) - Sycamores (9) vs. Salukis (8)
These two teams only played once this season, and it was just 4
days prior to this matchup, at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute. The
Sycamores won by a lot and jumped out to nearly a 20 point lead in the
first half of that game. As for Valpo, they split with both, but in different ways. The Beacons were poised for victory over the Salukis at home, but let it slip through their fingers in the closing a couple of minutes. In Carbondale, later in the season, SIU built a huge lead in the 2nd half only to see Valpo storm back the way they did against Western Michigan back in December. Meanwhile, Valpo had to hang on for dear life early in the season to be Indiana State in overtime at home and got blasted like they usually do later at the Hulman Center. Interestingly enough, when Valpo made their run at Arch Madness in 2020, they missed having to play the Sycamores because the latter lost to Missouri State in the quarterfinals.
From the looks of this game, I'd say Nagy and company learned a valuable lesson from that game. During a media timeout in the first half, Scott Nagy told Adam Emmenecker that the mistake they made in the previous game was spreading out their defense too much. "I'd rather they shoot 3s than continually drive the paint on us," said Nagy. At half time, Nagy said, "It's a good thing we are scoring a lot, because we're not guarding anyone." So, apparently, that lesson learned was not as effective as he hoped it would be.
The half time score was SIU 47 ISU 43. Lots of offense, lots of poor FT shooting, and a few spectacularly failed dunks for good measure. Obviously not a lot of defense.
One of the timeout fan contests is called "60 for 6" or something like that. The emcee asks a fan 6 questions, some are factual, some are just an opportunity for you to specify a preference. During the first half, one of the questions posed to a Sycamores fan was "Name any beer", and in the land of Busch,
this Sycamores fan had the stones to yell out "Coors Light!" Much
respect, sir.
The Salukis came out on fire in the 2nd half. Every time Ali Dibba
drove for a successful but contested layup, a Salukis fan several rows behind me would yell out loud and clear, "Ali
Dibba!"
They built up a 12 point lead, but a few minutes later, Indiana State
stormed back to make it a nail biter. The lead changed hands several
times down the stretch, with no lead more than a couple of points. The
Sycamores took a 1 point lead on a goaltending call with about 14 seconds to
go, but the Salukis came down and scored on a rebound off a missed shot with
4.1 seconds left. ISU decided not to run Pacer, so of course their shot
failed miserably.
This was a much more competitive game than last year's 8-9 game.
Final: SIU 86 ISU 85
Game 2 (Afternoon): Bears (12) vs. Redbirds (5)
I was curious to see the battle of the big men in this game between Michael Osei-Bonsu for MSU and Chase Walker for Illinois State. Both of those post players gave Valpo absolute fits during the regular season.
The only possible problem is that both of them might need a lot of
rest. They both subbed out before the first media timeout. The separation in seeds coincides with the fact that Illinois State beat Valpo, while the Beacons swept the Bears.
Early on, this game was a rock fight. It took a significant portion of the first half before the Redbirds were able to achieve some separation. In fact, in the early going the Bears led 7-1 before Johnny Kinzinger drained a 3 from the top of the key. At the
under 8 media timeout, they led 18-17. From my seat, it sure looked like the foul-calling rubric was "no autopsy, no foul." This is a phrase very common among NHL commentators. It's pithy and sharp and I like it.
Eventually, the Redbirds pulled away for a 38-23 halftime lead, including an
outstanding fast break layup at the buzzer by ISU's Ty Pence.
Missouri State treaded water in the 2nd half for a few minutes, but Illinois State slowly pulled away further. The Bears didn't seem to lack effort. They just didn't have enough to keep up. With about 4 and a half minutes left, the Redbirds gained a statistically safe lead, and were never threatened the rest of the way.
Chase Walker and Michael Osei-Bonsu did finish in a statistical dead heat with each other, but this is not 1-on-1 we're playing here.
Final: Illinois State 70 Missouri State 54
Game 3 (Evening): Aces (10) vs. Racers (7)
I missed most of the first half due to my own stupidity. Suffice it to say going to and from dinner, I twice missed my MetroLink stop and had to get off and wait for the next train going in the other direction. It didn't cost me extra money because I always buy an all-day pass for the same price as a round-trip ticket, but I still felt foolish. The only consolation, if you want to call it that, was I got to ride in the same MetroLink car that President Bill Clinton rode in 1994.
:
Both teams swept Valpo. The Beacons have yet to best the Racers in Missouri Valley conference play, while it seems like they either sweep the Aces or are swept by them every year. This year, Roger Powell, Jr. became the 2nd Valpo head coach to be ejected at the Ford Center.
This game was not really a blowout, but Murray State stayed in control throughout much of the game, building an insurmountable lead in the 2nd half, though Evansville never really went away. The Aces have a big front line that can
score both inside and oDown the stretch, the Racers got hot from behind the arc and put the game
away.
Final: Murray State 74 Evansville 53
Game 4 (Night): Beacons (11) vs. Flames (6)
Something lit a fire under the Beacons because they dominated most of this
game. UIC didn't make a single 3 in the first half. I feared
they would find it in the second half and erase the 16 point halftime lead
Valpo had. But the Beacons did not falter, even under intense full
court pressure. By the 5:30 mark, Valpo led by 27 - a statistically
safe lead - and it was clear this just wasn't UIC's night. According
to the Valpo radio pbp team, this was by far the best 40 minutes of defense
Valpo has played all season.
Early in the 2nd half, I saw something I have never seen before: off a steal, a UIC player launched a 3 and kicked his leg out to try to induce a foul against the defender. The shot went in, but the ref waved off the 3 and called the offensive foul. I've heard a lot about shooters (most famously J.J. Reddick) who perfected that play, but I never heard of a ref actually calling the offensive foul. Watching it later, when they showed the replay, it was wicked obvious.
During the 2nd half (I was listening to the Valpo radio pbp) UIC was at the end of the shot clock and one of their guards threw up a desperation shot that totally cleared the backboard and Todd Ickow called it a "Potsie shot" referring to an episode of Happy Days involving a basketball game. I didn't remember such a thing, and I had some trouble finding a reference that would explain it, until I googled "Potsie shot" with the quotes around it. Found a recap of the episode "They Call it Potsie Love" (Joanie has a crush on Potsie and dreams of marrying him) which seems to be the episode. I found the full episode online and Richie comes home from the basketball game and tells Joanie he scored 18 points. "That's great. How did Potsie do?" "Well, he shot a free throw over the backboard," Richie said, laughing. "Wow..." Joanie said dreamily. Mystery solved.
Valpo 67 UIC 50
Friday
Game 5 (Noon): Salukis (8) vs. Bulldogs (1)
Valpo always seems to give Drake a hard time, even though they usually finish far below the Bulldogs. In MVC play, Drake finished at least 4 seeds ahead of Valpo every year except 2020 (Valpo was 7th, Drake 8th). Drake is currently 11-4 against Valpo, but every game was tense. Even Drake fans aren't sure how to explain this.
Drake likes to grind it out on offense. SIU had developed a reputation under Brian Mullins for the same kind of offense, but Scott Nagy brought with him from Wright State a more upbeat offensive style. It often takes awhile for Drake to assert their dominance (they forever have trouble with Valpo, even though they almost always win). They did pull away for a lead of 11 at the half. Of course, Damian Mayo suffered a concussion in their win over Indiana State, and Davian Sykes had to sit much of the first half with two fouls. That may have had something to do with it.
The second half saw SIU close the gap to 6, but Drake responded with an run
to push it back to 12. The only SIU big who could thrive in the paint was Jorge Moreno. Everyone else kept getting their pocket picked before
they got a shot off.
Drake band played the first MCU song of the tournament: "Blitzkrieg Bop"
(Spiderman: Homecoming).
Drake 70 SIU 53
Game 6 (Afternoon): Redbirds (5) vs. Bruins (4)
Valpo split with Belmont, but in this case, both home teams won in blowouts. Frankly, the blowout at Valpo was shocking to me. That was Valpo's first MVC win over Belmont.
For the second time in their first three years in The Missouri Valley,
Belmont clocks in at the 4 seed. In their first two seasons in the MVC, they lost in the quarterfinals - 2 years ago in a titanic battle with Indiana State. Last season they were the 5 seed and lost to #4 UNI.
I was curious to see how the Redbirds would handle Tyler Lundblade, who is an absolute 3 point sniper for Belmont (even when they lost by a ton at Valpo, he torched them from behind the arc). Interestingly enough, he hit one 3 early on, and then was quiet for most of the game. It turned out Carter Whitt was the one who went crazy and could not be contained.
I also was curious to see how Belmont would handle Chase Walker in the paint. Mostly, I was expecting a competitive game. What we got instead was a Belmont blowout in the first half. Chase Walker was mostly neutralized, and ISU was extremely ineffective on offense. The halftime score: Belmont 41 Illinois State 18. WOW.
The second half saw the Bruins extend that lead a bit, and it started looking
like last night's final game. But then Chase Walker woke up, the
Redbirds got fired up and cut the lead down to 11 with about 90 seconds to go,
but Belmont put a stop to the run.
Final: Bruins 76 Redbirds 63. Yes indeed the Bruins finally made it to the
semifinals.
Spied on my way out of the Arena: Harry Schroeder having a confab with former
Sycamores head coach Greg Lansing and former Salukis beat writer Todd
Hefermann (either that or former Redbirds beat writer Jim Benson).
Game 7 (Evening): Racers (7) vs. Braves (2)
Bradley started with a 9-0 run, but by the time I made it back from dinner it was
15-14 Braves. The rest of the half was pretty tight. Naturally,
the Bradley fanbase was the prolific presence so far, outside of Drake.
Half: Racers 28 Braves 27
The stalemate continued into the early part of the second half. Then,
the same thing happened as in the first half: the fouls were Bradley 8 Murray
State 3. Within the blink of an eye, the fouls evened up. Bradley
used this to build a decent lead. Murray answered back until the Bradley
lead hovered around 6.
Down the stretch the Racers fought gamely, but just couldn't get there.
Final: Braves 70 Racers 62
Game 8 (Night): Beacons (11) vs. Panthers (3)
Valpo won the only regular season game between these teams. It was in
Valpo and Jacob Hutson was far from 100% after an injury in their previous
game.
So, I figured this was going to be a different game. Indeed in the
beginning it sure seemed to be, with UNI leading 11-3. Other than 1 All
Wright 3, Valpo was 0 for from the field. As with last night, Valpo's
tenacious defense kept them within range.
Then they flipped the switch and started raining 3s, and kept up their defense
(caveat: there's no stopping Tytan Anderson. You better believe he got
his).
Halftime: Valpo 45 UNI 32
Valpo won the first five minutes to lead 56-37. Then UNI flipped the
switch and went on a 20-0 run before Valpo finally answered.
In the midst of all this, Pete Thamel reported that Steve Prohm stepped down
as coach of Murray State.
That's one.
Meanwhile, the final 5 minutes were intense. I and my companions had
moved diagonally across the arena to be seated behind the Valpo bench.
After the second of two flagrant 1s were called against Valpo, Coach Powell,
in a fit of frustration gestured to Valpo fan section behind him to get up and
get loud. We did. And his guys gathered their mojo and weathered
the storm with some stellar defense and just enough offense to win the final 5
minutes 8-6. The final 8 seconds are still kind of a dream: after Tytan
Anderson missed his bonus free throw and Valpo missed a dagger 3, UNI fed
Tytan on the wing and a titanic confrontation ensued between him and Cooper
Schwieger. Somehow, the latter managed to get the better of him without
fouling, sending his layup attempt into the Panther pep band section like it
was an undercooked stake (h/t Neal Ruhl). With 2.9 left, both layup
attempts bounced harmless off the backboard and the Valpo players and us fans
were going wild (and hoarse, in my case) and Trey Campbell flat on his
back in despair.
Final: Valpo 64 UNI 63
As we walked the concourse to the car, someone behind me started a "VU!" chant
and I joined in. I passed some guy in a Bradley blazer smiling, taking
it all in, and I pointed at him and said, "We're coming for you!" He
smiled and nodded as if to say, "Bring it on."
Around halftime one of the hosts of the March To The Arch podcast tweeted:
Well, I only got one rendition of The Avengers theme song, but there's always Hoops In The Heartland...
Saturday
Game 9 (Afternoon): Bruins (4) vs. Bulldogs (1)
Belmont means business. Jonathan Pierre and Tyler Lundblade hit 2 3s between them. Of course, Bennet Stirtz was unstoppable, but the Bruins led 30-21 at the half.
Drake started the second half with an 8-0 run before Sam Orme ended it with contested put back off a rebound. Drake eventually tied it up on a Stirtz (who else?) 3.
Drake started to assert some dominance, but the thing about them is they do everything deliberately and they commit their share of turnovers, so it gives the other team plenty of opportunities to catch up, which Belmont did with a Tyler Lundblade 3 on a curl around a screen to tie it up at 46 all with about 4 minutes to go.
The next stretch saw a little bit of everything. Belmont's coach got teed up (maybe because he was sick of the favoritism Drake was getting?), but the T didn't hurt them further because both shooters split free throws (Stirtz was going to the line for 2 shots anyway). Bennet Stirtz canned a shot that was ruled out because of a shot clock violation. Belmont tied it up on the next play, with 2 minutes to go.
Drake went up by 2, Pierre missed a 3 from the wing, Drake scored again, Lundblade missed from the corner. Then Belmont got a steal and proceeded to run the helter skelter play which ended in a turnover. That was pretty much it.
Final: Drake 57 Belmont 50
Game 10 (Evening): Beacons (11) vs. Braves (2)
Possibly Valpo's best game all season against Bradley. Certainly better than the game at the ARC. Similar in character, but much closer, and Duke Deen did not quite take over.
Similar to the game against UNI, Valpo suffered - on balance - an unkind whistle. They did get a kind whistle once or twice, and Cooper Schwieger does have a tendency to get away with traveling most of the time. But Valpo couldn't make these fleeting benefits pay off, while Bradley capitalized over and over again.
It was a titanic struggle where the 11 seed went toe to toe with the 2 seed, all game long. It was only marred by a brutal injury to Darious DeAvairo with the score tied at 65, in an encounter with Darius Hannah which (in the finest Valpo tradition) earned the diminutive Beacons guard a foul to go with an injury that ended his career. The foul call almost earned his father-figure coach an ejection for losing his cool. Fortunately, the veteran officiating crew showed restraint.
Hannah split the free throws, but Valpo had no more left after such a gutting moment (they did generate good shot chances but came up empty every time). Bradley only scored 4 more points, and the game wasn't in the bag until about 15 seconds left.
A horrible ending that doesn't diminish an outstanding story. Multiple Drake and Bradley fans expressed words of admiration and respect for Valpo's performance.
One nice side story for Valpo this weekend (forgetting for a moment that Valpo is unable to send its own pep band to this event): For the 2nd year in a row, Lutheran High School's pep band morphed into a Valpo Beacon's pep band. Last year they were still learning our fight song, etc. This year, they played the role to perfection.
Sunday
Game 11 (Title): Braves (2) vs. Bulldogs (1)
Packed house with two prolific fanbases who love to stand up. Fun.
First half was a close battle. Both teams answered each other's runs. At the end of the half, Drake began a run that would extend in the second half, until the Bulldogs established dominance.
There was one play in the 2nd half that typified the game. Bradley fought for an offensive rebound. I didn't see what happened because the Bradley fans in front of us make a better wall than a window. I did glance up at the video board in time to notice Darius Hannah crashing into the floor seats. After lengthy review we ended up a common foul on Drake (I think Bradley was notyet in the bonus), a flagrant 1 on Drake, and a Technical foul on Bradley. The Bradley player shooting the flagrant foul free throws missed both. The Drake player split the Technical foul free throws, and Drake got the ball in the front court.
Anyway, Drake kept extending their lead gradually until the game was out of reach.
Drake 63 Bradley 48 - so much for dreams of two bids Valley.
ATT: All Wright, Duke Deen, Darius Hannah, Tavion Banks, Bennet Stirtz (MVP).
Horizon League WBB Semifinals
As usual, I met up with my Green Bay friends at our usual mezzanine perch.
From 2023, though Shari (2nd from left) was not able to join us
Indiana Farmer's Coliseum is now called Corteva Coliseum. Something else new this year: you can buy an all day parking pass for 15 dollars. In the past you had to pay 10 dollars each time you entered. This is especially important on Tuesday when there is a four hour window between the end of the women's title game and the doors opening for the men's title game, and there's really not enough to do on the fairgrounds in between. There is the fan zone, which has a modest lunch menu, a spacious but somewhat drab lounge with a few big screen TVs hooked up to the ESPN app, a basketball hoop, a bean-bag toss, and a radio booth where a radio show happens occasionally. Mostly there are about 15 to 20 people just milling around. It's no Ballpark Village, that's for sure. So, it was nice on Tuesday to go eat a late lunch at a sports bar, and return without having to pay another 10 dollars.
Monday
Noon: Colonials (4) vs. Phoenix (1)
Don't let the chalk fool you. 3rd place is 14-6, 4th place is 10-10. The top 3 teams won almost 50 percent of the games.
Another thing that was different this year: all the pep bands were perched up in the grandstand 200 level, while the student sections and cheerleaders remained on the floor. It did look like they upgraded the student section bleachers behind each basket, which may or may not be a coincidence.
Surprisingly, when I made it to my seat, RMU was up 17-12 at the end first quarter. The Phoenix flipped the script to lead 33-22 at the half. A lot of missed layups.
Second half started to look like the first quarter, but Green Bay was able to maintain their grip on the game and they won 67-53.
The transition from Kevin Borseth to Kayla Karius (one of his former players) was pretty darn smooth. The Phoenix finished 19-1 in conference, with their only loss coming at Oakland.
Afternoon: Vikings (3) vs. Mastodons (2)
Purdue Fort Wayne finished 18-2, Cleveland State 14-6. PFW's only losses were both to Green Bay.
The Dons meant business. They shot 62% from behind the arc in the first half. The Vikings weren't shabby (46%) but the couldn't keep up. PFW's center had her way in the paint. At one point, PFW led 40-22, but CSU managed to cut to 13 at halftime.
The Vikings made a few mini runs in the second half, but PFW kept them at bay. Their lead never went below 10. The Mastodons were just too much for them. As one Cleveland State fan put it on Twitter:
Unfortunately our opponent morphed into the 2015-2016 golden state warriors. I don’t know how you guard 10/15 from three when all of the 10 were 6-7 feet behind the line. Been a long time since I’ve seen a shooting display like that in any level of basketball. https://t.co/r3hLE7zfc1
I was able to talk to Neal Ruhl for a bit, but Greg Kampe didn't emerge from the locker room until 3 minutes before tip, so I only had time to say hi to him, wearing this T-shirt (which brought a smile to his face):
The RMU band has REALLY loud drums. Rumor has it there have been noise complaints from the next county (sarcasm alert).
Speaking of bands, every band so far at this event has been up in the stands, like so:
Never seen that before. The cheer squads are on the floor, as usual.
Come to think of it, I wonder if that is why the drums sounded so loud. I noticed it later when I walked past the YSU band. But I didn’t notice it this afternoon.
As for the game itself, it was an absolute nail biter. Not a great game. Not a horrible game. A very competitive game with a bunch of outstanding plays and a bunch of frustrating mistakes. Perhaps by far the biggest mistake of all belongs to Coach Kampe, who inexplicably called timeout just when his player was driving for an uncontested layup with 4 seconds to go in regulation and the score tied. In the post-game radio interview with Oakland radio play by play man Neil Ruhl, Kampe owned the mistake.
The play he drew up was a lob to the basket that Baru Navilarua couldn't haul in. RMU's attempt went awry because of an Oakland deflection, sending us to overtime.
Overtime was a frustrating push-pull of Oakland empty possessions and RMU missed opportunities to put the game away. Every time Oakland came up empty, RMU turned it over, missed FTs, or just empty possessions. Problem is, RMU clung to a 3 point lead, and the Grizzlies could never tie it up.
RMU 79 Oakland 76 in overtime.
Thank you RMU pep band for giving me my favorite pep band song: another rendition of The Avengers theme song.
(Late) Night: Penguins (3) vs. Vikings (2)
The Cleveland State band is the smallest so far. Reminds me of 2008 when the CSU band got stranded on their way to Hinkle Fieldhouse, except for one lone trumpet player.
This game was a slog. Tons of missed FTs and shot misses. A Staveskie 3 made the halftime score YSU 22 CSU 21. A bit on the ugly side. Cleveland State did lead for most of the 2nd half, but the Penguins grabbed the lead in the final minute and won by 2, 56-54.
Tuesday noon WBB: Mastodons (2) vs. Phoenix (1)
These two teams brought their shooting shoes today. And of course the rugrats brought their shouting voices. The stands and the concourse are filthy with these screaming kids.
As of 3:51 both teams were shooting upwards of 50% from the field and PFW ws 64% from behind the arc. Most importantly, the game is basically even and might go right down to the wire.
Halftime score: tied at 40 apiece.
Naturally, we have to have Simon Says Guy for students vs. teachers. It is a sight to behold to watch human beings getting a kick out of humiliating themselves when they get eliminated. Whoever this guy is, he is a national treasure.
Green Bay had most of the leads in this game, but they've been unable to sustain them. I would say Green Bay is having better success in the paint than the Mastodons, but the latter are on fire from behind the arc to make up for it... so far, anyway.
Looking at the team stats I see I'm wrong. Both teams are doing about the same in the paint, but Green Bay is shooting both more and better from the free throw line, which means they are getting to the line more by being more aggressive than the Mastodons.
Green Bay made another run to take a 7 point lead at the end of the 3rd quarter. It looked like PFW got away from their game plan a little.
Tuesday Evening MBB: Penguins (4) vs. Colonials (1)
Red vs. Red - at least in the stands. Hard to tell who anyone is rooting for unless they are cheering some fortuitous event on the court.
The Colonials started out red hot. The Penguins started out ice cold, something that became a serious issue for YSU to address. Fortunately, they heated up a bit, and RMU cooled off.
Halftime score: RMU 34 YSU 29
Gabe Dynes is unfair. On defense he swats away everything that comes his way and effortlessly rebounds over everybody. On offense he is the perfect alley-oop target and can still rebound over everybody.
As it turns out, that was not nearly enough to remove YSU from the NMTC list.
Final score: RMU 89 YSU 78
All Tournament Team: Allen Mukeba, Nico Galette, Josh Omojafo, D.J. Smith, Kam Woods (MVP)
Traveling Wednesday
The drive to Evansville is only 2 and a half hours. Checkout was 11am in Indy, check in time is 3pm in Evansville, so I ended up having a few hours to kill, though I miscalculated a bit, since in local time terms, the drive was actually only 1 and a half hours (Indiana is a deeply weird state). I found a Buffalo Wild Wings (my go to hangout choice since they have wifi). I sat down, plugged in, and noticed that almost every TV in the place was tuned to Notre Dame vs. North Carolina in the ACC Tournament. My server told me there is a lot of Fighting Irish fanbase down here. Interesting.
Hoops In The Heartland
Thursday noon: Braves (9) vs. Beacons (8)
Bradley has some significant size advantage in the paint. If they could hit more of their layups when their bigs get loose, Valpo would be in deep trouble, but actually, if Valpo hit more of their shots, they might be running away with it.
Halftime score: Bradley 25 Valpo 23
Bradley finally gained separation and became the first team to start to run away with it.
In the midst of this dry spell, Paul Oren reported that Cooper Schwieger entered the transfer portal.
Nelson from Bradley (#0) was on fire and got loose 4 3s. She almost single handedly willed the Braves to victory in Peoria, only to have Leah Earnest drain a 3 at the buzzer to give Valpo the win.
Valpo tightened up their defense a little, and Bradley was error prone enough that this game was far from being out of reach.
They got close towards the end, but couldn't seem to get there. There was one frenetic sequence that was both hilarious and frustrating at the same time. Valpo stole the ball, only to lose it again, and almost immediately stole it back. There may have even two more steals in that sequence, I don't remember.
Final: Bradley 64 Valpo 58
Afternoon: Salukis (12) vs. Redbirds (5)
This one started out like the Arch Madness 5-12 game, but turned into a rout much more quickly for the Lady Redbirds.
Halftime: ISU 47 SIU 19. Ouch
I'm bummed out because of the Cooper Schwieger news and because for the 2nd time in 5 days, Valpo lost to Bradley in heartbreaking fashion, and this time there was no magical run to look back on. It was the 1st game of the entire tournament and they should have beaten them.
Meanwhile, the SIU Women's team might just be the most pathetic team of all 24 teams in the Valley, and their student section and their fans are having the time of their lives. Food for thought...
As the third quarter was coming to an end, the calculator in my head told me ISU had a statistically safe lead, so I left my seat and acquired an early supper so I didn't have to pay twice for parking today. They have entrees with fries, but they also have a decent dinner salad and a fruit cup. All expensive of course, but I'm also saving 20 bucks.
Final: ISU 88 SIU 48
Thursday evening: Aces (10) vs. Flames (7)
Walked past Evansville men's coach Dave Ragland talking on his phone. He smiled at my Valpo shirt. Not surprising - last year Ryan Pedon showed up to one of the ISU games to support the Lady Redbirds.
I gotta say, UIC's starting lineup video is really well done. At the end, their coach, after a dramatic pause, says, "We ARE Chicago's College team."
UIC seemed like the stronger, more physical team. Then again, there were a few times when UIC was poised to blow the Aces out of the arena. Each time, Evansville found a spark and kept themselves in range.
Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, Evansville not only held their ground, they gained significant ground, drawing within 4 at the end of the quarter. They went from staving off a blowout to seriously contending for the win.
They faltered in the final minute and lost their chance, but they really pushed UIC to the limit.
Final: UIC 72 Evansville 62
Night: Sycamores (11) vs. Panthers (6)
This game started out tight. By halftime, UNI had taken control of the game. The Sycamores fought back in the 3rd quarter, but they never got close enough to make the Panthers sweat. The only other thing I remember about the game is that UNI pep band didn't give me the Avengers theme song this year.
Final: UNI 87 ISU 73
Friday noon: Braves (9) vs. Racers (1)
Homecoming for the Racers and their fans. Until Murray State joined the Missouri Valley, they (men and women) played their Ohio Valley tournaments right here in the Ford Center. As a matter of fact, in this tournament, it was the Murray State fanbase that took over the place. Bradley had maybe a couple of dozen fans at the most. The game reflected the fan disparity. Murray State led by 20 at halftime and won by 36.
Final: Murray State 86 Bradley 50
Afternoon: Redbirds (5) vs. Bulldogs (4)
This was a classic battle that went right down to the wire. Anna Miller burned the Redbirds several times from the top of the key, and Katie Dinnebier banked a 3 to beat the shot clock. The Redbirds kept climbing back and even took some late leads which they just couldn't hold.
Final: Drake 75 ISU 69
Evening: Flames (7) vs. Bears (2)
Missouri State started out in dominant fashion, and led 22-10 with 90 seconds to go in the first quarter. The main problem for UIC is they seemed to have no way of stopping Lacy Stokes from driving to the hoop and scoring (with a few and-ones thrown in for good measure), until the Flames switched to a full court press. They made a dent in the deficit, but the Bears weathered the storm. UIC still had no answer against the Bears' assault in the paint. There might have been extra motivation for MSU in this game. Their only game during the regular season was a crushing loss at UIC, 69-62.
I was distracted by the typical bingo faux pas the MVC makes every year during their bingo contests (one of the numbers called out was "I-11". There is no such thing. 11 appears in the B column). When I looked up again, the Bears were suddenly up by 20.
Halftime: Missouri State 43 UIC 25
You could call the second half a holding action by the Bears. They kept the lead, but the Flames inched closer each 5 minute window until it started getting scary towards the end.
With 21 seconds left, UIC had the ball in the front court, trailing 75-70, but their shooter got trapped under the backboard and turned it over. That was pretty much it.
UIC was dead and buried twice in this game. They fought valiantly.
We'll save our goodbyes for another day, Bears.
Final: Missouri State 77 UIC 70
Night: Panthers (6) vs. Bruins (3)
These two split with each other, each winning at home. Belmont is of course, the other team that feels right at home here. They too played in the OVC until a few years ago.
Bruins got off to a cold start, staked UNI to an 8-0 lead before responding with a 6-0 run of their own. And the battle was on. I thought it was going to be a game of runs, but UNI got stuck on 18, while Belmont vaulted to 33, which was the halftime score.
UNI decided enough was enough and started the second half on a 16-6 run, at which point Bart Brooks called timeout, after which the Bruins reasserted themselves taking a 51-40 lead into the 4th quarter. Belmont was able to extend and maintain their lead until it was statistically safe at about the 1:15 mark.
Final: Belmont 64 UNI 46
Meanwhile no Avengers Theme song from the UNI band, yesterday or today. Thanks for nothing, Panthers.
Also, I sat with a nice young Belmont fan couple and their tiny well behaved infant. They would probably prefer the tournament be here every year because it's only about a two and a half hour drive from Nashville.
Saturday early afternoon: Bulldogs (4) vs. Racers (1)
These teams split, with each winning on the other's home court.
The Murray State fan section dominates the Drake fan section. Drake and UNI fans no doubt can't wait for next year when the tournament will be in their state (and the following year when it will be next door in Moline).
The first quarter was a statement for the Racers, they hit just about everything they shot and played pretty good defense for a 35-20 lead over the reigning champs. Murray State was in the bonus for at least half the quarter. At one point, coach Pullman was having a very animated discussion with one of the officials.
According to the young Racer fan trying to help his mom win the 6 in 60 contest, the new nickname of Kentucky is MURRAY STATE. I like it.
In the 2nd quarter, Drake got it down to a 10 point deficit, with the ball, but Murray State put their foot down and took a 16 point lead (59-43) into halftime. With 3 minutes to go in the quarter, Murray State was again in the bonus. But shortly thereafter, Drake joined them.
Murray State came down to earth slightly, but Drake fell off considerably from behind the arc. Katelyn Young was unstoppable with 24 points in the first half.
Turnovers: Drake 9 Murray State 2. Points off turnovers: Murray State 14 Drake 3
The Racers' lead extended to 22 (71-49) leading to a Drake timeout. After Murray State increased their lead to 24, they hit a cold stretch, and Drake went on a 7-0 run. That 17 point deficit pretty much stayed constant for the remainder of the 3rd quarter to make it 81-64.
At this point, it was time for Drake to resort to something new: Murray State has no answer for Dinnebier, so just let her cook every time (actually, this started toward the end of the 3rd quarter). Throw in a stretch of poor shooting for Murray State and some turnovers, and you've got Rochelle Turner's worst nightmare. This is of course the best time to have a 17 point lead, because you end up surviving the onslaught to win 96-90 in spite of Katie Dinnebier's 45 points. It did take most of the 4th quarter for Drake to bring the deficit inside double digits.
Late afternoon: Bruins (3) vs. Bears (2)
Our 3rd PoY contender, Lacy Stokes might be as popular on opponents' scouting reports as Katie Dinnebier.
Oh what a joy it is to sit close to a loud mouth Bears fan who has a complaint about every single whistle that goes against his beloved Lady Bears... FOR THE LAST TIME EVER. Something I most definitely won't miss next year, though at least he's not screaming out "I love you, Lady Bears!!!!" over and over again.
This game was a close one for much of the 1st half. 1st quarter finished with the score MSU 24 Belmont 22, and the biggest lead was 5, for a total of about 30 seconds. Belmont did take a 6 point lead midway through the 2nd quarter. But the half ended with MSU leading 42-41 when Lacy Stokes (who was her usual handful in this game) coaxed a foul call in the final seconds and sank both free throws.
In the 3rd quarter, Belmont asserted some measure of control and led for most the quarter, finishing with a 6 point lead. The 4th quarter consisted of MSU fighting back close to tying it up and Belmont holding them off just barely with timely defense until the final minute when they finally pulled away. In one particularly frustrating stretch, the Lady Bears drew 3 fouls over two offensive sets, and promptly missed 6 straight free throws. Belmont was in the midst of a cold spell with a 64-61 lead, and MSU could not seem to pounce on the opportunities. Finally, Belmont ended their cold spell with a layup. This pretty much spelled the end.
Final: Belmont 76 Missouri State 67
Good riddance (to the fans, not the team - the Lady Bears are the only MVC team during Valpo's time in the conference to win games in the NCAA tournament. They made the Sweet 16 twice. The only other team currently in the MVC to win NCAA tournament games during that same period is Belmont, and they made the 2nd round two years in the row while still in the OVC.
Sunday: Bruins (3) vs. Racers (1)
An OVC reunion - and on the court where they both used to compete for that conference's auto-bid (this is still the venue for those tournaments - last week). I like both teams a lot, so I was just hoping for a great game.
It took about 3 minutes before the first points were scored by either team. Some title game jitters, perhaps. Media timeout didn't happen until 3:08. Pace was very frenetic, and the play was fairly clean. Once the ice broke, I think the jitters were gone for both teams.
First quarter: 15-15
These two teams are fiercely competitive against each other. I get the feeling this rivalry has been a hot one for a long time.
Katelyn Young cracked 3000 career points during the second quarter and kept going. Murray State built up an 11 point lead, compelling a Bart Brooks timeout. I don't know that it helped much. The Racers were on fire at this point. Katelyn Young finished the half with 23 points (16th now on the all-time career scoring list, apparently next up is Sheryl Miller), but former Bradley Brave Halli Poock is 5 for 5 behind the arc for 15 points.
Halftime: Murray State 45 Belmont 29
In the 3rd quarter, Belmont managed to close the deficit to 9 and Haven Ford injured her finger and had to have the trainers attend to it. According to Jeremy Rose and Jeff Bidwell (Murray State pbp team), if it is just dislocated, they could pop it back in, tape it up and she could return. She did in fact return... for the 4th quarter. Belmont cut it all the way down to 3, before Murray State answered with a 6-0 run to close the quarter at 57-48.
By midway through the 4th quarter, the lead was back up to 17. Murray State made all the plays, even with Young batting a misguided pass to the corner for a Briley Pena 3 and another Belmont timeout. Young had been double teamed when a guard decided to try to feed it to her anyway. Tapping it to the corner was literally the only thing she could do.
Later on a busted play, Young was way out on the wing, 25 feet away and just matter of factly drained a 3. Next time down another 3 for one of her teammates (Poock I think). This made the score 79-58 with 2 and change to go and Belmont was done.
Final: Murray State 83 Belmont 62
ATT: Stokes, Dinnebier, Cheesman, Poock, Young (MVP)
First Four
By myself. My usual friends are otherwise occupied for various reasons, but I anticipate they will be back next year.
I decided to go the Pine Club anyway. I got there a bit later than usual and had a half hour wait, since I was by myself, dinner didn't take as long as it would have if my friends were eating with me. They seemed busier than normal for the First Four. Squeezed into the last parking spot between 2 large vehicles. After dinner, I was relieved to find no nicks.
On my way to the Pine Club, Paul Oren reported that Valpo and WBB head coach Mary Evans have "mutually agreed to part ways."
While I was waiting for my table, some guy just walked up to me and asked, "Are you the guy from St. Louis?" Never ceases to amaze me when that happens.
St.Francis PA (16) vs. Alabama State (16)
"Root for the 16!" Steve exhorted when he told me he couldn't make it. Which one? It's sometimes hard to tell with Steve. But it does call to mind the debate over who should be sent to Dayton, the current half and half mix or 8 at large teams. The latter preference comes from the heart: 16s should be respected with immediate placement in the round of 64. My counterpoint is that 2 of the 4 16s will earn an extra unit for their conference.
I think maybe what Steve means is to celebrate that for one game each of the two nights, 2 16 seeds get the national stage all to themselves in a highly competitive game.
And it was a highly entertaining game. Fairly well played... for a game between 16 seeds, anyway. The ending was breathtaking: a hail mary/busted play that nevertheless ended with a layup.
Final: Alabama State 70 St. Francis PA 68
North Carolina (11) vs. San Diego State (11)
Boring. I did get to see Belmont transfer Cade Tyson play for the Tar Heels. For a minute or two, anyway. Got to touch the ball once.
But mostly, this was a depressingly one-sided affair. With 11:07 to go in the second half, UNC led 69-38 and since that was a statistically safe lead, I left.
I did get to move down to a folding chair just behind the second level during halftime, thanks to the kindness of an usher (I told him my seat was up in the 300 level in the middle of a mess of Tar Heel fans).
Final: North Carolina 95 San Diego State 68
On Wednesday, I strolled into the Pine Club at 4pm, and was immediately greeted with "welcome, Mr. Squire! Where would you like to sit?" This could easily go to my head.
By the way the place mat tells the story of this fine restaurant:
,
Thankfully, Ben and Brian were able to score tickets. A reply on Twitter told me that they were also eating at the Pine Club. We mostly missed each other, but I was able to find them for a chat.
Mount St. Mary (16) vs. American (16)
Matt Rogers for American is apparently a big deal. When he went down with an injury early in the first half, mid-major madness tweeted a sad tweet about it. He did come back later in the half and scored in the post, and seemed good as new. A few plays later, a Mount player drove on him and he crumpled to the ground again and this time he had to be helped to the locker room and was done.
The game was close at the time, but after he was out, the Mountaineers took control. They were up at one point by 19, but American did make a run to end up only losing
by 11.
During halftime, Ben, Brian, and I took a group picture. For the first time ever, I was able to post the picture so that it ended up on the video board (##MMSELFIE). That was satisfying. I have tried in the past and it never shows up. Of course, one of the dilemmas is actually getting the post to finish. If you're using the guest WIFI, so is everyone else in the place - and we are talking about thousands of fans. If you're using your own data network, you may not get enough bandwidth there either. It comes and goes, you have to keep trying.
Final: Mount St. Mary 83 American 72
Xavier (11) vs. Texas (11)
I sat in the midst of a whole bunch of Xavier fans, and just behind a pair of Texas fans (one of whom I think put some chew in his mouth before the game - ewwwww) - behind the Texas basket (we were on the 200 level). The Texas band and cheerleaders were on the left side of the basket at the 100 level, along with a bunch of Texas fans, but there were plenty of Xavier fans closer to the floor, mostly on the right side of the basket.
In other words, a recipe for trouble, especially since the Xavier fans behind me were extremely loud and whiny - typical boisterous fans, in other words. There was a guy behind me who yelled out at one point that childish taunt, "I'm blind, I'm deaf, I want to be a ref!" The Texas fan in front of me turned around and gave the guy a dirty look. Fortunately, nothing further happened. I didn't turn around to look, but my guess is the Xavier fan didn't even notice the dirty look. The Xavier fans behind me all booed every time in the 2nd half when a whistle went against them. Every fan base has these fans, but the more prolific the fanbase, the more annoying it becomes.
As for the game, Texas seemed to be in control, and ex-Sycamore Jayson Kent (Texas) seemed to be fairing better than ex-Sycamore Ryan Conwell (Xavier). The latter got into foul trouble in the first half. But midway through the second half, the worm began to turn. Down the stretch, a final push put the Musketeers (shortened to "Muskies" by the exuberant Xavier fans who marched the concourses after the game) on top, and they actually built an insurmountable lead.
