If the regular season ended today...
MBB: Here's how the Arch Madness brackets look with two games to play
With one week to go in the regular season, here’s how the 12 Missouri Valley Conference teams would be seeded if Arch Madness was starting tomorrow:
Drake (15-3)
Northern Iowa (13-5) — thanks to beating Bradley in only head-to-head meeting
Bradley (13-5)
Belmont (11-7)
Illinois State (9-9) — thanks to NET advantage over UIC
UIC (9-9)
Murray State (8-10) — thanks to NET advantage over Evansville
Evansville (8-10)
Southern Illinois (7-11) — thanks to NET advantage over Indiana State
Indiana State (7-11)
Valparaiso (6-12)
Missouri State (2-16)
The only seed that is 100% locked in as of tonight is Missouri State. Drake can clinch the 1-seed with a win over Evansville or Missouri State this week. Every other seed is up in the air at this point, although we should get some clarity after we get through the midweek games.
With how the standings look through 18 games, here’s what the brackets would like if Arch Madness started tomorrow:
Top half of the bracket:
#8 Evansville vs. #9 Southern Illinois
The 8/9 winner plays #1 Drake
#5 Illinois State vs. #12 Missouri State
The 5/12 winner plays #4 Belmont
Bottom half of the bracket:
#6 UIC vs. #11 Valparaiso
The 6/11 winner plays #3 Bradley
#7 Murray State vs. #10 Indiana State
The 7/10 winner vs. #2 Northern Iowa
If Murray State ends up as the 7-seed, they’ll play at 6:00pm next Thursday night in St. Louis. If they improve to the 6-seed, they’ll play at 8:30pm next Thursday night.