It’s finally March, the best time of the year for college basketball fans. Let the fun begin with conference tournaments giving teams one last shot to add to that resume before Selection Sunday.  The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament is set to tip off tonight and carry on through the weekend, crowning a champion Sunday afternoon. This is a special year for the Valley because it is the 25th anniversary of Arch Madness. The MVC tournament moved to St. Louis in 1991 and held in the Scott Trade Center when the building opened in 1995. St. Louis is a great home for the Valley Tournament and will remain that way through 2018 (at least) due to the new three-year agreement made earlier this year. To make things a little more special, there is an exceptional amount of talent coming to the Scott Trade Center this week. 

The Wichita State Shockers are ranked No. 8 in the nation and hold a 27-3 overall record while going 17-1 in conference play. They are the MVC regular season champs and the one-seed in the bracket after winning , arguably, one of the biggest games in conference history this last weekend in a winner-takes-all game against the UNI Panthers. The Panthers are having a record-breaking year of their own and are currently ranked No. 11 in the nation. They finished the year 27-3 and went 16-2 in conference play. UNI is the first MVC team to win 16 conference games and not win the regular-season title. This is the second time ever that Arch Madness has featured two ranked teams (AP poll) in the same year. The only other time was in 2012 when Wichita State was 15th and Creighton just snuck in at 25th. So getting to see two of the top 11 teams in college basketball in the Scott Trade Center this week is historic. Obviously, the Panthers and the Shockers are the heavy favorites in the tournament as they enter as the strongest pair of teams in league tournament history, but there are some other very talented Valley teams that could make some noise. 

Evansville’s dynamic duo of hometown favorite D.J. Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius have proved they can lead their team to win games. Balentine leads the conference in scoring, averaging 19 points a game while Mockevicius leads the league in rebounding and has 17 double-doubles this year. If these two are at the top of their game they can be a scary five-seed and should definitely be a team to keep your eye on. Indiana State and Illinois State are the teams sitting at the three and four seeds that also shouldn’t be overlooked. Both teams went 11-7 in conference play and have a lot of talent on their teams but just haven’t been able to consistently put it together. However, history suggests that teams outside the top three seeds don’t have a lot of success as 36 of the previous 38 tournament champions were 1, 2 or 3 seeds. 

We can look at it however we want, but Wichita State and UNI are clearly the two best teams in the conference and have proved it all year. Wichita has made a name for themselves by making the NCAA tournament the last three years with a trip to the Final Four in 2013. This year they have one of the best backcourts in the country with Baker, VanVleet and Cotton. 

Then we have our very own UNI Panthers that have been carried by a more than tough defense and depth all season. The Panthers have a lot of guys that can hurt the opposition, lead by senior Seth Tuttle who was named the Larry, Bird MVC Player of the Year. Both teams are very well coached and disciplined. The two powerhouses faced off twice this year, each team getting the win at home. 

This weekend could possibly be another match up but on a neutral court. It would be great to see these two outstanding teams go at it one more time. So everyone get excited for Arch Madness. Let the chips fall where they may, but one thing for sure is this is a big year for the Valley.