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MVC Title Town -- Indiana State earned its third all-time regular-season MVC crown in men’s basketball (and first since 2000).
No. 1 Seed “Success” -- Counting 2023, the top-seeded team at the State Farm MVC Tournament has won the tournament 17 times in 47 tries, and it has happened only 10 times in the 33-year history in St. Louis. A No. 2 seed has also won the title 11 times in St. Louis; the 3 seed has six titles; a four seed has won four times; and a five seed, two titles.
History of Top Seed in STL-Based Tourney
In 33 previous MVC Tournaments in St. Louis, the No. 1 tournament seed has:
10 - Won the Tournament
12 - Lost in the Semifinals
10 - Lost in the Title Game
1 - Lost its first game
MVC Tournament Titles, By Team
12 -- Creighton
5 -- UNI, Southern Illinois
4 -- Bradley, Illinois State, Tulsa, Wichita State
3 -- Indiana State, Loyola Chicago
2 -- Drake
1 -- Missouri State
Good News for No. 1 -- In the 47 seasons the league has conducted a post-season tournament (from 1977 through last year), there have been 54 regular-season champions (outright or shared). Forty of those 54 teams earned either the AQ or an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament (not counting the canceled 2020 NCAA Tournament).
Top Two Seeds = Semifinals? -- In the 33 previous MVC Tournaments played in St. Louis, the top two seeds have a combined 63-3 record in their first tournament games. In 2020, the top two seeds (UNI and Loyola) lost their first games. Third-seeded Indiana State also lost its first game that year, marking the first time in the history of the tournament that the top three seeds all lost their first games.
Avoiding Opening Day -- No team from the MVC has won four games in four days to claim the league tourney title. Only one team seeded 7 or worse have reached the finals: #7 Valparaiso (2020).
Best Pole Position? -- Forty-one of 47 previous MVC tournament champions were seeded 1, 2, or 3. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have had the most success, combining for 34 titles.
MVC Tournament Titles By Seed
1 -- 17 (last: Loyola in 2021) | 10 in St. Louis
2 -- 17 (last: Drake in 2023) | 11 in St. Louis
3 -- 7 (last: Indiana State in 2011) | 6 in St. Louis
4 -- 4 (last: Loyola Chicago in 2022)
5 -- 2 (last: Bradley in 2019)
MVC in the NET -- Indiana State leads six MVC teams among the Top 120 as ISU sits at No. 29. Drake is 48; and Bradley, 60. The MVC finished 15th as a league in the Conference NET last year and is No. 9 as a league this season. The league’s Top 3 NET-rated teams have combined for 13 Q1+Q2 wins this year.
MVC NET Leaders (thru March 3)
29 -- Indiana State [5-4 record vs Q1+Q2]
48 -- Drake [5-4 record vs Q1+Q2]
60 -- Bradley [3-7 record vs Q1+Q2]
Since 1992, the league has had 75 teams finish 75 or better in the NET (or RPI) -- all 75 played in the NCAA or NIT:
MVC NET/RPI History (Since 1992)
Top 100 NET/RPI (113): 51 NCAA, 39 NIT, 8 Other
Top 75 NET/RPI (75): 47 NCAA, 28 NIT
Top 50 NET/RPI (54): 40 NCAA, 14 NIT
NET Returns -- Since 1990-91, only six teams with a NET (or RPI) of 30 or better were not selected for the NCAA Tournament field (99.5 percent of eligible teams 30 or better make the field.) For teams 40 or better than number is 95.7 percent (1,216 of 1,271 eligible teams from 1-40 since 1991 have made the NCAA tourney). NIT champ North Texas (38) and Rutgers (40) did not earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2023.
MVC Teams 40 or Better Not Selected
(Since 1990-91, NET and RPI)
21 -- Missouri State (2006) [a record]
33 -- Illinois State (2008)
33 -- Illinois State (2017)
34 -- Missouri State (2000)
36 -- Missouri State (2007)
37 -- Bradley (2007)
39 -- Creighton (2006)
40 -- Creighton (2009)
Efficiency = NCAAs
Indiana State is 25 in offensive efficiency in KenPom, and Drake is 37. Since 2012, 10 of 12 MVC teams in the Top 35 of KenPom’s OE have earned a spot in the NCAA Tourney (UNI, 2020 - COVID; MOST, 2022 - played in the NIT).