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2015 NCAA Tournament: Missouri Valley Conference Bids

By Mike Marteny

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Jan 14, 2015; Wichita, KS, USA; Wichita State Shockers Guard Fred VanVleet (23) at Charles Koch Arena. Final score – Wichita State 67 – Souther Illinois 55 – Mandatory Credit: Gary Rohman-USA TODAY Sports

Here we are. March. This is the month that provides so many things for sports fans. The NHL and NBA are jockeying for playoff spots. The official beginning of the NFL “year” is here, and so are the cuts and trades that will form next year’s championship landscape. The Cubs have hopes of ending their championship drought. And the 2015 NCAA tournament is just a little less than a week away.

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Here at Fantasy CPR, we will keep you up to date on which teams are fighting for a tournament berth, which teams are in, and which teams should be in. We will go conference by conference for the major conferences. The traditional one bid conferences will all get their day in print as well. Follow along as we unveil our projected teams up until Selection Sunday!

This time around we will be taking a look at the Missouri Valley Conference. In case you missed it, there were two really good teams in the Valley this year. Will both of them get in? Will anyone else from the conference? Let’s take a look!

A big win is a win against a RPI top 50 team. A bad loss is a loss to a team under 100 in the RPI. RPI rankings are in parenthesis.

Just in case you missed any:
ACC
A-10
American
Big East
Conference USA
Big Ten
Big 12

Locks:

Wichita State (28-4, 17-1 MVC, RPI: 15, SOS: 99)

Big Wins: vs. (41)Tulsa 75-55, vs. (13)Northern Iowa 74-60

Bad Losses: NONE

The fact that they didn’t lose to a team outside of the RPI top 100 means that the Shockers are good enough to get in on merit. They beat RPI top 100 teams Memphis and Illinois State on the road. They also beat Alabama, Seton Hall, and Illinois State at home. The Redbirds knocked them out of the MVC tournament to try and keep their hopes alive.

The Shockers are led by junior guard Fred VanVleet. You probably remember him from last year’s NCAA tournament. Or more likely, the regular season. The Missouri Valley player of the year last year, VanVleet and the Shockers went cold and lost to Kentucky last year as a number one seed. It was just a foregone conclusion to most that the Shockers would be back in the thick of things this year. They are almost exactly the same team from last year, and have another year of experience.

The loss in the MVC tourney to someone other than Northern Iowa likely cost them a four seed. They were the hunted last year, and it didn’t end well. Now they are likely in the prey’s best hunting ground: the 5-12 game.

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    • Projected seed: 5

    Next: Where Will Northern Iowa Be Seeded?

    Mar 8, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers forward Seth Tuttle (10) kisses the championship trophy after defeating the Illinois State Redbirds in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference basketball tournament at Scotttrade Center. The Panthers won 60-69. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

    Northern Iowa (30-3, 16-2 MVC, RPI: 13, SOS: 119)

    Big Wins: vs. (38)Stephen F. Austin 79-77, vs. (44)Iowa 56-44, vs. (15)Wichita State 70-54

    Bad Losses: at Evansville 49-52

    The loss to Evansville on New Year’s Day is the only black mark on a pretty impressive resumé. They also took down RPI top  100 opponents in Richmond and Illinois State. In fact, they got the trifecta against the Redbirds. They won both regular season meetings and the tilt for the MVC Championship.

    Senior forward Seth Tuttle is the MVC equivalent of the One Man Gang. He led the Panthers in points, rebounds, and assists this season. All of the players on the roster shoot well. The Panthers are 18th in the country in field goal percentage at 48.3%.

    Winning the MVC tournament likely improved their seeding. They will likely take Wichita State’s four seed since the Shockers lost in the conference tournament. Just the fact that the Missouri Valley will likely get two of the top 25 teams says something about the basketball in what is no longer just a one big league. And who knows, maybe Northern Iowa will no longer just be known as Kurt Warner‘s alma mater.

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    • Projected seed: 4

    Next: Will Illinois State Get In?

    Mar 7, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Illinois State Redbirds guard Daishon Knight (3) attempts a shot as Wichita State Shockers guard Ron Baker (31) defends during the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

    Illinois State (21-12, 11-7 MVC, RPI: 63, SOS: 73)

    Big Wins: vs. (47)Old Dominion 64-45, vs. (15)Wichita State 65-62

    Bad Losses: vs. (145)Utah State 55-60, vs. (192)Indiana State 61-63, at (192)Indiana State 70-71, at (278)Southern Illinois 59-65

    Four bad losses hurts. Their RPI is likely not good enough for an at-large team, especially one with a small conference stigma attached to them. Getting swept by Indiana State will count against them. As will the terrible loss to SIU.

    The Redbirds likely needed to win the automatic berth from the MVC. They could be a tough out in the NIT depending on if they get to play at home or not.

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    • Projected seed: OUT

    Come back to Fantasy CPR tomorrow for the rest of the conferences and the one bid leagues, and our 11th hour seedings just before the actual ones come out. But we won’t stop there. We will get you a game-by-game preview all tournament long, and help you pick your brackets!

    Next: Big 12 NCAA Tournament Bids

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