The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) is a collegiate athletic conference that sponsors men’s and women’s basketball among other sports. The conference includes 10 universities located in the Midwest region of the United States.
The MVC men’s basketball tournament is held annually at the end of the regular season to determine the conference champion and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The tournament is a single-elimination format, with all 10 conference teams participating.
The women’s tournament follows the same format and also determines the conference champion and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The dates and locations of the MVC basketball tournaments may vary from year to year, so it is best to check the conference’s official website for the most up-to-date information.
The first Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Men’s Basketball Tournament was held in 1977. The tournament was created to determine the MVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The first MVC Women’s Basketball Tournament was held in 1983, also to determine the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Since then, both tournaments have been held annually, with the winner of each tournament receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Several notable NBA players have played in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament throughout its history. Here are some of the most notable:
Fred VanVleet – VanVleet played for Wichita State and helped lead the Shockers to back-to-back MVC Tournament championships in 2013 and 2014. He went on to play for the Toronto Raptors and helped the team win an NBA championship in 2019.
Doug McDermott – McDermott played for Creighton and led the Bluejays to two MVC Tournament championships in 2012 and 2013. He was a two-time consensus All-American and went on to play for several NBA teams, including the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers.
Anthony Tolliver – Tolliver played for Creighton and helped lead the Bluejays to the MVC Tournament championship in 2007. He has played for several NBA teams over the course of his career, including the Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies.
Paul Silas – Silas played for Creighton in the 1960s and went on to have a successful NBA career, winning three NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in the 1970s.
Hersey Hawkins – Hawkins played for Bradley and helped lead the Braves to the MVC Tournament championship in 1988. He went on to have a successful NBA career, playing for several teams including the Seattle Supersonics and Philadelphia 76ers.
The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament has seen several upsets and Cinderella stories throughout its history. However, one of the biggest underdog teams to win the MVC Tournament was the Southern Illinois Salukis in 2002.
During the 2001-2002 season, Southern Illinois finished 12-6 in conference play and earned the No. 4 seed in the MVC Tournament. The Salukis then upset the No. 1 seed Creighton Bluejays in the semifinals before going on to defeat the No. 2 seed Indiana State Sycamores in the championship game.
Southern Illinois’ victory in 2002 marked their first MVC Tournament championship in 10 years and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1995. The Salukis went on to upset No. 4 seed Texas Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 5 seed Connecticut in the second round.
While there have been other upsets and underdog stories in the MVC Tournament, Southern Illinois’ victory in 2002 is widely regarded as one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history.
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