The semifinals are set after Friday's quarterfinal round at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and the last game of the day brought the biggest upset of the tournament.
Valparaiso players celebrate after finishing a 64-63 win to upset Northern Iowa on Friday, March 7, 2025, in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament at Enterprise Center.
No. 11 seed Valparaiso 64, No. 3 seed Northern Iowa 63
Valparaiso become the first-ever No. 11 seed to advance to the Arch Madness semifinals in one of the wildest games you’ll see, weathering a 20-0 run to win.
The Beacons led by as many as 19 points early in the second half before a 20-0 Northern Iowa during which Valpo went eight-plus minutes without scoring.
All Wright, the league’s top freshman, scored two key baskets late for Valpo and Northern Iowa missed three potential winning shots at the buzzer.
Wright, one of the league’s most jubilant players, captured fans with his name, his play and his style, celebrating every made 3-pointer as if it were a game-winner. He made his first six 3-point tries and finished with 29 points.
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Cooper Schwieger, last year’s top freshman, added 18 for the Beacons, who have pulled upsets in both of their games this tournament, over sixth-seed Illinois Chicago to open the event.
Valparaiso (15-18), which starts two freshmen and a sophomore, meets Bradley in Saturday’s second semifinal.
Northern Iowa, led by Tytan Anderson’s 22 points, finishes 20-12
Murray State forward Nick Ellington goes up for a shot against a Bradley defender on Friday, March 7, 2025, in the quarterfinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament at Enterprise Center.
No. 2 seed Bradley 70, No. 7 seed Murray State 62
Bradley got a scare, but the second-seeded Braves outlasted Murray State and advanced to Saturday’s semifinals.
The Braves (25-7) trailed at halftime but a couple of key runs and some defensive stops were enough to survive.
"We'll win ugly over pretty losses any day of the week," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said.
A paint-powered 7-0 run put Bradley up by 12 points with 2:24 to play and allowed the Braves’ large, raucous fan section to relax a bit, even if they never really sat down.
The Braves finished with a 36-26 edge in points in the paint.
Murray State, ranked last in the league in effective field goal percentage in conference games, struggled to score and didn’t make its second field goal of the second half until nearly 10 minutes in, finishing with a 33.9% field goal percentage.
The Braves’ interior focus allowed them to pull away, in a physical, defensive battle in which a foul could’ve been called on nearly every possession, and sometimes was.
Bradley shoots a Division I-leading 41% from 3-point range but only made 3 of 13 on Friday.
Darius Hannah (17 points), Duke Deen (16), Jaquan Johnson (11) and Zek Montgomery (10) led the Braves
Murray State senior forward Nick Ellington (Cardinal Ritter) finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Racers (16-17), who were led by Kylen Milton with 23 points. Jacobi Wood, the Racers’ leading scorer was scoreless, going 0-for-9 from the floor.
"That was a total team effort," Wardle said of shutting down Wood.
Bradley will face No. 11 Valparaiso.
After the game, Murray State coach Steve Prohm stepped down, according multiple reports. Prohm struggled in his three seasons in his current stint at Murray to just one winning conference season.
No. 4 seed Belmont 76, No. 5 seed Illinois State 63
Belmont's Carter Whitt soars to the basket during a quarterfinal game against Illinois State at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Friday, March 7, 2025.
Belmont came out firing, taking a big lead early vs. Illinois State then weathering a Redbirds rally to advance to face top-seeded Drake on Saturday.
Belmont (22-10) led by as many as 28 points early in the second half before a 10-2 Illinois State run cut it to 13 midway through the second half and made things a bit more interesting.
The Redbirds, hanging around, trimmed the lead to 11 with under five minutes to play, but the rally fizzled when Sam Orme hit a 3-pointer for Belmont then the Redbirds turned it over as precious seconds melted off the clock.
The Bruins made 10 more first-half shots than Illinois State and shot 58% to the Redbirds’ 27% in the half. Illinois State’s three top scorers combined for eight points in the half as Belmont led 41-19 at the break.
Illinois State (19-14) had as many turnovers in the first half (eight) as made baskets against a Bruins defense that ranks toward the bottom of the league in most metrics.
Tyler Lundblade led the Bruins with 14 points. Carter Whitt scored all 12 of his points in the first half in a game that saw six Bruins reach double figures.
Dalton Banks (19 points) Johnny Kinziger (12) and led the Redbirds.
Saturday’s Belmont-Drake game will be the second of the season. Drake won the other one 65-46 in late December.
No. 1 seed Drake 70, No. 8 seed Southern Illinois 53
Drake, led by first-year coach Ben McCollum and his Division II transfers, ousted No. 8 seed Southern Illinois in Friday's quarterfinal round opener.
Drake freshman Isaia Howard led Drake with a career-best 21 off the bench along with six steals, also a career high.
Drake coach Ben McCollum speaks with the media on Friday, March 7, 2025, following a quarterfinal round win over Southern Illinois at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. (Video courtesy MVC)
The Bulldogs forced 15 turnovers and got some much-needed bench production in a rare blowout win.
Drake point guard Bennett Stirtz, the MVC’s player of the year, scored 15 and tallied five assists.
The Salukis were led by Ali Dibba with 19 points. Kennard Davis Jr. (Vashon) had 10 points and four rebounds.
Southern Illinois, in head coach Scott Nagy’s first season, finishes 14-19.
Drake (28-3) advances to Saturday’s semifinals and will face No. 4 seed Belmont.
Davion Sykes of Southern Illinois Carbondale scores the winning basket with 4.1 seconds to play vs. Indiana State on Thursday, March 6, 2025, at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament at Enterprise Center.
