2026 Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Championship Basics
Format
traditional bracket
Place
Traditionally, Arch Madness games are held at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, where they have been held since 1995, although the event has been held in St. Louis since 1991.
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participants
All 11 teams will compete in this season’s event. Since Missouri State switched to FBS and CUSA, there will be fewer first-round games to come.
schedule
Downloadable PDF stand
TV/Streaming Information
Round 1 (Thursday 3/5)
General Motors. 1: (9) Drake 67(8) Southern Illinois (16-16, 10-10) 63
General Motors. 2: (10) Indiana (11-21, 4-16) 62, (7) Valparaiso 63
General Motors. 3: (11) Evansville (7-24, 3-17) vs. (6) Northern Iowa (19-12, 11-9), 9:30*
Panthers sweep: 62-48 (away) at 1/31 and 71-55 (home) at 1/31.
Quarterfinals (Friday 3/6)
General Motors. 4: (9) Drake (13-19, 6-14) vs. (1) Belmont (26-5, 16-4), 1
Bruins sweep: 78-76 (away) at 1/10 and 103-90 (home) at 2/3.
General Motors. 5: (5) UIC (17-14, 12-8) vs. (4) Murray State (20-11, 12-8), 3:30*
Racing sweeps: 81-77 (away) at 1/1 and 81-74 (home) at 2/3.
General Motors. 6: (7) Valparaiso (18-14, 11-9) vs. (2) Bradley (20-11, 13-7), 7
Home points: 2/3 Warriors 72-65, 2/18 Lighthouse 79-72.
General Motors. 7: General Motors. 3 Winner vs. (3) Illinois (20-11, 12-8), 9:30*
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Semifinals (Saturday 3/7)
CBSSN will televise both games.
General Motors. 8: General Motors. 4 Winner vs. GM. 5 winners, 3:30
General Motors. 9: General Motors. 6 Winner vs. GM. 7 winners, 6*
Championship (Sun. 3/8)
General Motors. 10: Semifinal Winners, 12 (CBS)
potential for chaos
Data originally published by Bob Vetrone Jr. on Twitter In 2020 I will be adding my own content for future seasons.
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1 seed(5): 2013, 2014, 2018, 2021, 2025
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2 seeds(5): 2012, 2015, 2017, 2023, 2024
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4 seeds(3): 2016, 2020, 2022
Since the NCAA expanded the field to 68 players in 2011, the top 2 seeds have won 10 of the 15 Arch Madness titles. Drake’s championships in 2023 and 2024 give No. 2 seeds an edge over No. 1 seeds until the Bulldogs won three straight last season as the No. 1 seed. Oddly enough, the winner of the first semifinal (1 versus 4/5) has won nine of the 15 titles since the NCAA expanded its field to 68 players.
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NCAA seeding records in the 68-team era
The NCAA’s winning days are behind us Bold.
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No. 5 Seed(2): 2012 (automatic), 2015 (automatic)
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No. 7 Seed(2): 2013 (automatic), 2015 (general member)
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No. 8 Seed(1): 2012 (General Member), 2021 (automatic)
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No. 9 Seed(1): 2013 (general member)
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No. 10 Seed(3): 2017, 2022, 2024
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No. 11 Seed(4): 2016 (Automatic and general membership)2018, 2021 (General Member), 2025
The Valley has been a single-bid conference since Wichita State left for the American Athletic Conference after the 2016-17 season. The Shock’s departure, Creighton’s departure to the Big East, and Loyola Chicago’s (Blue Jays’ replacement) departure to the Atlantic 10 have severely limited Missouri Valley’s chances of earning a multiple bid.
The 2021 NCAA Tournament is the last (and only since Wichita State’s departure) that the Valley gets two bids – with Drake earning a spot in the top four (they knocked off the Shockers) and the Ramblers advancing to the Sweet 16 as the No. 8 seed with an automatic bid.
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Although Belmont only lost five games, the Bruins were not a serious contender. They’ll likely end up in the 12th seed and win the Arch Madness title. Seven of the top eight teams are ranked in the NET’s top 125, with Belmont, UNI, Illinois and Murray State all ranked in the top 100. Seventh-seeded Valpo University is ranked No. 154. Any non-Belmont winner has a good chance of ending up in the No. 13 seed, assuming they’re from that group.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance
Drake: 2025 (11th seed, second round)
Murray State: 2022 (No. 7 seed, second round, OVC member)
Belmont: 2019 (11th seed, first round, OVC member)—2020 OVC Tournament Champion
Bradley: 2019 (No. 15 seed, first round) — 2020 Missouri Valley Tournament Champion
Northern Iowa: 2016 (No. 11 seed, second round)
Valparaiso: 2015 (13th seed, Top 64, Horizon member)
Indiana: 2011 (14th seed, top 64)
Southern Illinois: 2007 (No. 4 seed, Sweet 16)
University of Illinois at Chicago: 2004 (No. 13 seed, first round, Horizon League member)
Evansville: 1999 (11th seed, at-large, first round)
Illinois: 1998 (No. 9 seed, second round)
All 12 Valley members have now qualified for at least one NCAA tournament.