2025 MVC Tournament Preview & Conference Awards

CBB Review prepares you for every conference tournament leading up to Selection Sunday on Mar. 16. Up next: The MVC Tournament.

All of the Missouri Valley’s basketball members will participate in a conventional 12 team format in Saint Louis, Missouri, from Thursday, March 6 to Sunday, March 9. The top four seeds have received first round byes.

Last season, you may remember the electric Robbie Avila and Indiana State (both now at Saint Louis) grabbing attention from college basketball fans throughout the country, until they narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament, losing in heartbreaking fashion to Drake in the MVC title game.

Quite frankly, it’s Drake’s league and it has been for a bit, especially since Loyola-Chicago left for the Atlantic Ten in the 2023 offseason. The Bulldogs have participated in the last four MVC finals, and represented the conference as their auto-bid each of the past two seasons.

Both head coach Darian DeVries and his superstar son, Tucker, departed for West Virginia last offseason, but that was a just blip on the radar for the trajectory of this program. Led by D-II legend Ben McCollum, Drake enters the postseason at 27-3, putting them in position for a potential at-large bid, even with a loss (they may need some help in the process). In essence, the Missouri Valley can be a two-bid league if things play out a certain way.

2025 Missouri Valley Conference Awards

Player of the Year: Bennett Stirtz, Drake

Freshman of the Year: All Wright, Valparaiso

Transfer of the Year: Samage Teel, Indiana State

Coach of the Year: Ben McCollum, Drake

First Team:

• G: Bennett Stirtz, Drake (18.9 PPG, 5.9 APG, 4.4 RPG, 2.2 SPG)
• G: Samage Teel, Indiana State (17.1 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.2 RPG, 1.2 SPG)
• G: Tytan Anderson, Northern Iowa (15.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.2 SPG)
• F: Jonathan Pierre, Belmont (14.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.6 APG)
• C: Cooper Schwieger, Valparaiso (15.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.8 BPG)

Second Team:

• G: Duke Deen, Bradley (14.1 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.5 RPG)
• G: Johnny Kinziger, Illinois State (15.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.0 SPG)
• G: Kennard Davis Jr, Southern Illinois (16.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.3 SPG)
• F: Darius Hannah, Bradley (12.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.0 BPG)
• C: Chase Walker, Illinois State (15.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.1 APG)

2025 Missouri Valley Tournament Simulation

First Round – Thurs., Mar. 6

8. Southern Illinois (13-18, 8-12) vs. 9. Indiana State (14-17, 8-12) – 12 p.m. CT on MVC TV

Southern Illinois finished the regular season falling in five of six games, including most recently, a 95-77 loss to…Indiana State. Things could obviously turn on a dime but I wouldn’t bet on it. Sycamores advance.

Dan’s pick: 9. Indiana State

5. Illinois State (18-13, 10-10) vs. 12. Missouri State (9-22, 2-18) – 2:30 p.m. CT on MVC TV

Missouri State is just not there right now as a program in year one under Cuonzo Martin. While the Bears did have an intriguing non-conference, with wins over High Point and UC Santa Barbara, they have not been competitive in MVC play. Illinois State takes this in a blowout.

Dan’s pick: 5. Illinois State

7. Murray State (15-16, 9-11) vs. 10. Evansville (11-20, 8-12) – 6 p.m. CT on MVC TV

Haslametrics has Evansville in the bottom five in the country in their consistency metric. You never know what version of them you will get on a given night. In this case, the Aces muster enough offense to get it done and bring them to the second round.

Dan’s pick: 10. Evansville

6. UIC (17-13, 10-10) vs. 11. Valparaiso (13-18, 6-14) – 8:30 p.m. CT on MVC TV

Valparaiso has struggled defensively all year, especially in defending the rim. The Beacons actually did handle UIC in both games this regular season, but their fate won’t be the same in this one. UIC has their way on the interior.

Dan’s pick: 6. UIC

Quarterfinals – Fri., Mar. 7

1. Drake (27-3, 17-3) vs. 9. Indiana State – 12 p.m. CT on MVC TV

A rematch of last year’s title game happens early on. History repeats itself and the Bulldogs advance, this time with more ease.

Dan’s pick: 1. Drake

4. Belmont (21-10, 13-7) vs. 5. Illinois State – 2:30 p.m. CT on MVC TV

This will be a fun one. Both teams are the nation’s top 30 in three-point percentage and shoot them with high frequency. Illinois State moves on behind our second-team all-MVC honoree, Johnny Kinziger.

Dan’s pick: 5. Illinois State

2. Bradley (24-7, 15-5) vs. 10. Evansville – 6 p.m. CT on MVC TV

This game also has upset potential. Evansville can be fluky, and Bradley relies on the three ball. However, a 40.1% three-point percentage as a team on the year is too hard to ignore. Braves explode from a small half time deficit and advance.

Dan’s pick: 2. Bradley

3. Northern Iowa (20-11, 14-6) vs 6. UIC – 8:30 p.m. CT on MVC TV

Because I’ve been so chalky so far, let’s have a little change of pace. UIC gives Northern Iowa trouble with their fast tempo, and senior guard Tyem Freeman catches fire. A surprise visit to the semifinals for the Flames.

Dan’s pick: 6. UIC

Semifinals – Sat., Mar. 8

1. Drake vs 5. Illinois State –2:30 p.m. CT on CBSSN

Another game that Drake handles with ease. The Bulldogs frustrate the Illinois State offense, running them off the three point line into tough midrange shots, and carve them up on the other end. This may very well me the make-or-break game for Drake’s at-large tournament chances and Ben McCollum will not go down easily.

Dan’s pick: 1. Drake

2. Bradley vs 6. UIC –5 p.m. CT on CBSSN

UIC’s Cinderella run continues! The Flames gave the Braves trouble in both regular season meetings, including a 23-point victory in late January. Bradley is rated as the luckiest team in the MVC per Shot Quality, and that finally catches up to them on the court.

Dan’s pick: 6. UIC

Championship – Sun., Mar. 9

1. Drake vs 6. UIC –1:15 p.m. CT on CBSSN

Will UIC be one of the surprises of Conference Championship week and pull off four wins in four days? Unfortunately for multi-bid MVC dreamers, the answer is no. Again, UIC did win in a regular season contest so it wouldn’t be the most unprecedented result. That said, Drake has been too good, and most importantly for a postseason tournament, they have the ideal mix of a superstar player (Bennett Stirtz) and depth options. The Bulldogs represent the Missouri Valley in the NCAA Tournament.

Dan’s pick: 1. Drake