Busting Brackets
Fansided

MVC Basketball: Conference tournament preview and predictions

By Doug Winkey

Mar 8, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers head coach Ben Jacobson reacts in the game between the Illinois State Redbirds and the Northern Iowa Panthers during second half in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference basketball tournament at Scotttrade Center. Northern Iowa Panthers won 60-69. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 8, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers head coach Ben Jacobson reacts in the game between the Illinois State Redbirds and the Northern Iowa Panthers during second half in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference basketball tournament at Scotttrade Center. Northern Iowa Panthers won 60-69. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
10 of 11
Next
Feb 10, 2016; Cedar Falls, IA, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers guard Wes Washpun (11) and guard Matt Bohannon (5) relax during a break in action during the second half against the Missouri State Bears at McLeod Center. Northern Iowa won 83-69. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 10, 2016; Cedar Falls, IA, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers guard Wes Washpun (11) and guard Matt Bohannon (5) relax during a break in action during the second half against the Missouri State Bears at McLeod Center. Northern Iowa won 83-69. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

2: Northern Iowa Panthers

Northern Iowa overcame a horrendous 2-6 start in the Missouri Valley to finish fifth at 11-7. The Panthers closed out their regular season by winning three straight to snag the fourth seed,  where they will play Southern Illinois.

More from Busting Brackets

UNI will more than likely win that opening game and upset Wichita State in the semis to reach the title game. Norther Iowa won this tournament a year ago and will be itching to repeat despite longer odds. The Panthers are 88th overall on KenPom.com, 124th in AdjO, 69th in AdjD, and 94th in RPI.

Compared to the eight and nine deep teams in this tournament, Northern Iowa’s bench seems short at only seven consistent contributors. Four players, Wes Washpun, Matt Bohannon, Paul Jesperson, and Jeremy Morgan, carry the team through most situations. All are fine shooters and good rebounders even though none of them are taller than 6’6″. UNI shoots the conferences best three point percentage at 38%.

While the Panthers have played disappointingly at times this year, the hold the edge in wins over the RPI top 50 at 3-1 over WSU’s 1-5, though WSU did have an injury to VanVleet that kept him out for several of those games.

I still like UNI to pull the shocker and advance to the title game because when they hit shots, almost no team in America can stop them. North Carolina and Iowa State were unfortunate recipients of such performances in December. The balance that UNI has shown at times gives me enough reason to pick them over somewhat top-heavy Wichita State. Unfortunately, I don’t think the team has enough firepower to overcome who I think will win the conferences automatic bid.

Next: 1: Evansville Aces