MVC Basketball: 2023 conference tournament preview and predictions

ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 9: Head coach Brian Wardle of the Bradley Braves directs his team against the Loyola Ramblers during the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at the Enterprise Center on March 9, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

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Bradley’s Rienk Mast, left, and Darius Hannah, right, defend against Murray State’s DJ Burns /

Key players for the Missouri Valley Basketball Tournament

Tucker DeVries – Drake Bulldogs

Preseason player of the year Tucker DeVries (18.9 ppg) finished second in the league scoring race to Valparaiso’s Ben Krikke. The sophomore forward is an NBA prospect and ranks among Valley leaders in every scoring category. He scores at all three levels and is the top of every team’s scouting report and has reached the 1,000-point plateau in just two seasons.

DeVries can dominate games. Despite scoring just 11 points in Drake’s Sunday showdown with Bradley, coach Darian DeVries’ son tallied 28 against the defensive-minded Braves during their game in mid-January. When DeVries is on the Bulldogs are extremely difficult to beat.

His .383 percentage from deep means opponents must guard him tightly, but his .846 from the free throw line, means they can’t be too physical. Should they meet in the semifinals, Southern Illinois held DeVries to scoring totals of 15 and eleven points, while the teams split their two regular-season games.

Rienk Mast – Bradley Braves

Bradley’s ‘mountain man in the middle’ is the Valley’s best post player. While playing himself into shape after an early season knee injury, Mast was the league’s second-leading rebounder (8.0 per game) and twelfth in scoring (13.96). The 6’9, 240-pound Mast is the anchor of the league’s best defense (61.3 points per game) and gives his teammates freedom to gamble for steals and blocks.

His soft touch around the rim (.522 FG%) includes the ability to score from either block, using his left or right hand for baby hooks. While he doesn’t take a ton of threes, his long-distance triple was the game-winner against SIU just over a week ago, keeping their title hopes alive. He can pick and pop.

Three-pointers are hard to come by in St. Louis’ Enterprise Center. Its shooting backdrop is not conducive to living by long-distance shots. So a post presence and an interior game is huge at Arch Madness.

Ben Sheppard – Belmont

Sheppard may have the best, all-round game in the Valley. The Belmont senior do big and small things for the Bruins. He finished third in the scoring race (18.8) and resided on the conference’s leaderboards in rebounds, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, assists, steals and minutes played.

He is an elite defender. Sheppard was the Ohio Valley’s defensive player of the year last season and continued to shut down MVC stars this year. Coach Casey Alexander says his 6’6 senior has improved every year by adding something new each season. During Belmont’s only game with Drake, DeVries scored just 13 points. Sheppard is three points away from reaching 1,500 for his Belmont career. Sheppard topped the 20-point mark twelve times, including two occasions where he went for 30.