Busting Brackets
Fansided

MVC Basketball: 2023 conference tournament preview and predictions

By Harry Schroeder

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)
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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Belmont’s Ben Sheppard Ovc Belmontvseku 25
Belmont’s Ben Sheppard Ovc Belmontvseku 25 /

Key Teams to Watch
 
The Favorite – Bradley Braves

Bradley is the league’s most complete team. Bradley’s ‘Double-Dutch’ frontcourt is the best Missouri Valley Conference front line. Mast and the extremely versatile Malevy Leons (both from the Netherlands) are able to shut down most teams’ interior offensive opportunities and they put offensive pressure on the opposing team’s bigs.

Leons averaged 11.6 points and led the league in blocks and was third in steals. He is dangerous from distance and is a game-changing player. Both are 6’9 and another 6’9 forward Darius Hannah and 6’6 veteran Ja’Shon Henry come of the bench and while display different talents, there is no drop-off in frontcourt production.

Bradley’s guard play has improved all season. Newcomer Duke Deen has been solid all season and sophomores Connor Hickman and Zek Montgomery have grown into their roles. Those three trade-off ball-handling chores and coach Brian Wardle calls Hickman the MVC’s best ‘on-ball’ defender.

The Braves are hot, they are deep and they know how to win in St. Louis.

Dangerous Upstart – Belmont Bruins

Knowing how to win is something Belmont understands far better than most. The Bruins have won at least 20 games for 13 straight seasons and at least 19 for eighteen consecutive years. This third-place tie is the worst regular season finish for Belmont in over 20 years. They know how to win.

Beyond Sheppard, Casey Alexander employs a wide array of players, and Belmont is known for its offensive efficiency. They were second to Indiana State in scoring, field goal percentage, and assists. The Bruins led the Valley in three-point percentage and ‘assist-turnover margin’.

Three-point shooters Drew Friberg and Cade Tyson feed off the ability of Sheppard, Keishwan Davidson, and Ja’Kobi Gillespie to break down perimeter defenders and find the open man. Belmont is a well-oiled offensive machine. The recent emergence of center Even Brauns as a rebounder and occasional scorer has added to the embarrassment of offensive riches.

Belmont swept Bradley but lost their only game to both Drake and Southern Illinois.

Dark Horse – Indiana State

Second-year coach Josh Schertz has assembled a large group of players that know their roles and play highly efficient offense and love to push the pace. The Sycamores are one of Kenpom.com’s quickest-paced teams, but they are not in a hurry. Schertz wants the opponents to have to react quickly and outside their comfort zone, but not at the expense of the right offensive choices.

Newcomer Courvoisier McCauley (DePaul) finished seventh in scoring (16.4) and made 95 three-point-baskets. He is an offensive force, but the league’s leading offensive team has eight players that average 5.8 points per contest. All eight can score in a variety of ways and that’s good because Schertz’s offense is in constant motion and they rarely run set plays. The Sycamores are a difficult scout.

Three other players average double-digits in scoring, but the play of guards Cameron Henry (10.0) and Julian Larry (7.2) sets this team apart. Both players have accumulated over 100 assists. Three of Indiana State’s top six players make better than 80 percent of their free throws.

The Sycamores split their games with SIU and Drake and lost their only game to Bradley. An ‘X-Factor’ in St. Louis could be the play of freshman post-player Robbie Avila. At times he looks like the heir apparent to Mast and the league’s next, best big man.