ST. LOUIS – Eighth-seeded Wichita State (8-21, 5-13) will face ninth-seeded Bradley (8-20, 4-13) at 4 p.m., March 10, in the first game of the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at the iWireless Arena in Moline, Ill.
UNI, which clinched its second Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball regular-season title in program history (first since 2011), has earned the No. 1 seed for next week's MVC Tournament. The Panthers finished the regular-season with a record of 20-9, including a 15-3 mark in league play, closing out the season on an eight-game winning streak.
Drake and Missouri State are the second and third seeds, respectively. The Bulldogs and the Lady Bears both finished with identical 14-4 league records, but Drake swept the season series over Missouri State, thus earning the higher seed. The Bulldogs won 20 games for the second consecutive season, while the Lady Bears enter the tournament having won six of their last seven games. Southern Illinois (12-6 MVC) and Loyola (10-8 MVC) earned the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively. The Salukis put together the most wins (19) since the 2006-07 season, while the Ramblers finished in the top-half of the league standings for the first time since joining the Valley in 2013-14.
This year's tournament - the ninth neutral-site event in the conference's history - begins on Thursday, March 10, at iWireless Center in Moline, Ill., in the first of a multi-year agreement between the Missouri Valley Conference and the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau. The top seed has won the conference tournament in 17 of 30 seasons and a team that has won or shared the regular-season title has gone on to win the tournament title 20 times. Top seeds have four runner-up finishes. Teams seeded No. 2 have won the tournament four times and finished as the runner-up 11 times.
The Shockers are three-time defending Valley Tournament Champions and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three years.
The tournament, which features nine games over four days, culminates on Sunday, March 13, with a the title game airing live on The Valley on ESPN3 at 2:00 p.m. (CT). Both semifinals on Saturday, all four quarterfinals on Friday and the two opening round games on Thursday will also be available live on The Valley on ESPN3.
2016 MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT - iWireless Center - Moline, Ill.
Thursday, March 10: Session I
Game 1 - No. 8 Wichita State (8-21, 5-13 MVC) vs. No. 9 Bradley (8-20, 4-13 MVC), 4 p.m. [The Valley on ESPN3]
Game 2 - No. 7 Illinois State (8-21, 6-12 MVC) vs. No. 10 Evansville (2-27, 1-17 MVC), 7 p.m. [The Valley on ESPN3]
Friday, March 11 -- Session II
Game 3 - No. 1 UNI (20-9, 15-3 MVC) vs. Winner Game 1, 12 p.m. [The Valley on ESPN3]
Game 4 - No. 4 Southern Illinois (19-11, 12-6 MVC) vs. No. 5 Loyola (13-15, 9-8), 2:30 p.m. [The Valley on ESPN3]
Friday, March 11 -- Session III
Game 5 - No. 2 Drake (21-8, 14-4 MVC) vs. Winner of Game 2, 6 p.m. [The Valley on ESPN3]
Game 6 - No. 3 Missouri State (21-9, 14-4 MVC) vs. No. 6 Indiana State (13-15, 9-8 MVC), 8:30 p.m. [The Valley on ESPN3]
Saturday, March 12 -- Session IV
Game 7 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 1:30 p.m. [The Valley on ESPN3]
Game 8 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 4 p.m. [The Valley on ESPN3]
Sunday, March 13 -- Session V
Championship - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 2 p.m. [The Valley on ESPN3]
