MVC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS

At Scottrade Center, St. Louis (Tournament seeds in parentheses)

(5) BRADLEY VS. (4) CREIGHTON

2:35 p.m., Scottrade Center, St. Louis
Fox Sports Midwest, Comcast SportsNet
Chicago, WMBD-AM (1470)
BRADLEY (15-14, 9-9) PPG RPG
BRAVES BLUEJAYS
KEYS F Taylor Brown So. 6-6 14.1 6.9 KEYS
Get off to C Will Egolf So. 6-9 7.4 4.6 Slow Bradley
a better G Chris Roberts Sr. 6-4 9.4 4.6 drives in the
start, show G Andrew Warren Jr. 6-5 14.4 4.6 lane, get more
patience G Sam Maniscalco Jr. 6-0 12.6 2.8 shots for
against CREIGHTON (16-14, 10-8) PPG RPG Lawson and
Creighton hold edge on
zone and F Justin Carter Sr. 6-4 9.8 5.9 the boards.
show better F Ethan Wragge Fr. 6-7 6.6 2.3
awareness C Kenny Lawson Jr. Jr. 6-9 13.0 6.7
defensively. G Josh Jones Fr. 6-2 3.7 1.0
G Antoine Young So. 6-0 6.6 1.6
NOTEWORTHY: Creighton leads the series 41-39, has swept the two games this
season (73-68 and 82-71) and has won 18 of the last 21 meetings with the
Braves. ... In MVC tournament play, Bradley owns a 4-3 edge. ... This is the Braves’
fifth consecutive year as a 4-5 seed team. Three of those years, the Bluejays have
been the opponent. ... Bradley is 17-11 all-time in the quarterfinals and has won
10 of its last 14 quarterfinal games dating back to 1994. That’s tied for first with
Missouri State and Southern Illinois during that timeframe. ... Andrew Warren
needs seven points to become the 44th member of the BU 1,000-point club. ...
Creighton has won 10 MVC tournament titles, including six in the last 11 years. ...
Bradley has won two MVC tournament titles, both coming in Peoria in 1980 and
1988. ... This contest marks the 500th game of Dana Altman’s coaching career at
Creighton and the 650th of his Division I career.
PREDICTION: Creighton 70, Bradley 64 (Dave Reynolds’ record 21-8)

(1) Northern Iowa vs. (8) Drake

u When: Noon, Fox Sports Midwest
u Records: Northern Iowa 25-4, 15-3; Drake 14-18, 7-11
u Update: The Panthers swept their in-state rivals during the season, winning
67-51 in Cedar Falls on Jan. 27 and 57-48 in Des Moines on Feb. 10. In the
second game, UNI trailed by 3 with 6:36 left, but Ali Farokhmanesh buried
a pair of 3-pointers as UNI clinched a share of the MVC title. UNI is ranked
No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense at 55.3 points per game. Panthers won
three of four to finish the year, while Bulldogs won two of four. Drake holds a
2-1 edge all-time on the Panthers in the MVC tournament.
u Prediction: Northern Iowa 65, Drake 52

(2) Wichita State vs. (7) Missouri State

u When: 6:05 p.m., Fox Sports Midwest
u Records: Wichita State 23-8, 12-6; Missouri State 20-11, 8-10
u Update: Wichita State swept the season series with a pair of one-posses-
sion victories. The Shockers controlled the boards in each and won the battle
for second-chance points. Wichita hasn’t won three games in a row since the
first two weeks of January. The Shockers are only 7-6 since then. Missouri
State won three of its last four, the only loss in overtime to Indiana State. All-
conference guard Clevin Hannah leads the Shockers in scoring (12.2 ppg) and
assists (4.9). Forward Kyle Weems leads the Bears in scoring and rebounding
(13.9, 6.2) and hits .413 from 3-point range. The Shockers are without key
reserve David Kyles (broken hand).
u Prediction: Wichita State 64, Missouri State 61

(3) Illinois State vs. (6) Indiana State

u When: 8:35 p.m., Fox Sports Midwest, WJBC-AM (1230)
u Records: Illinois State 21-9, 11-7; Indiana State 17-13, 9-9
u Update: The teams split their season series, each winning at home. Illinois
State is the Valley’s hottest team, having won six in a row before dropping the
regular-season finale at champion Northern Iowa in a game that went to the
final minute. Two Birds made first-team all-MVC — guard Osiris Eldridge (15.9
ppg) and center Dinma Odiakosa (13.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg) — and they outrebound
opponents by an average of 4.7. Indiana State, which lost three starters to
injury this season, has the best one back: senior guard Harry Marshall, who hit
the game-winner in the regular-season finale. The Sycamores posted their first
winning season since 2000-01.
u Prediction: Illinois State 70, Indiana State 64