2016–17 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season

The 2016–17 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began on December 28, 2016, and concluded in March.

Illinois State and Wichita State shared the regular season championship with matching records of 17–1. Due to tiebreakers, Illinois State received the conference's No. 1 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

Illinois State's Paris Lee was named Conference Player of the Year and Dan Muller was named Coach of the Year.

The MVC Tournament was held from March 2–5 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Wichita State defeated Illinois State to win the tournament championship. As a result, the Shockers received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. No other MVC team received a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Illinois State received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament.

The season marked Wichita State's final season as an MVC member. Shortly after the end of the NCAA Tournament, the Shockers announced their departure for the American Athletic Conference, effective July 1, 2017.

Head coaches

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Year at school Overall record MVC record MVC championships NCAA TournamentsBradleyBrian WardleGreen Bay218–47 10–26 00DrakeJeff RutterDrake(asst.)16–175–1300EvansvilleMarty SimmonsSIU Edwardsville10158–155 75–105 00Illinois StateDan MullerVanderbilt(asst.)5104–65 57–33 10Indiana StateGreg LansingIndiana State(asst.)7120–108 65–61 01LoyolaPorter MoserSaint Louis(asst.)689–105 27–4500Missouri StatePaul LuskPurdue(asst.)788–106 45–64 00Northern IowaBen JacobsonNorthern Iowa(asst.)10234–134 123–75 24Southern IllinoisBarry HinsonKansas(admin.)577–80 36–48 00Wichita StateGregg MarshallWinthrop10261–90 132–46 56 Notes: All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Year at school includes 2016–17 season. Overall and MVC records are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2016–17 season. Fourth-year head coach Ray Giacoletti resigned on December 6, 2016 after the first eight games of the season. Assistant coach Jeff Rutter was named interim head coach.

Preseason

Preseason poll Source RankTeam 1. Wichita State (37) 2. Illinois State (4) 3. Northern Iowa (1)4.Missouri State5.Southern Illinois 6.Indiana State 7.Loyola 8.Bradley 9.Evansville 10.Drake(first place votes)

Preseason All-MVC teams

Honor Recipient Preseason Player of the Year Jeremy Morgan, Northern Iowa Preseason All-MVC First Team Paris Lee, Illinois State MiKyle McIntosh, Illinois State Markis McDuffie, Wichita State Jeremy Morgan, Northern Iowa Brenton Scott, Indiana State Preseason All-MVC Second Team Milton Doyle, Loyola–Chicago Dequon Miller, Missouri State Shaquille Morris, Wichita State Sean O'Brien, Southern Illinois Reed Timmer, Drake Source

Regular season According to college basketball statistical guru Ken Pomeroy, the MVC had "the most unusual conference table in the land" for the season. The co-champions Illinois State and Wichita State were the only two teams that finished above .500 in conference play, each finishing with only one conference loss (splitting their two regular-season matchups). This made the MVC the first Division I conference to have two men's teams finish with no more than one conference loss since the MEAC in 2013, and also marked the first time that a Division I conference with 10 or more members had only two teams with winning league records since the MVC itself in 2012 (which had a five-team tie for third place at 9–9).

Head-to-head results   BradleyDrakeEvansvilleIllinois StateIndiana StateLoyolaMissouri StateNorthern IowaSouthern IllinoisWichita Statevs. Bradley – 0–20–22–02–02–01–11–11–12–0vs. Drake2–0 – 1–12–01–11–11–12–01–12–0vs. Evansville2–01–1 – 2–01–11–11–11–11–12–0vs. Illinois State0–20–20–2 – 0–20–20–20–20–21–1vs. Indiana State0–21–11–12–0 – 2–02–01–12–02–0vs. Loyola0–21–11–12–00–2 – 1–11–12–02–0vs. Missouri State1–11–11–12–00–21–1 – 1–12–02–0vs. Northern Iowa1–10–21–12–01–11–11–1 – 0–22–0vs. Southern Illinois1–11–11–12–00–20–20–22–0 – 2–0vs. Wichita State0–20–20–21–10–20–20–20–20–2 – Total7–115–136–1217–15–138–127–119–99–917–1

Player of the week Week Player of the week Newcomer of the weekNov. 14Alize Johnson, Missouri StateNov. 21Jeremy Morgan, Northern IowaAundre Jackson, Loyola–ChicagoNov. 28Darrell Brown, Jr., BradleyAundre Jackson, Loyola–ChicagoDec, 5Paris Lee, Illinois StateAundre Jackson, Loyola–ChicagoDec. 12Jeremy Morgan, Northern IowaAlize Johnson, Missouri StateDec. 19Paris Lee, Illinois StateRyan Taylor, EvansvilleDec. 26Jaylon Brown, EvansvilleAlize Johnson, Missouri StateJan. 2Alize Johnson, Missouri StateAlize Johnson, Missouri StateJan. 9Milton Doyle, Loyola–ChicagoLandry Shamet, Wichita StateJan. 16MiKyle McIntosh, Illinois StateAundre Jackson, Loyola–ChicagoJan. 23Shaquille Morris, Wichita StateAlize Johnson, Missouri StateJan. 30Milton Doyle, Loyola–ChicagoPhil Fayne, Illinois StateFeb. 6Conner Frankamp, Wichita StateThik Bol, Southern IllinoisFeb. 13Paris Lee, Illinois StateRyan Taylor, EvansvilleFeb. 20Deontae Hawkins, Illinois StateAlize Johnson, Missouri State

Conference Awards Award RecipientsLarry Bird Player of the YearParis Lee, Illinois StateCoach of the YearDan Muller, Illinois StateNewcomer of the YearAlize Johnson, Missouri StateFreshman of the YearLandry Shamet, Wichita StateDefensive MVPParis Lee, Illinois StateSixth-Man of the YearAundre Jackson, Loyola–ChicagoAll-MVC First TeamMilton Doyle, Loyola–ChicagoAlize Johnson, Missouri State.Paris Lee, Illinois StateMarkis McDuffie, Wichita StateLandry Shamet, Wichita StateAll-MVC Second TeamJaylon Brown, EvansvilleDeontae Hawkins, Illinois StateMiKyle McIntosh, Illinois StateJeremy Morgan, Northern IowaSean O'Brien, Southern IllinoisAll-MVC Third TeamConner Frankamp, Wichita StateDonte Ingram, Loyola–ChicagoShaquille Morris, Wichita StateBrenton Scott, Indiana StateReed Timmer, DrakeAll-Newcomer TeamPhil Fayne, Illinois StateAundre Jackson, Loyola–ChicagoAlize Johnson, Missouri StateLandry Shamet, Wichita StateDarral Willis Jr., Wichita StateAll-Freshmen TeamKoch Bar, BradleyJordan Barnes, Indiana StateDarrell Brown Jr., BradleySpencer Haldeman, Northern IowaLandry Shamet, Wichita StateDru Smith, EvansvilleAll-Defensive TeamThik Bol, Southern IllinoisZach Brown, Wichita StateObediah Church, Missouri StateParis Lee, Illinois StateJeremy Morgan, Northern IowaTony Wills, Illinois StateSource

Postseason

Missouri Valley Conference tournament

Teams were seeded by conference record, with ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by overall adjusted RPI, if necessary. The top six seeds received first-round byes. GameTime*MatchupFinal scoreTelevision First round – Thursday, March 216:05 pmNo. 8 Evansville vs. No. 9 Indiana State83–72ESPN3/FSMW/CSNC28:35 pmNo. 7 Bradley vs. No. 10 Drake67–58ESPN3/FSMW/CSNC Quarterfinals – Friday, March 3312:05 pmNo. 1 Illinois State vs. No. 8 Evansville80–69ESPN3/FSMW/CSNC42:35 pmNo. 4 Southern Illinois vs. No. 5 Loyola–Chicago55-50ESPN3/FSMW/CSNC56:05 pmNo. 2 Wichita State vs. No. 7 Bradley82–56ESPN3/FSMW/CSNC68:35 pmNo. 3 Northern Iowa vs. No. 6 Missouri State64–70ESPN3/FSMW/CSNC Semifinals – Saturday, March 472:35 pmNo. 1 Illinois State vs. No. 4 Southern Illinois63–50CBSSN85:05 pmNo. 2 Wichita State vs. No. 6 Missouri State78–63CBSSN Championship – Sunday, March 5101:05 pmNo. 1 Illinois State vs. No. 2 Wichita State51–71CBS *Game times in CT. Rankings denote tournament seeding.

NCAA tournament

The winner of the MVC tournament received an automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship10 South Wichita StateN/Adefeated (7) Dayton 64–58eliminated by (2) KentuckyW–L (%):0–0 ()1–0 ()0–1 ()0–0 ()0–0 ()0–0 ()0–0 () Total: 1–1 ()

National Invitation tournament

One MVC team, Illinois State, received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament. Seed Bracket School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals1 Illinois State Illinois Statedefeated (8) UC Irvine 85–71eliminated by (4) UCF W–L (%):1–0 ()0–1 ()0–0 ()0–0 ()0–0 () Total: 1–1 ()

References