2023 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament

2023 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2022–23
Teams12
SiteVibrant Arena at The MARK
Moline, Illinois
ChampionsDrake Bulldogs (8th title)
Winning coachAllison Pohlman (1st title)
MVPMaggie Bair (Drake)
TelevisionMVC TV, ESPNU
← 2022
2024 →

The 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, marketed as "Hoops in the Heartland", was a postseason women's basketball tournament that completed the 2022–23 season in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The tournament was held at the Vibrant Arena at The MARK in Moline, Illinois, from March 9–12, 2023. Drake won the tournament, claiming the MVC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[1]

For the first time, the tournament featured 12 teams. Belmont, Murray State, and UIC joined the conference in 2022 following Loyola Chicago's exit.

2022–23 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Illinois State 17 – 3   .850 24 – 9   .727
Belmont 17 – 3   .850 23 – 12   .657
Northern Iowa 16 – 4   .800 23 – 10   .697
Missouri State 14 – 6   .700 20 – 12   .625
Drake† 14 – 6   .700 22 – 9   .710
UIC 9 – 11   .450 19 – 17   .528
Southern Illinois 8 – 12   .400 12 – 19   .387
Murray State 7 – 13   .350 15 – 16   .484
Evansville 6 – 14   .300 11 – 19   .367
Indiana State 6 – 14   .300 11 – 19   .367
Valparaiso 5 – 15   .250 7 – 23   .233
Bradley 1 – 19   .050 4 – 28   .125
† 2023 MVC tournament winner
As of March 19, 2023


Seeds

Teams are seeded by conference record, with ties broken by the overall record in conference games played between the tied teams, then (if necessary) by comparison of records between the tying institutions versus the top team in the standings (and continuing from top to bottom of standings, as necessary, with the team having the better record against that team receiving the better seed). The top four seeds receive opening-round byes.[2]

Seed School Conference Tiebreaker 1
1 Illinois State 17-3 1-0 vs. Belmont
2 Belmont 17-3 0-1 vs. Illinois State
3 Northern Iowa 16-4
4 Drake 14-6 1-1 vs. Belmont
5 Missouri State 14-6 0-2 vs. Belmont
6 UIC 9-11
7 Southern Illinois 8-12
8 Murray State 7-13
9 Evansville 6-14 2-0 vs. Indiana State
10 Indiana State 6-14 0-2 vs. Evansville
11 Valparaiso 5-15
12 Bradley 1-19

Schedule

Game Time * Matchup Score Television
Opening Round – Thursday, March 9
1 12:00 pm No. 8 Murray State vs. No. 9 Evansville 88–46 MVC TV
2 2:30 pm No. 5 Missouri State vs. No. 12 Bradley 71–53
3 6:00 pm No. 7 Southern Illinois vs. No. 10 Indiana State 81–79
4 8:30 pm No. 6 UIC vs. No. 11 Valparaiso 72–47
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 10
5 12:00 pm No. 1 Illinois State vs. No. 8 Murray State 75–73 MVC TV
6 2:30 pm No. 4 Drake vs. No. 5 Missouri State 73–70
7 6:00 pm No. 2 Belmont vs. No. 7 Southern Illinois 70–64
8 8:30 pm No. 3 Northern Iowa vs. No. 6 UIC 73–57
Semifinals – Saturday, March 11
9 1:30 pm No. 1 Illinois State vs. No. 4 Drake 54–74 MVC Network
10 4:00 pm No. 2 Belmont vs. No. 3 Northern Iowa 69–62
Final – Sunday, March 12
11 1:00 pm No. 4 Drake vs. No. 2 Belmont – ESPNU
*Game times in CST. Rankings denote tournament seed.

Bracket

Opening Round
Thursday, March 9
MVC TV 		Quarterfinals
Friday, March 10
MVC TV 		Semifinals
Saturday, March 11
MVC Network 		Final
Sunday, March 12
ESPNU
1 Illinois State 75
8 Murray State 88 8 Murray State 73
9 Evansville 46 1 Illinois State 54
4 Drake 74
4 Drake 73
5 Missouri State 71 5 Missouri State 70
12 Bradley 53 4 Drake 89
2 Belmont 71
2 Belmont 70
7 Southern Illinois 81 7 Southern Illinois 64
10 Indiana State 79 2 Belmont 69
3 Northern Iowa 62
3 Northern Iowa 73
6 UIC 72 6 UIC 57
11 Valparaiso 47

[3]

References

  1. ^ "MVC Hoops in the Heartland Championship - Drake 89, Belmont 71" (Press release). Missouri Valley Conference. March 12, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  2. ^ "MVC Basketball – Regular Season Title Eligibility Standard" MVC-Sports.com. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  3. ^ "Hoops in the HeartLand - Missouri Valley Conference". mvc-sports.com. Retrieved February 28, 2022.