March 8, 2009
2009 State Farm MVC Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket | Valley Tournament Central
ST. LOUIS -
With the completion of the regular season Saturday, the seeds and games for the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament are set. Illinois State is the No. 1 seed and will face the winner of No. 8 Southern Illinois/No. 9 Evansville Friday, March 13, at 12:05 p.m. at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
The Redbirds ended the season with a 24-6 overall record and a 15-3 mark in Valley play to secure their second-consecutive regular season title and No. 1 tournament seed. Creighton is the No. 2 seed followed by No. 3 Drake, No. 4 Bradley, No. 5 Indiana State, No. 6 Northern Iowa, No. 7 Missouri State, No. 8 Southern Illinois, No. 9 Evansville and No. 10 Wichita State.
Southern Illinois and Evansville will open the tournament Thursday, March 12, at 6:05 p.m. Missouri State and Wichita State will face off in the other opening round game at 8:35 p.m.
Illinois State swept both Southern Illinois and Evansville in the regular season. ISU topped the Salukis at home Jan. 24, 75-51, and on the road Feb. 19, 71-68. The Redbirds beat Evansville in Redbird Arena Jan. 22, 75-62, and on the road Feb. 21., 67-54.
This year's tournament is the second neutral-site event in the conference's history, following last season's inaugural event. The top seed has won the conference tournament in 14 of 23 seasons and a team that has won or shared the regular-season title has gone on to win the tournament title 16 times. Illinois State won the 2008 championship from the No. 1 seed, topping Drake in the title game.
The tournament, which features nine games over four days, culminates on Sunday, March 15, with a nationally televised game on FS Midwest as part of the MVC Television Network at 3 p.m. Central. Both semifinals will also air on the MVC Television Network at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Central on March 14.
The opening round games on Thursday evening, as well as the four quarterfinal games on Friday will be shown live online as part of a special MVC Tournament package on the league's website. Log on to www.mvc-sports.com for more details.
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