Today, I have the results of our full regular season whatifsports.com simulation featuring each school’s best team of the century (as featured in my earlier article “Every MVC School’s Best Team of the 21st Century”). As those who read part 1 of this article know, I fudged a little and used Valpo’s 2016 NIT runner-up team that actually played in the Horizon League instead of their 2019 MVC team I featured in the article. That decision ended up being crucial, as the Alec Peters led Crusaders ended up winning the regular season title.
The race ended up coming down to the final set of games, as the 2008 Drake Bulldogs trailed Valpo by just one game heading into the final round. The Crusaders’ loss to last-place 2001 Indiana State opened the door for Drake to claim a share of the title. Instead, the Bulldogs lost at home to UNI’s 2010 Sweet 16 team to allow Valpo to claim the outright win. Drake ended up in a tie with 2017 Illinois State for second, while 2010 UNI and 2018 Loyola tied for fourth. The 2007 Salukis claimed the sixth spot and avoided the play-in round. The sweet sixteen Bradley team of 2006 finished seventh, while 2016 Evansville and 2011 Mo State finished tied for eighth. The 2001 Indiana State Sycamores finished in last.
Although the 2016 Valpo team was not an MVC team, their success likely paved the way for the school’s entrance into the league. The Crusaders’ Horizon League regular season title was their second of three they would win consecutively (a run of five in six seasons). They wouldn’t be around to make a run at a fourth as they moved into the MVC by the 2017-18 season. The Valpo teams of the early 2010s would have undoubtably been very competitive in the MVC.
I am excited about my plans for next week, when we will culminate this season with an all-time Arch Madness featuring these ten teams. For Arch Madness, I am going to have the simulator create full box scores which I will post on here, and full play-by-play which I will use to create analysis for each game. I am looking forward to it. The matchups for the faux Arch Madness are below, as are the final standings and scores for the second half of the make-believe season.
MVC All-Time Team Season Final Standings
1.) 2016 Valpo (12-6)
2.) 2008 Drake (11-7)
2.) 2017 Illinois State (11-7)
4.) 2018 Loyola (10-8)
4.) 2010 UNI (10-8)
6.) 2007 SIU (9-9)
7.) 2006 Bradley (8-10)
8.) 2016 Evansville (7-11)
8.) 2011 Missouri State (7-11)
10.) 2001 Indiana State (5-13)
All-Time Arch Madness Matchups #8 2016 Evansville (7-11) vs. #9 2011 Missouri State (7-11) #7 2006 Bradley (8-10) vs. #10 2001 Indiana State (5-13) #1 2016 Valpo (12-6) vs. Game 1 Winner #4 2018 Loyola (10-8) vs. #5 2010 UNI (10-8) #2 2008 Drake (11-7) vs. Game 2 Winner #3 2017 Illinois State (11-7) vs. #6 2007 Southern Illinois (9-9) Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner
Second Half of Season Results (Home Team Listed First) 2016 Evansville 82, 2010 UNI 74 2011 Mo State 80, 2001 Indy St 71 2008 Drake 69, 2007 SIU 71 2016 Valpo 70, 2017 Ill St 63 2018 Loyola 70, 2006 Bradley 61
2016 Valpo 73, 2010 UNI 76 2001 Indy St 59, 2018 Loyola 61 2016 Evansville 69, 2007 SIU 54 2011 Mo State 73, 2017 Ill St 69
2008 Drake 74, 2006 Bradley 69
2010 UNI 75, 2008 Drake 76 2007 SIU 63, 2011 Mo State 62 2017 Ill St 71, 2001 Indy St 61 2006 Bradley 84, 2016 Evansville 57 2018 Loyola 70, 2016 Valpo 72
2010 UNI 70, 2017 Ill St 61 2016 Evansville 72, 2018 Loyola 83 2016 Valpo 77, 2007 SIU 70 2011 Mo State 74, 2008 Drake 95 2006 Bradley 83, 2001 Indy St 66
2018 Loyola 69, 2010 UNI 53 2007 SIU 67, 2006 Bradley 76 2017 Ill St 89, 2016 Valpo 81 2001 Indy St 78, 2011 Mo State 77 2008 Drake 88, 2016 Evansville 59
2018 Loyola 90, 2017 Ill St 84 2008 Drake 80, 2016 Valpo 74 2006 Bradley 75, 2011 Mo State 85 2001 Indy State 71, 2010 UNI 73 2007 SIU 82, 2016 Evansville 68
2011 Mo State 78, 2018 Loyola 72 2017 Ill St 82, 2008 Drake 73 2016 Valpo 84, 2006 Bradley 76 2010 UNI 76, 2007 SIU 70 2016 Evansville 80, 2001 Indy St 71
2016 Valpo 89, 2011 Mo State 86 2018 Loyola 87, 2008 Drake 84 2010 UNI 70, 2016 Evansville 61 2017 Ill St 74, 2006 Bradley 70 2007 SIU 73, 2001 Indy State 58
2008 Drake 70, 2010 UNI 79 2001 Indy St 82, 2016 Valpo 73 2016 Evansville 60, 2017 Ill St 73 2006 Bradley 73, 2018 Loyola 83 2011 Mo State 80, 2007 SIU 74