# 2023 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament

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

## 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.
| 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 | MVC TV |
| 3 | 6:00 pm | No. 7 Southern Illinois vs. No. 10 Indiana State | 81–79 | MVC TV |
| 4 | 8:30 pm | No. 6 UIC vs. No. 11 Valparaiso | 72–47 | MVC TV |
| 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 | MVC TV |
| 7 | 6:00 pm | No. 2 Belmont vs. No. 7 Southern Illinois | 70–64 | MVC TV |
| 8 | 8:30 pm | No. 3 Northern Iowa vs. No. 6 UIC | 73–57 | MVC TV |
| 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 | MVC Network |
| 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 | Opening Round Thursday, March 9 MVC TV | Opening Round Thursday, March 9 MVC TV | Quarterfinals Friday, March 10 MVC TV | Quarterfinals Friday, March 10 MVC TV | Quarterfinals Friday, March 10 MVC TV | Semifinals Saturday, March 11 MVC Network | Semifinals Saturday, March 11 MVC Network | Semifinals Saturday, March 11 MVC Network | Final Sunday, March 12 ESPNU | Final Sunday, March 12 ESPNU | 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 | | | | | | | | | |