# 2017–18 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season

The 2017–18 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in late December 2017 and concluded in March with the Missouri Valley Conference tournament at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
With a win against Evansville on February 18, 2018, Loyola clinched at least a share of its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship. With a win over Southern Illinois on February 21, the Ramblers clinched the outright MVC championship.
Loyola defeated Illinois State in the championship game to win the MVC tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
This season marked the first season with Valparaiso as a member of the conference. The Crusaders were invited to join the conference after Wichita State left the conference to join the American Athletic Conference.
Loyola received the conference's only bid to the NCAA tournament and advanced to the Final Four before losing to Michigan.
Drake was the only other conference school that received a bid to a postseason tournament, receiving a bid to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they went 1–1.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

Drake's 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. Following the season, the school chose not to keep Jeff Rutter as head coach and hired Niko Medved, former head coach at Furman, as the Bulldogs' new head coach.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | MVC record | MVC titles | NCAA tournaments |
| Bradley | Brian Wardle | Green Bay | 3 | 38–60 | 19–35 | 0 | 0 |
| Drake | Niko Medved | Furman | 1 | 17–17 | 10–8 | 0 | 0 |
| Evansville | Marty Simmons | SIU Edwardsville | 11 | 184–175 | 82–116 | 0 | 0 |
| Illinois State | Dan Muller | Vanderbilt (Asst.) | 6 | 122–80 | 75–48 | 1 | 0 |
| Indiana State | Greg Lansing | Indiana State (Asst.) | 8 | 133–126 | 73–71 | 0 | 1 |
| Loyola | Porter Moser | Saint Louis (Asst.) | 7 | 121–111 | 42–58 | 1 | 1 |
| Missouri State | Paul Lusk | Purdue (Asst.) | 7 | 106–121 | 52–75 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Iowa | Ben Jacobson | Northern Iowa (Asst.) | 12 | 250–150 | 130–86 | 2 | 4 |
| Southern Illinois | Barry Hinson | Kansas (Adm.) | 6 | 99–96 | 47–55 | 0 | 0 |
| Valparaiso | Matt Lottich | Valparaiso (Asst.) | 2 | 39–26 | 6–12 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
* Overall and MVC records are from time at current school and are through the end of the season.
* Lottich and Moser's conference records only includes MVC play, not prior Horizon League records.

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

Source
| Rank | Team |
| 1. | Missouri State (30) |
| 2. | Northern Iowa (8) |
| 3. | Loyola (1) |
| 4. | Illinois State (1) |
| 5. | Southern Illinois |
| 6. | Valparaiso |
| 7. | Bradley |
| 8. | Indiana State |
| 9. | Evansville |
| 10. | Drake |
| (first place votes) ||

### Preseason All-MVC teams

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | Alize Johnson, Missouri State |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Donte Ingram, Loyola |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Brenton Scott, Indiana State |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Bennett Koch, Northern Iowa |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Reed Timmer, Drake |
| Preseason All-MVC First Team | Aundre Jackson, Loyola |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Thik Bol, Southern Illinois |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Darrell Brown, Bradley |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Klint Carlson, Northern Iowa |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Phil Fayne, Illinois State |
| Preseason All-MVC Second Team | Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso |
Source

## Regular season
### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team played 18 conference games, playing each team twice.
| | Bradley | Drake | Evansville | Illinois State | Indiana State | Loyola | Missouri State | Northern Iowa | Southern Illinois | Valparaiso |
| vs. Bradley | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Drake | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Evansville | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Illinois State | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Indiana State | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Loyola | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs. Missouri State | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Northern Iowa | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Southern Illinois | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 |
| vs. Valparaiso | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – |
| Total | 9–9 | 10–8 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 7–11 | 15–3 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 6–12 |

### Player of the week

Throughout the regular season, the Missouri Valley Conference named a player and newcomer of the week.
| Week | Player of the week | Newcomer of the week |
| November 13, 2017 | Brenton Scott, Indiana State | Kavion Pippen, Southern Illinois |
| November 20, 2017 | Keyshawn Evans, Illinois State | Marques Townes, Loyola |
| November 27, 2017 | Donte Ingram, Loyola | Tywhon Pickford, Northern Iowa |
| December 4, 2017 | Bennett Koch, Northern Iowa | Kavion Pippen (2), Southern Illinois |
| December 11, 2017 | Dru Smith, Evansville | Cameron Krutwig, Loyola |
| December 18, 2017 | Milik Yarbrough, Illinois State | Milik Yarbrough, Illinois State |
| December 26, 2017 | Alize Johnson, Missouri State | Milik Yarbrough (2), Illinois State |
| January 2, 2018 | Milik Yarbrough (2), Illinois State | Milik Yarbrough (3), Illinois State |
| January 8, 2018 | Reed Timmer, Drake | J. T. Miller, Missouri State |
| January 15, 2018 | Alize Johnson (2), Missouri State | Tywhon Pickford (2), Northern Iowa |
| January 22, 2018 | Donte Ingram (2), Loyola | Cameron Krutwig (2), Loyola |
| January 29, 2018 | Clayton Custer, Loyola | Milik Yarbrough (4), Illinois State |
| February 5, 2018 | Reed Timmer, Drake Ryan Taylor, Evansville | Kavion Pippen (2), Southern Illinois |
| February 12, 2018 | Alize Johnson (3), Missouri State | Kavion Pippen (3), Southern Illinois |
| February 19, 2018 | Reed Timmer (2), Drake | Milik Yarbrough (5), Illinois State |

## Conference Awards

| Award | Recipients |
| Larry Bird Player of the Year | Clayton Custer, Loyola |
| Coach of the Year | Porter Moser, Loyola |
| Newcomer of the Year | Clayton Custer, Loyola |
| Freshman of the Year | Cameron Krutwig, Loyola |
| Defensive MVP | Ben Richardson, Loyola |
| Sixth-Man of the Year | Tyler Smithpeters, Southern Illinois |
| All-MVC First Team | Clayton Custer, Loyola Alize Johnson, Missouri State Ryan Taylor, Evansville Reed Timmer, Drake Milik Yarbrough, Illinois State |
| All-MVC Second Team | Jorand Barnes, Indiana State Phil Fayne, Illinois State Armon Fletcher, Southern Illinois Donte Ingram, Loyola Donte Thomas, Bradley |
| All-MVC Third Team | Darrel Brown, Bradley Bennett Koch, Northern Iowa Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Kavion Pippen, Southern Illinois Brenton Scott, Indiana State |
| All-Newcomer Team | Bakari Evelyn, Valparaiso Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Tywhon Pickford, Northern Iowa Kavion Pippen, Southern Illinois Milik Yarbrough, Illinois State |
| All-Freshmen Team | Elijah Childs, Bradley Tyreke Key, Indiana State Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Tywhon Pickford, Northern Iowa Lucas Williamson, Loyola |
| All-Defensive Team | Obediah Church, Missouri State Dwante Lautier-Ogunleye, Bradley Sean Lloyd, Southern Illinois Ben Richardson, Loyola Tevonn Walker, Valparaiso |
Source

## 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.
| First round Thursday, March 1 MVC TV/ESPN3 | First round Thursday, March 1 MVC TV/ESPN3 | First round Thursday, March 1 MVC TV/ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 2 MVC TV/ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 2 MVC TV/ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Friday, March 2 MVC TV/ESPN3 | Semifinals Saturday, March 3 CBSSN | Semifinals Saturday, March 3 CBSSN | Semifinals Saturday, March 3 CBSSN | Championship Sunday, March 4 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 4 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 4 CBS |
| | | | 1 | Loyola–Chicago | 54 | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Northern Iowa | 50 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Evansville | 50 | 9 | Northern Iowa | 50 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Northern Iowa | 60 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Northern Iowa | 60 | | | | 1 | Loyola–Chicago | 62 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Bradley | 54 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Drake | 61 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Bradley | 63 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Loyola–Chicago | 65 |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | Illinois State | 49 |
| | | | 2 | Southern Illinois | 67 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Missouri State | 63 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Missouri State | 83 | 7 | Missouri State | 63 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Valparaiso | 79 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Valparaiso | 79 | | | | 2 | Southern Illinois | 68 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Illinois State | 76* | | | |
| | | | 3 | Illinois State | 77 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Indiana State | 70 | | | | | | |
* denotes overtime period

### NCAA tournament

The winner of the MVC tournament, Loyola, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 11 | South | Loyola | N/A | defeated (6) Miami 64–62 | defeated (3) Tennessee 63–62 | defeated (7) Nevada 69–68 | defeated (9) Kansas State 78–62 | lost to (3) Michigan 69–57 | |
| | | W–L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) Total: 4–1 (.800) |