Best MVC basketball team in the last 10 years was.....

[TylerDurden]

Good topic. The more you look at the last decade, you realize how good SIU was.

That 2002-03 Creighton team ranked as high as No. 10 finished second in the league to SIU (though they did beat SIU two of three).

I liked that 2010 UNI team a lot and, as someone mentioned, were a few breaks away from at least an Elite 8.

2007 SIU, IMO, had a real shot at the Final Four if two calls go the other way against KU. If I remember correctly, another grind-it-out team (UCLA) got KU in the next game. That would have been a tight one, but a game that was right up SIU's alley.

Obviously it's up for debate, but here's how I'd rank the top 10 from the 2000s:
1. 2006-07 SIU (29-7, 15-3) S16
2. 2009-10 UNI (30-5, 15-3) S16
3. 2001-02 SIU (28-8, 14-4) S16 - beat national finalist in regular season
4. 2003-04 SIU (25-5, 17-1) NCAA 1st Rd
5. 2005-06 WSU (26-9, 14-4) S16
6. 2007-08 DU (28-5, 15-3) NCAA 1st Rd
7. 2002-03 CU (29-5, 15-3) NCAA 1st (beat SIU 2/3)
8. 2002-03 SIU (24-7, 16-2) NCAA 1st Rd
9. 2001-02 CU (23-9, 14-4) NCAA 2nd Rd
10. 2004-05 SIU (27-8, 15-3) NCAA 2nd Rd

I would have liked to put 2005-06 BU in there, but they really weren't great most of the year. Now, if we're just talking the last month and a half of a season, they might be No. 1 or 2, but we aren't.

I probably have the 2007-08 DU team a bit higher than most, but I thought they were really, really good. In fact, I initially had them higher, but dropped them a couple of spots after stepping back and looking at the list.

[Aargh]

Here's some info about the various years

2003 MVC league ranking - 13th
SIU was the regular season champ
CU (6 seed) lost to Central Mich (11 seed) in the first round of the NCAA's
CU's Pomeroy strength rating - 30

2006 MVC league ranking - 7th
WSU was the regular season champion by a 2-game margin
WSU (7 seed) beat Seton Hall (12 seed) and Tennessee (2 seec) in the NCAA's
WSU's Pomeroy strength rating - - 26

2007 MVC league ranking - 7th
SIU was the regular season champion by a 2-game margin
SIU (4 seed) beat Holy Cross (13 seed) and Va Tech (5 seed) in the NCAA's
SIU's Pomeroy strength rating - 28

2010 MVC league ranking - 9th
UNI was the regular season champion by a 3-game margin
UNI (9 seed) beat UNLV (8 seed) and Kansas (1 seed) in the NCAA's
UNI's Pomeroy ranking - 29

2003 CU is out of the running. Finishing second in the 13th ranked league cannot be the best MVC team in a decade.

The other 3 are too close to call. UNI had a larger lead in the conference, but only one game and the conference was weaker that year.

UNI has a W against a 1 seed - WSU has a W against a 2 seed. SIU has a close loss to a 1 seed. UNI has a close W against a 1 seed. SIU's loss to a 1 seed was in the third round. If SIU has a W instead of an L in that game, we're not having this discussion.

It's a 3-way tie.

[valleychamp]

UNI has a W against a 1 seed - WSU has a W against a 2 seed. SIU has a close loss to a 1 seed. UNI has a close W against a 1 seed. SIU's loss to a 1 seed was in the third round. If SIU has a W instead of an L in that game, we're not having this discussion.

It's a 3-way tie.

I don't see how you can put WSU up with SIU and UNI.

[Haha]

I would argue WSU won the conference title in a year the conference got 4 teams in and MSU got left out with an RPI in the high 20's if I recall, then went on to a sweet sixteen.

I don't think WSU's team would be ahead but don't see where it couldn't be considered even. If you want to take into consideration the quality of the teams beat during the NCAA tourney then you also have to take into consideration the quality of the teams beat during the season in order to win the conference.

[DoubleJayAlum]

UNI has a W against a 1 seed - WSU has a W against a 2 seed. SIU has a close loss to a 1 seed. UNI has a close W against a 1 seed. SIU's loss to a 1 seed was in the third round. If SIU has a W instead of an L in that game, we're not having this discussion.

It's a 3-way tie.

No, it's not.

You can't just look at the seeding of the teams they beat because the committee routinely screws up the seedings. Tennessee was easily the worst two seed that particular year and every national pundit believed they were seeded too high. Further, one win doesn't prove anything as a team could be a relatively good match-up or a relatively bad matchup. Look at it this way - if the teams all played each other, who wins the most times?

Another way to look at it would be to say how many members of each school's team would make an all-MVC team for the decade. I think the SIU team has a solid three players that would be in the discussion whereas every other team would have a hard time boasting more than two. As I said earlier, I tip the scales to SIU because I really believe they had one of the best, if not the best, defense in the entire country.

I

[DoubleJayAlum]

I would argue WSU won the conference title in a year the conference got 4 teams in and MSU got left out with an RPI in the high 20's if I recall, then went on to a sweet sixteen.

Bradley went to a Sweet Sixteen that year too. I don't think anybody considers that team to be the best in the last decade however.

[Duan]

2007 SIU

They proved to not be one hit wonders and got there year after year. Good job Dawgs!

[AndShock]

I would argue WSU won the conference title in a year the conference got 4 teams in and MSU got left out with an RPI in the high 20's if I recall, then went on to a sweet sixteen.

Bradley went to a Sweet Sixteen that year too. I don't think anybody considers that team to be the best in the last decade however.

Go ahead and ignore the other part of the post. I don't believe WSU is in a 3-way tie, but I certainly think someone could make the argument.

I thought SIU 07 and UNI 10 had legitimate shots to keep winning, mostly because of their style of play. I wouldn't have been totally shocked to see them get to the Final Four. With WSU 06, I never felt like we were a good enough team to continue winning. If WSU 11 played WSU 06 I would not be surprised at all if WSU 11 won that game, it's a shame we never got to see them in the real tournament.

[LMS]

SIU was the team I'd take if this was a 4 team tourney.

[valleychamp]

UNI has a W against a 1 seed - WSU has a W against a 2 seed. SIU has a close loss to a 1 seed. UNI has a close W against a 1 seed. SIU's loss to a 1 seed was in the third round. If SIU has a W instead of an L in that game, we're not having this discussion.

It's a 3-way tie.

Another way to look at it would be to say how many members of each school's team would make an all-MVC team for the decade. I think the SIU team has a solid three players that would be in the discussion whereas every other team would have a hard time boasting more than two. As I said earlier, I tip the scales to SIU because I really believe they had one of the best, if not the best, defense in the entire country.

You talking Tatum, Falker, and Young? UNI had Koch, Kwadzo, and Eglseder/Ali. I don't think there is a talent discrepancy whatsoever between the two teams.

The point about the defense is probably about moot as well. Just as SIU was great in '07, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better defense than UNI in '10.