All-Time MVC Elite MBB Teams

[iSASO]

How about that 1964 Shocker squad that made it to the Final Four without its top 2 players, Stallworth and Bowman. UCLA would have had a bit more trouble with those two on the court.

Or how about the '82 Elite 8 team that had to play without a starting center who played in the NBA and a point guard who had a back brace on in the Superdome against LSU.

But yes, that '83 Shocker squad. They would have done some damage in the tournament if the coach 7 years earlier wouldn't have given a California kid a coat during his time here in Wichita. Truth is, they were a little "too good" for the butt hurt ego's of the KU boosters and Tulsa boosters to take so they committed to shutting WSU down and dug until they found something.

[glm38]

Lots of great teams. But I would easily put the 79 ISUb team at the very top. Larry legend is a top 5 all time player and Carl Nicks was pretty good player too.

[rlh04d]

Lots of great teams. But I would easily put the 79 ISUb team at the very top. Larry legend is a top 5 all time player and Carl Nicks was pretty good player too.

Agreed. I'd definitely say '79 Indiana State and Larry Bird hold the throne.

And should hold it until a Valley team wins the NCAA tournament.

[SycamorePsycho]

Lots of great teams. But I would easily put the 79 ISUb team at the very top. Larry legend is a top 5 all time player and Carl Nicks was pretty good player too.

Agreed. I'd definitely say '79 Indiana State and Larry Bird hold the throne.

And should hold it until a Valley team wins the NCAA tournament.

Yep

[Mikovio]

I think the 1950 Bradley team was just as good as '79 ISU Blue. Both teams finished 1st in the AP Poll, both teams lost in the NCAA title game. The Bradley team had a #1 NBA Draft pick and 2 consensus 1st team All Americans, but neither played in the NBA (Melchiorre because he was banned for a point shaving scandal along with some Kentucky and CCNY players; Unruh earned a spot on the Olympic roster and took a job at Caterpillar and played for their team, probably because playing professionally back then didn't pay much).

[Wufan]

I think the 1950 Bradley team was just as good as '79 ISU Blue. Both teams finished 1st in the AP Poll, both teams lost in the NCAA title game. The Bradley team had a #1 NBA Draft pick and 2 consensus 1st team All Americans, but neither played in the NBA (Melchiorre because he was banned for a point shaving scandal along with some Kentucky and CCNY players; Unruh earned a spot on the Olympic roster and took a job at Caterpillar and played for their team, probably because playing professionally back then didn't pay much).

You make a valid argument for Bradley, however, the pre 1970 MVC was an EXCEPTIONALLY good conference and had many outstanding teams. The 1979 Indiana State team was 50% of the game that changed college basketball, and to be so good (only loss in National Championship game) when the conference was in a down swing and the future BCS conferences were on their way to NCAA dominance is special.

It's not that Bradley doesn't deserve it's place for the 1950 team, or even that they weren't better for their era than the Sycs, but the 79 team (or at least Bird and Magic) will be remembered forever.

[Mikovio]

It depends on what you mean by elite. The NCAA Tournament wasn't televised yet back in 1950 so it would've been impossible to have the impact of the '79 game. Like I said, Unruh was a pioneer of the modern jump shot and Melchiorre was a top dribbler and ballhandler (at a time when there was no shot clock so those skills became especially important when you had the lead and wanted to burn the clock). I think they were better in their time but due to the point shaving scandal that era and its top teams live in a sort of infamy. Kentucky canceled a basketball season, CCNY went to D3 permanently and LIU shut down all athletics for 6 years and didn't re-enter DI until the 1980s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCNY_point_shaving_scandal

[Redbird23]

Lots of great teams. But I would easily put the 79 ISUb team at the very top. Larry legend is a top 5 all time player and Carl Nicks was pretty good player too.

Agreed. I'd definitely say '79 Indiana State and Larry Bird hold the throne.

And should hold it until a Valley team wins the NCAA tournament.

I wish they would have a greats from the MVC at Arch Madness. Like Bird, Hawkins, Oscar Robertson...

[mvcfan]

You mean that no one on here even suggests that Creighton has had the elite teams in the history of the MVC?

[AngryWheat=FTW=]

In the modern era there has been some pretty elite MVC teams. UNI had a great one, MSU had a great one a long time ago, umm.. of course Creighton has had some pretty elite teams, and definitely WSU. So in the modern era it has been WSU, Creighton, UNI, and MSU. Am I missing anyone?