They ended their regular season with a win over Northern Iowa at home and brought that momentum into a quarterfinal matchup yesterday against Murray State. They won that game 70-62 on the back of a 17-point night from Darius Hannah to lead the team. Duke Deen also had 16 points, while Ahmet Jonovic pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Valparaiso Beacons finished their season under the .500 mark and are 15-18 heading into this matchup. They were the second-worst team in the conference with a 6-14 record against MVC teams, just four games up on the worst seed, Missouri State. However, despite starting in the first round, they have made two big upsets to make their way here.

They took down UIC in the first round of the tournament by 17 points, 67-50, on the back of a 22-point night from All Wright, while Cooper Schwieger had 11 rebounds as well. Heading to the quarterfinals, they took on Northern Iowa and won by one point. Wright dropped 29 points in that win while Schwieger had another double-digit rebound night with 10 rebounds.

Regional restrictions may apply.