Despite a 36-22 record and a regular season Missouri Valley Conference Title, the Southwest Missouri State Bears are not one of the 64 teams invited to this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Bears can point to a poor stretch run as a big reason for their exclusion. SMS was swept in its final regular season series by Northern Iowa and they also were eliminated from the MVC Tourney in three games. Northern Iowa was, in fact, the only team from the MVC to earn a birth to the NCAA’s.
