In the days leading up to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, practices lacked the focus that the Bears needed when preparing for Northern Iowa in the quarterfinal round.
The third-seeded Bears were comfortable after finishing the regular season out strong. Forward Dale Lamberth didn’t think they were overconfident thinking they were already in the tournament but it was more that the Bears lost track of the moment.
“It showed,” Lamberth said. “It definitely caught up to us.”
Missouri State was flat and lost 57-42 to Northern Iowa at the Savvis Center in St. Louis. The Panthers went on to lose in the semifinals to Southern Illinois and then qualified for the NCAA Tournament as a No.