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After closing its regular season with a 79-63 victory over Illinois-Chicago on Sunday in Hulman Center, Indiana State will play Valparaiso at 7 p.m. EST Thursday in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in Enterprise Center at St. Louis.
The Sycamores finished 10th in the conference's final men's basketball standings and are the 10th seed in the MVC field, while the Beacons are the No. 7 seed. ISU finished with regular-season records of 11-20 overall and 4-16 in the conference.
Illinois-Chicago's loss at Indiana State on Sunday also knocked the Flames into a three-way tie for third place in the Valley, and a tie-breaker system left UIC seeded fifth in the 11-team tournament field.
The Valley set the seedings and game times Monday morning.
Belmont won the regular-season title, clinching that spot with a win over ISU on Feb. 21. Belmont is the top seed and gets an opening-night bye, along the other top-five finishers — No. 2-seeded Bradley, 3-seed Illinois State, 4-seed Murray State and 5-seed Illinois-Chicago.
If Indiana State wins on Thursday, the Sycamores would face Bradley at 7 p.m. Friday in the single-elimination tournament. Play continues daily through Sunday.
The winning team at "Arch Madness" earns the MVC's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. ISU has won the MVC Tournament three times in 1979, 2001 and 2011. The Sycamores most recent appearance in the tourney final came in 2024, when then-coach Josh Schertz's squad lost to Drake.
Belmont's 2025-26 regular-season title marks its 13th regular-season conference championship in the last 21 years, spanning three different conferences (ASUN, OVC, MVC), according to the Valley. It's the Bruins' first MVC title in men's basketball.
To finalized the seedings, two ties in this season's MVC standings were broken by utilizing the NET data, the Valley said. Illinois State, Murray State and UIC tied for third place at 12-8. The teams had identical 2-2 records in the pool of tied teams. Illinois State (90) had the better NET rating as of Monday. Murray State's NET is 101, while UIC is 116.
The other tie involved sixth place between Northern Iowa (11-7) and Valparaiso (11-7). The teams split their regular-season series, but UNI's NET on Monday stood at 81. Valparaiso's NET rating this morning is 155.
Since 1994, three or more MVC teams have reached 20-plus wins in the same season 15 times prior to the conference tournament. Only three times have four teams reached 20-plus wins prior to the MVC Tournament (2023, 2025, and 2026). This year, Belmont, Bradley, Illinois State, and Murray State all sport 20 or more wins heading into the tournament.
No team from the MVC has won four games in four days to claim the league tourney title. Only one team seeded 7 or worse has reached the finals: No. 7 Valparaiso in 2020.
MVC Tournament schedule
At Enterprise Center, St. Louis
(All times EST)
THURSDAY, MARCH 5
4:30 p.m. — GAME 1 (#8 Southern Illinois vs. #9 Drake)
7 p.m. — GAME 2 (#7 Valparaiso vs. #10 Indiana State)
9:30 p.m. — GAME 3 (#6 UNI vs. #11 Evansville)
FRIDAY, MARCH 6
1 p.m. — GAME 4 (#1 Belmont vs. Winner Game 1)
3:30 p.m. — GAME 5 (#4 Murray State vs. #5 UIC)
7 p.m. — GAME 6 (#2 Bradley vs. Winner Game 2)
9:30 p.m. — GAME 7 (#3 Illinois State vs. Winner Game 3)
SATURDAY, MARCH 7
3:30 p.m. — GAME 8 (Games 4 and 5 winners)
6 p.m. — GAME 9 (Games 6 and 7 winners)
SUNDAY, MARCH 8
Noon — MVC championship game
Continue reading...
The Sycamores finished 10th in the conference's final men's basketball standings and are the 10th seed in the MVC field, while the Beacons are the No. 7 seed. ISU finished with regular-season records of 11-20 overall and 4-16 in the conference.
Illinois-Chicago's loss at Indiana State on Sunday also knocked the Flames into a three-way tie for third place in the Valley, and a tie-breaker system left UIC seeded fifth in the 11-team tournament field.
The Valley set the seedings and game times Monday morning.
Belmont won the regular-season title, clinching that spot with a win over ISU on Feb. 21. Belmont is the top seed and gets an opening-night bye, along the other top-five finishers — No. 2-seeded Bradley, 3-seed Illinois State, 4-seed Murray State and 5-seed Illinois-Chicago.
If Indiana State wins on Thursday, the Sycamores would face Bradley at 7 p.m. Friday in the single-elimination tournament. Play continues daily through Sunday.
The winning team at "Arch Madness" earns the MVC's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. ISU has won the MVC Tournament three times in 1979, 2001 and 2011. The Sycamores most recent appearance in the tourney final came in 2024, when then-coach Josh Schertz's squad lost to Drake.
Belmont's 2025-26 regular-season title marks its 13th regular-season conference championship in the last 21 years, spanning three different conferences (ASUN, OVC, MVC), according to the Valley. It's the Bruins' first MVC title in men's basketball.
To finalized the seedings, two ties in this season's MVC standings were broken by utilizing the NET data, the Valley said. Illinois State, Murray State and UIC tied for third place at 12-8. The teams had identical 2-2 records in the pool of tied teams. Illinois State (90) had the better NET rating as of Monday. Murray State's NET is 101, while UIC is 116.
The other tie involved sixth place between Northern Iowa (11-7) and Valparaiso (11-7). The teams split their regular-season series, but UNI's NET on Monday stood at 81. Valparaiso's NET rating this morning is 155.
Since 1994, three or more MVC teams have reached 20-plus wins in the same season 15 times prior to the conference tournament. Only three times have four teams reached 20-plus wins prior to the MVC Tournament (2023, 2025, and 2026). This year, Belmont, Bradley, Illinois State, and Murray State all sport 20 or more wins heading into the tournament.
No team from the MVC has won four games in four days to claim the league tourney title. Only one team seeded 7 or worse has reached the finals: No. 7 Valparaiso in 2020.
MVC Tournament schedule
At Enterprise Center, St. Louis
(All times EST)
THURSDAY, MARCH 5
4:30 p.m. — GAME 1 (#8 Southern Illinois vs. #9 Drake)
7 p.m. — GAME 2 (#7 Valparaiso vs. #10 Indiana State)
9:30 p.m. — GAME 3 (#6 UNI vs. #11 Evansville)
FRIDAY, MARCH 6
1 p.m. — GAME 4 (#1 Belmont vs. Winner Game 1)
3:30 p.m. — GAME 5 (#4 Murray State vs. #5 UIC)
7 p.m. — GAME 6 (#2 Bradley vs. Winner Game 2)
9:30 p.m. — GAME 7 (#3 Illinois State vs. Winner Game 3)
SATURDAY, MARCH 7
3:30 p.m. — GAME 8 (Games 4 and 5 winners)
6 p.m. — GAME 9 (Games 6 and 7 winners)
SUNDAY, MARCH 8
Noon — MVC championship game
Continue reading...
