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ST. LOUIS – Illinois State – as the No. 3 seed – will tip off the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Friday, March 4 at 8:30 p.m. versus No. 6-seeded Indiana State at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, according to the 2016 Arch Madness bracket which was released by the league office Sunday morning.
Illinois State (18-13, 12-6) and Evansville (23-8, 12-6) tied for second place in the final league standings, forcing a tie-breaker to determine which team would earn the higher MVC Tournament seed. Because the two teams split their regular-season series against one another, the tie was broken based on Jim Sukup's Collegiate Basketball News RPI Report, released Sunday morning.
The Aces finished the regular season with an RPI of 91 compared to ISU's 106. Therefore, Evansville earned the No. 2 seed and the Redbirds received the No. 3 seed. The last time ISU was as high as a No. 3 seed in Arch Madness was in 2010 when the Redbirds were also a third seed.
As the No. 3 seed, Illinois State will face No. 6-seeded Indiana State in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals Friday at 8:30 p.m. The Sycamores (14-16, 8-10) tied with Missouri State (12-18, 8-10) for sixth place in the final league standings. After splitting the regular-season series against each other, the tie was broken based on RPI (Indiana State: 183; Missouri State 232).
The Redbirds split their regular-season series versus the Sycamores in 2015-16, with the home team winning each time. Illinois State holds a 4-2 mark versus Indiana State in the MVC Tournament, and the two teams last met at Arch Madness in the 2010 quarterfinals, with the Redbirds prevailing, 69-65 (March 5, 2010).
All-session tournament tickets for all nine Valley Tournament games are on sale for $155. The tickets can be purchased by visiting the ISU Athletics ticket office in Redbird Arena, or secured online via GoRedbirds.com/Tickets. Fans can also buy tickets over the phone by calling (309) 438-8000.
Friday's Illinois State versus Indiana State quarterfinal matchup will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago and FOX Sports Midwest. The semifinals will air on CBS Sports Network, and the championship game will be shown live on CBS.
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