Indiana State University Athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- On the heels of Saturday's thrilling 66-64 victory at Bradley to conclude the regular season, the Missouri Valley Conference officially announced the bracket for the 2018 edition of Arch Madness on Sunday morning.

As expected, the sixth-seeded Sycamores opponent will be No. 3 Illinois State, who tied for third in the league standings against Drake but will face off against Indiana State by virtue of the league's RPI tiebreaker. The Redbirds owned an 84 to 162 edge in this morning's RPI report. 

The Sycamores vs. Redbirds game will cap what promises to be a thrilling day at Arch Madness when the two teams meet up on Friday, March 2 at 9:30 p.m. (ET). The game will air on the Missouri Valley Conference Television Network (namely Fox Sports Indiana, NBC Sports Chicago, Fox Sports Go and ESPN -- outside of the Valley's four-state footprint.)

This game is a rematch of the 2016 State Farm MVC Tournament quarterfinals when the Sycamores took a 65-57 victory over the Redbirds in the No. 3 vs. 6 quarterfinal. In that game, the Sycamores were also the No. 6 seed. Under eighth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 8-6 at the MVC Tournament, with four of those wins coming as the lower seeded team. Indiana State has won at least one game in St. Louis in every season over the last seven years except for 2017. Under Lansing, the Sycamores have won one MVC Tournament Championship (2011), appeared in two MVC Tournament Championship Games (2011 & 2014) and have been to the semifinals four different times.

Here is the schedule of games at Arch Madness (all times Eastern):

Thursday, March 1 (MVC TV Network/Fox Sports Go/ESPN3)
7:00 p.m. -- No. 8 Evansville vs. No. 9 Northern Iowa
9:30 p.m. -- No. 7 Missouri State vs. No. 10 Valparaiso

Friday, March 2 (MVC TV Network/Fox Sports Go/ESPN3)
1:00 p.m. -- No. 1 Loyola vs. Evansville/Northern Iowa
3:30 p.m. -- No. 4 Drake vs. No. 5 Bradley
7:00 p.m. -- No. 2 Southern Illinois vs. Missouri State/Valparaiso
9:30 p.m. -- No. 3 Illinois State vs. No. 6 Indiana State

Saturday, March 3 (CBS Sports Network)
3:30 p.m. -- Semifinal No. 1 
6:00 p.m. -- Semifinal No. 2

Sunday, March 4 (CBS)
2:00 p.m. -- Championship Game

Sycamore fans can still make plans now to attend the games at Scottrade Center and sit in the Indiana State fan block. Those interested in obtaining tickets, should contact the Hulman Center Ticket Office either in person or by phone on either Monday or Tuesday to ensure availability. The Hulman Center Ticket Office is open from 8 am until 4:30 p.m. (ET) or can be reached at 1-877-ISU-TIXS. Representatives for the ticket office will be in St. Louis to deliver tickets and operate Will Call. 

Indiana State's official team headquarters is once again the Hilton Downtown at the Arch, located at 400 Olive Street in St. Louis. Fans will have to call the hotel directly to check availability. The program's official pregame parties, sponsored by ISU Credit Union and the Alumni Association, will also be hosted at the Hilton. Friday's pregame event will begin at 6:30 p.m. (Central) and continue until a half hour before tipoff.