For the third consecutive season, the Illinois State Redbirds and Northern Iowa Panthers meet to open their Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and Arch Madness. This time they meet on Thursday in St. Louis. The Panthers (13-17, 9-11 MVC) won both of those meetings and are 6-6 against Illinois State in St. Louis. The Redbirds (11-20, 6-14), who have lost 10 of their last 13 games, last beat Northern Iowa 76-70 on Dec. 31, 2019. Both teams will be looking to become just the second in Arch Madness history to make the tournament championship game after playing on Thursday, joining Valparaiso in 2020. No team has won four tournament games to clinch the title.
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