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Getty Noah Carter looks to help northern Iowa overtake the state of Illinois on Friday, March 4.
Northern Iowa (18-10) faces No. 8 seed Illinois State (13-19) in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Friday, March 4.
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The game (1 p.m.
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Northern Iowa vs Illinois State Preview
Arch Madness has arrived. That’s not a typo. It is the official nickname of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in St. Louis.
Northern Iowa will begin their action as the tournament’s top seed on Friday, but the Panthers won’t get an easy outing in the quarterfinals. Eighth-seeded Illinois State pushed the Panthers to the limit on Feb. 15.
UNI screeched 72-70 in that game as Noah Carter led the Panthers with 23 points and three assists. Carter and Tywhon Pickford sealed the game with free throws in the final 1:14 as the Panthers trailed 70-69.
Illinois State trailed by seven a couple of times in that game, but made a run in the second half to make it a one-point game over the final 3:20. The Redbirds stayed on after Antonio Reeves buried a 3-pointer to cut the Panthers’ lead to 65-64. Kendall Lewis scored five points down the stretch and Lewis added a free throw for the 70-69 lead. The Redbirds just couldn’t finish.
Illinois State wrapped up the deal with a 58-53 victory Thursday night for the opening game against No. 9 seed Indiana State. Reeves led the Redbirds with 15 points and Lewis had eight rebounds.
That resulted in back-to-back wins over the Sycamores by the Redbirds. Illinois State beat Indiana State 86-66 on February 26 to snap a five-game losing streak. It hadn’t been pretty for a while in Normal, Illinois, with the Redbirds stumbling down the stretch with a win in 11 games amid the departure of head coach Dan Muller on Feb. 14.
Meanwhile, UNI comes into the MVC tournament on a four-game winning streak. That includes splitting games with Loyola Chicago, which has reached the Final Four and Sweet Sixteen the past four years. The Panthers are looking for their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2016, but they will need to win the MVC tournament to do so.
AJ Green leads the Panthers in scoring with 19.1 points per game. The junior shooting guard is also averaging 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
Carter scores 14.8 points per night. The second-year forward also posts four rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
For Illinois State, Reeves leads the team in points with 20.2 points per night. The junior guard is hitting .396 from 3-point range and .808 at the free throw line. He is also averaging 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
Sy Chatman has also been a threat all season for the Redbirds. The junior shooting guard is averaging 13.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per night.
Senior guard Josiah Strong gives the team a boost with 11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and one steal per game.
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