Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Considered the school’s best season since the magical 1979 run, the Indiana State Sycamores laid claim to the outright Missouri Valley Conference regular season title on Sunday in an 89-74 win over Murray State.
The win caps off a regular season not seen in Terre Haute since Larry Bird graced the floor of the Hulman Center, in which ISU will enter the post-season as the 1-seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, more affectionately known as “Arch Madness.”
The Sycamore rolled over the Racers the best way they knew how: by shooting the ball well. The Trees shot an astounding 61-percent from the field, led by a 23-point performance from Robbie Avila, who only missed two shots all day, going 8-for-10. He also was 7-of-7 from the line.
Ryan Conwell, a native of Indianapolis and a graduate of Pike High School, was the only player to do one better than Avila. The former Red Devil scored 24 points and was 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-7 from behind the arc.
Conwell also grabbed 11 rebounds amounting to a double-double on the night.
The stellar night shooting is indicative of the Trees’ excellent year in that regard as they rank third (50.1%) in the nation in team field goal percentage, only outdone by Gonzaga and Wright State.
The win secures ISU’s first outright MVC regular season championship since the 1999-00 season. It’s also the first time the Sycamores have won at least 26 games (to only 5 losses) in a season since that coveted 1979 season.
As the top overall seed, Indiana State will get to rest a bit longer than the rest of the MVC as they have a bye into the Friday quarterfinals and will await the winner of the opening-round game between Murray State and Missouri State coming up on Thursday in St. Louis.
