The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will kick off the 2018 State Farm MVC Tournament against Missouri State on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., as the conference office unveiled the official seeds and the tournament bracket on Sunday morning.

The Crusaders are the 10th seed for Arch Madness after posting a 6-12 record in their first season of MVC play, matching the most wins by a 10th-place team since the conference expanded to 10 programs. Missouri State finished in a three-way tie for seventh position with Evansville and UNI at 7-11, and received the seventh seed based on an RPI tiebreaker.

The winner of the Valpo-Missouri State game advances to face second-seeded Southern Illinois at 6 p.m. on Friday evening. The winner of that game advances to the second semifinal, set for a 5 p.m. tip on Saturday night. The championship game will be contested next Sunday, March 4 at 1 p.m.