March Madness: Indiana State is in the NCAA Tournament

Conference: Missouri Valley (20-13)
Location: Terre Haute, which is the 10th largest city in Indiana, and not to be confused with the 7th largest.
Famous Alum: Some guy named Larry Bird once played basketball for the Sycamores.
They’re Back! Reached the Championship Game back in 1979 with Bird, losing to Michigan State and Magic Johnson. This will be the fourth appearance in the tournament, with the last time in 2001, when they upset Oklahoma before losing to Gonzaga in the second round.
School’s Leading Scorer: Larry Bird (2,850 points in three seasons)
Resume: The best wins were against Missouri State, once in the regular season and then in the MVC final. Lost at Notre Dame and against Purdue on a neutral court.
No Longer Just a Freshman: Redshirt freshman Jake Odum played a big role in the Sycamores emergence, as they went from 12-12 to winning 8 of their last 9. He was second on the team in minutes played, led the MVC in assists in conference play, and was selected to the All-Conference Defensive team.
All-Important Rankings: 101 (RPI), 118 (Pomeroy), 119 (Sagarin)
Projected Seed: The Missouri Valley was down this year, and Indiana State’s RPI puts them squarely in #15 seed range.
Twitter: @IndStAthletics is the official athletic department account, and @tribstarsports will have coverage of the Indiana State team; Several players are on twitter, including honorable mention all-Valley selection Dwayne Lathan (@Dlathan20) and leading three point specialist Jordan Printy (@JP2488).

Others with their dance ticket in hand:

Belmont
Morehead State
UNC Asheville

[Larry Bird via Getty]