The NCAA Tournament is underway and the action has been exciting so far, but there is one team that fans wish was in March Madness. That team is Indiana State basketball. The Sycamores had a great season, but they just missed the cut for the NCAA Tournament, and they are now playing in the NIT. The stakes got a lot higher for Indiana State in the NIT as Pat McAfee has now made a deal with the team where they will all get $10,000 if they end up winning the whole thing.
Indiana State basketball didn't make the big dance, which was obviously disappointing for the team, but they still have a lot to play for. Winning the NIT would be something to celebrate, and now there is even more on the line because of the deal that Pat McAfee made.
“If you guys win the NIT, we’ll give 10 grand to everybody,”Pat McAfee told to Indiana State star Robbie Avila. “You guys will all get a $10,000 sponsorship from The Pat McAfee Show, in which you just have to put out something on your social media about the program. That is an open deal to the Indiana State Sycamore team. You win the NIT, everybody’s getting 10 grand a post. The day after the NIT championship, we will meet again about a potential sponsorship for everybody on your roster. OK, that sounds good. We just did it.”
That's a good deal for the Sycamores. Indiana State already won their first game in the tournament against SMU, and they are moving on to the next round to take on Minnesota.
Indiana State's path to 10k
Indiana State basketball has a good path to the NIT title as they are a one seed in the tournament. The Sycamores knocked off SMU 101-92, and they will be playing Minnesota on Sunday. The Sycamores are currently favored by 7.5 points in that one.
If Indiana State can get past Minnesota, they will take on the winner of Cincinnati and Bradley. Both of those teams would present some challenges, but the Sycamores should have an edge over all of the other teams in their region. It's unlikely that all four of the top seeds make it into the final four of any tournament in any season, and one seed Villanova has already been eliminated from the NIT. The other top teams that the Sycamores would see in the final two games of the tournament are one seed Seton Hall, one seed Wake Forest and two seed Utah.
The Sycamores certainly seem like the favorite to win the tournament as a lot of people thought they would make it into the big dance. Had they won their conference tournament they obviously would've been in with the automatic qualifier. Still, this team was ranked earlier this season and they definitely had a case for an at-large bid.
Indiana State basketball didn't get that at-large bid, but thanks to Pat McAfee, they have a ton to play for in the NIT. We'll see if they can go all the way for $10k.
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