It had been more than 100 years since two Missouri Valley Conference teams played each other three straight games. Until Thursday. Northern Iowa and Illinois State didn't need introductions in their Arch Madness opener.
With its season on the line, UNI made it a clean Redbird sweep.
A slew of timely treys finally gave the Panthers separation in the waning minutes, as UNI pushed its way to a 65-60 win at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. With the win, the Panthers get No. 2 seed Drake in Friday's MVC Tournament semifinals.
After sweeping two games at Redbird Arena last weekend, UNI needed to deliver the season's first three-game winning streak to keep this strange campaign alive.