Missouri Valley Conference regular season champion Indiana State will take on SMU in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. The No. 1 seeded Sycamores enter with a 28-6 record, most recently falling to Drake in the MVC tournament championship game, 84-80.
SMU had an up-and-down slate, at one point going on a six-game win streak followed by a three-game losing streak toward the end of the regular season. Despite being upset in the second round of the American Athletic Conference tournament by Temple, the Mustangs finished with a 20-12 record, going 11-7 in conference play.
The winner of the matchup will face either No. 4 Butler or Minnesota in the second round of the NIT.
Indiana State’s leading scorer Robbie Avila earned first team All-MVC honors, and three other ISU players, Ryan Conwell, Jayson Kent and Isaiah Swope earned second team honors.
Zhuric Phelps was SMU’s lone honoree with a spot on the All-AAC second team. Nevertheless, the Mustangs doubled their win count from the 2022-23 season and are much improved from last year.
Here’s what you need to know about Wednesday’s matchup between Indiana State and SMU, including broadcast information and start time.
What channel is Indiana State vs. SMU on today?
- TV channel: N/A
- Live stream: ESPN+
Indiana State is tied with Illinois as the 8th-best scoring offense in the country with 84.4 points per game, a figure that many thought was sufficient to send the Sycamores to the NCAA tournament. When it came to Selection Sunday, that unfortunately wasn’t the case.
The Mustangs have a difficult task ahead of them going into Terre Haute, where ISU has a 13-1 record for the 2023-24 season — the Sycamores haven’t lost at home in over a month.
Fans looking to stream Indiana State vs. SMU can watch live exclusively on ESPN+.
Indiana State vs. SMU start time
- Date: Wednesday, March 20
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
The NIT game between Indiana State and SMU is set to tip off at 7 p.m. ET from the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind.
The Mustangs were last in the NIT during the 2021-22 season where they advanced to the second round before losing to Washington State, 75-63.
Indiana State last played in the tournament in 2014 as a six-seed but lost to three-seeded Arkansas in the first round by a 20-point margin.
2024 NIT schedule, scores
The NIT begins with Round 1, which is slated for Tuesday, March 19, and Wednesday, March 20. The entire schedule for Round 1 is included below.
Round 1: Tuesday, March 19
| Game | Time (ET) | Location | TV Channel/Live Stream |
| Providence vs. Boston College | 7 p.m. | Amica Mutual Pavilion | ESPNU/Sling |
| Georgia vs. Xavier | 7 p.m. | Stegeman Coliseum | ESPN/Sling |
| Ohio State vs. Cornell | 7 p.m. | Value City Arena | ESPN2/Sling |
| LSU vs. North Texas | 7 p.m. | Pete Maravich Assembly Center | SECN/ESPN+ |
| Virginia Tech vs. Richmond | 9 p.m. | Cassell Coliseum | ESPN2/Sling |
| Butler vs. Minnesota | 9 p.m. | Hinkle Fieldhouse | ESPNU/Sling |
| Iowa vs. Kansas State | 9 p.m. | Carver-Hawkeye Arena | ESPN/Sling |
| Utah vs. UC Irvine | 11 p.m. | Jon M. Huntsman Center | ESPN2/Sling |
Round 2: Wednesday, March 20
| Game | Time (ET) | Location | TV Channel/Live Stream |
| Seton Hall vs. Saint Joseph’s | 7 p.m. | Prudential Center | ESPN2/Sling |
| Indiana State vs. SMU | 7 p.m. | Hulman Center | ESPN+ |
| Bradley vs. Loyola Chicago | 7 p.m. | Carver Arena | ESPN+ |
| Princeton vs. UNLV | 8 p.m. | Jadwin Gymnasium | ESPN+ |
| Wake Forest vs. App. State | 8 p.m. | LJVM Coliseum | ESPN+ |
| Cincinnati vs. San Francisco | 9 p.m. | Fifth Third Arena | ESPN+ |
| Villanova vs. VCU | 9 p.m. | Finneran Pavilion | ESPN2/Sling |
| UCF vs. South Florida | 9 p.m. | Addition Financial Arena | ESPN+ |