Indiana State coach Greg Lansing is having his team practice five against six to prepare for Syracuse's 2-3 zone defense.

“You try and simulate whatever you can. Whether it’s six guys in our zone or having the guys shoot over a stick off of a drive or a post move. We’ve done it before, but we have to break it out this week. We have to try a little bit of everything," Lansing said.

"I mean they have four or five guys with seven-foot wing spans that just intimidate you," Lansing added. "It's a beast. We haven't really seen that kind of length this season."

Indiana State will play Syracuse on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Ohio State is the No. 1 overall seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament and will be placed in the East Region.

Joining the Buckeyes No. 1 seeds is Kansas in the Midwest, Pittsburgh in the Southeast and Duke in the West.

Pitt is the only No. 1 seed to not win their conference tournament, losing to eventual champion Connecticut in the quarterfinals.

San Diego State, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Florida are the No. 2 seeds, while Syracuse, Purdue, Connecticut and BYU are the No. 3 seeds. Kentucky, Louisville, Texas and Wisconsin are the No. 4 seeds.

Kansas and Duke were also No. 1 seeds in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, while Ohio State was a No. 2 and Pitt was a No. 3.

The Final Four will be held in Houston on April 2nd and 4th.

• Click here to view RealGM’s 2011 NCAA Tournament Page.

Indiana State defeated Missouri State by a 60-56 final to win the 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Sycamores hadn't qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 2001.

Despite losing in the final, Missouri State' Jermaine Mallett was named Tournament MVP. Mallett lead all tournament participants in points, rebounds and FIC.

Aaron Carter and Jake Odum of Indiana State joined Mallet on the All-Tournament Team. Adam Leonard and Kyle Weems of Missouri State also made the All-Tournament Team.

• Click here to view RealGM’s comprehensive list of 2011 Conference Tournaments.

Indiana State defeated top-seeded Missouri State 60-56 on Sunday to win the Missouri Valley Conference and it's automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

The school hasn't been to the tournament in a decade.

"It's unreal, man, it's unreal," Aaron Carter said. "We knew we could do it. We came into the tournament pretty confident."

Last season, Indiana State was 17-15, the school's first winning season since 2001, but expectations were still low heading into this year.

Kyle Weems of Missouri State has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year award.

Doug McDermott of Creighton was named MVC Freshman of the Year and Kwadzo Ahelegbe of Northern Iowa was the Defensive Player of the Year.

Weems, McDermott and Ahelegbe were also All-Conference First Team selections. They were joined by Andrew Warren (Bradley) and J.T. Durley (Wichita State).

Voted to the second team were Will Creekmore and Jermaine Mallett (Missouri State), Toure' Murry (Wichita State), Colt Ryan (Evansville) and Antonie Young (Creighton).

• Click here for more information on Missouri Valley awards.

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