Tyler Brown led ISU on offense with 28 points. (Photo By B Corbin/WJBC)

By The Associated Press

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa  - Anthony James scored 19 points Saturday night as Northern Iowa defeated Illinois State 80-72 in the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season finale for both schools.

Despite the loss, Illinois State secured the No. 6 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament thanks to a Southern Illinois win at Drake.

ISU avoids the Thursday play-in game and will face No. 3 Northern Iowa in a rematch on Friday night.

"The play-in game does a lot on your body. That fourth day you really feel it," said senior Tyler Brown. "I remember last year in the championship I really felt it so another day would have been horrible for us but I'm just happy about the outcome."

Brown led the Redbirds (17-14, 8-10) with 28 points and nine rebounds. Johnny Hill scored 14 for Illinois State.

Northern Iowa held a 42-26 rebounding advantage, including 19 offensive boards that led to an 18-4 edge in second-chance points.

Coach Muller said he's disappointed in the loss to close the regular season, but he thinks ISU can make a run in the tournament.

"You go out, you play well, you let it all hang out and hopefully you survive and advance and it's a lot of fun. The team that plays with the most freedom, confidence and discipline is the one that's going to come out on top," he said.

PODCAST: Listen to Muller's postgame comments

Illinois State faces UNI at 8:35 p.m. on Friday night. Listen to the game on WJBC AM 1230, FM 93.7 and on WJBC.com.

Paul Morello contributed to this story.