SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State Basketball remains at home on Sunday, December 11 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) to face Western Kentucky inside Hulman Center. The Sycamores have won three in a row following a victory over No. 15 Butler on Wednesday evening by the score of 72-71. ISU secured its school record fifth victory over a nationally-ranked opponent under head coach Greg Lansing when Brenton Scott hit a free throw with 1.5 seconds remaining to secure yet another victory in a game decided by one possession or in overtime.

QUICK HITS
- Indiana State is 77-9 when holding teams to 63 points or less under seventh-year head coach Greg Lansing (and 18-0 when limiting teams to 53 or less).
- Indiana State has earned 62 close victories (five points or less) since 2005. Under Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 36-23 in close games.
- Greg Lansing is just the sixth head coach in the history of the program to record at least 100 victories at the helm of the Sycamores. He needs six more to tie John Longfellow for fifth on the ISU all-time victories list.
- Sophomore Brenton Scott owns 160 trifectas in his career which is fourth-best in the history of the program. He needs one more to tie Eddie Bird for third all-time.
- Junior Matt Van Scyoc has scored over 1,000 career collegiate points as he tallied 807 in two prior seasons at The Citadel plus 345 with the Sycamores. He now has 1,157 career points scored during his career with the two institutions.
- The Sycamores opened the season with back-to-back overtime games. It is the first time Indiana State has played consecutive overtime games since the 1986-87 season. Of the Sycamores' first nine games, seven have been decided by one possession or in overtime, including two of the last three victories.
- Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing owns a school record five victories over nationally-ranked teams during his tenure, a new standard set on December 7 in the win over No. 15 Butler.
- The Sycamores own a 51-39 record in "bounce-back" games under seventh-year head coach Greg Lansing following a loss.
- Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing led the Sycamores for the 200th time against Missouri-St. Louis. He is one of just four head coaches at Indiana State to coach at least 200 games. Duane Klueh, Royce Waltman and Gordon Stauffer are the others.

An Indiana State Win Over Western Kentucky Would ...
• Give the Sycamores their fourth consecutive winning streak -- their 10th such streak under seventh-year head coach Greg Lansing.
• Be the Sycamores' first victory over the Hilltoppers since a win in Bowling Green on November 24, 2009 in the Preseason NIT and their first over WKU in Terre Haute since a 30-26 win in 1941.

The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 114-92 (.553) overall in his seventh season as a head coach. He is 60-48 all-time in MVC games, including a 41-13 mark at home and a 19-35 record on the road. During his career, he is 66-22 in all home games, 32-52 on the road, 16-18 in neutral court contests and 36-23 in games decided by five points or less. Lansing is 0-1 against Western Kentucky and is 0-0 against the Hilltoppers at home. With the Trees, Lansing is 8-8 in overtime games and 77-9 when holding teams to 63 points or less. Lansing led the Sycamores to the postseason in each of his first four seasons at the helm (2011 NCAA, 2012 CIT, 2013, 2014 NIT). Lansing is the second head coach to lead the Sycamores to the NCAA Tournament in their rookie campaign in the history of the program, with the other being Bill Hodges leading ISU to a 33-1 record and a Final Four appearance in the 1979 NCAA Tournament. Lansing was just the 14th rookie head coach in the history of the MVC to lead his team to 20 victories during their debut season. Lansing holds the school record for most victories over a nationally-ranked team (five) in the history of the program. Lansing is currently sixth on the Indiana State all-time coaching victories list and needs six more to tie John Longfellow for fifth.

Television Particulars
The Sycamores' game against Western Kentucky will be televised world-wide on The Valley on ESPN3.

A Little History
Indiana State is currently in its 121st season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,461-1,259 all-time on the hardwood.

Sycamores Tally School Record Fifth Victory Over Nationally-Ranked Team Under Lansing
Indiana State ended a skid of nine loses to nationally-ranked teams when No. 15/16 Butler fell inside Hulman Center on Wednesday night by the score of 72-71. Coach Lansing has led the Sycamores to a school-record five victories against nationally-ranked teams during his time at the helm of the program. He passed Bill Hodges (head coach of the Dream Team in 1978-79) and Royce Waltman (head coach of the Sycamores during back-to-back NCAA Tourney trips in 2000 & 2001) for the most in program history with the win over Butler. It was just the second victory for the Sycamores under Lansing at home against a nationally-ranked team and the first overall since a win at No. 21 Notre Dame in 2013.

Close Game Alert!
Games involving Indiana State so far this season have, for the most part, come down to the wire. Seven of the first nine games have been decided by just one possession or have entered overtime. The Sycamores opened the season with back-to-back overtime games. It is the first time Indiana State has played consecutive overtime games since the 1986-87 season when they dropped extra time decisions against Saint Louis and Eastern Illinois. It is the fifth time in school history the program has played back-to-back overtime games and the first time it has happened in the first two games of the year. ISU began the year with road games against Northern Illinois and Ball State -- both of which went an extra five minutes. All three of the Sycamores' games in Orlando were decided by one possession as was its game at Utah State which saw TJ Bell hit the game-winning lay-up with two seconds on the clock. ISU also won against No. 15 Butler by the score of 72-71 with a Brenton Scott free throw with 1.5 seconds remaining.

Scott's 3-Point Shooting Moving Up ISU Career Ranks; Closing In On 1,000 Career Points
Indiana State junior Brenton Scott is continuing to make his mark on the Sycamore Basketball Record Book in regards to 3-point shooting and points scored. Through 72 career games he has hit 160 3-pointers which ranks fourth-best all-time and is just one behind Eddie Bird (1987-91) for third place. He has attempted 399 3-pointers in his career which ranks fifth and needs 19 more attempts to move past Chad Adkins (1996-99) for fourth place. Scott also has scored 996 points in his career and needs only four more to become the 38th member of the Indiana State Basketball 1,000 Point Club. Scott will be the 13th member of the club (34.2 percent) either coached or recruited by current head coach Greg Lansing, the most members that one coach can claim as one of their pupils in the illustrious club.

Brenton Scott Near The Top Of The MVC In Scoring
Brenton Scott scored a team-high 25 points in the 72-71 victory over Butler, including a free throw with 1.5 seconds remaining to secure the victory. He has reached double figures scoring in all nine games so far this season and has eclipsed the 20-point mark a team-best five times this year. Through nine games, Scott is averaging 19.8 points per game which is second in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Matt Van Scyoc Hot Shooting Late Key In Win Over No. 15 Butler
Indiana State senior Matt Van Scyoc tallied a career-high 23 points to help lead the Sycamores to a 72-71 victory over No. 21 Butler on Wednesday night inside Hulman Center. Van Scyoc was 6-of-9 from 3-point range -- the most trifectas he has connected on in a single-game in his Sycamore career. He hit all three of his attempts from long range in the final three minutes to help build a five-point lead in the final minute as the Sycamores hung on for the win.

Sycamore Success Inside Hulman Center Under Greg Lansing
The Sycamores are 66-22 (.750) inside Hulman Center under sixth-year head coach Greg Lansing. The Sycamores have won 56 of their last 74 home games. Additionally, the Sycamores have won 41 of their last 54 MVC games at home. The Sycamores were 10-4 at home last season. Indiana State owns a win in their last meeting with every MVC opponent at home with the exception of Wichita State and Southern Illinois. The longest stretch of consecutive home victories is against Illinois State which has now reached nine. Indiana State is a perfect 3-0 this season at home.

Indiana State In The MVC/Mountain West Conference Challenge Series
In 2016-17, the Missouri Valley/Mountain West Conference Challenge has returned for the second consecutive year for all of the 10 member schools. The Sycamores are 3-3 all-time in the challenge after defeating Utah State in thrilling fashion by the score of 62-61 on Saturday night in Logan, Utah. The Sycamores have now won each of its last two games in the challenge after also beating Wyoming inside Hulman Center last season.  Indiana State won its initial game in the challenge against Colorado State (at home) in 2009 then dropped road contests to Wyoming and Boise State as well an overtime decision to New Mexico State in 2012. 

TJ Bell Earns First Career Double-Double Against The Cyclones
Indiana State senior TJ Bell enjoyed a resurgence this week as the Sycamores participated in the Advocare Invitational. He averaged 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as she hit 15-of-24 shots from the field (.625) with six blocked shots and three steals. Bell opened the week with his first career double-double against No. 21 Iowa State with 11 points and 10 rebounds, both of which were career highs. He hit 5-of-7 shots from the field (.714 percent) in the narrow 2-point loss to the Cyclones. He went on to record eight points and six rebounds against Stanford before tallying 14 points with six rebounds against Quinnipiac. For the third time in the last four games, Bell hit 8-of-11 shots from the field to set a new career-high of 17 points in Wednesday night's win over Northern Illinois.

Oh So Close! Everett Clemons Nearly Posts Triple-Double At Ball State
Indiana State senior guard Everett Clemons scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to record the Sycamores' first double-double of the season as part of the overtime win over Ball State. He also posted a career-best nine assists (of the team's 13) and narrowly missed his first career triple-double and the first by a Sycamore since Jake Odum did it in the 2011 Old Spice Classic (now Advocare Invitational). There have been just two triple-doubles in the MVC era with Odum owning one as well as Larry Bird in 1979. Currently, Clemons is averaging 6.1 rebounds per game which is eighth-best in the league while he leads the MVC with a 5.6 assists per game average.

63 Is The Magic Number
The Sycamores win by the score of 62-61 on December 3 at Utah State was ISU's third this season in which they held an opponent to 63 points or less and earned the victory. Under seventh-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 77-9 when allowing less than 63 points to the opposition (including a 18-0 mark when holding teams to 53 or less).

Good Starter On The Battery
Indiana State's starting five outscored the opposition's top five twice this season and earned the win. Under seventh-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 72-22 when the ISU starting five scores more than their opponent's starters after doing so in the win over Northern Illinois on November 30.

Sycamores Have Had Success In Bounce Back Games Under Head Coach Greg Lansing
In the last seven seasons, the Sycamores have been known as a team with the ability to bounce back from defeat. Since the 2010-11 campaign, the Sycamores are 51-39 in a game which follows a loss. Indiana State last rebounded from a loss against Quinnipiac to down Northern Illinois by the score of 63-52 on November 30. 

Brenton Scott Named To Preseason All-MVC First Team
Indiana State junior Brenton Scott was named to the Preseason All-MVC First Team as announced by the league office on October 25. Scott, who is the only returning first or second team all-conference selection from last season, picked up his first ever all-conference honor last year after being named The Valley's Freshman Of The Year in 2015. The Sycamores have had at least one all-conference selection in each of the last nine years which is the third-longest active streak among the current membership of the MVC.

Sycamores Picked To Finish Sixth In Missouri Valley Conference Race
Indiana State was picked to finish sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference according to a preseason poll of league head coaches, sports information directors and a media panel. Defending league champion Wichita State was also picked to win the league. The Sycamores are coming a 15-17 record last year and a sixth place finish in the MVC race. Indiana State reached the semifinals of Arch Madness of the fourth time in the last six years last season.

Brandon Murphy An MVC Scholar-Athlete Selection
Indiana State sophomore Brandon Murphy carries a 3.25 GPA in Communications and was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team as an honorable mention selection. Murphy averaged 4.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. In MVC contests, Murphy averaged 5.3 rebounds per game to rank 12th in the league. He pulled down 2.0 offensive rebounds per game to rank third while his 2.4 offensive rebounds per MVC game was second in the conference rankings. Murphy posted his first career double figure scoring output with 10 points in a home court victory over Wyoming.  He tallied a career-high 12 rebounds in an overtime contest at Missouri State.

Sycamores Own Third-Best Record In MVC Play Over Last Six Seasons
In the last six seasons under the direction of head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores have amassed a total of 60 Missouri Valley Conference victories. Those 60 MVC wins by coach Lansing are second-most in the history of the program as he trails only Royce Waltman who won 69 league games during his tenure. Additionally, the 60 MVC victories for the Sycamores since the 2010-11 campaign ranks third-best among current conference members. Wichita State's 93 leads the league while Indiana State has 60 and Northern Iowa is second with 67. The next closest program behind the Sycamores in Evansville which owns 55 victories while Illinois State owns 53.

Greg Lansing Selected For Induction Into Iowa High School Basketball Hall Of Fame
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Basketball Hall of Fame as part of their 2016 class.  Lansing and the other selected inductees were honored individually at halftime of the Iowa Class 4A State Championship Game at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on March 12. The IHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame is the highest honor the Iowa High School Board of Control can bestow on a high school coach or former player. Lansing graduated from Harlan High School in 1986, where he was coached by his father Dave, who was inducted into the IHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 as a coach. The Lansing father/son combination of Dave and Greg are just the 10th father/son duo to both be inducted into the Hall of Fame since 1969.
 
Up Next
Indiana State takes a pause from mid week action for Final Exams before travelling to Valparaiso on Saturday, December 17. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. (ET).