SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State Basketball hits the road on Wednesday, December 6 against North Texas of Conference-USA. Tip-off is set for 8:00 pm (ET) from UNT Coliseum, dubbed 'The Super Pit' and will be televised via a pay-per-view web stream on C-USA.tv. The game will also be broadcast on WIBQ 97.9 FM as well as streamed (audio) on GoSycamores.com. Indiana State is 3-4 on the season coming off a 74-64 victory against Air Force in the MVC/Mountain West Challenge. Brenton Scott and Jordan Barnes each scored 25 points in the game. UNT has dropped a pair of road games in a row and enter the game with a 4-5 record. The Mean Green are led by Roosevelt Smart who averages 17.1 points per game.
QUICK HITS
- Indiana State is 81-10 when holding teams to 63 points or less under eighth-year head coach Greg Lansing (and 18-0 when limiting teams to 53 or less).
- Indiana State has earned 65 close victories (five points or less) since 2005. Under Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 39-28 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 as he owns 123. He recently passed Glenn Curtis for third on Indiana State's all-time career list and needs 11 more to tie Royce Waltman for second.
- Indiana State played Ohio in a four overtime game to close out the Gildan Charleston Classic on November 19, 2017. It marked the first quadruple overtime game for the Sycamores since a 1986 contest against Butler.
- Senior Brenton Scott owns 222 trifectas in his career which is second-best in the history of the program. He is one of just three Sycamores to record at least 200 career 3-pointers. He only trails Michael Menser by 61 for the school record.
- Indiana State's win over Indiana by 21 points was the largest margin of victory in Assembly Hall by an unranked opponent since 1968.
- 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, 2016 in the win over No. 15 Butler. Additionally, he owns six victories over Power 5 schools, with all of those coming against on a neutral site or on the road.
- Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing led the Sycamores for the 200th time against Missouri-St. Louis in 2016 and then it was his 100th career home game against the same opponent in 2017. 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.
A Win Over North Texas Would ...
• Be the Sycamores first victory over the Mean Green since December 10, 1999 as part of the Indiana Classic in Bloomington.
• Be the Sycamores first-ever victory over the Mean Green in Denton.
• Give the Sycamores a victory in the state of the Texas for the first time since January 5, 1985 -- a double overtime victory at then MVC member West Texas State by the score of 91-88. This is the Sycamores' first trip to Texas since a 2007 game at North Texas.
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 123-112 (.523) overall in his eighth season as a head coach. He is 65-61 all-time in MVC games, including a 45-18 mark at home and a 20-43 record on the road. During his career, he is 73-29 in all home games, 34-61 on the road, 16-22 in neutral court contests and 39-28 in games decided by five points or less. With the Trees, Lansing is 10-11 in overtime games and 81-10 when holding teams to 63 points or less. This is Lansing's first-ever meeting against North Texas. 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 third on the Indiana State all-time coaching victories list with 123 and needs 11 more to tie Royce Waltman for second.
A Little History
Indiana State is in its 122nd season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,470-1,279 all-time on the hardwood.
Television Particulars
The North Texas game will be broadcast live on C-USA.tv. This is a pay-per-view web stream service provided by North Texas and Conference USA. Sycamore fans may purchase the stream by visiting C-USA.tv and signing up. A one time fee of $6.95 will be charged to view the contest.
Indiana State In The MVC / Mountain West Challenge Series
The Missouri Valley/Mountain West Conference Challenge returned last week for the third consecutive year on all of the 10 member schools' schedules. The Sycamores are now 4-3 all-time in the challenge after defeating Air Force by the score of 74-64 in Terre Haute. 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. This marked the first time the Sycamores have played Air Force in the challenge. Indiana State's 4-3 record in the challenge is tied with Northern Iowa for the best mark among the current league membership. The Sycamores' three game winning streak in the challenge is the best in the league.
Brenton Scott and Jordan Barnes Pace Sycamores With 25 Points Each Against Air Force
Indiana State senior Brenton Scott recorded his first career double-double as part of a 74-64 victory over Air Force in the MVC / Mountain West Challenge. Scott scored 25 points and added 11 rebounds with four assists, three steals and two blocked shots. He hit 10-of-19 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers. Scott hit a pair of early 3-pointers en route to scoring 14 of his points before the break. The Sycamores led by as many as nine points in the first half, including a steal and fast break lay-up from Scott with 4:07 remaining which drove the lead up to eight points. Scott buried a key 3-pointer at the 3:58 mark of the second half to push the Sycamore lead into double digits at 63-52 as part of a 10-0 run which sealed the victory over Air Force. Barnes got hot down the stretch in the second half as he also scored 25 points. Barnes connected on a career-high six 3-pointers and added four rebounds with three assists. It marked the first time since January 14, 2017 that a pair of Sycamores each scored 20 points in the same game when Matt Van Scyoc and Barnes did it inside Hulman Center against Missouri State.
Greg Lansing All Alone In Third Place For Most Wins At Indiana State
Indiana State's 74-64 win over Air Force was career victory No. 123 for eighth-year head coach Greg Lansing. He is now all alone in third place all-time at ISU, moving past Glenn Curtis with a win over the Falcons. He needs 11 more wins to catch Royce Waltman for second at 134 and the school record is held by Duane Klueh who owns 182 career victories. Lansing also owns 65 victories in Missouri Valley Conference play which is just four off the school record of 69 held by Indiana State's second all-time winningest head coach Royce Waltman (1997-2007). Lansing has led the Sycamores to the MVC Championship Game twice in his tenure.
Brenton Scott Is 2nd All-Time In 3-Pointers & Top 10 In Scoring
Indiana State senior Brenton Scott is just the third Sycamore to ever record at least 200 career 3-pointers. He now sits at 222 for his career. Scott has joined school record holder Michael Menser (1997-2001) who owns 283 career trifectas and Jordan Printy (2008-12) who hit 215 as the only Sycamores to post at least 200 career trifectas. Scott moved into 10th place on the ISU all-time scoring list with his 11 points against Ohio and now has 1,398 career points which is No. 10 on the ISU all-time list. He needs 24 more to catch Carl Nicks and Duane Klueh who are in a tie for eighth-best all-time at 1,432 points.
Record Breaking Four Overtime Game Closes Out Gildan Charleston Classic
Indiana State went to four overtimes in their third and final game of the Gildan Charleston Classic. This was the first game to reach double overtime game for the Sycamores since an 88-85 win at home over Eastern Illinois on December 21, 2016. Additionally, it became the first Sycamore game to reach triple overtime since 2011 at Wichita State. The game against Ohio is only the second to go quadruple overtime with the other on December 27, 1986 against Butler. The Sycamores have played a total of seven overtime games in the last seasons, including two which went multiple overtime periods. In the Ohio game, the Sycamores had 79 field goals attempts which are the most for the program since they had 75 against Middle Tennessee State in 1996. Additionally, the Ohio game was the first time the Sycamores had six players reach double figures scoring since the triple overtime game at Wichita State in 2011.
Sycamores Post Dominating Victory In Season Opener At Indiana
Indiana State enjoyed a tremendous start to the season with a 90-69 victory over in-state rival Indiana inside Assembly Hall. The 90 points scored represent the most by a Sycamore team in the all-time series with the Hoosiers -- topping the previous best of 72 set in a 2005 win inside Hulman Center. ISU won that game by five points, 72-67, which until Friday night was the Sycamores largest margin of victory in the series. The Sycamores have now won four of the last six meetings in the all-time series dating back to Indiana State's last win inside Assembly Hall back in 1999. It was the Sycamores' first win in the series since 2005. The Sycamore victory broke a string of 32 wins in a row for the Hoosiers in their home opener and was ISU's first win on the road in a season opener since a 2014 overtime victory at IUPUI.
17 3-Pointers Most Ever By A Visitor To Indiana's Assembly Hall
Indiana State was solid in many areas at Indiana, beginning with 3-point shooting as they hit 17-of-26 attempts (65.4 percent) from long range. The 17 3-pointers are the most by an opponent against Indiana inside Assembly Hall and fell just one shy of the Sycamore school record of 18 set in 1988 against Arizona State.
Brenton Scott Named To Missouri Valley Conference Preseason First Team
Indiana State senior Brenton Scott was named Missouri Valley Conference Preseason First Team one year after taking home All-Missouri Valley Conference Third Team honors. He was the Valley's Freshman of the Year in 2015. Scott finished the regular season ranked second in the league with a 15.9 ppg average and was 16th with 5.0 rebounds per game. His 1.6 steals per game ranked in a tie for fourth while his 2.3 3-pointers per game was tied for the most in the league. Scott averaged 4.7 defensive rebounds per game to rank in a tie for seventh-best in the MVC this season. In league play, Scott's 13.3 ppg was good enough for 10th in the league while his 1.4 steals per game was fifth. He averaged 2.2 3-pointers per game to rank tied for fourth while his 4.4 defensive rebounds per game was ranked 11th. He scored 25 points and hit the final free throw with 1.5 seconds remaining to down No. 15 Butler inside Hulman Center.
Indiana State With A Pair Of Top 10 Career Scorers In Their Respective High School States
A pair of Indiana State freshmen in Tyreke Key and Cooper Neese enter the collegiate portion of their careers having reached the Top 10 in career scoring in both of their respective home states. Key finished his career at Clay County High School in Celina, Tenn., with 3,287 points scored which is 10th most in the history of the state of Tennessee. As a senior, he set the Tennessee High School record for most points scored in a season, breaking a 25-year old record held previously by Kentucky legend Tony Delk. Cooper Neese, who will sit out the 2017-18 season serving his year-in-residence as a transfer, enters his Indiana State career having scored 2,496 career points at nearby Cloverdale High School which is seventh-best in the Indiana High School Basketball history.
Sycamores Tally School Record Fifth Victory Over Nationally-Ranked Team Under Lansing
Indiana State ended a skid of nine losses to nationally-ranked teams when No. 15/16 Butler fell inside Hulman Center on December 7 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.
Sycamore Success Inside Hulman Center Under Greg Lansing
The Sycamores are 73-29 (.723) inside Hulman Center under eighth-year head coach Greg Lansing. Additionally, the Sycamores have won 45 of their last 63 MVC games at home. The longest stretch of current success against a league member is eight wins in a row at home against Bradley after last season's 81-71 victory over the Braves.
63 Is The Magic Number
The Sycamores win by the score of 75-58 on November 22 against Missouri-St. Louis was ISU's first this season in which they held an opponent to 63 points or less and earned the victory. Under eighth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 81-10 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 has outscored the opposition's top five three times this season and earned the win. Under eighth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 76-23 when the ISU starting five scores more than their opponent's starters after doing so in the win over Air Force on November 29.
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 returns home to face off against Indianapolis on Saturday, December 9 at 4 pm (ET) inside Hulman Center. Duane Klueh, the Sycamores all-time winningest head coach and one of two players all-time to have their jersey retired will be honored in pre-game ceremonies and will sit on the bench during the game.
