SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State Basketball concludes the home portion of the regular season on Wednesday, February 21 when they host Evansville in Missouri Valley Conference play. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) from Hulman Center and will be televised live on the The Valley on ESPN3. The game will also be broadcast on WIBQ 97.9 FM as well as streamed (audio) on GoSycamores.com.
SENIOR NIGHT
Indiana State will honor seniors Qiydar Davis, Demonte Ojinnaka, Brandon Murphy and Brenton Scott in pregame as well as postgame ceremonies on Wednesday night. Wednesday's pregame ceremony will begin at 6:43 p.m. (ET).
SULLIVAN AUTOMOTIVE CAR GIVEAWAY
Indiana State Basketball and Sullivan Automotive have partnered to give one lucky fan the chance to win a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu. Registration will be at Hulman Center at the North and South entrances with the drawing happening after halftime. The half court shot to win the brand new car will occur during the second half.
QUICK HITS
- Greg Lansing has joined Duane Klueh and Royce Waltman as the only three head coaches to serve at the helm for at least 250 Indiana State Basketball games.
- Indiana State is 84-10 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).
- Jordan Barnes is averaging 3.8 3-pointers per game to rank fourth in the nation and tops in the MVC. His 105 3-pointers made this season is third best nationally. That mark is also a new school record and is fourth-most in the history of the MVC during a single-season.
- Indiana State has hit at least one 3-pointer in every game since December 20, 2008 against DePauw -- a span of 310 contests.
- 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 131. He needs three more to tie Royce Waltman for second (and his 71 MVC wins is the most in the history of the program).
- 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. The Sycamores also went to overtime against North Texas on December 6 and at Illinois State on December 31. ISU has played nine overtime contests over the last two years.
- Senior Brenton Scott owns 270 trifectas in his career which is second-best in the history of the program. He only trails Michael Menser by 13 for the school record and his 270 is No. 7 on the MVC's all-time list. He needs six more to catch Missouri State's Blake Ahern for sixth place.
A Win Over Evansville Would ...
• Give Indiana State 80 regular season & Missouri Valley Conference Tournament victories over the last eight seasons -- third most among the current membership of the league.
• Make it seven in a row for the Sycamores at home against the Purple Aces and be the 91st victory in the all-time series -- a new school record.
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 131-125 (.512) overall in his eighth season as a head coach. He is 71-71 all-time in MVC games, including a 48-23 mark at home and a 23-48 record on the road. During his career, he is 78-35 in all home games, 37-68 on the road, 16-22 in neutral court contests and 43-36 in games decided by five points or less. With the Trees, Lansing is 10-14 in overtime games and 84-10 when holding teams to 63 points or less. Lansing is 11-8 against Evansville, including a 6-1 mark at home. 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 131 and needs three more to tie Royce Waltman for second. His 71 MVC victories are a school record.
A Little History
Indiana State is in its 122nd season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,478-1,292 all-time on the hardwood.
Television Particulars
The Evansville game will appear live world-wide on The Valley on ESPN3.
Jordan Barnes Made 29 Free Throws In A Row
Indiana State sophomore Jordan Barnes saw his 29 consecutive made free throws streak snapped on February 17 against Southern Illinois. He had not missed since a January 17 win at Evansville. Barnes' 29 in a row was the most by a Sycamore since Devonte Brown converted 16 in a row against Saint Louis and Ball State during the 2015-16 campaign. Over the last five games, ISU is 73-of-91 (80.2 percent) from the charity stripe and has hit over 80 percent of their charity tosses in four of the last five games.
Barnes and Scott Rank High In Conference / Nationally In Several Categories
Jordan Barnes and Brenton Scott both rank in the Top 10 in the Missouri Valley Conference statistical listings for scoring as Barnes owns a 17.3 ppg mark for third while Scott's 15.4 ppg is seventh. Barnes' 3.8 3-pointers per game leads the MVC -- a number which is fourth-best in all the nation. During conference play, Barnes is hitting 3.5 treys per game which also leads the league. He also ranks 44th nationally with a 42.3 percent mark from long range and is ninth-best in the country with 248 3-point attempts on the season. Barnes' 105 3-pointers is third in the country.
Evansville Is Indiana State's Most Frequently Played Rival
Indiana State plays host to the Evansville Purple Aces on Wednesday night – they are not the oldest rival on the Sycamores' schedule but they are the most frequent. The game at Evansville on January 17 was the 170th meeting in the all-time series – holding that distinction by 38 over the next most frequent opponent to appear on the schedule – Ball State. ISU owns 90 all-time wins against both Evansville and Eastern Illinois to top the record book. The Sycamores have faced off against six different opponents at least 100 times with three being MVC members – Evansville, Southern Illinois and Illinois State and the others being Ball State, Eastern Illinois and Butler.
J.B. For THREE!
Jordan Barnes passed Michael Menser against Loyola when he connected on 5 3-pointers – and now his 105 trifectas on the season which is a new single season school record. Barnes' total is fourth-best in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference, needing just 13 more to tie Bradley's Jeremy Crouch for third at 118 – a number Crouch posted during the 2007-08 campaign. The MVC single-season record is 134 set in 1996-97 by Southern Illinois' Troy Hudson.
Greg Lansing Sets New School Record For MVC Victories
Indiana State, under the direction of eighth-year head coach Greg Lansing, owns 79 conference and MVC Tournament wins – which is the third-most among the current membership during that same span. UNI has the most victories with 87 while Illinois State is in second at 86. The Sycamores' 79 wins are ahead of Missouri State's 73 and Evansville's 72. During regular season play, Lansing has 71 MVC victories which is the most in the history of the program. He set the new school record with a 84-54 victory over Illinois State on January 20, 2018 and his 131 overall victories are only three behind Royce Waltman for second on the ISU all-time list.
Brenton Scott Continues To Make A Move Up ISU Scoring Chart
Indiana State senior Brenton Scott is just the third Sycamore to ever record at least 200 career 3-pointers and is only the fourth to score at least 1,700 career points. He owns 270 3-pointers during his career joining school record holder Michael Menser (1997-2001) who owns 283 career trifectas and Jordan Printy (2008-12). Scott is now the school's fourth all-time leading scorer as he owns 1,743 points scored as he joins Larry Bird, John Sherman Williams and Jerry Newsom above the 1,700 point mark.
Greg Lansing All Alone In Third Place For Most Wins At Indiana State
Indiana State's 77-66 victory at Northern Iowa on February 3 was career victory No. 131 for eighth-year head coach Greg Lansing. He is now all alone in third place all-time at ISU. He needs three more wins to catch Royce Waltman for second at 134 and the school record is held by Duane Klueh who owns 182 career victories.
63 Is The Magic Number
The Sycamores win by the score of 84-54 on January 20 against Illinois State was ISU's fourth 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 84-10 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, 11 times this season and earned the win. Under eighth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 84-26 when the ISU starting five scores more than their opponent's starters after doing so in the win over Northern Iowa on February 3.
Sycamores Outlast Adversity To Earn Third Valley Road Win Of The Year
Indiana State earned a gutsy 77-66 win at Northern Iowa to close out a two-game MVC swing on February 3. The Sycamores hit 26-of-50 shots from the field (52.0 percent), including 10 3-pointers to overcome both Indiana State centers playing a combined 20 minutes due to foul trouble plus the loss of freshman Tyreke Key to injury late in the first half. Key scored nine points before he was forced to leave at halftime. ISU responded with a 15-of-24 shooting performance in the second half (62.5 percent) and were 6-of-11 from distance (54.5 percent). Jordan Barnes who entered the game with 18 consecutive double digit scoring efforts did not get there until late in the game as the Sycamores made their first trip to the free throw line after halftime with 1:28 remaining in the second half. The Sycamores finished the game with a 15-of-17 mark from the charity stripe (88.2 percent).
Sycamores Secure Fifth 30-Point MVC Victory In Program History Against Illinois State
While any win in the Missouri Valley Conference is tough to come by, a win by 20 or more points is even more rare. Indiana State defeated Illinois State by the score of 84-54 on January 20 – an impressive 30-point victory. Since the Sycamores joined the league for the 1977-78 campaign, this was Indiana State's 26th victory by at least 20 points in a conference game. The Sycamores' win by 30 points over Illinois State was its first over 20 points since a February 11, 2017 victory over Drake by 24 points. This game was the fifth time that the Sycamores have won by at least 30 points in a Missouri Valley Conference game against the current league membership. It was the largest margin of victory in a conference contest for the Sycamores since a 72-42 win on Jan. 23, 2008 against Evansville. This was the biggest margin of victory ever against Illinois State and just the second time the Sycamores have beaten the Redbirds by 20 or more points. The school record for largest victory over a MVC school is 36 points and happened in 1981 against Southern Illinois and most recently against Evansville in 2001. All but one of the Sycamores 20 plus point victories have come at home, with Indiana State's 65-44 victory in 1998 at Northern Iowa being the program's only win by at least 20 points against a MVC opponent which came on the road.
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.
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.
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
The Sycamores conclude the regular season on Saturday, February 24 when they travel to Bradley. The game will tip-off at 4 pm (ET) and will be televised live nationally on CBS Sports Network.
