The first half of the Missouri Valley Conference season is in the books, and the Sycamores are in a three-way tie for third place in the standings. Tonight, the Sycamores will face off against a tough Bradley team, who is nipping at their heels just one game behind in league play.
ISU is coming off a tough three-point loss on the road last Saturday at Illinois State. The Sycamores fought hard to get back into the game after falling behind early, but eventually dropped a 65-62 decision.
Sophomore Marico Stinson continued his hot play of late, as he led the way for the Sycamores with a game-high 22 points against the Redbirds. Seniors Todd McCoy and Gabe Moore also chipped in with 10 points each, while freshman Isiah Martin added nine points, four rebounds and two blocks.
The Braves are winners of three-straight games and tonight's game will be their fourth out of their last five in front of their home fans at Carver Arena. Last Saturday, Bradley earned a 63-54 win at Wichita State for their second-straight road win in conference play.
Senior guard Jeremy Crouch scored a game-high 16 points to lead the way against the Shockers. Freshman Sam Maniscalco added 12 points to earn Valley Newcomer of the Week honors and Andrew Warren added 10 points in the win.
Bradley leads the all-time series 44-23, with the two teams splitting the last six games in the series. However, ISU will be looking to snap a nine-game losing streak to Bradley at Carver Arena.
► Indiana State's Kevin McKenna is in his first season at the helm of the Sycamores program, after completing his ninth season at Creighton as an assistant coach, where he helped the Bluejays advance to four NCAA tournament appearances. From 2001-05, McKenna spent four years as the head coach (89-33) at NCAA Division II Nebraska-Omaha, where he guided the Mavericks to four consecutive 20-win seasons and three appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. He is assisted by Greg Lansing, Stan Gouard and Lou Gudino.
► Bradley's Jim Les is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Braves (53-58). During that time, Les has posted back-to-back 22 win seasons and has made two postseason appearances. Les became the head coach after spending seven seasons in the NBA and after a stellar Hall of Fame career at Bradley from 1983-86. He is assisted by Eric Buescher, Alvin Brooks III and Steve Merfeld.
► Bradley University is located in Peoria, Ill., and has an enrollment of 6,127. The Braves are members of the Missouri Valley Conference and play their home games at Carver Arena (11,060).
► The Braves are led head coach Jim Les, who is in his sixth season as the head coach at Bradley (53-58). During that time, Les has posted back-to-back 22 win seasons and has made two postseason appearances, including a trip to the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
► Bradley returns seven letterwinners and two starters from last year's team that finished with a 22-13 overall record (10-8 in MVC) and advanced to the NIT. Bradley eventually lost in the second round to Mississippi State 101-72.
► Bradley has won three straight games, as well as four of the last five overall. Tonight's game will also be the fourth at home for the Braves in Valley play out of their last five total.
► Freshman guard Sam Maniscalco repeated as the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week helping Bradley to wins last week over Illinois State and Wichita State. Maniscalco averaged 7.5 points, 5.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game while filling in as the starting point guard for senior Daniel Ruffin.
In 31 games as a freshman last season, Marico Stinson scored over 20 points just twice. He scored 24 points against Purdue (12/28/06) and then followed that up with a career-high 37 points against Drake (12/30/06). However, he's bested that mark with three 20+ point games this season, all of which have come in the team's last five games. He scored 20 points in the team's double overtime win over Southern Illinois at home, scored 23 at Creighton and most recently scored 22 points at Illinois State last Saturday.
One reason for the Sycamores' 5-4 start in Valley play is their increase in defensive pressure. The Sycamores have 71 steals in nine league games, for an average of 7.89 per game. Both of those marks currently rank first among all teams in conference games, just ahead of tonight's opponent Bradley, who ranks second with 63 swipes for an average of 7.00 per game in league play.
The paint is quickly becoming freshman Isiah Martin's neighborhood and opponents are beginning to find out that it is not a very hospitable place. The forward from Chicago, Ill., has amassed 38 blocked shots in 19 games for an average of two per game. His 38 blocks are tops in the league, six ahead of Illinois State's Anthony Slack with 32. In addition, his average of two per game also ranks first in the conference. In addition, his 21 blocks in the team's nine league games are also first in the conference, seven ahead of Drake's Jonathan Cox with 14. Just as a side note, ISU only had 42 blocks as a team all last season.
Wednesday's win over in-state rival Evansville completed the season sweep for the Sycamores over the Purple Aces. ISU won the first contest 70-56 in the team's Valley opener on the road (the team's only road win of the season) and then wrapped it up with the 30-point win at the Hulman Center by a score of 72-42. That win was the largest margin of victory for the team since a 36-point victory over Evansville on Feb. 21, 2001. It was also ISU's first regular season sweep of any Missouri Valley Conference opponent since it swept Evansville during the 2004 season.
Senior Todd McCoy flirted with a couple of double-double performances earlier in the season, but fell just short of the achievement. However, he got the job done on Wednesday against Evansville and recorded the first double-double of his two-year career at ISU with 12 points and 12 rebounds against the Purple Aces. The Philadelphia, Pa., native's 12 boards set a new career high and his two blocks also set a new career standard. His 12 points just missed a career high, as he scored 13 points against Evansville earlier in the season to set his high mark in that category. McCoy's double-double is the second of the season for ISU, joining junior Jay Tunnell who had 16 points and 10 rebounds against Ball State on Dec. 8.
Senior Gabe Moore and freshman Isiah Martin have each put together some of their best performances of the season all against the same team, Evansville. In the two games this season against the Purple Aces, Moore has 36 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds and five steals. In two games against UE, Martin has scored 19 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked eight shots. Those performances helped the Sycamores to two wins against the Aces for the first time since 2004.
The importance of home field/court advantage is often debated upon in collegiate athletics. However, one look at ISU's record this season and the Sycamores are surely be believers. The Sycamores have started the season 9-0 at home, which ranks as the second-longest home winning streak since 1999, when the team won 22-straight before falling to Creighton on Feb. 4, 2001. In the team's nine games at home, the squad is averaging 67.7 points per game while allowing opponents just 53.8 points per contest. In addition, the Sycamores are shooting .446 from the field, including .392 from three-point range, while posting a +34 turnover margin. Compare that to the team's numbers on the road, where they average just 59.8 points as compared to their opponent's 72.6 and are shooting just .382 from the field while being out-rebounded by 45 for a 1-9 record.
It's not coincidence that one of the quietest members on the Sycamores roster is quietly having a very impressive season. Sophomore Marico Stinson has been on a roll as of late for ISU, as he has scored in double figures in nine out of his last 12 games. On the season, Stinson leads the Sycamores in points (249), points per game (13.1), field goals (95) and three-pointers (46).
One look at the season statistics for ISU and one can see that the team has shared the scoring duties. In Wednesday's win over Evansville, Gabe Moore (14), Todd McCoy (12), Harry Marshall (10) and Jay Tunnell (10) shared in the scoring duties to lead the Sycamores to a season sweep over their rivals from the south. The squad has had four players in double figures five times this season, including both games against Evansville, on the road at Tulane and in back-to-back games at home early in the season against Northern Illinois and IPFW.
When teams face off against the Sycamores, one thing will be constant: Gabe Moore will be in the starting lineup. On against Saturday against Illinois State, Moore started his 102nd consecutive game in an Indiana State uniform. The Little Rock, Ark., native started the final 23 games of his freshman career and has not missed a start since, for a total of 79 straight games. In his career to date, Moore has scored 1,041 points, grabbed 283 rebounds, dished out 390 assists and collected 182 steals.
Somebody had to be the hero in ISU's double-overtime win over Southern Illinois and that player was Marico Stinson. The sophomore guard battled through 44 minutes of action on the court, but saved his biggest shots for when they counted the most. In the first overtime session, Stinson connected on a three-pointer with 1:33 left to tie the game at 52-52 and send it to the second overtime period. During the second OT period, his three-pointer with 1:22 left gave ISU a two-point lead at 59-57. However, after SIU got the lead back at 62-61, it was Stinson who nailed a three-pointer with just two seconds left to propel the Sycamores to a 64-62 victory at the Hulman Center.
Senior Gabe Moore joined a very exclusive club at Drake, as he scored eight points to take him over 1,000 in his career, becoming just the 30th player in Indiana State history to achieve that milestone. Moore headed into the game with 995 career points, but his eight points against the Bulldogs put him over the top and give him 1,003 in his four-year career at ISU. Moore now has 1,041 and needs just 23 more points to tie Harry Morgan for 29th place with 1,064 points.
The week of Jan. 7-14 a memorable one for senior point guard Gabe Moore. On Monday, the week started out on a high note as the Little Rock, Ark., native was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week by the conference office for his performance in ISU's two wins last week. Moore averaged 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game for the Sycamores as they earned wins at home against Creighton (62-54) and UNI (74-56). After the weekly honor on Monday, Moore tallied eight points in the team's loss at Drake to go over 1,000 in his career at ISU.
When the Sycamores earned a 74-56 victory over UNI at the Hulman Center on Jan. 5, it marked the first time since the 2000-01 season that ISU started Missouri Valley Conference play with a 3-0 record. During that season, the Sycamores started conference play with a 3-0 record, after beating Bradley (79-70), Northern Iowa (69-57) and Illinois State (78-71) before falling to Creighton in their fourth game. The result has been the same this year, as the Sycamores started the season 3-0 before losing at Drake. ISU went on to finish the 2000-01 season with a 22-12 overall record and won the MVC Tournament championship to earn an automatic birth in the NCAA Tournament. Let's hope the same happens this year.
Senior guard Gabe Moore is known for being a solid all-around player, as he is at or near the top of several offensive and defensive categories for the Sycamores this season. However, his steal numbers have put him among the best in the Missouri Valley Conference. Moore has 44 swipes this season for an average of 2.32 per game, both of which rank second in the league statistics behind Southern Illinois' Bryan Mullins. In addition, the Little Rock, Ark., native has swiped 182 in his career, which puts him in fourth place on the all-time list at ISU. Moore needs just seven more to take over third place, which is currently held by Michael Menser, who collected 188 steals from 1997-2001.
The Sycamores are off to a 5-4 start in conference play, thanks to limiting their own turnovers and forcing more from their opponents. During conference play, ISU has a turnover margin of +4.33, which ranks first in the conference. ISU is forcing an average of 16 turnovers from their conference counterparts, but have only been turning the ball over 11.7 times per game. Overall, the team has a turnover margin of +2.47 in 19 games this season, which is third best.
It had been almost a year since an ISU player last recorded a double-double, but Jay Tunnell put an end to that string with his 16 point, 10 rebound performance against Ball State on Dec. 8. Coincidentally, it was Tunnell and teammate Adam Arnold who last achieved the feat as both recorded double-doubles against Wagner on December 22, 2006. Tunnell recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Arnold chipped in with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
National Signing Day can be a very stressful time for coaching staffs, as they wonder whether or not their coveted recruits will sign on the dotted line. However, the Indiana State men's basketball staff now has nothing to worry about as Carl Richard Jr. (Chicago, Ill./Richards HS), Tyler Cutter (Murfreesboro, Tenn./Siegel HS) and Koang Doluony (Omaha, Neb./Bryan HS) have all signed National Letters of Intent to continue their basketball careers as Sycamores.
