Date: January 5, 2008
Location: Terre Haute, Ind.
Site: Hulman Center
Tip-off: 8:05 p.m. EST
TElevision: MVC TV (FSN Midwest)
Talent: Dan McLaughlin & Charlie Spoonhour
Radio: The Crock 92.7 FM
Talent: Brian Fritz & Matt Renn
Series: ISU leads 17-15
Last Time: ISU 59, UNI 46 (2/5/07)
The winning streak at home continues for the Sycamores, as they take their 6-0 record at the Hulman Center this season into tonight's game against the Northern Iowa Panthers.
ISU earned a 62-54 win over Creighton on Wednesday night to keep their record at home unblemished this season. The win also improved the Sycamores to 2-0 in Valley play for the first time since the 2000-01 season, when ISU started with a 3-0 record before suffering its first conference loss.
Senior Gabe Moore led the way against Creighton with 13 points, while sophomore Harry Marshall added 10 points to pace the ISU offense. Freshman Isiah Martin was the catalyst on the defensive end, as he recorded a season and career-high six blocks to give him 10 in his first two conference games.
Northern Iowa likewise heads into tonight's game having won its first two Valley games and three games in a row overall. On Wednesday, the Panthers earned a 64-51 win over Evansville at home to improve their overall record to 10-3 on the season.
Forward Adam Koch led all scorers in the game with 20 points and was joined in double figures by Eric Coleman, who recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and center Jordan Eglseder with 10.
The Sycamores hold a 17-15 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools, but they have lost six out of the last eight games against Panthers. However, the teams have split the series in each of the last two seasons, with each squad winning on its home court in each contest.
► 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.
► Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson is in his second season as the head coach at UNI. Prior to taking over as head coach, Jacobson served as the associate head coach at UNI during the 2005-06 season and was an assistant for the Panthers from 2001-05. He is assisted by Rich Glas, Kyle Green and P.J. Hogan.
► The University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and has an enrollment of 6981. The Panthers are members of the Missouri Valley Conference and play their home games at the McLeod Center (7,018).
► The Panthers are led by head coach Ben Jacobson, who is in his second season at the helm of the program. Jacobson was 18-13 in his first season at UNI, with a 9-9 record in Valley play, and has his team out to a 10-3 start this season.
► The team returns eight letter winners and three starters from last year's squad. The Panthers finished the regular season with a 18-13 record in the Valley, which earned them a No. 5 seed in the MVC Tournament. UNI faced off against No. 4 seed Bradley in the Valley tournament and fell behind early in the game, but rallied to take the lead late before the Braves hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to post a 51-48 win.
► Senior Eric Coleman leads the way for the Panthers, as he is averaging 12.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. In UNI's last game against Evansville on Wednesday, Coleman posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
► UNI is averaging 65.8 points per game, which is 10.8 points higher than their opponents so far this season.
When the Sycamores earned a 62-54 victory over Creighton on Wednesday night at Hulman Center, it marked the first time since the 2000-01 season that ISU started Missouri Valley Conference play with a 2-0 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. ISU went on to finish that season with a 22-12 overall record and won the MVC Tournament championship to earn an automatic birth in the NCAA Tournament.
Through the first 12 games of the season, it's pretty easy to see that the Sycamores like to play basketball at home in front of the fans at Hulman Center. ISU has started the season 6-0 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 six games at home, the squad is averaging 66.5 points per game while allowing opponents just 54.0 points per contest. The Sycamores are also shooting .461 from the field, including .360 from three-point range, while posting a +12 turnover margin.
Wednesday's game against Creighton was the first for ISU head coach Kevin McKenna against his old team. The game was a success for the former longtime assistant coach and player, as the Sycamores picked up an impressive 62-54 win over the Bluejays to improve to 2-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play. McKenna spent nine seasons on the Creighton bench as an assistant coach(1994-2001, 2005-07) before taking over the helm at ISU. McKenna also had an illustrious career at CU, as scored 1,500 career points and was enshrined into the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998.
Freshman forward Isiah Martin has been a consistent contributor for Indiana State this season and his performance in Saturday's win at Evansville earned him Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week honors on Monday. Martin was strong off the bench in the first half for ISU against Evansville, as he scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots to keep the score close for ISU. The Chicago, Ill., native finished the game with 10 points, his fifth double-digit scoring effort of the season, eight rebounds and four blocked shots while altering several others on the defensive side of the court to help the team to a 70-56 victory over the Purple Aces.
Heading into last Saturday's Missouri Valley Conference opener at Evansville, the Sycamores had not won a road game all season and for some time in conference play. However, that all changed with the team's 70-56 win over their in-state rivals at Roberts Stadium. The win was ISU's first Valley road win since Jan. 6, 2007, when it won at Illinois State. In addition, the win broke a four-game losing streak to the Purple Aces and a three-game losing streak at Roberts Stadium in Evansville.
Senior Gabe Moore is getting extremely close to a very prestigious milestone in his career at ISU, as he is just 12 points away from becoming the 30th player in Indiana State history to amass 1,000 career points. Moore headed into the week 25 points away, but with 13 points on Wednesday against Creighton, the Little Rock, Ark., could very well achieve the feat at home tonight in front of the fans at the Hulman Center.
Blocked shots have become an important part of ISU's defensive arsenal this season, as the team has 42 blocks in 12 games for an average of 3.5 per game. Both of those marks rank fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference headed into tonight's game against Northern Iowa. To put it in perspective, ISU only had 42 blocks all of last season in 29 games.
The paint is quickly becoming freshman Isiah Martin's neighborhood and opponents are quickly beginning to find out that it is not a very hospitable place. The forward from Chicago, Ill., has amassed 27 blocked shots in 12 games for an average of 2.25 per game. His 27 blocks rank second in the Missouri Valley Conference behind Illinois State's Anthony Slack (29), but his 2.25 average per game is the highest in the conference among all players. On the season, Martin has blocked at least two shots in eight games and has 13 in just his last three outings, with a career-high six against Creighton on Wednesday.
The Sycamores are 7-5 on the season, thanks to some strong defensive efforts against opponents shooting three-pointers. Through 12 games, ISU has allowed just 68 three-pointers to its opponents. In addition, opponents are shooting just 34.2 percent from three-point range against ISU this season, which currently ranks as the third-best 3-point field goal percentage defense in the Missouri Valley Conference.
ISU's new offensive scheme gives several players a chance to score points. Senior Gabe Moore and sophomore Marico Stinson have taken advantage of their opportunities and both are averaging in double figures so far this season. Moore is averaging 12.0 points per game, while Stinson is right behind with 11.6 points per contest. In addition, Moore has led the team in scoring six times this season while Stinson has led the way four times in the scoring column. Last season, the Sycamores did not have a player finish the season in double figures.
If you go to an ISU practice during the week, one could see that head coach Kevin McKenna has placed an emphasis on working on shooting free throws. It looks like that extra work and focus may be working for the Sycamores, as the team has a .720 free throw percentage this season. That mark currently ranks third among teams in the Valley, as ISU trails Bradley and tonight's opponent, Northern Iowa, who have team free throw percentage marks of .742.
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 30 swipes this season for an average of 2.5 per game, both of which rank second in the league statistics. In addition, the Little Rock, Ark., native has swiped 168 in his career, which puts him in fourth place on the all-time list at ISU just ahead of Sycamore great and current radio color analyst Matt Renn who collected 165 from 1997-2001. Moore needs 21 more steals to take over third place, which is currently held by Michael Menser who collected 188 steals from 1997-2001.
In ISU's two Missouri Valley Conference games, the final result has come down to strong performances in the second half. The Sycamores are 2-0, thanks to solid performances in the latter part of the game against Evansville and Creighton. In the first half, ISU has scored a combined 50 points, the same as their two opponents. However, the Sycamores out scored the Purple Aces and the Bluejays 82-60 in the second halves to win both games.
One look at the season statistics for ISU and one can see that the team has shared the scoring duties. In four games this season, four Sycamores have scored in double figures. In last Saturday's win at Evansville, Gabe Moore (22), Marico Stinson (13), Todd McCoy (13) and Isiah Martin (10) shared in the scoring duties to lead the Sycamores to their first win in five tries against the Purple Aces. The team previously achieved the feat on the road at Tulane and in back-to-back games at home early in the season against Northern Illinois and IPFW.
Whenever the Sycamores play their in-state rival Ball State, Jay Tunnell seems to put together career games. In the team's 59-48 win over the Cardinals, Tunnel recorded his first double-double of the season by scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. However, that performance falls short of his day against the Cardinals last season, when he scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a win over BSU on December 2, 2006. In three career games against Ball State, Tunnell is averaging 14.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and has recorded two of his four career double-doubles.
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. 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. Richard Jr., A 6-4, 180-pound small forward, averaged 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists per game as a junior at Richards High School. Cutter, A six-foot point guard from Murfreesboro, Tenn., averaged 18.5 points, five assists, two steals and four rebounds per game as a junior for Siegel High School. Originally from the Sudan, Doluony, a 6-7 forward, averaged eight points and seven rebounds per game during his junior season at Omaha Bryan High School.
