Game Day Central

Series:             Series Tied 1-1

Radio:              ESPN Radio 1130/1300 AM

Play-By-Play:  Brian Fritz

Analyst:           Matt Renn

Internet:           GoSycamores.com

Storylines       

            After playing four straight games away from home, Indiana State returned home on Saturday and defeated in-state foe DePauw 66-60 at the Hulman Center.  On Tuesday, the Sycamores (2-8) will look to continue their winning ways against another in-state rival in IUPUI (6-4) at Conseco Fieldhouse.

            The Sycamores struggled from beyond the arch and failed to convert a single three-point basket against the Tigers, but 22 points from the free-throw line and a 42-27 advantage on the boards helped the Sycamores secure their second victory of the 2008-09 season.

            Junior guard Harry Marshall led all scorers with 18 points, ten of which came from the charity stripe, to lead the way in the win for ISU.  Senior Jay Tunnell, junior Rashad Reed, and junior Josh Crawford each contributed ten points to the cause for the Sycamores as well, marking the third time this season ISU has had four or more players finish a game in double figures.

            IUPUI is coming off a a 67-65 win at Seton Hall on Saturday night. Sophomore Leroy Nobles came up with back-to-back big plays, including the game-winner, as time expired to propel the Jaguars to the victory.  The win was the first-ever for IUPUI over a BIG EAST opponent in eight tries.

            Nobles finished with six points, but scored IUPUI's final four points of the night. Freshman Alex Young tallied 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting to lead the way for the Jaguars.  Junior transfer Robert Glenn chipped in 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in just 17 minutes before fouling out and Billy Pettiford registered his fourth career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

            The Sycamores and Jaguars have met just two times in history, with each team winning on its home court to knot the series at 1-1.  The Jaguars won the first-ever game between the two schools, a 72-70 win on December 20, 2000.  However, the Sycamores got revenge the following year with a 66-56 win at the Hulman Center on December 1, 2001.

            Following today's game against IUPUI, the Sycamores will begin Missouri Valley Conference play on the road against the Northern Iowa Panthers on December 28 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m. ET at the McLeod Center.

About The Coaches

Kevin McKenna (Creighton ?93) is in his second season as the head coach at Indiana State (17-24).  In his first season with the Sycamores, McKenna led the team to its highest win total since the 2000-01 season and an impressive 12-2 record at home in the Hulman Center.  McKenna came to Indiana State after spending nine seasons as an assistant coach at Creighton, 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. 

Ron Hunter (Miami-Ohio ?86) is in his fifteenth season as the head coach at IUPUI (239-184). Hunter is IUPUI's all-time leader in wins (239) and winning percentage, having guided the Jaguars to seven consecutive seasons with a .500 record or better.  Last year, the Jaguars set a new single-season record with 26 wins and a .788 winning percentage behind Summit League Player of the Year George Hill. The team also set a school record with 15 conference victories an unblemished 15-0 home record inside The Jungle.  IUPUI was also the only school in the country to rank among the top three in field goal shooting, free throw shooting and three-point shooting.

Scouting The Jaguars

 ►       IUPUI is located in Indianapolis, Ind., and has an enrollment of 29,933 students.  The Jaguars are members of the Summit League and play their home games at the Jungle (1,215).

 ►       The Jaguars finished with an overall record of 26-7 during the 2007-08 season. 

In conference play, IUPUI posted a 15-3 record which was good enough for           second place in the conference.  The team ended its season with a 71-64 loss to Oral Roberts in the Summit League Tournament championship game.

 ►       IUPUI returns two starters and six letterwinners from last year's squad, led by senior guard Gary Patterson (12.9 ppg, 2.6 apg) and junior forward Jon Avery (10.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg).  One notable loss is that of George Hill, who averaged 21.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last year and was drafted in the first round of the NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs (26th overall).

 ►       Sophomore Leroy Nobles came up with back-to-back big plays, including the game-winner as time expired, to propel IUPUI to a 67-65 win at Seton Hall on Saturday night. The win was IUPUI's first-ever over a BIG EAST opponent in eight tries and snapped Seton Hall's five-game winning streak. Nobles finished with six points, but scored IUPUI's final four points of the night while freshman Alex Young had 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting to lead the way for the Jaguars.

The Fantastic Four

The Sycamores have shared in the scoring duties through 10 games this season and that was very apparent in Saturday's win over DePauw.  Four Sycamores scored in double figures, led by junior Harry Marshall's 18 points.  Senior forward Jay Tunnell, junior Josh Crawford and junior Rashad Reed all chipped in with 10 points apiece to round out the balanced attack.  The team has had four players score in double figures in two other contests this season (Northern Illinois and North Texas) and has had at least three players score in double figures seven times in 10 games played.

Crashing The Boards

The Sycamores have struggled getting rebounds at times throughout the season, but that was not the case in Saturday's win over DePauw.  ISU out-rebounded the visiting Tigers by a margin of 42-27, including a 30-18 difference on defensive rebounds.  With that performance, it marked the first time in 10 games the Sycamores had pulled down more rebounds than their opponent and marked the second time this season the team had corralled 40 or more rebounds (40 at DePaul).

Who Needs The Three?

Indiana State is averaging seven three-point baskets per game this season and are shooting 35.4 percent from long distance through 10 games.  However, in the team's win over DePauw on Saturday, the Sycamores were ice cold from three-point range going 0-for-10 against the Tigers.  That snapped a streak of 252 consecutive games with at least one three-point field goal make.  The last time the Sycamores failed to make a three-point field goal was on February 9, 2000, when the Sycamores shot 0-for-7 against Northern Iowa in a 67-61 victory over the Panthers.

The Marshall Plan Is In Effect

Junior guard Harry Marshall made his return to the Indiana State lineup against No. 14 Purdue on Dec. 13 and since that time his presence has been very welcome for the Sycamores.  In his first game back after sitting out the team's first eight games of the season, Marshall tallied 16 points and dished out six assists against the Boilermakers.  He followed that up by scoring a game-high 18 points, including a 10-for-13 effort from the free throw line, while adding four rebounds in Saturday's win over DePauw.

Crawford Returns To Form

Junior transfer Josh Crawford averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in his first two games in an ISU uniform.  Over the next seven games, though, Crawford struggled to find his game and averaged just 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while blocking just eight shots.  However, he broke out of that funk on Saturday against DePauw with 10 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in 12 minutes of action to help the Sycamores to their second win of the season.  With that performance, Crawford is now averaging 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while adding 18 blocked shots.

Tunnell Plays In 100th Game Of Career At ISU

Indiana State fields one of its youngest teams in years in 2008, but senior forward Jay Tunnell provides the team some much-needed leadership on and off the court.  On Saturday against DePauw, Tunnell played in his 100th career game at Indiana State and finished with 10 points  and five rebounds in 17 minutes of action.  In those 100 games, the Topeka, Kan., native has started in 94 games while averaging 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 24.9 minutes per game for the Sycamores.  In addition, Tunnel has scored 887 points in his career, which leaves him just 113 points shy of becoming the 31st player in school history with at least 1,000 career points, and has pulled down 474 rebounds.

No Easy Victory For The Sycamores

The Sycamores had to fight from behind to pick up their first win of the season against Lamar.  ISU was down by as much as eight points with just over seven minutes remaining in the game and fought back to take a one-point lead with just 38 seconds remaining after a three-pointer by Rashad Reed.  Lamar then tied the game at 66-66 after two free throws with nine seconds left, but it was Reed who came up big once again and hit a floater in the paint with 0.2 seconds left on the clock to give the Sycamores a 68-66 win.

Coming Through In The Clutch

Rashad Reed was Indiana State's leading scorer heading into the team's game against Lamar at the Marques Maybin Classic at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky.  When the Sycamores needed a go-ahead basket late in the game against the Cardinals, they went to Reed who connected on a floater in the lane with 0.2 seconds to propel ISU to its first win of the season.  Reed finished the game with 15 points and six rebounds for the Sycamores in the game and now leads the team with an average of 12.9 points per game in seven starts.

Reed Gets Some Company In The 20 Point Club

Through seven games, junior Rashad Reed was the only Sycamores to score more than 20 points in a game with his 21 points in the season opener at Northern Illinois.  However, on against Ohio both Jay Tunnell and Aaron Carter joined the club as each scored 20 points against the Bobcats.  Tunnell tied his career high with 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds.  Carter's 20 points also set a career high for the sophomore, who used a 6-for-9 effort from three-point range to set the new mark.  The last time ISU had two players score 20 points or more in the same game was against Drake on December 30, 2007, when Marico Stinson (37) and Cole Holmstrom (20) achieved the feat.

Kentucky Brings Out The Best In Cutter, Leitnaker

Freshman point guard Tyler Cutter and sophomore center Brant Leitnaker enjoyed playing over the weekend at the Marques Maybin Classic, as both set new career highs on the historic floor of Freedom Hall.  Cutter played a strong game against No. 11 Louisville, as he scored a career-high eight points in 24 minutes of action.  He followed that up by dishing out a career-high eight assists against Lamar to help the team win its first game of the season.  Leitnaker also had a career effort against Louisville, as he scored a career-high nine points while tying his career high with five rebounds in 15 minutes of action against the Cardinals.

Mr. Consistency

Sophomore Aaron Carter is quickly asserting himself as one of the most consistent Sycamores on this year's squad.  Carter, who had four double-digit scoring efforts in 30 games as a freshman last season, has posted double-digit scoring efforts in six of the team's 10 games this season.  The Cannelton, Ind., native scored in double figures twice in three days at the Marques Maybin Classic in Louisville, including a career-high 20 points on  6-for-9 shooting from three point range against Ohio.  Carter is currently one of four Sycamores averaging in double figures this season with 10.8 points per game while contributing 3.9 rebounds per contest.

Tunnell Just Misses A Double-Double

Senior Jay Tunnell has recorded four career double-doubles in his four seasons at Indiana State.  In the team's win against Lamar, he just missed out on the fifth of his career after he scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the Sycamores defeat the Cardinals at the Marques Maybin Classic at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky.

Dialed In From Long Distance

Against Murray State, the Sycamores made a season-high 12 three-pointers score 36 of the team's 61 total points.  Redshirt freshman Keenan Barlow led the way with a 3-for-4 effort to end up with a career-high 11 points, while fellow redshirt freshman Jordan Printy, senior Jay Tunnell, junior Rashad Reed and sophomore Aaron Carter each added two treys against the Racers.

Welcome To The Show

Several Sycamore rookies saw their first action in a Sycamore uniform in the team's season opener against Nortern Illinois on Nov. 18.  In all, six players made their debuts at Indiana State during the game while four players made their collegiate debuts:  Keenan Barlow, Tyler Cutter, Jordan Printy, Carl Richard.  Two of those newcomers, junior college transfers Rashad Reed and Josh Crawford, both scored in double figures with 21 and 13 points, respectively. 

Honoring A True Sycamore Legend

Prior to the start of lSU's first exhibition game against Albion College, the floor at Hulman Center will officially be named the Nellie and John Wooden Court in honor of the legendary coach and his late wife, Nellie.  Prior to achieving legendary success as the head coach at UCLA, Wooden began his collegiate coaching career and served two years as head men's basketball coach, baseball coach and athletics director at Indiana State from 1946 to 1948. While earning his master's degree at Indiana State, he compiled a 44-15 record as basketball coach while leading the Sycamores to post-season tournament appearances each year and two conference championships.  In addition, coach Wooden will also be inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Athletics Hall of Fame in March.

The Dream Season ... 30 Years Later

This season marks the 30th anniversary of Indiana State's historic 1978-79 season that saw the Sycamores advance to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament and eventually to the National Championship game.  In order to get there, the Sycamores had to defeat today's opponent, DePaul, in the Final Four.  Led by consensus First-Team All-American and future NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird, Indiana State compiled a 33-1 overall record, including a perfect 29-0 record during the regular season with the only loss of the season coming in the championship game to Michigan State 75-64.

Mahurin Signs On The Dotted Line

With just one senior on this year's roster, Indiana State men's basketball head coach Kevin McKenna needed to fill just one spot for next year's team.  He filled that spot with the addition of local star RJ Mahurin (Rockville, Ind./Rockville HS), who signed a National Letter of Intent with ISU to continue his education and basketball career.  Mahurin, a 6-foot-8 forward, has scored 1,404 points in his career for the Rox and is just 118 points away from becoming the top scorer in school history heading into his senior season.  During his junior season, Mahurin led the Rox to a sectional championship and a spot in the regional finals with a 23-4 overall record.  He averaged 25.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game, which earned him Honorable Mention All-State honors from the Associated Press and led to him being named the Tribune Star's Wabash Valley Player of the Year.  Mahurin was also named the team's MVP and was an All-Wabash River Conference Selection.