The Sycamores have not spent much time at home in front of their fans at the Hulman Center lately, but tonight's game against Bradley kicks off a three-game homestand for ISU.
The first game with the Braves did not go so well for the Sycamores, as they shot just 33.3 percent from the field and ended up with a 63-44 defeat. That loss was one of five in a row for ISU, who will look to snap that streak tonight at home, where the team has posted a 9-1 record so far this season with the only loss coming to the No. 14 ranked Drake Bulldogs on February 2.
The Sycamores are coming off a 65-60 loss at Wichita State on Saturday. Senior Gabe Moore led the way with 16 points and four assists for ISU, while Jay Tunnell and Marico Stinson chipped in for 13 and 12 points, respectively.
For the first time since mid-January, Bradley will be trying to bounce back from a loss tonight against the Sycamores. Bradley had a six-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, when they lost a 72-68 decision to their in-state rival Illinois State. Theron Wilson and Jeremy Crouch led the way for the Braves with 17 points apiece in the loss, while Daniel Ruffin chipped in for 16 points and Andrew Warren added 10.
Bradley leads the all-time series 45-23 and have won the last three meetings in a row. However, the Sycamores have won two out of the last three at home against the Braves, including back-to-back wins in 2005 and 2006. With a win tonight, ISU will tie their record with the Braves at Hulman Center at 16-16 all-time.
► 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 (98-84). 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 (98-74). 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 had its six-game winning streak snapped on Saturday by Interstate 74 rival Illinois State, 72-68.
► The Braves turned in their best defensive effort of the season in the first meeting against the Sycamores, limiting ISU to 33.3 percent shooting from the field and forcing 17 turnovers in a 63-44 victory Jan. 30 at Carver Arena.
► Senior Daniel Ruffin is the nation's active leader with 576 career assists, and is currently 29th in school history with 1,133 points. He currently leads Bradley with 14.5 points per game and has a team-high 101 assists.
As Gabe Moore prepares to play the last few games of his career at Indiana State, his name continues to climb several career lists. With his two steals on Saturday at Wichita State, Moore passed former Sycamore great Michael Menser on the all-time steals list with 189 for sole possession of fourth place. Moore is also tied for 26th all-time with John Robbins on the ISU scoring list with 1,095 points and is just 11 points away from 24th place. He is also in the top 10 on the assists list with 411, which currently ranks 7th behind Menser's 426 in 6th place.
Having played six out of their last eight games on the road and posting a 1-7 record, the Sycamores return home this week for two games at the Hulman Center. The home court has been comforting for ISU this season, as the team has posted a 9-1 record with the only loss coming to No. 14 Drake. In those 10 games at home, the Sycamores are averaging 68.6 points per game and are shooting 45.8 percent from the field while forcing 31 more turnovers than their opponents. Compare that to the road, where the team is averaging just 59.3 points and shooting just 38.4 percent.
During the 2006-07 season, the Sycamores blocked just 42 shots as a team. This season, the team has improved that mark to almost double at 74, thanks to freshman Isiah Martin. Martin has 43 blocks in his first season, breaking a freshman record at ISU and besting the entire team's mark from last season. Those 43 blocks and his average of 1.87 per game also rank first overall in the Missouri Valley Conference.
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's 51 swipes rank second league behind SIU's Bryan Mullins. However, his average of 2.22 per game is tops in the league, just ahead of Mullins' mark of 2.17 per game. Moore also has 24 steals in conference games for an average of 1.85 per game, both of which rank first in the conference.
The Sycamores have turned up their defense in conference games and it has helped the team to the best turnover margin in league play. The Sycamores have 97 steals in 13 league games, for an average of 7.46 per game. Both of those marks currently rank second among all teams in conference games, just behind tonight's opponent Bradley, who ranks first with 102 swipes for an average of 7.85 per game in league play.
The Sycamores are still in hunt for a top-six seed in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, thanks to limiting their own turnovers and forcing more from their opponents. During conference play, ISU has a turnover margin of +2.38, which ranks first in the conference. ISU is forcing an average of 14.6 turnovers from their conference counterparts, but have only been turning the ball over 12.2 times per game.
The Sycamores did everything they could to try to upset No. 16 Drake, including shooting a season high 55.6 percent from the field. ISU jumped out to a 35-30 halftime lead, thanks to a shooting percentage of 65.2 in the first half, also a season high.
Marico Stinson is known for being a dynamic scorer and three-point shooter for ISU. However, in the Sycamores' earlier game at Bradley, he showed he could rebound the ball as well. Against the Braves, Stinson tied his career high by pulling down seven rebounds, including six on the defensive side of the court. Earlier this season, Stinson set the bar by grabbing seven rebounds against Butler, breaking his previous high of five set last year during his freshman season.
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 eight 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.
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.
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 13 out of his last 16 games including the last five in a row. On the season, Stinson leads the Sycamores in points (301), points per game (13.1), field goals (113) and three-pointers (55).
One advantage to head coach Kevin McKenna's new offensive system is that multiple players will have a chance to score. That's exactly what the Sycamores last Tuesday at Southern Illinois, as four players finished the game in double figures. Marico Stinson (18), Gabe Moore (15), Jay Tunnell (13) and Harry Marshall (11) each shared in the scoring duties to help ISU lead the game at halftime and keep it close late in the second half. With their performance against the Salukis, the squad has had four players score in double figures in back-to-back games and seven times this season overall, including both games against Evansville, on the road at Tulane, in back-to-back games at home early in the season against Northern Illinois and IPFW and against No. 16 Drake.
When teams face off against the Sycamores, one thing will be constant: Gabe Moore will be in the starting lineup. On against Saturday at Wichita State, Moore started his 106th 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 82 straight games. In his career to date, Moore has scored 1,095 points, grabbed 296 rebounds, dished out 411 assists and collected 189 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 1,095 points in his career, which ties him for 26th place on the all-time scoring list with John Robbins (1960-63). Moore needs just 11 more to tie Jayson Wells (1994-98) for 24th place.
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.
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.
