Setting The Stage:
Indiana State continues year three of the Kevin McKenna era on Saturday, February 20 when the Sycamores travel to Green Bay for the annual Bracketbusters event. Tip-off is slated for 8:05 p.m. (ET) at Resch Center. On the radio airwaves, the game will be live on The Crock 92.7 FM as well as online at GoSycamores.com. Brian Fritz will call the action live on the radio broadcast. GreenBayPheonix.com will broadcast the game live on a pay-per-view basis.

ABOUT THE COACHES
Kevin McKenna (Creighton '93) is in his third season as the head coach at Indiana State (36-41 at ISU & 126-74 overall). 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. Last season, he led the Sycamores to six victories in their final seven regular season games, including three consecutive league road wins in the span of 10 days. 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. McKenna is one of just two NCAA Division I head men's basketball coaches who have won an NBA World Championship (with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982). Florida International's Isiah Thomas is the other. He is the only NCAA Division I men's basketball head coach to earn both an NBA and CBA Championship and is the only person in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference to win a MVC Regular Season Title , MVC Tournament Championship, NBA Championship and CBA title. McKenna has never faced Green Bay.

Tod Kowalczyk (Minnesota-Duluth '89) is in his eighth season at the helm of the Phoenix in 2009-10 with an overall record of 132-109 (.546). He is 72-60 (.542) in Horizon League games. Green Bay is one of just 18 schools in the nati on to fi nish among its league's top four in each of the past six seasons. Kowalczyk has never faced Indiana State.

SERIES HISTORY
Green Bay has won the lone meeting between the two schools, with that win coming on December 30, 1994 at Green Bay. The Phoenix were 74-53 in the Oneida Classic.

A Little History:
Indiana State is currently in its 114th season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,347-1,143 all-time on the hardwood. The Sycamores are 10 contests away from playing their historic 2,500th game in the history of the program.

They're Free! Take Em!:
Indiana State has been hitting the freebies so far this season, as the Sycamores are ahead of Drake for top honors in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 77.1 percentage from the charity stripe. ISU has hit 417-of-541 while the Bulldogs are 378-of-499 (75.8 percent). ISU currently ranks third nationally in free throw percentage, one of three Valley teams to rank in the Top 25 nationally. BYU's 77.5 percent mark leads the nation. ISU has made 417 free throws this season while the opposition has made just 351. The Sycamores are 13-4 this season in games in which they make more free throws than the opposition.

Keeping The "AC" On High:
Indiana State junior Aaron Carter tallied a season-high 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the 75-69 overtime victory over Bradley. Carter's 19 & 10 gave him his first career double-double. He was 7-of-10 from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers. Carter's 19 points against Bradley follows his 17-point performance earlier in the Sycamores' most recent homestand against Drake. Carter was huge for the Sycamores down the stretch as he hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining in regulation to give ISU a late two-point lead and then hit another with 40 seconds to go in overtime, which gave the Sycamores a late one-point lead that they would never relinquish.

M * A * S * H:
Indiana State will not have the services of three of its top four scorers due to various injuries for the foreseeable future. ISU lost Harry Marshall following the Illinois State contest due to a stress fracture in his right football. Dwayne Lathan is out due to several broken bones in his left hand while Jake Kelly has been out since the conference opener at Southern Illinois with a knee injury. Marshall paces the team with a 13.9 ppg average and leads the league with a 16.3 ppg average in MVC games only. Lathan has averaged 12.0 ppg game this year and Kelly averaged 9.2 ppg before his injury versus the Salukis. ISU will face a stretch of games now in which they will be missing an average of 35.1 ppg or 52.8 percent of their offensive production up to this point in the season due to losing Marshall, Lathan and Kelly to injury.

Triple Trouble On The Road:
Indiana State has defeated Western Kentucky, Arkansas State and Toledo in back-to-back-to-back road non-conference games. It marks the first time ISU has won three consecutive road non-conference games since the 2005-06 campaign when the Sycamores downed Butler, Western Michigan and Eastern Illinois. ISU was 8-1 in non-league games that season.

Breakin' The Streak:
With its 75-69 homecourt overtime victory over Bradley, the Sycamores are now 16-11, five games over the .500 mark. With that victory over the Braves, the Sycamores have essentially assured themselves of finishing with at least a winning record this season which is notable because the Sycamores have not finished over .500 in the regular season since the 2000-01 campaign. ISU's 8-8 MVC record is also the latest the Sycamores have owned at least a .500 record in conference play since the 2007-08 team owned an 8-8 mark as well. With a victory at Illinois State next week, the Sycamores would be over .500 in league play this late in the season for the first time since the 2000-01 season when ISU was 10-7 through 17 Valley contests.

Bracketbusting Sycamores:
Indiana State downed last season's opponent Toledo by the score of 69-62 last season at Hulman Center as part of the Brackbusters series. The Sycamores game on Green Bay on Saturday evening will mark's ISU's sixth year of participation in the scheduling concept. The Sycamores are 3-2 in the original game as part of the Bracketbuster series, and are 2-3 in the return portion of the series the following year. ISU's only return game victory as part of the Bracketbusters series came in the 2006-07 season opener when they took a 73-71 victory over Western Michigan after downing the same team one year earlier on the road, 59-57. ISU dropped both games to Buffalo in the first two seasons of its participation in Bracketbusters (03-04 & 04-05); swept Western Michigan (05-06 & 06-07); was swept by Miami (Ohio) (06-07 & 07-08); split with Murray State (07-08 & 08-09) and downing Toledo last year. Overall, ISU is 5-5 against Bracketbusters opponents.

Trying To Make Thursday Night Not Be Must See For Sycamores Fans:
Indiana State is currently in a tie for fourth place with an 8-8 record in the conference play in a three-way deadlock with Creighton and Bradley in the Valley standings. ISU is just one game above another logjam as Missouri State and Drake are currently 7-9 in MVC play. The Sycamores likewise are narrowly behind 10-6 Illinois State for this place with two league contests remaining on all 10 MVC teams schedule following this weekend's participation in Bracketbusters. The Sycamores will likely secure a spot in the league's top 6 and will avoid the play-in Thursday night portion of next month's State Farm MVC Tournament with a victory either against the Redbirds or Bears next week. Indiana State has appeared in the Thursday night play-in portion of the conference tournament following every season since the 2000-01 campaign when the Sycamores finished fourth with a 10-8 league record and became the lowest seed to ever win "Arch Madness" and advance to the NCAA Tournament. ISU has appeared on Thursday night at the league tournament for eight consecutive seasons.

Six Times Four:
Indiana State junior Aaron Carter has become known as the "King of the 4-Point Play" in the Sycamores circles. For the most part, converting a 4-point play is extremely rare, but for Carter it is becoming old hat. Carter has converted a 4-point play, defined as being fouled in the act of shooting a successful 3-point field goal and then converting the free throw, six times in his three-year Sycamore career. Carter posted a pair last season and has had four this year, including one with 3:42 to play in the first half against Drake this past week. Carter converted two in one game earlier this season at Missouri State as part of a 24-point second half comeback for Indiana State.

We Don't Need A TO Baby!:
The Sycamores posted the most efficient offensive outing in the history of the program against Drake on February 13 when Indiana State committed an all-time low three turnovers versus the Bulldogs. It was the fewest turnovers for the Sycamores since only having five last season in the finale against Missouri State. Since the 1998-99 season, only on four instances has a Valley team committed just three turnovers in a contest, with one being ISU's 76-66 homecourt victory over Drake.

When The Starters Are Scoring ... :
When the Indiana State starting five scores more points than the opponents' starting five the Sycamores have put together a perfect 11-0 record this season. In fact in the eleven contests in which ISU's starting five has eclipsed the point total of their starting counterparts, the Sycamores are winning by an average score of 70.9-59.5 - an average margin of victory which equals 11.4 points.

Martin Hits Century Mark For Blocked Shots:
Indiana State junior Isiah Martin now has 106 blocked shots in his career after recording a pair against Drake. His current total of 106 blocks ranks fourth all-time in the history of the program and he needs three more to tie Nate Green for third (109). The Indiana State school record is 168, set by DeCarsta Webster from 1975-78.

Bringin' Out The Brooms:
The Sycamores have swept both Evansville and Drake this season, giving Indiana State a pair of MVC season series sweeps for the second consecutive season. In fact, ISU's sweep of Drake this year is its first since the 1999-00 campaign and gives the Sycamores multiple MVC season series sweeps of a league opponent in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 1998-99 & 1999-00 seasons. Last season, ISU swept both Illinois State and Missouri State.

Three Or More In Double Figures Equals Sycamore Success:
Indiana State has had a least three players reach double digit scoring in 17 contests this season. When the Sycamores are able to accomplish that feat they are 12-5 in such situations. ISU is averaging an 6.9 point margin of victory when the Sycamores post at least three double digit scorers.

Ability To Bounce Back:
ISU is 21-27 under third-year head coach Kevin McKenna in games following a loss. This season, ISU is 7-4 in games which following a loss after redeeming themselves after falling at Wichita State and Creighton on the road over the last two contests to beat Drake on Saturday.

Winnin' By A Whisker:
Indiana State has recorded five victories in close games this season, defined as a game decided by five or fewer points. Winning the close ones has been a staple of third-year head coach Kevin McKenna's career as he has already has 14 "close" wins while at Indiana State. In addition to the four already posted this season, his Sycamores' recorded five in 2008-09 and four more during his first season at the helm, 2007-08. In fact of McKenna's 84 games as head coach of the Sycamores, 21 have been decided by five points or less and ISU is 14-7 in those games, for a .667 winning percentage.

Air Marshall:
Indiana State senior guard Harry Marshall leads the Sycamores with 19 double digit scoring contests this season. He has currently scored 10 or more points in 12 consecutive contests which is his longest string of double digit scoring performances in his career. Marshall has missed each of the last two contests due to a foot injury.

How Sweep It Is! & ISU One Of Top Three Winningest Road Valley Teams Over Last Two Seasons:
With its 63-56 victory over Evansville, Indiana State secured its first season series sweep of the year. It already gives the Sycamores at least one sweep of a conference opponent in each of head coach Kevin McKenna's three years at the helm of the program. Over the past two years, the Sycamores have secured a total of six road MVC victories, which is tied for third most in the conference over that span. The victory over Drake gave ISU multiple conference season series sweeps for the second consecutive season (swept Illinois State and Missouri State last year).

Marshall's Hits 1,000 Career Points & Milestone Game Against Wichita State:
Indiana State senior Harry Marshall currently has 1,015 career points, and is the 32nd member of the Indiana State 1,000-point club. He is believed to be the first initial walk-on in the history of the program to reach the elite group of Sycamores who have scored at least 1,000 career points. Marshall played his 100th career game against Wichita State and celebrated the milestone by scoring a career-high 29 points to become ISU's first 20-plus point scorer this season.

Close Call To Biggest Valley Rally EVER!:
Down 52-28 with 16:20 left at Missouri State, the Indiana State Sycamores faced their biggest deficit of the game and nearly completed the largest comeback in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference. No MVC team has ever come from down by as many as 24 points in a game to earn a victory. ISU fell in overtime, but a 3-pointer by senior Harry Marshall with one second left knotted the score at 83 and completed the 24-point comeback. MSU grabbed the victory in overtime by a 99-92 margin. ISU did complete the third largest comeback in the history of the league on Feb. 19, 2008 by coming back from 21 down to defeat Wichita State 83-73 in overtime.

Best Defensive Performance In A Year At Drake:
The Indiana State defense clamped down in the final 10 minutes at Drake and held the Bulldogs to just 46 points, which is Drake's lowest offensive production at home this season. The 46-point defensive gym turned in by the Sycamores marks the first time that the Sycamores have held an opponent to less than 50 points since Jan. 23, 2008 when ISU held Evansville to just 42 points.

Jake Kelly Suffers Season Ending Knee Injury Against Salukis:
Jake Kelly has been lost for the season following a knee injury that will require season ending surgery. The team learned of the severity of Kelly's injury following an evaluation conducted by team physician Dr. Tom Klootwyk at Methodist Sports Medicine in Indianapolis. Kelly was third on the team this season with a 9.0 ppg scoring average with 18 assists and six steals. He drained the game winning jumper in a 55-54 road victory over Toledo on December 19. Kelly was playing this season following his transfer from the University of Iowa as the NCAA waived the year in residence requirement and allowed him to compete this season.

Stepping Up To The Challenge:
Indiana State did its part for its league in the inaugural Mountain West/Missouri Valley Conference Challenge as the Sycamores downed Colorado State 65-60 at Hulman Center. All nine of the Mountain West Conference schools will face off against a predetermined member of the MVC with the exception of Evansville. The MVC won the inaugural Challenge this year by a 5-4 margin, capped by a win by Northern Iowa over Wyoming last week.

Best Shooting Performance In Five Seasons:
Indiana State connected on 30-of-52 field goals in the 76-63 victory against Milwaukee. That performance equates to a 57.7 percent mark. The 57.7 percent showing is the best by an Indiana State state team since they hit 59.6 percent from the field in January of 2004 against Drake.

Local Flavor Of Team To Get Some Seasoning:
All four of Indiana State's incoming freshmen are expected to redshirt this season. Jake Odum, a native of Terre Haute, along with RJ Mahurin (Rockville, Ind.,) and Logan & Lucas Eitel (nearby Marshall, Ill.) will all sit out their initial seasons in the program and take a redshirt season. Subject to change as the season progresses, the four local student-athletes will push the total to of six freshmen to ++++redshirt in head coach Kevin McKenna's three seasons. Jordan Printy redshirted during the 2007-08 campaign while Koang Doluony took a redshirt season last year and made his Sycamore debut on Friday against Nebraska-Kearney.

Sycamore Signees:
Indiana State inked three student-athletes to national letters of intent as part of the NCAA Early Signing Period. Steve McWhorter, Myles Walker and Jake Kitchell comprised the Sycamores' 2009 Signing Class.

McWhorter, a 6-2, 185, point guard from Racine, Wis., won a Division 3 state championship last season at Saint Catherines High School as he averaged 10.0 points, 5.0 assists and shot 57.6 percent from the field for coach Bob Letsch. McWhorter took over as the starter at point guard when he was a sophomore. As a junior, he was on a team with nine seniors, and his talent shined in the state tournament. He had 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds in a 48-34 state championship victory against La Crosse Aquinas. In the state semifinals, McWhorter had nine points and nine assists.

Walker is a 6-8, 250, junior college post player from South Plains Junior College who averaged 7.4 points and 4.8 rebounds, while shooting 46.7 percent from the floor and 38.6 percent (32 for 83) from the free-throw line as a freshman last season for coach Steve Green. Walker's best game was a 24-point, 13-rebound performance on Jan. 1. He averaged 1.0 blocks per game with a season-high of five, and he twice had three steals in a game.

At Antonian College Prep in San Antonio, Texas he played for head coach Andre Walker. Myles was named to the all-state team three times and all-district four times. He was once named to the North-South All-Star tournament. As a middle linebacker for the football team Myles earned all-state recognition three times and played in the Army All-American Bowl. He also ran track, boasting a time of 48.07 seconds in the 400 meter dash.

Kitchell is a 6-9, 225, power forward from Union Mills, Ind., and played for coach John Steinhilber at South Central High School. Kitchell averaged 20 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and six blocks per game for a team that finished the 2008-09 season with a record of 17-5. He is expected to be a first team all-state selection later this month in the upcoming edition of the annual Hoosier Basketball Magazine. He was a member of the Indiana Junior All-Stars last spring.

Up Next:
Indiana State travels to Illinois State to kickoff the final week of Regular Season MVC play. Tipoff at Redbird Arena is set for 8:05 p.m. (ET). The game can be heard live in the Wabash Valley on The Crock 92.7 FM as well as online at GoSycamores.com.