SETTING THE STAGE
The Indiana State Sycamores conclude their current three-game home stand as well as non-conference play on Sunday, December 28 when they take on Missouri-Kansas City inside Hulman Center. The game is set for a 2:05 p.m. (ET) tip-off and can be heard locally on 95.9 FM The Duke as well as online via a link on GoSycamores.com. This is the 119th season of intercollegiate basketball at Indiana State University. The game will be televised online via Sycamore Vision, which is a web stream pay-per-view service. The Sycamores are 4-7 and are coming off an eight day break for the Holidays. UMKC is 4-9 overall after opening the season with a 69-61 victory at Missouri.

QUICK HITS
- Indiana State has made five consecutive trips to the postseason (2010 CBI, 2011 NCAA, 2012 CIT, 2013 & 2014 NIT), which is a new school record.
- The Sycamores have put together four consecutive seasons of 18 or more victories which is a new school record. Indiana State advanced to the 2014 MVC Tournament Championship where they fell to No. 1 Wichita State.
- Indiana State is 56-5 when holding teams to 63 points or less under fourth-year head coach Greg Lansing (and 16-0 when limiting teams to 53 or less).
- Indiana State has earned 55 close victories (five points or less) since 2005. Under Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 29-14 in close games.
- Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing owns four victories over nationally-ranked teams during his tenure, which is tied for the school record with Bill Hodges.
- Khristian Smith became the first Sycamore to earn the Missouri Valley Conference's Sixth Man Of The Year Award last season. He was a repeat selection to the MVC All-Bench Team and also was named to the MVC Most Improved Team.
- Junior guard Devonte Brown was named to the All-Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational Team.
- Justin Gant tallied his first double-double of the season against Truman State as he tied for the team lead in points with 14 and added 11 rebounds. The Sycamores defeated the Bulldogs 78-68 on December 16 inside Hulman Center.

An Indiana State Win Over UMKC Would ...
• Improve the Sycamores to a perfect 3-0 all-time against the Kangaroos.
• Be the Sycamores' first victory over UMKC in Terre Haute.
• Improve the Sycamores to 4-3 at home this season.

The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 83-62 (.572) overall in his fifth season as a head coach. He is 41-31 all-time in MVC games, including a 27-9 mark at home and a 14-22 record on the road. During his career, he is 46-15 in all home games, 24-35 on the road, 13-11 in neutral court contests and 29-14 in games decided by five points or less. Lansing is 1-0 against Missouri-Kansas City and is 0-0 against the Kangaroos at home. With the Trees, Lansing is 5-4 in overtime games and 56-5 when holding teams to 63 points or less. Lansing has led the Sycamores to the postseason in each of his first four seasons with the Sycamores (2011 NCAA, 2012 CIT, 2013, 2014 NIT). Sunday's game will be Greg Lansing's 146th as Indiana State head coach. Lansing is the second head coach to lead the Sycamores to the NCAA Tournament in their rookie campaign in the history of the program, with the other being Bill Hodges leading ISU to a 33-1 record and a Final Four appearance in the 1979 NCAA Tournament. Lansing was just the 14th rookie head coach in the history of the MVC to lead his team to 20 victories during their debut season. Against nationally-ranked opponents Lansing holds a 4-11 record, including a 3-5 mark in road contests. He is tied with Bill Hodges for most victories over a nationally-ranked team (four) in the history of the program.

Television Particulars
The Missouri-Kansas City game will be shown live on a pay-per-view basis on GoSycamores.com via a web stream broadcast.

A Little History
Indiana State is currently in its 119th season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,430-1,230 all-time on the hardwood.

Justin Gant Posts His First Double-Double Of The Season Against Truman State
Indiana State senior forward Justin Gant recorded 14 points and tied his career-high with 11 rebounds to post his double-double of the season. The Sycamores put five scorers in double figures as Khristian Smith added 14 while Devonte Brown and Grant Prusator tallied 11 and Brenton Scott scored 10 off the bench. It marked the first time the Sycamores have posted five double figures scorers in a game since the Feb. 1, 2014 road victory at Northern Iowa.

Khristian Smith Tallies 24 Points At Iona
Indiana State junior Khristian Smith paced the Sycamores with 24 points on the road at Iona. Smith was 8-of-12 shooting, including hitting his only 3-point attempt and was 7-of-10 from the free throw line. He also paced the team with eight rebounds and added two assists in 33 minutes of action. Indiana State redshirt freshman Brenton Scott scored 16 points off the bench and hit a career-best trio of 3-pointers at Iona. Scott added six rebounds, two assists and one steals in 25 minutes of action.

Jake Kitchell Scores A Career-Best 14 Points Against No. 23 Butler; Named MVC Scholar Athlete Of The Week
Indiana State senior Jake Kitchell was named the MVC Scholar-Athlete Of The Week for his efforts in the Las Vegas Invitational. Kitchell owns a 3.29 GPA in Business Marketing. Additionally, he recorded a career-high 14 points against No. 23 Butler inside Hulman Center. He hit 5-of-9 shots from the field, including his first career multiple 3-pointer game. He added four rebounds against the Bulldogs.

First Career Double-Double For Jake Kitchell Propels Indiana State To Win Over Austin Peay
Indiana State senior center Jake Kitchell set new career highs for points scored with 11 and rebounds with 13 to post his first career double-double on November 24 against Austin Peay. He scored each of the Sycamores' first five points in the game as he also added one assist, one steal and two blocked shots in the victory.

63 Is The Magic Number
The Sycamores win by the score of 61-57 on November 24, 2014 vs. Austin Peay was ISU's first this season in which they held an opponent to 63 points or less and earned the victory. ISU was 15-1 last season when holding an opponent under that total. Under fifth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 56-5 when allowing less than 63 points to the opposition (including a 16-0 mark when holding teams to 53 or less).

Good Starter On The Battery
Indiana State is 3-3 this season when the Sycamore starters outscore their counterparts for the opposition. Under fifth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 49-16 when the ISU starting five scores more than their opponent's starters after doing so in the win over Truman State.

Indiana State In Games Against Nationally-Ranked Foes
Indiana State owns 13 victories all-time against nationally-ranked teams, with a school-record tying four of those coming under fifth-year coach Greg Lansing. A 76-57 victory over No. 13 Creighton on Feb. 6, 2013 marks the last win for Indiana State against a nationally-ranked foe inside Hulman Center. ISU also defeated No. 21 Notre Dame on the road on November 17, 2013.

Sycamore Success Against “Power 6” Teams Under Greg Lansing
With its 83-70 victory over Notre Dame last season, the Sycamores have won back-to-back games against the Atlantic Coast Conference as ISU downed Miami (Fla.) on December 25, 2012 as part of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Classic. Under fifth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 5-7 against teams from “Power 6” Conferences, and all 12 of those contests have either come on the road or on a neutral court.

Sycamores Have Won Nearly 60 Percent Of Their “Bounce Back” Games Under Greg Lansing
In the last five seasons, the Sycamores have been known as a team with the ability to bounce back from defeat. Since the 2010-11 campaign, the Sycamores are 35-24 (.593) in a game which follows a loss. Indiana State saw a streak of seven victories in a game which followed a defeat come to an end last season. Indiana State is 3-3 so far this season in a game played which follows a loss.

Sycamore Success Inside Hulman Center Under Greg Lansing
The Sycamores are 45-15 (.750) inside Hulman Center under fifth-year head coach Greg Lansing. The Sycamores have won 36 of their last 48 home games. Additionally, the Sycamores have won 27 of their last 36 MVC games at home. The Sycamores finished 11-2 at home last season and are 3-3 so far in 2014-15.

Indiana State Picked Sixth In Missouri Valley Conference Race
The Indiana State basketball team has been picked to finish sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference race as announced on October 28 by the league office as part of its annual MVC Basketball Tipoff festivities held at Palladium St. Louis. The league preseason poll is conducted by a vote of the league's head coaches, sports information directors and a media panel. The Sycamores finished second last season in the MVC race with an overall record of 23-11 and a 12-6 mark in league play. Indiana State garnered 219 points to be picked sixth from the 46-person voting panel. The prediction includes the Sycamores finishing ahead of Southern Illinois (191 points), Bradley (140 points), Drake (92 points) and Loyola (91 points). Defending league champion Wichita State was picked to win the league with 45 first place votes and 459 points. Northern Iowa was second with a total of 411 points. Missouri State was third (338 points), Evansville fourth (300 points) and Illinois State was sixth with one first place vote (287 points).

Sycamores Make Fifth Consecutive Trip To The Postseason
With Indiana State's appearance in the 2014 National Invitation Tournament, the Sycamores have now made five consecutive trips to postseason play, including two in a row to the NIT. ISU played in the 2010 College Basketball Invitational as well as the 2011 NCAA Tournament in addition to the CIT Tournament in 2012 and the NIT in 2013 and 2014. It marks the first time in the history of the Indiana State basketball program that the Sycamores have reached the postseason in five consecutive seasons. Indiana State is the only team to play in each of the four national postseason tournaments over the past five seasons.

Khristian Smith Named MVC's Sixth Man Of The Year
In an award that has been given in the Missouri Valley Conference since the 1994-95 campaign, Khristian Smith is the first Sycamore to earn the league's Sixth Man Of The Year Award. He is a repeat All-Bench Team selection and also was named to the MVC Most Improved Team. Smith played in all 33 games and earned just five starts while he averaged 10.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He scored a career-high 28 points on the road against Belmont and had 16 double-digit scoring performances, including a MVC-high 27 points on the road against Evansville.

Sycamores Have Reached 18-Victory Mark For School Record Fourth Consecutive Season
Indiana State finished 23-11 last season. The Sycamores with their 23 victories now have four consecutive seasons of 18 or more wins. It marks the first four-year stretch in the 119-year history of the program that the Sycamores have won at least 18 games in four or more seasons in a row. Additionally, the Sycamores locked up their fifth consecutive winning season, the longest such stretch of over .500 seasons since the 1960's.

Sycamores Reach 12 MVC Victories For The Fifth Time; Were The Quickest Team Since 78-79 To 20 Overall
Indiana State won 12 Missouri Valley Conference games last season and that team ranked tied for third place in the 38 seasons of MVC play for most conference victories in a season. Last year's team is just the fifth Sycamore team to ever record at least 12 MVC victories in a single season. The Sycamores have also reached 20 overall wins for the season. The last time the Sycamores reached the 20-win mark was in 2010-11. The Sycamores have reached 20 victories seven times since joining the MVC for the 1976-77 campaign. With the victory over SIU, the Sycamores reached the 20-victory mark at the earliest date (Feb. 15) since the 1978-79 team did it on February 3.

Former Sycamore Jake Odum Enjoyed Busy July In NBA Summer League
Former Indiana State guard Jake Odum, who finished his career first in career made free throws and career free throws attempted, five in points scored, and second in assists as well as steals has graduated. Odum is currently playing professionally in Greece, and has played for both the Indiana Pacers as well as the Sacramento Kings in the NBA Summer League in Orlando and Las Vegas. Former Sycamores Manny Arop and David Moss are also continuing their careers in the professional ranks overseas.

Up Next
The Sycamores begin Missouri Valley Conference play on Wednesday, December 31 when they travel to Illinois State. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. (ET) and the game will be televised live on Comcast Sportsnet Chicago as well as ESPN3.