Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com

SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State continues year four of the Greg Lansing era on Tuesday, March 18 when the Sycamores (23-10, 12-6 MVC) travel to Arkansas (21-11, 10-8 SEC) inside Bud Walton Arena. Tip-off is set for 9:00 p.m. (ET). The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN with Brad Nessler (pbp) and Jimmy Dykes (color) on the call. The game can be heard on the radio via WIBQ 98.5 FM and along the Learfield Sports Marketing Radio Network with Brian Fritz (pbp) and Matt Renn (color) on the call. Live statistics can also be found on GoSycamores.com. A complete list of television clearances is available on page 2 of this release.

THE ARKANSAS SERIES
The all-time series between Indiana State and Arkansas is tied at two. The last time the two teams met was in the 1979 Midwest Regional when “Miracle Man” Bob Heaton sank a buzzer beater in Cincinnati as the Sycamores downed the Razorbacks 83-81 to keep its perfect season alive and advance to the Final Four. In Fayetteville, Arkansas leads 2-0.

THE HEAD COACHES
INDIANA STATE: Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990)
- at Indiana State: 79-54 (Fourth Season)
- Overall: 79-54 (Fourth Season)
- vs. Arkansas: First Meeting
- vs. MVC: 41-31
- in NIT: 0-1
ARKANSAS: Mike Anderson (Tulsa, '82)
- Overall: 258-136 (12th Season)
- at Arkansas: 58-39 (3rd Season)
- vs. Indiana State: First Meeting

QUICK HITS
- Indiana State is making their fifth consecutive trip to the postseason (2010 CBI, 2011 NCAA, 2012 CIT, 2013 & 2014 NIT), which is a new school record. This is the Sycamores' second consecutive and fourth overall trip to the NIT where they hold a 1-3 all-time record (1977, 1978, 2013, 2014).
- The Sycamores have put together four consecutive seasons of 18 or more victories which is a new school record. Indiana State advanced to the MVC Tournament Championship where they fell to undefeated Wichita State.
- Jake Odum played in his 133rd career game as a Sycamore in the MVC Tournament Championship Game -- a new school record, topping the 127 played by Aaron Carter (2007-11). Additionally, Odum will be starting in his 130th consecutive game against Arkansas — also a new school record topping the 113 in a row started by John Sherman Williams (1982-86).
- Indiana State is 55-4 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 54 close victories (five points or less) since 2005. Under Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 28-13 in close games.
- Jake Odum now has 597 career assists which ranks him second on the Indiana State Career List. His 202 steals rank fourth at Indiana State. He is one of eight Sycamores to be in the ISU Top 10 for both assists and steals in a career.
- Jake Odum now has 1,557 career points scored as he tossed in eight against Wichita State and currently sits sixth on the ISU all-time scoring list. Odum needs just five more points to crack the Indiana State Top 5.
- Indiana State is 3-8 against teams that have advanced to the postseason (NCAA: 0-3 vs. Wichita St., 0-1 vs. Tulsa, 0-1 vs. Saint Louis; NIT: 1-1 vs. Belmont ; CBI: 1-1 vs. Illinois State; CIT: 1-1 vs. Missouri St.).
- Jake Odum and Lucas Eitel each own four victories over nationally-ranked teams during their careers which is tied for the school record with Larry Bird.

An Indiana State Win Over Arkansas Would ...
• Improve the Sycamores to 2-3 all-time in National Invitation Tournament and give the program its first win in the event since a 1978 victory over Illinois State in Terre Haute.
• Give the Sycamores their 24th victory of the season — second only to the 1978-79 team's 33 victories for most in the MVC era.
• Improve the Sycamores to 3-2 all-time against Arkansas, including a mark of 1-2 in Fayetteville.
• Give Jake Odum and Lucas Eitel their 80th career victory – just one short of Larry Bird's 81.
• Give the Sycamores their third victory in a row over a member of the Southeastern Conference.

The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 79-54 (.594) overall in his fourth 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 43-12 in all home games, 23-32 on the road, 13-9 in neutral court contests and 28-13 in games decided by five points or less. Lansing is 0-0 against Arkansas and is 0-0 against the Razorbacks on the road. With the Trees, Lansing is 4-4 in overtime games and 55-4 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). Tuesday's game will be Greg Lansing's 134th 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 4-10 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 Arkansas game will be shown live nationally on ESPN as well as on the Watch ESPN app and ESPN3.

A Little History
Indiana State is currently in its 118th season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,426-1,221 all-time on the hardwood. Indiana State's 76-57 home court victory over No. 13/16 Creighton was the 1,400th victory in the history of the program on February 6.

Jake Odum Named To All-MVC Tournament Team As Sycamores Advance To MVC Championship Game
Indiana State earned the No. 2 seed at the MVC Tournament and finished as the runner-up to undefeated and NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed Wichita State. The Sycamores earned victories over Loyola and Southern Illinois before falling to the Shockers in the Championship Game. Senior Jake Odum was named to the All-MVC Tournament Team for the second time in his career. Odum led the Sycamores with a 15.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game average.

Jake Odum Named First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference For Second Consecutive Season
Indiana State senior guard Jake Odum has been named a First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection for the second consecutive year. Odum joins Wichita State's Cleanthony Early as the only repeat selections on the six-man first team. Odum is just the fourth Sycamore to earn consecutive All-MVC First Team honors, joining a group of Larry Bird (1977-78 & 1978-79), Carl Nicks (1978-79 & 1979-1980) and John Sherman Williams (1984-85 & 1985-1986). He has been named All-MVC in each of his four seasons in the program and is just the second Sycamore (John Sherman Williams the other (1983-1986) to earn all-league honors in four different seasons. Senior guard Manny Arop joined Odum on the list with honorable mention honors. Odum was also named to the NABC All-District 16 First Team following the MVC Tournament.

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.

Jake Odum Is The First Valley Player With 500 Free Throws And 500 Assists; Passes Bird For School Free Throw Record
With 587 career made free throws, Indiana State's Jake Odum is part of a group of just 12 other players in MVC history to make 500 free throws. Odum also has eclipsed 500 career assists (597). With his four made free throws at Wichita State on January 18, he became the first player in MVC history to reach 500 in both stats. Odum made 10 free throws in the 59-54 victory over Evansville on February 19 to pass Larry Bird for the school record. His 587 career made free throws is currently sixth-best in the history of the Valley and he needs one more to tie Creighton's Bob Harstad (588 from 1987-91) for fifth.

Sycamores In The MVC Tournament As No. 2 Seed
Indiana State earned the No. 2 seed at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and advanced to the MVC Championship Game against Wichita State with victories over Loyola and Southern Illinois. The Sycamores No. 2 seed is the highest for the Sycamores since earning the No. 1 seed in the 2000 event. Indiana State is 25-31 all-time in the MVC Tournament, including a mark of 18-21 in St. Louis. The Sycamores have won the MVC Tournament Championship three times (1979, 2001 and 2011) and are 3-2 all-time in Championship Games.

Sycamores Have Reached 18-Victory Mark For School Record Fourth Consecutive Season
Indiana State currently stands at 23-10 on the 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 118-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 have already locked up their fifth consecutive winning season, the longest such stretch of over .500 seasons since the 1960's.

Jake Odum & Lucas Eitel Now Tied For 5th Place For Most Victories In A Sycamore Uniform
Indiana State's Jake Odum and Lucas Eitel have each been on the floor for 79 victories during their careers, which is tied for the fifth-most in the history of the program. The duo is just two victories shy of the 81 victories Indiana State experienced with Larry Bird and Steve Reed on the floor. Additionally, the duo has been involved in 41 MVC victories, just shy of the school record of 44 set by the Michael Menser and Matt Renn senior class of 2001. Odum and Eitel each have seven MVC Tournament victories which is a new school record.

Sycamores Have Won Over 60 Percent Of Their “Bounce Back” Games Under Greg Lansing
In the last four 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 32-21 (.604) 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 on February 26 at Illinois State.

Sycamores Reach 12 MVC Victories For The Fifth Time; Are The Quickest Team Since 78-79 To 20 Overall
Indiana State won 12 Missouri Valley Conference games this season and this year's team ranks tied for third place in the 38 seasons of MVC play for most conference victories in a season. This 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.

Jake Odum Was Just Eighth Sycamore Junior To Join The ISU 1,000-Point Club
Indiana State junior guard Jake Odum reached the 1,000-point mark for his career as he posted a team-best 22 points in the victory over No. 13/16 Creighton on February 6 inside Hulman Center. Odum became the 35th member of the Indiana State 1,000 Point Club with a free throw late in the second half against the Bluejays. Odum is just the eighth Sycamore in the history of the program to reach the 1,000-point mark during his junior season. With his eight points vs. Wichita State, Odum now has 1,557 career points, which is sixth on the ISU scoring list and needs five more to tie David Moss for fifth on the ISU scoring chart. Other Sycamores to reach 1,000 points by the end of their junior campaign are Larry Bird (1,877 in two seasons), John Sherman Williams (1,787), Jerry Newsom (1,338), Butch Wade (1,135), David Moss (1,214), Eddie Bird (1,207) and Kelyn Block (1,018).

Sycamore Senior Class Still On Par With Larry Bird Era Teams For Victories Over Nationally-Ranked Foes
Despite three defeats at the hand of Wichita State this season, Indiana State still owns 13 all-time victories against nationally-ranked opponents. Of those 13, eight have come with either Jake Odum or Larry Bird in the Sycamore starting lineup. Both Bird and Odum have each been part of four victories over nationally-ranked opponents while playing for Indiana State.

Sycamore Success Inside Hulman Center Under Greg Lansing
The Sycamores are 43-12 (.782) inside Hulman Center under fourth-year head coach Greg Lansing. The Sycamores have won 34 of their last 43 home games. Additionally, the Sycamores have won 27 of their last 36 MVC games at home. The Sycamores finished 11-2 at home this season.

Jake Odum Now One Of Eight Players At ISU To Reach The Career Top 10 Lists For Assists & Steals
Indiana State junior guard Jake Odum has 202 career steals, which ranks him fourth all-time in the Sycamore basketball record book, needing one more to reach third place which is currently held by Gabe Moore (203 from 2004-08). Odum also now has 597 assists for his career which is good enough for second place. He needs 20 more to pass Steve Reed (616 from 1977 to 1981) for the school record. Odum is the third Sycamore in the history of the program to rank in the Indiana State Top Six for both assists and steals in a career (Nate Green & Gabe Moore are the others). Additionally, Odum's 597 career assists ranks seventh all-time in the MVC.

Khristian Smith And Dawon Cummings First Sycamore Duo Over 20 Points In Nearly Three Years
Khristian Smith and Dawon Cummings each went over the 20-point scoring mark as part of the 81-62 road victory over Evansville on January 4, 2014. It marked the first time in nearly three years that a pair of Sycamores went over 20 points in the same contest. Smith tallied 27 points while Cummings posted a career-high 22 against the Purple Aces. The last time a Sycamore duo accomplished the feat came on February 12, 2011 when Carl Richard and Jake Odum each scored 20 points as part of a 75-63 home victory over Drake. It also marked the first time since January 19, 2010 that a pair of Sycamores did it on the road when Richard scored 20 points and Harry Marshall tallied 21 at Missouri State.

63 Is The Magic Number
The Sycamores win by the score of 62-59 on March 8 vs. SIU was ISU's 15th this season in which they held an opponent to 63 points or less and earned the victory. ISU is 15-1 this season when holding an opponent under that total. Under fourth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 55-4 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 10-1 this season when the Sycamore starters outscore their counterparts for the opposition. Under fourth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 45-13 when the ISU starting five scores more than their opponent's starters.

Sycamores Continue Success Against “Power 6” Teams Under Greg Lansing
With its 83-70 victory over Notre Dame, the Sycamores have now 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 fourth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 5-6 against teams from “Power 6” Conferences, and all 11 of those contests have either come on the road or on a neutral court.

Larry Bird Honored With Statue Dedication During Opener Against Ball State
It was a special weekend on the Indiana State University campus as Sycamore legend Larry Bird was the centerpiece of opening week activities. “Honoring a Legend” was held inside Hulman Center on Friday, November 8 in which special guests such as Bill Walton and Quinn Buckner told stories about the legend and fans got to hear quite a bit from Bird himself. On Saturday, November 9 a 17-foot statue was unveiled in honor of Bird with all of 1978-79 teammates around to help him celebrate. Bird was also honored at halftime of the season opener by being named one of the 75 Best Players In The History Of March Madness and also became the 241st person to be named an Indiana State University Distinguished Alumni.

Sycamores In Postseason Play For Fifth Consecutive Season
With Indiana State's appearance in the 2014 National Invitation Tournament, the Sycamores have now made five consecutive trips to postseason play. 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. 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 and Quinnipiac are the only two NCAA Division I Teams to play in all five major postseason tournaments in each of the last five years.

Jake Odum Named To Lute Olson Preseason All-America Team & Bob Cousy Award Watch List
Indiana State senior guard Jake Odum is one of 24 players nationally to be named to the 2013-14 Lute Olson Preseason All-America Team. The list is comprised of only college basketball players that are in their junior or senior campaigns. Odum also has been named to the 2013-14 Bob Cousy Award Watch List. The Bob Cousy Award is given annually to the nation's best point guard.

Up Next
The winner of the Indiana State vs. Arkansas game will play the winner of the California/Utah Valley State contest in the second round of the NIT. Tip-off time, date and location will be set later this week.