SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State Basketball returns home to begin a three-game home stand on Saturday, December 1 against Wright State. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. (ET) from Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind., and will be televised nationally on ESPN+. The game will also be broadcast on WIBQ 97.9 FM as well as streamed (audio) on GoSycamores.com.
QUICK HITS
Indiana State has hit at least one 3-pointer in every game since December 20, 2008 against DePauw -- a span of 318 contests, which is the third-longest active streak in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Greg Lansing is just the sixth head coach in the history of the program to record at least 100 victories at the helm of the Sycamores as he owns 137. His career win total is second-best at ISU (and his 73 MVC wins is the most in the history of the program). He also owns the school record with five wins over nationally-ranked teams.
Indiana State sophomore Clayton Hughes went 9-of-10 from the field in the road win over San Jose State on November 28. It marked the highest individual field goal percentage for a player with at least 10 attempts since Joe Warfel hit 85.7 percent of his shots in 1965. As a team, the Sycamores hit 76.0 percent of their shots in the first half at SJSU which was just behind the school record mark of 76.7 pct. set in the 2nd half against Drake in 2006.
A Win Over Wright State Would ...
Would give the Sycamores a win against the Raiders in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Give the Sycamores their first five game winning streak since a span from Dec. 31, 2014 until January 14, 2015 when ISU took down Illinois State (twice), Evansville, Missouri State and Southern Illinois in succession.
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 137-127 (.519) overall in his eighth season as a head coach. He is 73-71 all-time in MVC games, including a 49-23 mark at home and a 24-48 record on the road. During his career, he is 81-35 in all home games, 40-69 on the road, 16-23 in neutral court contests and 46-36 in games decided by five points or less. With the Trees, Lansing is 10-14 in overtime games and 88-10 when holding teams to 63 points or less. This is his first meeting against Wright State. Lansing led the Sycamores to the postseason in each of his first four seasons at the helm (2011 NCAA, 2012 CIT, 2013 & 2014 NIT). 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. Lansing holds the school record for most victories over a nationally-ranked team (five) in the history of the program. Lansing is currently second on the Indiana State all-time coaching victories list with 137. His 73 MVC victories are a school record.
A Little History
Indiana State is in its 124th season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,485-1,294 all-time on the hardwood.
40 Years Since March Went Mad
It's been 40 years since Larry Bird and the Sycamores went to the 1979 NCAA Final Four and took on Michigan State in the finals. The game against the Spartans on March 26, 1979 is still the highest rated college basketball game in television history. ISU won their first 33 games that season en route to the finals. This season Indiana State will be honoring that team all year long for their accomplishments through social media, in game videos, recaps on the web site and much more. The team will get back together on January 19, 2019 when the Sycamores host Loyola. Also on January 31, 2019 head coach Bill Hodges will be inducted into the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame and on February 16, 2019, Carl Nicks will have his No. 22 jersey put in the rafters at Hulman Center.
Clayton Hughes Sets New Single Game Shooting Record At San Jose State
Indiana State sophomore Clayton Hughes enjoyed an unbelievable shooting night at San Jose State as he hit 9-of-10 shots from the field to set a new single-game shooting percentage record for a performance which featured at least 10 shots. Hughes 9-of-10 mark equates to a .900 shooting percentage which tops the previous best of 85.7 percent which has been held by Joe Warfel since 1965. Most recently, Lucas Eitel went 9-of-9 in 2012 against High Point but just missed the 10 field goals attempted threshold. In the first half at San Jose State the Sycamores hit 19-of-25 shots for a shooting percentage of 76 percent which was just shy of the record for a single half which is 76.7 percent in the 2nd half of an Arch Madness win against Drake in 2006. ISU finished the game with a .642 shooting percentage which is the best for the program since a 2012 win over Southern Illinois in which ISU hit 64.1 percent of their shots, including an NCAA record 12-of-12 from 3-point range.
Sycamores Dominate On The Road At San Jose State
Indiana State became the eighth NCAA Division I team this year to score at least 85 points in a road game and win by 29 or more points (in its 86-57 win at San Jose State on Wednesday). The win over San Jose State was just the second in the history of the program and in the first meeting between the two programs since 1948. With the win, ISU now owns a MVC-best record of 5-3 in the MVC /Mountain West Challenge Series and have won a league-best four in a row in the scheduling concept.
Jordan Barnes Leads Sycamores To Gritty Win Over Western Kentucky
Indiana State junior Jordan Barnes continued to play well for the Sycamores as he led the team in points and rebounds en route to a gritty 63-54 victory over visiting Western Kentucky. Barnes paced the team with 17 points and seven rebounds to go with three assists and a plus/minus rating of 11 over 35 minutes played. He connected on a trio of 3-pointers and hit his only two free throw attempts – but they were big ones – as they came in the waning seconds to salt away the victory. Barnes scored first to cut down an early deficit with a jumper in the paint and he scored five in a row as part of an early 9-0 run which gave ISU a 14-9 cushion. His biggest shot of all came after Bronson Kessinger took a charge with 2:41 remaining and he buried a step-back 3-pointer with 2:23 showing to stretch the lead out to 59-51 and give ISU a victory over the Conference USA Preseason Champions.
Sycamores Tops Nationally In 3-Point Shooting
The Indiana State Basketball team is 4-1 through the first couple of weeks of the season, including road wins over Green Bay and San Jose State and at home against Western Kentucky. The Sycamores have made 33-of-67 attempts from 3-point range to record a 49.3 percentage mark for the campaign. That mark leads the nation through games played on November 28. ISU is ahead of such programs as New Mexico, Creighton, Kansas and Wisconsin in the NCAA Top 10.
Dynamic Duo
The Sycamore duo of Jordan Barnes and Tyreke Key continue to lead the team and the MVC in points scored per game. Barnes so far is at the top with a 20.3 ppg average while Key is second as he averages 18.3 ppg. The two have hit 54 field goals this season, including 20 3-pointers and have scored a combined 175 points. Of course with two Sycamores on the bench due to the NCAA transfer rule until December 16, Barnes and Key are seeing the lion's share of the workload as Barnes leads the MVC by playing in 35.2 minutes per game while Key is right behind him with a 33.0 minutes per game mark.
Tyreke Key Hits New Career High In Back To Back Games
Indiana State senior Tyreke Key led the Sycamores to an 80-63 victory over visiting McKendree in their only game of the week. Key set a new career high for the second consecutive contest as he posted 23 points in the victory. He was 7-of-13 from the field and hit 1-of-2 3-pointers in the contest. Key did a ton of his damage at the free throw line with an 8-of-10 mark. He added five rebounds with a pair of assists and a steal. He hit consecutive buckets in the first half to stake the Sycamores to an early lead and then propelled the Sycamores to victory by keying a middle of the second half run – mostly by being aggressive and heading to the charity stripe.
Greg Lansing Second On ISU Wins List With 137
Greg Lansing is just the sixth head coach in the history of the program to record at least 100 victories at the helm of the Sycamores as he owns 137. With the Sycamores win on Wednesday, November 14 he passed his mentor Royce Waltman for No. 2 on the Indiana State all-time coaching wins chart. Last season, with the Sycamores' victory at home over Illinois State, he earned his 73rd career MVC victory which is a school record. Coach Lansing now only trails Duane Klueh who owns the school record with 182 career victories.
Jordan Barnes Up To No. 4 On ISU 3-Pointers Made List
Indiana State junior Jordan Barnes has hit 171 3-pointers in his career which is No. 4 on ISU's all-time list as he moved past Eddie Bird for fourth on the Sycamore chart with his four 3-pointers in the 78-74 road win over Green Bay. Last season Barnes hit a school-record 117 3-pointers which was third-best nationally and the fourth-highest in the history of the league (MVC record for most ever by a sophomore). Barnes currently leads the league by making 3.3 trifectas per game. He needs 44 more 3-pointers to catch Jordan Printy for No. 3 on the ISU chart as he hit 215 during his career.
63 Is The Magic Number
The Sycamores win by the score of 86-57 on November 28, 2018 against San Jose State was ISU's third this season in which they held an opponent to 63 points or less and earned the victory. Under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 88-10 when allowing less than 63 points to the opposition (including a 19-0 mark when holding teams to 53 or less).
Good Starter On The Battery
Indiana State's starting five have outscored the opposition's top five three times this season and earned the win. They did it for the first time in 2018-19 in the road victory over Green Bay and again against McKendree and San Jose State. Under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 88-26 when the ISU starting five scores more than their opponent's starters.
Sycamores Secure Fifth 30-Point MVC Victory In Program History Against Illinois State
While any win in the Missouri Valley Conference is tough to come by, a win by 20 or more points is even more rare. Indiana State defeated Illinois State by the score of 84-54 on January 20, 2018 – an impressive 30-point victory. Since the Sycamores joined the league for the 1977-78 campaign, this was Indiana State's 26th victory by at least 20 points in a conference game. The Sycamores' win by 30 points over Illinois State was its first over 20 points since a February 11, 2017 victory over Drake by 24 points. This game was the fifth time that the Sycamores have won by at least 30 points in a Missouri Valley Conference game against the current league membership. It was the largest margin of victory in a conference contest for the Sycamores since a 72-42 win on Jan. 23, 2008 against Evansville. This was the biggest margin of victory ever against Illinois State and just the second time the Sycamores have beaten the Redbirds by 20 or more points. The school record for largest victory over a MVC school is 36 points and happened in 1981 against Southern Illinois and most recently against Evansville in 2001. All but one of the Sycamores 20 plus point victories have come at home, with Indiana State's 65-44 victory in 1998 at Northern Iowa being the program's only win by at least 20 points against a MVC opponent which came on the road.
Indiana State With A Pair Of Top 10 Career Scorers In Their Respective High School States
A pair of Indiana State players in Tyreke Key and Cooper Neese enter the collegiate portion of their careers having reached the Top 10 in career scoring in both of their respective home states. Key finished his career at Clay County High School in Celina, Tenn., with 3,287 points scored which is 10th most in the history of the state of Tennessee. As a senior, he set the Tennessee High School record for most points scored in a season, breaking a 25-year old record held previously by Kentucky legend Tony Delk. Cooper Neese, who will sit out the 2017-18 season serving his year-in-residence as a transfer, enters his Indiana State career having scored 2,496 career points at nearby Cloverdale High School which is seventh-best in the Indiana High School Basketball history.
Sycamores Tally School Record Fifth Victory Over Nationally-Ranked Team Under Lansing
Indiana State ended a skid of nine losses to nationally-ranked teams when No. 15/16 Butler fell inside Hulman Center on December 7 by the score of 72-71. Coach Lansing has led the Sycamores to a school-record five victories against nationally-ranked teams during his time at the helm of the program. He passed Bill Hodges (head coach of the Dream Team in 1978-79) and Royce Waltman (head coach of the Sycamores during back-to-back NCAA Tourney trips in 2000 & 2001) for the most in program history with the win over Butler. It was just the second victory for the Sycamores under Lansing at home against a nationally-ranked team and the first overall since a win at No. 21 Notre Dame in 2013.
Greg Lansing Inducted Into Iowa High School Basketball Hall Of Fame
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Basketball Hall of Fame as part of their 2016 class. Lansing and the other selected inductees were honored individually at halftime of the Iowa Class 4A State Championship Game at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on March 12. The IHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame is the highest honor the Iowa High School Board of Control can bestow on a high school coach or former player. Lansing graduated from Harlan High School in 1986, where he was coached by his father Dave, who was inducted into the IHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 as a coach. The Lansing father/son combination of Dave and Greg are just the 10th father/son duo to both be inducted into the Hall of Fame since 1969.
Up Next
The Sycamores continue the three-game home stand when they host North Texas on Wednesday, December 5 at 7 pm (ET).
