SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State Basketball hits the road to begin the stretch run of non-conference play on Sunday, December 16 as they travel to Texas Christian for a nationally-televised contest. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. (ET) from Fort Worth, Texas, and will be televised nationally on ESPNU and the ESPN app. 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 321 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 139. 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 Texas Christian Would ...
Improve the Sycamores to 7-2 on the season which would be the best for the program since the 2013-14 campaign when the team also started out 7-2.
Be the first win for the program over a Big 12 school since the Nov. 24, 2011 win over Texas Tech at the Advocare Invitational in Orlando.
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 139-128 (.521) overall in his ninth 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 83-36 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 89-10 when holding teams to 63 points or less. This is Lansing's first-ever matchup against TCU. 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 138. 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 1,487-1,295 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.
Jordan Barnes Leads Sycamores To Victory Over Truman State
Indiana State junior Jordan Barnes continued to light up the nets and paced the team in rebounding against North Texas and Truman State. Barnes averaged 23.0 points and 6.0 rebounds over the two-game stretch. He hit 15-of-35 shots from the field (42.9 percent), including seven made 3-pointers and was 9-of-10 from the free throw line. He added a team-best 14 assists with four steals to his credit. Barnes posted 26 points as he went 9-of-10 from the free throw line and led the team in rebounding with boards against North Texas. He hit a deep 3-pointer late in the second half as the Sycamores put together a 19-2 run which whittled the Mean Green lead from over 20 points down to just five. He added five assists and two steals against UNT. Barnes made it three games in a row over the 20-point mark when he scored 20 points and hit six 3-pointers in the home win over Truman State. Barnes added a career-high tying nine assists and two steal to go with four rebounds in the winning effort.
Keying The Sycamores To Victory
Also strong over the last two games is Tyreke Key who averaged 23.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game against North Texas and Truman State. Most impressive of all was Key from the field as he hit 19-of-26 shots (73.1 percent) and 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from distance and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Key recorded 20 points against North Texas and came back with a career-high 26 in the win over Truman State as he hit 11-of-15 shots from the field.
All In On Allante Holston
Indiana State graduate transfer Allante Holston averaged 9.0 points and 2.5 rebounds for the Sycamores against North Texas and Truman State. Holston, facing the North Texas program which he just transferred from and playing for last year against Indiana State, scored eight points for the Sycamores in this year's rematch as he hit 4-of-8 shots from the field. He added three assists in the contest. Holston put together the first double digit scoring performance of his ISU career against Truman State as he tallied 10 points, hitting 5-of-8 shots to go with four assists and three rebounds.
Jordan Barnes And Tyreke Key On 20 Point Scoring Streak
Jordan Barnes has reached the 20-point scoring mark in the last three games and at TCU will be looking to tie his career-best by reaching that mark for the fourth consecutive contest. Barnes' four-game streak of scoring at least 20 points last season was the longest such streak by a Sycamore since Greg Thomas had four in a row during the 1992-93 campaign. Larry Bird holds the school record as he reached the 20-point mark 25 times in a row during the 1977-78 and 1978-79 campaign. When Barnes accomplished the feat last season, he became the ninth Sycamore in the Missouri Valley Conference era to score at least 20 points in at least four games consecutively. Tyreke Key has likewise scored at least 20 points in each of the last two games as the Barnes and Key duo have reached the 20-point scoring mark together in consecutive games and three times total this season. The duo continues to be 1-2 in the MVC scoring race as Barnes leads with a 21.6 ppg average while Key is a close second at 19.8 ppg.
2 New Faces Begin Their Sycamore Career Sunday At TCU
ISU freshman Cooper Neese (Cloverdale, Ind.) and Christian Williams (Decatur, Ill.) will make their Sycamore Basketball debut on Sunday night at TCU. Each transferred into the program mid-year last season with Neese heading to Terre Haute from Butler where he left before playing a game and Williams coming into the fold after playing two seasons at Iowa. Neese is one of Top 10 all-time scorers in the history of Indiana High School Basketball while Williams saw playing time as a guard for the Hawkeyes before sitting out last season and the first eight games of 2018-19.
Sycamores Got A Big Win In A Big 12 Arena As Part of 1979 Season
Indiana State and Texas Christian are meeting for the first time since 1999 when the Sycamores earned an 89-77 victory in Fairbanks, Ala., in late November. The Sycamores last meeting with a Big 12 opponent came on November 24, 2016 when ISU dropped a 73-71 thriller to Iowa State in the opener of the Advocare Invitational. The Sycamores last win over a member of the Big 12 came on November 24, 2011 when they defeated Texas Tech in the opener of the Old Spice Classic (now known as Advocare Invitational). This game will mark the program's fourth-ever visit to a Big 12 arena and the latest since a Nov. 18, 1992 visit to Iowa State. ISU has never won a true road game against a member of the Big 12, but they did beat Oklahoma in Big 12 arena in 1979. During the 1979 season when #MarchWentMad, the Sycamores took down Oklahoma, 93-72 at Lawrence, Kan. Overall, ISU us 6-5 all-time against the current Big 12 membership.
Sycamores Continue To Lead The Nation In 3-Point Shooting
Indiana State continues to lead the nation in 3-point field goal percentage by hitting 48.2 percent of their shots from distance. The next closest team continues to be Creighton who has hit 45.2 percent of their 3-pointers. Also in the top 10 along with the Sycamores and Bluejays are Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State. The next closest MVC foe is Southern Illinois who checks in at No. 16 nationally with a 40.3 percent mark. Individually, Jordan Barnes ranks 12th nationally by hitting 51 percent of his 3-pointers while he is 19th by hitting 3.57 treys per game – a number which leads the Missouri Valley Conference.
Sycamore Basketball Off To Best Start Since 2013-14 Campaign
The Sycamores are 6-2 on the young season matching the team's start to the 2013-14 campaign. That year is also the last time that the Sycamores began a season 7-2 which the Sycamores are looking to match on December 16 at TCU. In 2013-14, the Sycamores amassed a non-conference record of 9-3 and finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference race and advanced to the championship game of Arch Madness.
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.
Greg Lansing Second On ISU Wins List With 139
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 139. 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 183 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 32 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 69-63 on December 1, 2018 against Wright State was ISU's fourth 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 89-10 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 five 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, San Jose State, Wright State and Truman State. Under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 90-26 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.
Up Next
The Sycamores travel to Honolulu, Hawaii for the Hawaiian Airlines Diamondhead Classic on Saturday, December 22. ISU opens tournament play against Colorado at 3:00 pm (ET) live on ESPNU.
