TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – With one final game before the holiday break, Indiana State will travel to face an old, familiar foe when the Sycamores play at Eastern Illinois Friday evening.
The game, set to tipoff at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois, will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Rob Calhoun calling the action while Andrew Kappes will bring fans the action on the Sycamore Radio Network.
Series History
- Indiana State leads the all-time series, 37-23, with a 15-12 advantage in games played in Charleston.
- This will be the 61st meeting between the two teams. ISU has won the last four meetings and 13 of the last 14 contests.
- EIU has only won twice over the Sycamores since 1993. One of those games was decided in overtime (74-72 in OT on Nov. 29, 2000).
- Indiana State has held the Panthers to less than 65 points in 13 of the last 17 meetings.
Five Things to Know
- A Gateway to the Past
Indiana State and Eastern Illinois used to be conference foes when both programs were members of the Gateway Conference, the women's predecessor to the Missouri Valley Conference. While ISU leads the all-time series, 37-23, the Sycamores were just 4-14 against the Panthers when the two battled in the same conference.
- Resumption of a Series
Indiana State and Eastern Illinois resume a series that last tipped off in the 2016-17 season but has been played mostly uninterrupted since the series began in the 1971-72 season. Despite not playing last season (although the two teams did face each other in an exhibition), the long-standing battle between the two schools that are just 45 miles apart has only interrupted twice before last year's slate – during the 2005-06 season and again in the 2014-15 season. The 61st meeting that takes place Friday ranks the series as the second-most played non-conference opponent for the Sycamores behind only the 70 meetings played between ISU and Wichita State, also a former conference foe.
- Christmas Treat
A win by the Sycamores Friday would mark the program's sixth win of the season and sixth win for the team before Christmas. This would mark the second time in three years that Indiana State has claimed at least six wins before Christmas Day.
- The Valley Runs Deep
The Missouri Valley Conference "Runs Deep" and it is affecting Eastern Illinois. The Panthers are currently 0-2 this season against Valley schools, having dropped road contests at Bradley (67-64 on Nov. 28) and at Valparaiso (62-60 on Dec. 2). This will mark Eastern's first home game against an MVC school this season.
- Looking for a Handful
With a win Friday at Eastern Illinois, Indiana State is looking to record its fifth road non-conference win of the season, a mark the Sycamores have not met since the 2014-15 season.
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