SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State Basketball continues its run on the beautiful islands of Hawaii on Tuesday, December 25 as they take on TCU in the Championship Game of the 2018 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Tip-off is set for 9:00 p.m. (ET) from the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, and will be televised nationally on ESPN2 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 324 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 141. 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.
Mid-year transfer Christian Williams has led the Sycamores in rebounding in each of his three games in the Blue & White. He leads the team with an 8.3 rebounds per game average. Fellow mid-year transfer Cooper Neese posted 10 with a pair of triples and two game icing free throws in the win over Colorado last Saturday.
ISU senior Emondre Rickman now owns 108 career blocked shots -- one of only five Sycamores to record at least 100 blocked shots in program history. He needs one more to tie Nate Green for fourth.
A Win Over TCU Would ...
Be the Sycamores second-ever victory over the Horned Frogs with the other coming in 1999 in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Give the Sycamores the Championship of the 2018 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic -- its first in an early season tournament since the 1999 Indiana Classic when the Sycamores became the first team to ever beat Indiana in their home tournament.
Give the Sycamores a 9-3 record in non-conference play -- tying for the best start under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing with the 2013-14 & 2011-12 squads who started those years 9-3.
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 141-129 (.522) 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, 40-70 on the road, 18-23 in neutral court contests and 48-36 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. Lansing is 0-1 all-time against TCU, but he is 4-1 all-time in Hawaii. 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 141. 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 1,489-1,296 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.
Christian Williams Has Led Sycamores In Rebounding All Three Games
Indiana State junior Christian Williams has led the Sycamores in rebounding in all three games since he joined the active roster. He was stellar in his Sycamore Basketball debut at Texas Christian on December 16 as he scored 13 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to post a double-double in his first game after sitting out an year due to the NCAA Residency requirements. He reached double figures scoring with 14 points in the Diamond Head Classic opener on Saturday. He got to the basket regularly in the second half and led the team with seven rebounds. He once again led ISU with seven rebounds in the win over UNLV during the semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic. He paces ISU currently with an 8.3 rebounds per game average.
Jordan Barnes Scores 28 In Win Over UNLV, Leads Diamond Head Classic In Scoring
Indiana State junior Jordan Barnes led all scorers with 28 huge points in the win over UNLV on the Diamond Head Classic semifinals. Barnes hit 11-of-15 shots from the field and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. His 3-pointer with 45 seconds left stretched a one-point ISU lead into two possessions. He once again did it with a pair of free throws with 11.1 seconds remaining against the Runnin' Rebels. So far through two games, Barnes leads all scorers at the Diamond Head Classic with a 23.5 ppg average while his 58.6 percent mark from the field is third. He has hit 7-of-13 from 3-point range and his 53.8 percent mark leads the tournament.
Eight Non-Conference Wins For Sycamores Tied For 3rd-Best Ever Under Coach Lansing
Indiana State enters its final non-conference game against Texas Christian on Christmas Day with eight wins in their pocket. That ties the 2012-13 team for the third-most under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing. ISU went 9-3 in non-conference play in both 2011-12 and 2013-14 which also marks the best start to a season under coach Lansing.
Sycamores Tied For First In The Nation In 3-Point Shooting
The Sycamores enter the Diamond Head Classic Championship Game ranked No. 1 nationally in 3-point field goal percentage with a 45.5 mark for the season. The Sycamores hit 8-of-12 attempts from distance in the first half against Colorado and finished with a 9-of-16 mark (56.3 percent) for the game. For the season, Barnes has hit 34 triples which leads the conference with a 3.1 per game average and ranks in Top 30 in the nation. His 21.5 ppg leads the Missouri Valley Conference.
Sycamores In Honolulu For 2nd Time In Last Six Seasons
The Sycamores are back on the beautiful islands of Hawaii for the Holidays for the 2018 edition of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. ISU found success there in 2012 when they took down Ole Miss in the opener and then a Jake Odum buzzer beater gave the Sycamores a thrilling 57-55 win over Miami in the third place game. Miami went on to spend time as the No. 1 team in the country later that season. In fact, ISU has enjoyed great success in MTE play under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing as the Sycamores have earned 13 victories, including third place finishes in recent years during the Advocare Invitational, Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic and Paradise Jam. The Sycamores improved to 4-1 in the Diamond Head Classic all-time with Sunday's 84-79 win over UNLV. ISU is looking for the first non-conference tournament championship on Christmas Day since a win over Indiana in the Championship Game of the 1999 Indiana Classic. The last tournament win for the Sycamore program came in the 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
Sycamores Got A Big Win In A Big 12 Arena As Part of 1979 Season
Indiana State and Texas Christian are meeting for the second time this season after not having played 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 in a non-conference tournament 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). ISU had a win over Big 12 member Oklahoma as part of Larry Bird and company's run to the 1979 Final Four. During the 1979 season when #MarchWentMad, the Sycamores took down Oklahoma, 93-72 at Lawrence, Kan. Additionally, ISU beat Oklahoma as a No. 13 seed in the 2001 edition of March Madness in Memphis, Tenn. Overall, ISU us 6-6 all-time against the current Big 12 membership.
Jordan Barnes Up To No. 4 On ISU 3-Pointers Made List
Indiana State junior Jordan Barnes has hit 192 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 3.1 trifectas per game. He needs 23 more 3-pointers to catch Jordan Printy for No. 3 on the ISU chart as he hit 215 during his career. Additionally, he owns 958 career points and needs just 70 more to become the 39th member of the Indiana State Basketball 1,000-Point Club.
Greg Lansing Second On ISU Wins List With 141
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 141. 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.
Sycamore Defense Forces 19 Turnovers Against Colorado
Indiana State may have allowed 48.1 percent shooting in the win over Colorado but were extremely active on the defensive end. They forced 19 Colorado turnovers and converted them into 20 points. ISU also was strong on the glass, holding a 34-32 edge on the glass and used 11 offensive rebounds to score 17 second chance points.
Jordan Barnes And Tyreke Key Have Each Reached 20 Point Three Times In Same Game
The Sycamore backcourt duo of Jordan Barnes and Tyreke Key have reached the 20-point scoring mark together two of their last three games and three times total this season. The duo continues to be at the top of the MVC scoring race as Barnes leads with a 21.0 ppg average while Key is a close third at 17.9 ppg. Prior to scoring 17 points at TCU on Sunday, December 16, Barnes had scored over 20 points in three consecutive games.
ISU Notches First Win Over Pac 12 Member Since 1946
Indiana State had last faced a member of the Pac 12 at the Advocare Invitational back in 2016 in Orlando, Fla., when they dropped a tight contest to Stanford. With Saturday's win against Colorado, ISU is now 2-6 against the current membership of the Pac 12. The Sycamores only other win over a PAC 12 member came in 1946 when the Sycamores beat Oregon. The Sycamores have also played Arizona State, Washington State, UCLA and Southern California in previous seasons.
Sycamores Continue The Success Against The Mountain West Conference
Indiana State did its part this year in the MVC / Mountain West Challenge with a dominating 86-57 win at San Jose State back on November 28. With that 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. ISU never faced Vegas in the eight-year run of the challenge series but earned a win on Sunday, December 23 against the Runnin' Rebels for the first time since the last meeting in 1970 inside the Las Vegas Convention Center. ISU has now won five games in a row against the Mountain West Conference.
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.
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 seven 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, Truman State, Colorado and UNLV. Under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 92-26 when the ISU starting five scores more than their opponent's starters.
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
Indiana State opens Missouri Valley Conference play on Wednesday, January 2 at 2018 NCAA Final Four participant Loyola. Tip-off against the Ramblers is set for 9:00 p.m. (ET) and will be televised on the Missouri Valley Conference TV Network (Fox Sports Midwest & NBC Sports Chicago) as well as the ESPN app.
