SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State Basketball embarks upon its 125th season on Saturday, November 9 as they travel to Dayton with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. (ET) from the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The game will be televised live nationally on ESPN+ and throughout the state of Ohio on Spectrum News One. 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 343 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 148. His career win total is second-best at ISU (and his 80 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 is making their first appearance in the state of Ohio since they played Syracuse on March 18, 2011 in Cleveland during the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
 
A Win Over Dayton Would ...
• Give the Sycamores three victories in season openers which occur on the road since 2014. ISU downed IUPUI in 2014 and had a road victory at Indiana to open the 2017-18 campaign.
• Improve the Sycamores to 6-4 in season openers under 10th-year head coach Greg Lansing.
• Give the Sycamores their first-ever victory over the Flyers (in the first all-time meeting) and be the program's first win in the state of Ohio since a 55-54 win on December 9, 2009 at Toledo.
• Improve the Sycamores to 6-13 all-time against the current membership of the Atlantic 10 Conference and be the program's first win over a league member since a December 19, 2015 win at Saint Louis by the score of 76-68.
 
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 148-142 (.510) overall in his tenth season as a head coach. He is 80-82 all-time in MVC games, including a 54-27 mark at home and a 26-55 record on the road. During his career, he is 88-40 in all home games, 42-77 on the road, 19-24 in neutral court contests and 50-37 in games decided by five points or less. With the Trees, Lansing is 12-14 in overtime games and 94-10 when holding teams to 63 points or less. This is Lansing's first meeting with the Dayton. 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 148. His 80 MVC victories are a school record.
 
A Little History
Indiana State is in its 125th season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,496-1,309 all-time on the hardwood. ISU only needs four more victories to achieve their historic 1,500 win in the history of the program.
 
Television Particulars
Indiana State's season opener at Dayton will be televised live nationally on ESPN+. If you live in the state of Ohio you may also catch the game live on Spectrum News One.
 
Tyreke Key Named To All-MVC Second Team, Selected Valley's Most Improved Player
Indiana State sophomore Tyreke Key became just the fourth Sycamore in the history of the program to lead the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring as he did it this year with 538 points scored -- an average of 17.4 points per game. He joins Larry Bird, John Sherman Williams and David Moss as the only players in the history of the program to accomplish the feat. For his efforts he was named to the All-MVC Second Team and was named the Team Captain of the MVC's Most Improved Team. He was named to the MVC All-Freshman in 2017-18. Key is a preseason First Team All-MVC Pick in 2019. This marked the second consecutive season in which a Sycamore earned the Valley's Most Improved Award -- as Jordan Barnes did it in 2017-18. His 44.8 percent mark from 3-point range ranked third in the league and his 34.3 minutes played was tops in the conference. In MVC only games, Key averaged 17.5 points per game which was third-best while his 79.6 percent mark from the free throw line was 3rd. He played 34.6 minutes per game which was third-most in the league. He scored a career-high 32 points in the road overtime victory over Valparaiso and hit four 3-pointers in the dominating home win on February 20 against Illinois State. Key recorded 27 double digit scoring games this year and went over the 20-point mark 11 times and the 30-point standard once. Key's 17.4 points per game was up from his 8.3 ppg average as a freshman.
 
Cooper Neese Earns Spot On MVC All-Freshman Team
Indiana State freshman Cooper Neese earned a spot on the MVC All-Freshman Team in 2018-19. He became eligible on December 16, 2018 when the Sycamores traveled to Texas Christian and played 23 games while earning six starts. He averaged 8.2 points per game and hit 59-of-147 from the field -- a 40.1 percent mark. He connected on 29 3-pointers with 24 assists and 21 steals. In MVC only games, Neese averaged 9.3 points per game with 3.2 rebounds and hit 43.2 percent of his shots as well as 41.7 percent of his attempts from distance. He finished league play with 18 points and 18 steals. Neese recorded 11 double digit scoring games and hit the 20 point mark once this season -- at Bradley where he tallied 20 points.
 
Jordan Barnes Up To No. 4 On ISU 3-Pointers Made List, Reaches 1,000 Point Mark
Indiana State senior Jordan Barnes has hit 215 3-pointers in his career which is tied for No. 3 on ISU's all-time list as he tied Jordan Printy at Arch Madness in 2019. Barnes was a Preseason All-MVC Second Team selection in 2019. As a sophomore in 2017-18,  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 ranked fifth in the league by making 1.9 trifectas per game. He needs one more 55 more 3-pointers to catch Brenton Scott for No. 2 on the ISU chart as he hit 270 during his career. Additionally, he owns 1,180 career points (23rd on the ISU all-time scoring list) and he became the 39th member of the Indiana State Basketball 1,000-Point Club at Evansville on January 12. He hit the 1,000 point mark in his 77th career game -- the fourth-fastest to reach the mark in program history. Larry Bird owns the school record hitting the 1,000 point milestone in just 31 career games.
 
Indiana State Won Nine Of 13 Games Last Year Decided By 10 Points Or Fewer
The Sycamores won the close ones last year, in fact in games decided by 10 points or less Indiana State was 9-4 last season, including a mark of 5-1 in games which were decided by five points or less. Under 10th-year head coach Greg Lansing the Sycamores are 50-37 in games decided by five points or less.
 
Greg Lansing Second On ISU Wins List With 148
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 148. With the Sycamores win on November 14, 2018 at Green Bay, he passed his mentor Royce Waltman for No. 2 on the Indiana State all-time coaching wins chart. In 2018, 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. He currently holds the school record with 80 all-time MVC regular season victories.
 
63 Is The Magic Number
The Sycamores win by the score of 71-54 on March 2, 2019 against Northern Iowa was ISU's ninth last season in which they held an opponent to 63 points or less and earned the victory. Under 10th-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 94-10 when allowing less than 63 points to the opposition (including a 21-0 mark when holding teams to 53 or less).
 
Good Starter On The Battery
Indiana State's starting five outscored the opposition's top five 12 times last 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, UNLV, Evansville, Valparaiso, Illinois State and Northern Iowa. Under 10th-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 97-28 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 are in 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, 2017 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
Indiana State travels to nationally-ranked Louisville on Wednesday, November 13 for an 8 pm (ET) matchup with the Cardinals. The game will air live nationally on ACC Network.