SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State Basketball returns home on Saturday, February 16 as they host Southern Illinois with tip-off set for Noon (ET) from Hulman Center. The game will be available on the MVC TV Network, namely Fox Sports Indiana & Midwest plus NBC Sports Chicago and streaming on ESPN+ as well as the Fox Sports Go app. The game will also be broadcast on WIBQ 97.9 FM as well as streamed (audio) on GoSycamores.com.
Carl Nicks To Have No. 22 Jersey Retired During Pregame Ceremony
Indiana State legend Carl Nicks will be back inside Hulman Center on Saturday, February 16 as his No. 22 jersey will be raised to the rafters. He joins No. 33 Larry Bird and No. 54 Duane Klueh as the only Sycamores to have their jersey retired in the history of Indiana State Basketball. The pregame ceremony begins at 11:40 a.m. (ET). It's Basketball Alumni Weekend and many alums are registered for the event and will be recognized during halftime ceremonies.
Carl began his Indiana State career in 1976 and during his junior year he returned from Florida in time to help the Sycamores to wins in their first 33 games as well as a berth into the NCAA National Championship Game and Final Four in Salt Lake City. That season Carl averaged 19.3 points and during his senior campaign – Nicks scored an impressive 26.7 points per game.
His 1,432 career points ranks in the school's all-time Top 10 and his career high 47 points came on January 12, 1980 against West Texas State. That is tied for the third highest single-game total in school history.
Nicks was a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection, taking those honors in both 1979 and 1980. During the 1979 season, Nicks was named both an All-American and took home All-Midwest Regional honors as the Sycamores took down Arkansas to advance to the Final Four.
After ISU, Nicks was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the 1980 NBA draft and played for Denver, the Utah Jazz and the Cleveland Cavaliers. He went on to play professionally in the CBA as well as overseas. Nicks would go on to a collegiate coaching career, including working for his college head coach Bill Hodges at Mercer in the 1990's. Then after a career of service to the community, in the prison system and at local hospitals, Nicks rejoined Larry Bird for a successful front office run with the Indiana Pacers.
#MarchWentMad 40 Years Ago In Terre Haute
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 got back together on January 19, 2019 when the Sycamores hosted Loyola. Also on February 1, 2019 head coach Bill Hodges was inducted into the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame and today, Carl Nicks will have his No. 22 jersey put in the rafters at Hulman Center.
A Win Over Southern Illinois Would ...
• Snap a seven-game losing skid to the Salukis dating back to a 78-58 win on February 21, 2015 win inside Hulman Center.
• Give Indiana State 87 regular season & Missouri Valley Conference Tournament victories over the last nine seasons -- third most among the current membership of the league.
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 146-138 (.514) overall in his ninth season as a head coach. He is 78-79 all-time in MVC games, including a 52-26 mark at home and a 26-53 record on the road. During his career, he is 86-39 in all home games, 42-75 on the road, 19-23 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 92-10 when holding teams to 63 points or less. Lansing is 9-10 all-time against Southern Illinois, and is 5-3 against the Salukis at home. 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 146. His 78 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 1,494-1,305 all-time on the hardwood.
QUICK HITS
Indiana State has hit at least one 3-pointer in every game since December 20, 2008 against DePauw -- a span of 337 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 146. His career win total is second-best at ISU (and his 78 MVC wins is the most in the history of the program). He also owns the school record with five wins over nationally-ranked teams.
ISU senior Emondre Rickman now owns 113 career blocked shots -- one of only five Sycamores to record at least 100 blocked shots in program history. He is fourth on the Sycamores' all-time list and needs 14 more to tie Djibril Kante for third.
Tyreke Keying Sycamores Over Last Eight Games
Sycamore sophomore Tyreke Key has reached double figures scoring in each of his last eight games and has hit at least 50 percent of his shots in each of those games, while taking at least six attempts in each of them. Over the last eight games, Key is averaging 21.0 points per game and has hit 51-of-92 shots from the field (55.4 percent). In the 87-82 overtime victory over Valparaiso, Key scored a career-high 32 points and went 15-of-17 from the free throw line. He is the first Sycamore to reach the 30-point scoring mark in a game since Brenton Scott did it on January 13, 2016 against UNI (at Hulman Center). He also added a career-best six steals to go with four assists and three rebounds in the win. Key is now the team's leading scorer averaging 17.3 points per game and also is the leading scorer in the conference for the entire season. Jordan Barnes is averaging 15.5 points per game to rank second on the team and fourth in the conference. Likewise, Key's 17.6 points per MVC contest ranks second in the league and is the only Sycamores in the Top 15.
Cooper Neese Put Together Two Consecutive Career-Best Games Makes Starting Lineup Debut
Indiana State freshman Cooper Neese paced the Sycamores by averaging 19.0 points per game as the Sycamores downed Evansville and fell to Bradley on the road. Neese hit 12-of-18 shots from the field (66.7 percent) and was 8-of-10 (80 percent) from 3-point range. He added four rebounds, three assists and one steal over the two-game stretch. Neese set a career-high with 20 points scored at Bradley, He hit 7-of-10 from the field, including a blazing mark of 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Neese added a pair of assists as well as a steal in Peoria. That total eclipsed his previous career best of 18 which was set on Wednesday, February 6 against Evansville – a decisive 85-62 victory. Neese hit 5-of-8 from the field, including another strong 4-of-5 mark from distance and added three rebounds with one assists. Neese set new career highs in both contests this week. He earned his first career start at Valparaiso and scored 13 points in the overtime victory.
Jordan Barnes Up To No. 4 On ISU 3-Pointers Made List, Reaches 1,000 Point Mark
Indiana State junior Jordan Barnes was named to the Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch List. The Lou Henson Award is given annually to the nation's Top mid-major player. Barnes has hit 208 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 is seventh in the league by making 2.1 trifectas per game. He needs seven more 3-pointers to catch Jordan Printy for No. 3 on the ISU chart as he hit 215 during his career. Additionally, he owns 1,114 career points (29th 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.
Sycamores Have Not Lost This Season When Allowing 67 Points Or Less
Indiana State improved to 92-10 under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing when holding teams to 63 points or less with its 85-62 victory over Evansville on Wednesday, February 6. There has been even more lee-way in that number this season as the Sycamores are a perfect 9-0 this season when holding teams to 67 points or less. ISU is still 7-0 this season when holding teams below that magic number of 63 and the most they have surrendered in a victory this season is 79 as part of an 84-79 win over UNLV on December 23 in Hawaii. On the offensive end, the magic number is trending towards 74 as the Sycamores are 7-0 this season when scoring at least that many points in a game.
Indiana State Has Won Nine Of 12 Games This Year Decided By 10 Points Or Fewer
The Sycamores are winning the close ones this year, in fact in games decided by 10 points or less Indiana State is 9-3 this season, including a mark of 5-1 in games which are decided by five points or less. In fact, under ninth-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 146
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 146. With the Sycamores win on Wednesday, November 14 at Green Bay, 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. He currently holds the school record with 78 all-time MVC regular season victories.
63 Is The Magic Number
The Sycamores win by the score of 85-62 on February 6, 2019 against Valparaiso was ISU's sixth 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 92-10 when allowing less than 63 points to the opposition (including a 20-0 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 ten 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, UNLV, Evansville and Valparaiso. Under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 95-28 when the ISU starting five scores more than their opponent's starters.
Sycamores Find Success And 2nd Place Finish At Diamond Head Classic
Indiana State parlayed victories over Colorado and UNLV into a Championship Game appearance against Top 50 N.E.T. opponent TCU at the 2018 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. It was the first non-conference title game appearance for the Sycamore Basketball program since they won the 1999 Indiana Classic – becoming the first team not named Indiana to win the Bloomington, Ind., based tournament. The Sycamores were vying for their first tournament championship of any kind since the 2011 edition of Arch Madness in St. Louis. In the process, the Sycamores downed Colorado for their first win against a member of the PAC-12 since 1946 when they beat Oregon. Additionally, the Sycamores earned their league-best fifth consecutive win over the Mountain West Conference with its win over UNLV. The Sycamores wrapped up the MVC / Mountain West Conference Challenge with a league-best all-time record of 5-3.
Eight Non-Conference Wins For Sycamores Tied For 3rd-Best Ever Under Coach Lansing
Indiana State wrapped its non-conference schedule 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 marks the fourth time ISU finished non-conference play with at least eight victories under coach Lansing's leadership. ISU finished with a 2-1 record in a multi-team event for the fifth time under coach Lansing with two of those coming in the Diamond Head Classic as well as the 2011 Advocare, 2013 Great Alaska Shootout and the 2015 Paradise Jam.
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.
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.
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 continue the home stand as they face off against Illinois State on Wednesday, February 20 at 7 p.m. (ET).
