SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State Basketball begins play in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday, March 7 as they take on Valparaiso with tip-off set for 7:08 p.m. (ET) from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo. The game will be available on the Missouri Valley Conference TV Network, namely Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana, NBC Sports Chicago, ESPN+ (outside the footprint of the MVC) 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.
SYCAMORES AT ARCH MADNESS
Indiana State enters the 2019 edition of Arch Madness as the No. 8 seed in the tournament. The Sycamores last tournament championship came in 2011 when Indiana State used victories over No. 6 Evansville, No. 2 Wichita State and No. 1 Missouri State to earn their fourth trip in program history to the NCAA Tournament. Indiana State is 26-35 all-time in MVC Tournament play. Under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 8-7 in the MVC Tournament. Indiana State is the No. 8 seed at the MVC Tournament for the ninth time in program history, and are 2-8 in the event when entering on this seed line. ISU has never faced Valpo at Arch Madness. The last time ISU was the No. 8 seed came in 2012 when they earned a 66-51 win over Southern Illinois before falling the next day to top seed Wichita State.
A Win Over Valparaiso Would ...
Be the Sycamores' third consecutive win over the Crusaders and the first as the No. 8 seed at Arch Madness since 2012.
Give Indiana State 89 regular season & Missouri Valley Conference Tournament victories over the last nine seasons -- third most among the current membership of the league.
Be win No. 1,497 in the history of the program -- only three away from No. 1,500
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 148-141 (.512) overall in his ninth 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, 19-23 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 94-10 when holding teams to 63 points or less. Lansing is 3-3 all-time against Valparaiso, and is 0-0 against the Crusaders at the MVC Tournament. 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 124th season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,496-1,308 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 342 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.
ISU senior Emondre Rickman now owns 116 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 11 more to tie Djibril Kante for third.
#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 had his No. 22 jersey put in the rafters at Hulman Center on Saturday, February 16.
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 518 points scored -- an average of 17.3 points per game. He joins Larry Bird, John Sherman Williams and David Moss as the only 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 squad one ago. This marks the second consecutive season in which a Sycamore has earned the Valley's Most Improved Award -- as Jordan Barnes did it in 2017-18. His 44.3 percent mark from 3-point range ranked fourth in the league and his 34.2 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 10th. 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 26 double digit scoring games this year and went over the 20-point mark 10 times and the 30-point standard once. Key's 17.3 points per game is up from his 8.3 ppg average one year ago.
Cooper Neese Earns Spot On MVC All-Freshman Team
Indiana State freshman Cooper Neese earned a spot on the MVC All-Freshman Team as announced earlier this week in a vote of the league's head coaches, media personalities and league communications directors. He became eligible on December 16 when the Sycamores traveled to Texas Christian and played 22 games while earning five starts. He averaged 8.4 points per game and hit 57-of-140 from the field -- a 40.7 percent mark. He connected on 28 3-pointers with 23 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. He hit a season-best four 3-pointers twice during the season and was true on eight free throws in the road overtime win at Valparaiso. Neese was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week during the league's final week of the regular season.
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 214 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 sixth in the league by making 1.9 trifectas per game. He needs one more 3-pointer to catch Jordan Printy for No. 3 on the ISU chart as he hit 215 during his career. Additionally, he owns 1,170 career points (28th 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 Lost Just Once This Season When Allowing 67 Points Or Less
Indiana State improved to 94-10 under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing when holding teams to 63 points or less with its 71-54 victory over Northern Iowa on Saturday, March 2. There has been even more lee-way in that number this season as the Sycamores are 11-1 this season when holding teams to 67 points or less (the lone defeat came on Feb. 23 at Missouri State). ISU is still 9-0 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 8-0 this season when scoring at least that many points in a game.
Indiana State Has Won Nine Of 13 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 9-4 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 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 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 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 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 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 have outscored the opposition's top five 12 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, Valparaiso, Illinois State and Northern Iowa. Under ninth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 97-28 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 winner of Thursday night's game against Valparaiso will move on to face No. 1 seed Loyola on Friday, March 8 at 1:08 p.m. (ET) live from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
