TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - In their first game outside the Hulman Center this season, the Sycamores will face East Carolina Monday afternoon in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. from Hertz Arena.

The winner of this game will face the winner of Toledo/Kansas City Tuesday at 5 p.m., and the loser will face the loser of Toledo/Kansas City Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.

ISU is 3-0 to start the season for the first time since 2011-12 when the Trees opened the season 5-0. The Sycamores have scored 80 or more points in all three wins and are outscoring their opponent by more than 21 through the first three games.

Thursday's 101-75 win over NDSU was the first time ISU scored 100 or more points against a Division I team in regulation since Feb. 2, 1985. The Sycamores were led by Courvoisier McCauley's DI career-high 30 points.

SERIES HISTORY
Monday will be just the second all-time meeting between ECU and ISU, and the second neutral-site MTE matchup. The two teams faced each other back on Dec. 8, 1978 in the opening game of the Hatter Classic hosted by Stetson University in Deland, Fla. Larry Bird paced all scorers in the game with 32 points as the Sycamores rolled the Pirates, 102-79.

LAST GAME AGAINST THE PIRATES (FULL RECAP)
Indiana State, behind double-figure scoring from All-America Larry Bird, Carl Nicks and Leroy Staley, coasted to an easy 102-79 victory over East Carolina in the opening game of the Hatter Classic played at Stetson University.

Bird, who scored 26 points in the first half, finished with 32 points on 15-of-22 field goals and two foul shots while playing only 27 minutes. Nicks added 13 counters and Staley chipped in 10.

The Sycamores out-rebounded the Pirates 50-39 with Bird grabbing nine boards, and Staley and Alex Gilbert pulling in five each.

ECU AT A GLANCE
The 3-0 Pirates are coming off a win against Hampton where Quentin Diboundje and Javon Small each scored 17 points as East Carolina rallied from a 17-point second half deficit to win 82-73 on Wednesday evening at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum. ECU went on a 20-0 run to flip a 57-70 deficit with 7:23 remaining into a 77-70 lead with 1:26 left in the game. The Pirates went 6-of-9 from the floor during that stretch, including hitting three shots from behind the arc in consecutive possessions.

The Pirates are 7-8 all-time against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference, including 0-1 against ISU.

In the Pirates' last two games, opponents have only managed a single field goal combined in the final eight minutes of the second half. The Pirates have only given up a total of 31 points in the final eight minutes of their first three games, including just 15 in the last two games.

Three Pirates are averaging double-figures in scoring including Brandon Johnson (19.5ppg), Javon Small (18.7ppg), and RJ Felton (13.0ppg). Johnson also leads the Pirates on the boards with 9.5 rebounds per game.

LAST TIME OUT
The Indiana State Sycamores scored early and often Thursday night as they improved to 3-0 this season with a 101-75 win over the visiting North Dakota State Bison at the Hulman Center. The Sycamores scored first and never trailed for the second consecutive game, and their lead reached a game-high 35 points at 15:10 in the second half.

Courvoisier McCauley paced all scorers in the game with a DI career-high 30 points. Cooper Neese and Cameron Henry each joined McCauley in double-figures with 16 and 15 points, respectively, and 12 of 13 Sycamores who saw action scored in the game.

McCauley sparked a 9-0 run in the first half with back-to-back buckets that pushed ISU's lead to 10 points at 15-5 less than five minutes into the game. Neese and McCauley connected on back-to-back triples just two minutes later, and by the 13:06 mark, McCauley was already in double-figures with 12 points as the Sycamores led 25-11.
 
Kailex Stephens later ignited an 11-0 run for ISU with a 3-pointer at 4:35, and the Sycamores led 45-24 by the end of the run. ISU held the Bison to just two points in the last six minutes of the first half, and went into the break up 49-29.
 
Indiana State went on an 18-2 run spanning 2:55 early in the second half, and in that span the Sycamores were 6-for-6 from the field including 4-of-4 from distance. McCauley closed out that run with back-to-back triples to put ISU up by a game-high 35 points at 69-35 with 15:10 to play. With less than two minutes to go, Xavier Bledson knocked down a pair of free throws and hit a bucket to get the Sycamores past the century mark.

MTE HISTORY
The Sycamores are 35-42 in multi-team events in their Division I Era.

The last time ISU won a MTE was the Indiana Classic in 1999. The Sycamores defeated North Texas 77-63 and then IU 63-60.

The last time ISU made it to a MTE championship game was the Diamond Head Classic in 2018. The Sycamores defeated Colorado 72-67 and UNLV 84-79 before falling to TCU 83-69.

FOLLOW THE SYCAMORES
For the latest information on Sycamore Basketball, be sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.

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