SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Indiana State basketball returns to the road with a trip to Missouri State Tuesday night. Tip is set for 8 p.m. ET with the Bears on ESPN Plus. The game is also be broadcast on the radio on 105.5 The Legend as well as GoSycamores.com/Listen.
 
THE SERIES
» Missouri State leads the all-time series with Indiana State 51-27 in a series that dates to the 1951-52 season. Of the 27 wins for the Sycamores, 20 have come at home at Hulman Center, including the last game in the series earlier this season on Jan. 25 when ISU knocked off the Bears 76-72. Indiana State has won six times in Springfield with the last win coming Feb. 1, 2020. 
 
HEAD COACH JOSH SCHERTZ
» Indiana State basketball is under new leadership as first-year head coach Josh Schertz takes over the reins of the program. Schertz takes over after a 13-year run at NCAA Division II Lincoln Memorial University where he had a career record of 337-69 (.831) en route to four national coach of the year honors. Schertz led the Railsplitters to 10 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, won 14 total conference championships and three Southeast Regional titles, and had five seasons of 30-or-more victories.
 
LAST TIME OUT
» Cooper Neese scored 28 points as the Sycamores rallied from a 16-point deficit to defeat rival Illinois State at home. ISU held the Redbirds to just 27.6 percent shooting in the second half of play and did not allow a point in the final four minutes of play, ending the game on an 11 run.
 
NEESE NAMED MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
» Cooper Neese put together a massive week on the hardwood helping the Sycamores to a pair of wins en route to being named MVC Player of the Week by the League office. The Cloverdale, Indiana native averaged 25 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game over the week. During the stretch, Neese shot 18-for-21 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line while playing all but one minute -- averaging 43 minutes per game.
 
ELITE COMPANY
» Cooper Neese scored a career high 35 points during a double overtime win at Evansville (2/10). The guard tied a career high with five 3-pointers in the game while also pulling down six rebounds in 49 minutes.
 
Neese became the 14th Sycamore in program history to record 35 points or more in a single game, joining the likes of Larry Bird, Butch Wade, John Sherman Williams, Carl Nicks, Nate Green among others. It marks the highest scoring output for a Sycamore since Marico Stinson scored 37 against Drake in 2006.
 
COMING UP ON 1,000
» Cooper Neese will look to become the 41st player in program history to join the 1,000-point club. The junior currently sits at 967 points with at least six games remaining on the 2021-22 schedule.
 
MOVING UP THE BOARD
» Neese hit five 3-pointers at UE to move into sole possession of fifth place in school history in career 3-pointers. He has hit 164 triples in 97 games over his career.
 
» Neese has scored in double-figures in 15 games this season, scoring 15 or more in 13 games. His 2.5 made 3-pointers per game leads ISU and ranks fourth in the MVC.
 
HENRY IS A MATCHUP NIGHTMARE
» Cameron Henry has scored in double-figures in 17 of the 22 games he has seen action in, including nine MVC contests. He is averaging 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. His scoring output is seventh, rebounding ranks ninth and his assist and steal marks rank 10th in the MVC. Henry is the only player in the MVC to rank in the top-10 in all four categories.
 
BLEDSON DOES IT ALL
» Xavier Bledson leads the Sycamores with 82 assists in 20 games played, recording multiple assists in all but three games he has seen action including a season-high 10 assists against Alabama A&M. Bledson is third in the MVC with 4.2 assists per game. To go with his passing, Bledson is also averaging double-figure scoring at 10.1 points per game, scoring 15 points or more in six games. Bledson matched a career-high with 21 points at Southern Illinois (Jan. 19).
 
SWIPE IT JUST RIGHT
» Three Sycamores rank in the top-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference in steals per game. Julian Larry is averaging 1.4 steals (4th), Xavier Bledson is averaging 1.2 (9th) and Cameron Henry is holding at 10th in the League with 1.1 steals per contest.
 
LET IT RAIN
» Indiana State continues to shoot the ball from deep at a high rate, ranking tops in the MVC and 33rd nationally in 3-point attempts with 655. ISU has hit at least five threes in each game this season and has hit 10+ shots from deep eight times. The Sycamores have come close to tying the single-game school record (18) on three occasions with 16 triples against Midway (12/29) and 15 3-pointers against Hanover (11/14) and Bradley (1/2).
 
MOVING THE ROCK
» Indiana State ranks third in the MVC behind Loyola and Bradley with 13.4 assists per game. Five players have recorded over 30 assists with Xavier Bledson leading ISU with 82. Two Sycamores rank in the top-10 in the MVC in assists per game with Bledson ranking third with 4.2 and Cameron Henry ranks 10th with 2.6 assists per game.
 
GOOD FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
» ISU has improved its season average at the free-throw line to 77 percent -- good enough for third in the MVC and 22nd nationally. Xavier Bledson leads ISU with an 87.7 percent (57-for-65) free throw percentage while Cooper Neese is shooting 82.5 percent (52-for-63) from the line. Five other Sycamores shoot 70 percent or better from the charity stripe. 
 
IRON MEN
» Both Cooper Neese and Cameron Henry played all 50 minutes in a double overtime loss at Valpo. Neese also played 49 of 50 minutes in a double overtime win at UE. Neese leads the MVC in minutes per game at 36.1. His 50 minutes at Valpo were the most minutes for a Sycamores since Brenton Scott played 52 minutes in a four-overtime loss to Ohio during the 2017-18 season. Julian Larry also played all 45 minutes in an overtime loss at UNI earlier this season.
 
LINEUP LIMBO
» Due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols, the Sycamores have used 18 different starting lineups in 25 games this season. No starting lineup combination has been used more than three times.
 
STEPHENS GOES FOR CAREER HIGH
» Indiana State forward Kailex Stephens has scored in double-digits eight times this season but against Drake the big man matched his career high of 16 points -- which he set during the season opener at Green Bay. Stephens shot 6-for-11 from the field against the Bulldogs in 36 minutes while connecting on a 3-pointer and going 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Stephens also tied his season and career high with 13 rebounds in a win at Evansville (2/10).
 
LARRY DOING THE DIRTY WORK
» Tasked with the opposing team's best offensive threat on a typical night, Julian Larry continues to put together strong defensive performances -- holding Preseason First-Team All-MVC member AJ Green to 16 points on 4-for-16 shooting as well as SIU's Marcus Domask to eight points on 2-for-9 shooting. During a win over Missouri State, Larry held MVC scoring leader Isiaih Mosley to 9-for-20 shooting while forcing seven turnovers.
 
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.