TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State plays host to Southern Illinois Saturday, February 19 at 1 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on ESPN3 as well as on the radio on 105.5 The Legend and GoSycamores.com/Listen. ISU Hall of Famer Jerry Newsom will have his No. 41 retired at halftime, joining Larry Bird (33), Duane Klueh (54) and Carl Nicks (22) in the Hulman Center rafters.
 
Fans wishing to purchase tickets can do so by clicking HERE, by calling 877-ISU-TIXS, or by visiting the Hulman Center Ticket Office.
 
*Indiana State University requires all campus visitors, faculty, staff and students to wear a mask while indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Full Hulman Center Guidelines can be found by clicking HERE.
 
THE FOREST INCENTIVES
The Culver's "Drive to 25" promotion for The Forest continues at Hulman Center this season. Students in The Forest will receive promo cards for a free butter burger from Culver's if ISU scores 25 points or more in the first half of action.
 
Labor Link has also teamed up with the Sycamores to provide gift cards to Forest members based on student attendance. Outlined below are the thresholds required and the number of gift cards given away to ISU students.
 
2 - $25 gift cards - 100 students attend
6 - $25 gift cards - 250 students
8 - $25 gift cards - 500 students
20 - $25 gift cards - 1,000 students
 
CHICK-FIL-A
Chick-Fil-A will be at Hulman Center Saturday during the game. The Chick-Fil-A mascot will be available on the concourse to take photos with fans while other representatives will be handing out gift cards and doing other giveaways throughout the day.
 
GAMEDAY SPONSOR
Our Gameday Sponsor is Pepsi. For more information click HERE.
 
THE SERIES
» Saturday's matchup with the Salukis will mark the 141st meeting all-time between the two programs with Southern Illinois leading the series 89-51. Indiana State had won four-straight games in the series before the Salukis snapped the streak in Carbondale on January 19 with a 63-55 victory. ISU is 36-31 at home against the Salukis.
 
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
» Indiana State was not able to contain Missouri State's Gaige Prim as the forward scored a game-high 32 points during the Bears' 79-70 victory Tuesday. Cooper Neese scored a team-high 23 points for the Sycamores while Kailex Stephens added 14 points and six rebounds.
 
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 990 points with at least five 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 167 triples in 98 games over his career.
 
» Neese has scored in double-figures in 16 games this season, scoring 15 or more in 14 games. His 2.5 made 3-pointers per game lead ISU and ranks fourth in the MVC.
 
HENRY IS A MATCHUP NIGHTMARE
» Cameron Henry has scored in double-figures in 18 of the 23 games he has seen action in, including nine MVC contests. He is averaging 14.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. His scoring output is eighth, while his rebounding, 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 84 assists in 21 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 4.0 assists per game. To go with his passing, Bledson is also averaging 9.9 points per game, scoring 15 points or more in six games. Bledson matched a career-high with 21 points at Southern Illinois (Jan. 19).
 
LET IT RAIN
» Indiana State continues to shoot the ball from deep at a high rate, ranking tops in the MVC and 32nd nationally in 3-point attempts with 684. 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 13.3 assists per game. Five players have recorded over 30 assists with Xavier Bledson leading ISU with 84. Two Sycamores rank in the top-10 in the MVC in assists per game with Bledson ranking third with 4.0 and Cameron Henry ranks 10th with 2.7 assists per game.
 
GOOD FROM THE STRIPE
» ISU has improved its season average at the free-throw line to 77.2 percent -- good enough for third in the MVC and 23rd nationally. Xavier Bledson leads ISU with an 87.7 percent (57-for-65) free throw percentage while Cooper Neese is shooting 83.3 percent (60-for-72) from the line. Five other Sycamores shoot 70 percent or better from the charity stripe. 
 
IRON MAN
» Cooper Neese 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 with 36.2 minutes per game and has played in all 40 minutes in seven games this season. Neese also leads the League in MVC games only at 40.2 minutes per game.
 
» Neese's 50 minutes at VU 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.
 
LINEUP LIMBO
» Due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols, the Sycamores have used 18 different starting lineups in 26 games this season. No starting lineup combination has been used more than three times.
 
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.