Men's Basketball at Valparaiso (Game 22)
Date // Time	February, 5, 2022 // 7 p.m. ET
Location // Venue	Valparaiso, Ind. // ARC
Preview Notes // Information	Game Notes/Media Center
Live Stats	Live Stat Feed
Watch // Listen	ESPN Plus via Watch ESPN // 105.5 The Legend // GoSycamores.com/Listen
Social Media	@IndStBasketball / @IndStAthletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – After dropping two of its last three contests, Indiana State basketball will look to get back on track and even its season series with Valparaiso Saturday night with a trip north to faceoff with the Beacons. The contest will air on ESPN Plus and is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. ET from Valpo's ARC. The game is also on the radio on 105.5 The Legend as well as GoSycamores.com/Listen.
 
THE SERIES
» Indiana State leads the all-time series against Valparaiso 55-36. Since Valpo joined the MVC, Indiana State is 5-5 against the Beacons. Overall, ISU is 30-15 against the Beacons at home, 25-20 on the road, and 0-1 in neutral site contests.
 
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
» Preseason MVC favorite Drake claimed an 85-67 victory at Hulman Center Wednesday night. Indiana State was not able to stop the balanced scoring attack as five Bulldogs scored in double-figures in the win. ISU's Kailex Stephens led all scorers with 16 points while Xavier Bledson scored 14 points in 18 minutes before fouling out in the second half.
 
LET IT RAIN
» Indiana State continues to shoot the ball from deep at a high rate, ranking tops in the MVC and 37th nationally in 3-point attempts with 562. 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).
 
HENRY IS A MATCHUP NIGHTMARE
» Cameron Henry has scored in double-figures in 14 of the 18 games he has seen action in, including six MVC contests. He is averaging 14.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. His scoring output is eighth, rebounding ranks eighth and his assist mark puts him at ninth in the MVC. Henry matched a career-high with 25 points during a 75-73 loss to Valparaiso on January 22. The guard scored 14 consecutive points as ISU rallied back from an 11-point deficit to tie the game in the final minute. Henry shot 10-for-18 from the field, 1-for-3 from distance and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe.
 
NEESE IS A PROBLEM FOR OPPOSING DEFENSES
» The junior is averaging 14.3 points to lead ISU and rank eighth in the MVC. Neese has scored in double-figures in 11 games this season, scoring 15 or more in 10 games. His 2.3 made 3-pointers per game leads ISU and ranks sixth in the MVC. Neese hit two 3-pointers against SIU and sits in sole possession of eighth place in program history -- connecting on 152 during his Sycamore career. Guard Tyreke Key sits in seventh with 153 career threes. He is coming off a six-point outing after missing two games due to a concussion.
 
BLEDSON DOES IT ALL
» Xavier Bledson leads the Sycamores with 73 assists in 16 games played, recording multiple assists in all but one game he has seen action including a season-high 10 assists against Alabama A&M. Bledson leads the MVC with 4.6 assists per game. To go with his passing, Bledson is also averaging double-figure scoring at 11.3 points per game, scoring 15 points or more in six games. Bledson matched a career-high with 21 points at Southern Illinois (Jan. 19).
 
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.
 
MOVING THE ROCK
» Indiana State ranks second in the MVC behind Loyola with 14.0 assists per game. Five players have recorded over 30 assists with Bledson leading ISU with 73 dimes. Three Sycamores rank in the top-10 in the MVC in assists per game with Bledson coming in at No. 1 with 4.6. Cameron Henry and Micah Thomas each average 2.7 per contest.
 
"FREE" THROWS
» ISU has improved its season average at the free-throw line to 75.4 percent -- good enough for third in the MVC and 48th nationally. Xavier Bledson leads ISU with an 85.2 percent (46-for-54) free throw percentage while Micah Thomas is shooting 83.9 percent (26-for-31) from the line. Four other Sycamores shoot 75 percent or better from the charity stripe.
 
LINEUP LIMBO
» Due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols, the Sycamores have used 16 different starting lineups in 21 games this season. No starting lineup combination has been used more than three times.
 
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