TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Sycamores welcome men's basketball alumni back to the Hulman Center Saturday as they host Northern Iowa at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN3. Alumni will be honored at halftime of the game.
 
Sycamore coaches will be wearing suits and sneakers Saturday as they have teamed up with the American Cancer Society and National Association of Basketball Coaches to participate in the Annual Coaches versus Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week. Coaches from across the country are wearing sneakers with their suits at their games during this week to raise awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society.
 
Indiana State SAAC is also hosting a food drive Saturday benefitting the Sycamore Pantry.
 
The Sycamores are currently riding a five-game losing streak after nearly completing a comeback at Drake Tuesday night before falling 70-68. The five-game skid is the current longest of any Valley team with two or more league wins.
 
ISU is 0-6 when tied or trailing at halftime. The Sycamores were down by 18 at the half at Drake before storming back to take the lead with under 20 seconds to go, but ultimately fell after a Bulldog triple with two seconds on the clock.
 
The Sycamores dished out a season-low six assists Tuesday, marking the first time all season they have recorded less than 10 assists in a game. ISU hit nine threes at Drake, the team's most in a game since Dec. 29 against Evansville.
 
Indiana State ranks second in the nation in 2-point percentage (59.6%), but ranks 256th in 3-point percentage (32.2%) while ranking 18th in 3-point attempts per game (26.6).
 
True freshman Robbie Avila is averaging 12.4 points per game in 2023 and posted back-to-back career-highs within the past week on the road with 18 points at Murray State and 22 points at Drake.

SERIES HISTORY
Indiana State and Northern Iowa will meet for the 65th time Saturday afternoon inside Hulman Center. ISU leads the all-time series 33-31 dating back to 1992. The Sycamores hold a 21-9 advantage in Terre Haute. The series is even 5-5 in the last 10 meetings, but the Panthers have won the last three straight matchups.
 
Indiana State will be looking for its first win against UNI since Feb. 6, 2021 and first win against the Panthers at home since Feb. 20, 2020.

LAST GAME AGAINST THE PANTHERS
Indiana State and Northern Iowa both shot the ball over 57 percent over 40 minutes of action, but the Panthers forced 15 Sycamore turnovers in which they converted into 18 points which proved to be the deciding factor. ISU was able to turn Northern Iowa over just six times for just four points.
 
The game featured 18 lead changes and six ties as both teams reeled off small runs throughout the first half. Indiana State held the Panthers scoreless for the final two minutes of the first half while scoring using a quick 4-0 run to take a 41-40 lead into the locker room. 
 
Trailing by seven with just over six minutes left to play, Micah Thomas scored six points to help fuel an ISU rally, making it just a three-point game at 76-73 at the 4:56 mark. Julian Larry hit his third 3-pointer of the game to pull ISU to within two points with under two minutes to play. AJ Green answered on the other end with a bucket before Cameron Henry scored quickly in transition with 52 seconds on the clock. Green once again made it a two-possession game with a turnaround jumper before Henry committed his sixth turnover on the other end when forced out of bounds on the baseline. UNI would finish the game at the free throw line where they shot 12-of-14 while ISU was held to 5-for-5.
 
Kailex Stephens continued to score the ball well, putting up 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Henry added seven assists and four rebounds to his game high 23 points while Thomas and Larry each finished with 11 for ISU. Indiana State edged UNI on the boards, 25-24, with four Sycamores grabbing four or more rebounds led by Larry with five.

LAST TIME OUT
The Sycamores were down by 18 at halftime and completely erased that deficit in the final minute of play before falling 70-68 to Drake on a Bulldog triple Tuesday night inside the Knapp Center on CBS Sports Network.
 
Robbie Avila and Courvoisier McCauley each had just six points in the first half before finishing the night with a tied game-high 22 points apiece. The duo combined for 16 rebounds while McCauley was just one board shy of a double-double.
 
Indiana State gave up a 15-0 run amidst a six-minute scoring drought in the first half and went into halftime down 44-26, but it ultimately came down to the final three minutes. The Sycamores trailed by double figures with 8:17 on the clock, but later Avila sparked and capped an 8-0 run to cut Indiana State's deficit to one point at 61-60 with 3:33 to go.
 
McCauley came up clutch down the stretch as he knocked down a pair of free throws to even things up at 63-all with 3:09 remaining. Drake responded with back-to-back jumpers to go back up 67-63 with just over a minute left, but McCauley drove in for a layup seconds later. Avila pulled down a board on the defensive end and Indiana State called a timeout down 67-65 with 25 seconds on the clock.
 
McCauley nailed his fourth triple of the night to give the Sycamores the lead, their first of the game, at 68-67 with 17 seconds on the clock. Cade McKnight tried to knock a rebound away, but Drake's D.J. Wilkins secured the board and the nailed the game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds left, denying the Sycamores a clean last-second shot.

FOLLOW THE SYCAMORES
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