TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State is coming off its seventh straight win and fifth season series sweep heading into arguably its biggest regular season game of the year. The Sycamores head to Nashville for their first and only meeting with Belmont Wednesday, Feb. 22. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from Curb Event Center.
 
After tying the record last season, the Sycamores officially broke the program record for 3-pointers in a single season Saturday against Illinois State. The record was 270 originally set in 2017-18 but with their six triples against Illinois State, the Sycamores are currently sitting at 273 triples on the year.
 
With his three triples Saturday, Courvoisier McCauley is tied for third on ISU's program list of 3-pointers made in a single season with 81. He is two 3-pointers away from taking sole possession of second on that list.
 
With his team-high four assists Saturday, Julian Larry is three assists away from hitting 100 this season. He would join teammate Cameron Henry who hit 100 assists at UIC Wednesday, and it would be the first time two Sycamores have notched 100 assists in the same season since Matt Renn and Michael Menser in 2000-01.
 
The Sycamores have collected 20 wins for the first time since 2013-14 and just the eighth time overall since joining the Valley in 1976-77.
 
The Sycamores also notched 13 Valley wins for the first time since 1999-20 when Indiana State won the Valley with a 14-4 league record. The only other time Indiana State has had 13 or more Valley wins was in 1978-79 when the Sycamores went 16-0 in league play and made it to the NCAA Championship game.
 
With two regular season games remaining, Indiana State sits in sole possession of third place in the Valley standings at 13-5 behind Drake and Bradley who are tied for first at 14-4. Belmont is one game behind Indiana State, tied with Southern Illinois at 12-6.


SERIES HISTORY
The Sycamores have faced first-year Valley member Belmont just five times ever in the past, dating back to 1954. The two teams met once annually from 1954-1956, then twice in 2013, and have not met since then with the last meeting coming on Dec. 28, 2013 in Terre Haute. Indiana State leads the series 4-1 overall including 3-0 at home, but the series is tied 1-1 in Nashville. Indiana State has not faced the Bruins in Nashville since Nov. 14, 2013 and has not won in Nashville since Dec. 3, 1956.
 
A WIN WOULD...
» Give ISU 21 wins for the first time since 2013-14 when the Sycamores won 23. The Sycamores have won 21 or more games in a single season just six times in the Valley era dating back to 1976.
» Give the Sycamores 14 Valley wins for the first time since 1999- 2000 when they won the Valley with a 14-4 league record. Indiana State has won 14 or more Valley games just twice in program history including going 16-0 in league play in 1978-79.
 
LAST GAME AGAINST THE BRUINS
The Sycamores used a season-high 25 points from senior guard Jake Odum to earn an 85-73 victory over the Bruins in front of 4,837 fans inside Hulman Center back on Dec. 28, 2013.
 
Odum scored his 25 points by going 7-of-14 (50 percent) from the field, and he hit his only 3-point attempt of the contest. He was also 10-of-11 from the free throw line to go with seven assists, five rebounds and four steals. Odum's four steals give him 189 for his career which moved him past Micheal Menser for fourth place on the Indiana State all-time chart.
 
Four others joined Odum in double figures scoring as Manny Arop scored 16 points while Demetrius Moore, Khristian Smith and Justin Gant all scored 10. Overall, ISU was 50 percent from the field (31-of-62) and drained seven 3-pointers. Indiana State was 16-of-20 from the free throw line in the contest.
 
Indiana State held a 35-29 edge in the battle of the glass and turned 12 offensive rebounds into 12 second chance points. ISU scored 12 fast break points and held a 42-20 edge in points in the paint. The Sycamore defense forced 19 Belmont turnovers.

LAST TIME OUT
In front of the largest crowd at Hulman Center this season, the Indiana State Sycamores broke a program record for 3-pointers made in a single season, but it was free throws that made the difference in an 80-64 win against Illinois State Saturday afternoon.
 
The Sycamores hit a season-high 30 free throws to help themselves to their seventh straight win, the last six of those coming by double figures. Nearly 6,000 fans were packed into Hulman Center with half of them donning goggles for "Be Like Robbie Day" cheering Indiana State onto six triples in the game to surpass the program record for 3-pointers in a single season. The Sycamores have hit 273 3-pointers so far with more basketball to be played.
 
With Cameron Henry playing under 10 minutes in the game and not touching the floor in the second half, the Sycamore bench stepped up once again, this time with 33 points. Trenton Gibson led the Sycamores with 17 points in the game, and he has come off the bench with double figures in two straight games and three of his last four. Xavier Bledson added 12 points off the bench.
 
Cooper Neese and Julian Larry combined to go 13-of-13 at the free throw line and posted 16 and 10 points, respectively. Courvoisier McCauley hit half of Indiana State's threes in the game and finished with 12 points.
 
The score stayed tight early on in the game, but the Sycamores started taking advantage of their trips to the line early to begin pulling away, eventually building up to a 10-point lead after seven straight free throws midway through the first half. The Sycamores did not allow the Redbirds a single lead in the game, and the Indiana State lead reached as high as 20 points in the second half.
 
ANOTHER BROKEN RECORD
After tying the record last season, the Sycamores officially broke the program record for 3-pointers in a single season Saturday against Illinois State
 
The record was 270 originally set in 2017-18 but with their six triples Saturday, the Sycamores are currently sitting at 273 triples on the year.
 
CHARITY SUCCESS
Indiana State shot 95.8% (23-of-24) from the free throw line in Saturday's 18-point win at UNI, marking the third-best percentage in program history (minimum 10 FT made) and the best percentage since 1993. The program record is 100% (31-of-31) against Wichita State Feb. 18, 1991.
 
Nine different Sycamores made two or more free throws in the game, led by Cade McKnight and Julian Larry who each made 4-of-4.
 
ISU made a season-high 30 free throws Saturday against Illinois State out of 35 attempts.
 
MCCAULEY EARNS B2B NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Courvoisier McCauley was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week for the second and third time this season on Feb. 6 and Feb. 13.
 
Feb. 6: He averaged 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds on the week to help the Sycamores to back-to-back double-digit wins. He posted an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double Wednesday at Evansville before scoring a game-high 23 points while hitting five of ISU's program- best 19 3-pointers against Murray State Saturday.
 
Feb. 13: He led the Sycamores to two double-digit victories this week to extend their win streak to five games. He averaged 18 points with a team-high 15 points against Valparaiso alongside six rebounds, three triples, a block, and a steal in the game. Saturday at Northern Iowa, McCauley paced all scorers in the game with 21 points and a game-high five triples for his eighth 20+-point outing this season.
 
This marks the second time ever and first time since Manny Arop in 2012 that a Sycamore has earned back-to-back MVC Newcomer of the Week honors, and McCauley joins Brenton Scott and Jake Odum as the only three Sycamores to earn the award three times in one season.
 
SHARING IS CARING
Indiana's State's 27 assists against Murray State Saturday is an all-time program second-best, behind the program record of 34 set in 1983 against West Texas State. Julian Larry led the way Saturday with a career-high nine assists in the game.
 
ISU leads the Valley in assists, assists per game and assist-to- turnover ratio while Julian Larry and Cameron Henry rank top-10 in the Valley in all three of those categories.
 
The Sycamores are 14-0 this season when they dish out 15 or more assists.
 
Cameron Henry notched his 100th assist this season at UIC and becomes the first Sycamore with 100 assists in a season since Jordan Barnes in 2019-20.
 
RAININ' THREES
Indiana State set a single-game program record for 3-pointers in a game with 19 against Murray State Saturday, breaking the previous record of 18 vs. Arizona State Dec. 2, 1988. Those 19 3-pointers are the most all-time in a game between two Valley teams.
 
ISU was two triples shy of tying that program record Wednesday against Valpo, and the 36 triples between those two games are the most in a two-game stretch in Valley history.
 
Eight different Sycamores connected on a three in those two games. ISU is 9-1 this season when six or more players hit a three in a game and 10-1 when making 10 or more threes as a team.
 
POWERED BY THE BENCH
Indiana State leads the Valley in bench points this season.
 
Trenton Gibson is averaging 10.6 points off the bench in the last five games, including leading the team with 17 points off the bench in Saturday's win against Illinois State.
 
Bledson posted a team-high 20 points Jan. 7 against UNI for his second 20+-point outing this season, and Hobbs nailed four triples for a season-high 14 points. Those 34 points are tied for ISU's second-most bench points against DI opponents this season, even with 34 bench points against Drexel when Bledson had an ISU career-high 22 points off the bench, and behind 38 bench points against Evansville when 12 different Sycamores made it on the scoresheet.

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