TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - »The fifth-seeded Sycamores begin their run at the MVC Tournament Title Thursday afternoon against No. 12 Evansville. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. ET from Enterprise Center in St. Louis, and the game will be live on ESPN+.
 
» The winner of Thursday's game will face No. 4 Belmont in the quarterfinals Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
 
» Indiana State became the first-ever five seed to win Arch Madness back in 2001
 
» Indiana State is 27-39 all-time in the MVC Tournament and 0-1 under second-year head coach Josh Schertz. The Sycamores are 3-3 against Evansville in the tournament.
 
» The Sycamores went from 4-14 in Valley play and a ninth-place finish in the Valley standings last season with a 2022-23 preseason ranking of seventh to a 13-7 record in Valley play with a fifth-place finish this year in Coach Schertz's second year at the helm.
 
» The Sycamores are coming off back-to-back losses to close out the regular season, both losses coming by a combined five points. ISU is 6-10 in games decided by 10 points or less with five of those losses by three points or less, and 14-1 in games decided by 11 or more points.
 
» The Sycamores hit a season-low three triples against Missouri State to bring their season total to 285 which extends the program record for 3-pointers in a single season.
 
» Indiana State leads the MVC and ranks 29nd nationally for team field goal percentage (47.9).  The Sycamores have led the MVC in team field goal percentage just one time in ISU history -- their 1978-79 MVC championship and Final Four season with Larry Bird. ISU also continues to lead the league and ranks 32nd nationally in scoring (78.7 ppg).

SERIES HISTORY
After sweeping the season series this year, Indiana State leads the all-time series against Evansville 101-83 dating back to 1921. The two teams are tied 3-3 in their meetings at the MVC Tournament. The Sycamores have won 11 of their last 12 meeting against the Purple Aces including the last meeting between the two teams in the MVC Tournament, 53-43 on March 5, 2021.
 
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 Coach Schertz his first MVC Tournament win.
» Improve ISU's record to 28-39 in the MVC Tournament.
» Give ISU its first MVC Tournament win since a 53-43 quarterfinal win against Evansville March 5, 2021 and just its second MVC Tournament win since 2016.
 
LAST GAME AGAINST THE PURPLE ACES
ISU completed the season sweep against Evansville by overcoming a double-digit deficit to defeat the Purple Aces 83-65 at the Ford Center Feb. 1, 2023.
 
Cooper Neese joined Evansville's Yacine Toumi to pace all scorers in the game with 19 points while Courvoisier McCauley posted an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double for Indiana State. Julian Larry also scored in double figures while dishing out a career-high seven assists.
 
Larry opened the scoring in the game, but the Aces spouted off a 12-0 run to force an Indiana State timeout with a 10-point lead less than four minutes in. The Sycamores came out of that timeout with back-to-back threes that sparked a 14-0 run for a 16-12 lead at 13:44. Indiana State shot 5-of-5 from the field including 3-of-3 beyond the arc in that span while forcing three Evansville turnovers.
 
The Sycamores led 37-23 with 3:44 left in the first half, but Evansville closed out the half on a 13-0 run to make it 37-36 at the break.
 
After being tied up at 39-all early in the second half, Indiana State went on a 10-0 run to go up 52-41 and force an Evansville timeout at 15:34. Larry laid up a basket off a steal from Cameron Henry to push ISU's lead to 63-51 with 9:27 to go. The Indiana State lead hit 72-53 at 6:17 thanks to a 9-0 run, and the Sycamores closed things out with back-to-back triples in the last minute of action.

LAST TIME OUT
Indiana State got down early and could not completely get out of the hole on senior day Sunday afternoon as the Sycamores fell 66-62 to Missouri State in the final game of the regular season Feb. 26. Indiana State trailed by as much as 14 in the first half and outscored the Bears in the second half, cutting the deficit to one point in the final 23 seconds, but could not fully overcome the deficit.
 
The Sycamores conclude the regular season with a 20-11 overall mark and 13-7 Valley record, a nine-win improvement from last season. This marks ISU's first 20-win season 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.
 
A trio of seniors scored in double figures led by Cooper Neese with 14 points, followed by Cade McKnight and Courvoisier McCauley with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Julian Larry had a season-high four steals alongside a tied team-high three assists, and McCauley led the Sycamores on the boards with seven rebounds.
 
Sunday is the first time this season the Sycamores have not made a 3-pointer in the first half, and they finished with a season-low three triples in the game which ties the season-low of 16.7 percent at Murray State when ISU shot 5-of-30 in an 82-73 loss to the Racers.
 
Indiana State's 25 points in the first half mark a season low for points in the first half of a game for the Sycamores this year.
 
The loss marks Indiana State's first and only time getting swept in a season series this year. Both losses to Missouri State have come by a combined six total points.
 
There have been just two games this season in which the Sycamores did not hold a lead at any point, and both of those games have been against Missouri State.
 
CLIMBING THE CAREER LADDER
» Cooper Neese ranks fifth on ISU's all-time list of career 3-pointers at 212, closing in on Jordan Printy in fourth with 215.
» He also ranks second in career games played with 132, behind Jake Odum in first with 134.
» Among MVC active career leaders, Neese ranks seventh in total points (1,332) and second in total 3-pointers made (212).
 
FRESHMAN PHENOM IN A BIG MAN'S LEAGUE
» Robbie Avila sits in sixth place on ISU's all-time list of freshmen scoring marks with 294 points behind Jake Odum with 316.
» He currently ranks second in the Valley in freshmen scoring behind Belmont's Cade Tyson with 385 points and ahead of UNI's Michael Duax with 293 points.
 
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 hit 273 for the season in the game.
 
NEW FACE SETS THE PACE
» Grad transfer Courvoisier McCauley leads the way for the Sycamores in his first year at ISU. He leads the team in total points (493, 196 more points than ISU's second leading scorer Cooper Neese with 297 points) while averaging a team-high 16.4 points per game. He also leads the Sycamores on the glass with 5.6 rebounds per game. His 16.4 points per game rank seventh in the Valley, and he's top-20 in the league in rebounding.
» McCauley has three double-doubles this season and is one of just 15 players in the Valley to record three or more on the year. He is one of six Valley players with multiple 30-point outings this season. With nine 20+-point games, McCauley joins just five other Valley players with nine or more this year.
» McCauley leads the league in 3-pointers per game and ranks second in total 3-pointers made which both rank top-15 nationally. His 95 treys are third-most among the all-time bests for a player in his first year in the MVC, and he ranks second on ISU's all-time list of 3-pointers in a single season (behind Jordan Barnes with 117 2017-18).
 
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.
» ISU ranks third in the league and 31st nationally in free throw percentage at 76.2 percent.

FOLLOW THE SYCAMORES
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