TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State men's basketball returns home to the Hulman Center as the Sycamores welcome Milwaukee on Wednesday, November 11. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
Game Day Festivities and Promotions
Veterans Appreciation Night
All active military members and veterans are able purchase $5 tickets for upper level seats at the Hulman Center Ticket Office with presentation of valid ID.
Recapping Last Game
Indiana State overcame a 15-point second half deficit to pick up their first win of the 2026-27 season with the 69-66 victory over Ball State on Friday night in Muncie. The Sycamores battled their way back from a 51-36 deficit from the defensive side of the ball with
Chance Puryear,
Duce Paschal, and
Meechie White combining to score 25 points off the bench to spark the attack.
Ball State 60-50 lead with 9:25 to play following an Aaron Fine layup, before the Sycamores took control of the contest. Paschal converted a pair of free throws, before recording a steal and layup to cut the deficit down to 60-54. Puryear and Gregory followed a minute later with back-to-back three-pointers to make it a 62-60 game with 5:32 to play in the contest.
Paschal again made it to the free throw line, this time following an offensive rebound and drawing the foul, and the sophomore guard sank both attempts to tie the game up at 62-62.
Maguire Mitchell followed on the next possession with a driving layup to the basket to give the Sycamores the lead at the 3:55 mark. It was Indiana State's first lead in the contest since the 1:40 mark in the first half.
Indiana State turned it over to
Jackson Cooper late and the forward delivered in the clutch with a tip-in layup with 1:32 remaining to make it a 66-63 game. Following a pair of Ball State free throws, Cooper again came through on the offensive glass with another tip-in layup with just under 10 seconds left in the contest to stake Indiana State to the 68-65 lead before the Sycamores secured the win from the free throw line late.
Karmani Gregory finished with his second consecutive 20-point game, shooting 5-of-13 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free throw line, while adding three assists.
Jackson Cooper added 12 points and seven rebounds with nine points and six boards coming in the second half comeback.
Chance Puryear scored all eight of his points in the second half, while
Duce Paschal added eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds in the victory.
20-Point Indiana State Debuts
Karmani Gregory scored 20 points in back-to-back games as the redshirt senior continued his early scoring success on the court. The Palmetto, Fla. native made his Indiana State debut with 29 points against Charlotte on November 2 inside the Hulman Center. He followed up with 20 points in Indiana State's 69-66 victory over Ball State on November 6, marking the second Sycamore in the last three seasons to score 20 or more points in their first two games in the Indiana Sate Blue & White.
Gregory joins Samage Teel (2024-25) as the last two Sycamores to score 20 or more points in the first two games at Indiana State. The redshirt senior guard was the fifth Sycamore in the last four seasons to score 20-plus points in his Indiana State debut.
Last Four Seasons with 20+ Point Debuts; Back-to-Back 20-Point Games
- Karmani Gregory - (29 points vs. Charlotte - Nov. 2, 2026; 20 points vs. Ball State – Nov. 6, 2026)
- Samage Teel – (21 points vs. Florida Atlantic – Nov. 4, 2024; 20 points vs. Eureka – Nov. 7, 2024)
- Ian Scott – (24 points at Charlotte – Nov. 3, 2025; 13 points vs. Illinois Tech – Nov. 6, 2025)
- Isaiah Swope (26 points vs. SMWC – Nov. 6, 2023; 17 points at Alabama – Nov. 10, 2023)
- Ryan Conwell (25 points vs. SMWC – Nov. 6, 2023; 16 points at Alabama – Nov. 10, 2023)
Hitting from the Charity Stripe
Indiana State sits among the national leaders from the free throw line through the first two games of the season with the Sycamores connecting at a 77.1% clip from the stripe against Charlotte and Ball State. The Sycamores went 10-for-12 from the line in the opening game against the 49ers with
Karmani Gregory pacing the way going 5-for-6 in the contest. Indiana State followed up with a 17-for-23 performance against Ball State with Gregory again pacing the way going 8-for-10.
The Sycamores sit third overall in the Valley and 61st overall in the NCAA Division I rankings on the season. Gregory is also ranked among the national leaders in both free throws made (13) and attempted (16), while hitting 81.3% (13-for-16) from the line.
Sycamore Free Throw Leaders
Sitting Among the NCAA's Best
Karmani Gregory has already made his mark on the program and currently sits among the nation's best in multiple scoring categories following his first two games against both Charlotte and Ball State. Gregory is currently listed among the NCAA's Top 100 in eight different individual statistical categories on the season.
Gregory Among NCAA Top 100
- 22nd – Points Per Game (24.5)
- 28th – Field Goal Attempts (35)
- 37th – Points (49)
- 52nd – Minutes Per Game (35:10)
- 55th – Free Throws Made (13)
- 56th – Field Goals (16)
- 70th – Free Throw Attempts (16)
- 83rd – Assists Per Game (5.5)
About the Opponent
Milwaukee was selected sixth overall in the Horizon League preseason men's basketball poll as announced by the organization in early October. The Panthers received 309 total points in the poll prior to the start of the 2026-27 season in their fifth season under head coach Bart Lundy.
The Panthers had two players honored among the Horizon League's best with Danilo Jovanovich and Chandler Jackson were both selected to the Preseason All-League Team. Jovanovich was in the midst of a breakout campaign before a season-ending injury, averaging 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds, with double-digit scoring in 12 of 17 games. Jackson was one of the Panthers' top scoring options down the stretch on his way to finishing with 9.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Milwaukee has already competed in one of the top non-conference schedules in the 2026-27 season taking on then No. 21/22 Southern California and RV Santa Clara in a season-opening road trip. The Panthers dropped both contests, before rebounding to top Ripon on Sunday afternoon with a 99-48 victory inside the Klotsche Center.
Tre Norman has been the team's leading scorer early in the season averaging 10.3 points per game, but the story behind Milwaukee's offense has been a balanced threat with eight players averaging at least 7.0 points per game. Nate Malosa has been the team's leading rebounder averaging 6.7 rebounds per game, while Amare Hereford has recorded a team-high 14 assists on the year. Jake Hansen (7) and Aaron Womack III (5) have connected on the most three-pointers of the season.
Last Season Against the Panthers
Indiana State men's basketball earned a 70-68 victory over Milwaukee inside the Klotsche Center in their final non-conference game of the 2025-26 season.
Camp Wagner was the Sycamores' leading scorer with a game-high 18 points to go with nine rebounds in leading five Sycamores scoring double-digits.
Xavier Hall came through with the big shots in the clutch late as the senior point guard scored on a pair of jumpers, the last coming with 2:37 remaining in the contest to put the score at 70-66. Indiana State's defense took over from there as the Sycamores limited MKE to just a pair of Faizon Fields free throws over the final 1:31 to secure the win.
All-Time Against Milwaukee
Wednesday's game marks the 10th time in program history the Sycamores and the Panthers will take the court against each other dating back to the inaugural matchup in 1963. The Sycamores hold the all-time 7-2 lead, including winning four of the last five contests dating back to 1997.
Indiana State and Milwaukee have played each other three times since the 2000 season with two contests in neutral locations (2002 & 2009), while the Sycamores traveled to the Panthers last season on December 14. Wednesday's contest completes the two-game home-and-home series between the two opponents.
Last Five Against Milwaukee
- Dec. 9, 1997 – at Milwaukee (W, 74-62)
- Dec. 1, 1998 – Milwaukee (W, 79-66)
- Nov. 30, 2002 – vs. Milwaukee (L, 71-59) (New Orleans Knockout)
- Nov. 16, 2009 – vs. Milwaukee (W, 76-63) (NIT Preseason Tipoff)
- Dec. 14, 2025 – at Milwaukee (W, 70-68)
Against the Horizon League
Indiana State has lined up against eight of the 12 current members of the Horizon League and has posted winning recorded against six of them according to current Sycamore records on hand. The Sycamores last took on a member of the MAC last season when they topped Milwaukee last season in Milwaukee, 70-68, on Dec. 14, 2025.
The Sycamores have winning records over Green Bay, IU Indy, Milwaukee, Purdue Fort Wayne, Wright State, and Youngstown State. The Sycamores are .500 all-time in their two matchups against Robert Morris, while sitting 8-13 all-time against Northern Illinois.
Against the Horizon (Last Game)
- Green Bay – 2-0 (Nov. 7, 2022 – W, 80-53)
- IU Indy – 13-10 (Dec. 9, 2017 – W, 79-75)
- Milwaukee – 7-2 (Dec. 14, 2025 – W, 70-68)
- Northern Illinois – 8-13 (Dec. 5, 2023 – W, 90-67)
- Purdue Fort Wayne – 2-1 (Nov. 24, 2007 – W, 63-55)
- Robert Morris – 1-1 (Mar. 13, 2012 – L, 67-60)
- Wright State – 2-0 (Dec. 7, 2019 – W, 84-77)
- Youngstown State – 1-0 (Nov. 22, 2002 – W, 63-56)
Returning to the Schedule
Indiana State features four returning regular season opponents from the 2025-26 season, as well as their second consecutive year in taking on Butler in a preseason exhibition to highlight the early portion of the schedule. The Sycamores host Charlotte (Nov. 2), Milwaukee (Nov. 11), SIUE (Dec. 2), and Southern Indiana (Dec. 6), while traveling to Ball State (Nov. 6).
Indiana State went 4-1 during the 2025-26 regular season against the returning opponents topping SIUE, Ball State, Southern Indiana, and Milwaukee, while falling in the season opener against Charlotte.
2025-26
- at Butler – Oct. 29 (L, 105-80)
- at Charlotte – Nov. 3 (L, 92-76)
- Ball State – Nov. 22 (W, 70-52)
- at Milwaukee – Dec. 14 (W, 70-68)
- at SIUE – Nov. 10 (W, 64-55)
- at Southern Indiana – Dec. 7 (W, 77-55)
2026-27
- at Butler – Oct. 18 (L, 81-74)
- Charlotte – Nov. 2 (L, 78-70)
- at Ball State – Nov. 6 (W, 69-66)
- Milwaukee – Nov. 11 (7 p.m.)
- SIUE – Dec. 2 (7 p.m.)
- Southern Indiana – Dec. 6 (1 p.m.)
New Look Roster
It's a new-look Indiana State roster on the floor under head coach
Matthew Graves as the Sycamore head coach heads into his third season at the helm of the program. The Sycamores returned just redshirt freshman
Martin Kaupanger to the floor from the 2025-26 squad, while welcoming nine transfers, five freshmen, and international big man
Alessio Calamita to the roster this year.
Preseason MVC Poll, Watch List
The Sycamores were not listed among the top six teams receiving votes in the 2026-27 preseason MVC men's basketball poll but did feature two players on the preseason All-Conference Watch List heading into the year.
Guard
Karmani Gregory and forward
Jackson Cooper were among the list of players recognized among the tops in the conference heading into the season and the players represented Indiana State at the two-day media day event held inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo. over October 13-14.
Gregory is a former All-Conference guard transferring in from USC Upstate where he finished among the Big South's scoring leaders, while adding team-highs in assists (91) and steals (33). Cooper, an All-American forward, transferred in from NAIA Oregon Tech where averaged a team-high 17.7 points per game, while finishing seventh overall in NAIA with 174 total assists.
All-Americans on Roster
Indiana State men's basketball added two players that bring All-American status to the program with
Jackson Cooper and
EJ McQuillan both joining the roster in 2026-27. Cooper earned NAIA Second Team All-American honors following a standout 2025-26 campaign at Oregon Tech where he led the team in scoring (17.7), rebounds per game (7.7), and assists per game (5.8) while finishing seventh in the NAIA with 174 total assists.
McQuillan earned NAIA Second Team All-American honors following a standout 2025-26 campaign at LSU Alexandria where he averaged 20.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 38.5% from the three-point line. He highlighted his year by tying the LSUA single-game points record with 41 against Texas Wesleyan on October 31.
Season Tickets Remain On Sale, Upper Level-Single Game Tickets Available
Season tickets remain on sale for the entirety of the 2026-27 slate. For more information on season tickets, contact
Mason LaGrange, Manager for Sales and Service, by calling 812-237-8972 or emailing
mason.lagrange@indstate.edu. Fans can also call 877-ISU-TIXS or email
ISU-Tickets@indstate.edu.
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on Sycamore Basketball, 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 the both the
App Store and the
Google Play Store.
