SETTING THE STAGE
The Indiana State Sycamores continue Missouri Valley Conference play on Wednesday, January 27 as they remain home to face off against Missouri State. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. (ET) tip-off and can be heard locally on 95.9 FM The Duke as well as online via a link on GoSycamores.com. This game will be broadcast locally on WTWO-TV as well as world-wide on The Valley On ESPN3. The Sycamores are 11-9 on the season and 5-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play coming off an 82-65 win over Evansville on Sunday afternoon. Devonte Brown and Brenton Scott have each reached double figures scoring in all eight MVC contests. The Bears are 8-12, 4-4 MVC and have won four of their last six as well as three in a row on the road in the Valley. Dequon Miller leads the way a 12.8 ppg average.
SUITS AND SNEAKERS
Staffs of the Sycamores and Bears will both be participating in the NABC Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers promotion this week to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living.
QUICK HITS
- Indiana State is 70-8 when holding teams to 63 points or less under sixth-year head coach Greg Lansing (and 17-0 when limiting teams to 53 or less).
- Indiana State has earned 60 close victories (five points or less) since 2005. Under Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 34-17 in close games.
- Greg Lansing is just the sixth head coach in the history of the program to record at least 100 victories at the helm of the Sycamores.
- Indiana State is third in the MVC with a field goal percentage defense of .414.
- Devonte Brown scored a career-high 27 points in the win at Drake. He set the school record for highest free throw percentage in a game with his 14-of-14 showing at Saint Louis. He is the league leader in both free throws made and attempted and ranks eighth nationally with 160 attempts and 12th nationally-ranked 121 makes. He needs only one more point to become the 37th member of the Indiana State 1,000 Point Club.
- The Sycamores have enjoyed nine different winning streaks of at least four games under coach Lansing, including the four gamer in early January of 2016.
- Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing owns four victories over nationally-ranked teams during his tenure, which is tied for the school record with Bill Hodges and Royce Waltman.
- The Sycamores are 47-31 record in “bounce-back” games under sixth-year head coach Greg Lansing after the win on January 24 against Evansville.
An Indiana State Win Over Missouri State Would ...
• Make it four consecutive wins in a row over the Bears inside Hulman Center.
• Extend the Sycamores' winning streak at home to seven games and give them a perfect 5-0 record inside Hulman Center during league play so far this season.
• Be the Sycamores' 58th MVC victory under sixth-year head coach Greg Lansing.
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 105-80 (.568) overall in his sixth season as a head coach. He is 57-41 all-time in MVC games, including a 38-11 mark at home and a 19-30 record on the road. During his career, he is 60-20 in all home games, 30-46 on the road, 15-14 in neutral court contests and 34-17 in games decided by five points or less. Lansing is 6-5 against Missouri State and is 4-1 against the Bears at home. With the Trees, Lansing is 7-5 in overtime games and 70-8 when holding teams to 63 points or less. Lansing led the Sycamores to the postseason in each of his first four seasons at the helm (2011 NCAA, 2012 CIT, 2013, 2014 NIT). Lansing is the second head coach to lead the Sycamores to the NCAA Tournament in their rookie campaign in the history of the program, with the other being Bill Hodges leading ISU to a 33-1 record and a Final Four appearance in the 1979 NCAA Tournament. Lansing was just the 14th rookie head coach in the history of the MVC to lead his team to 20 victories during their debut season. Lansing is tied with Bill Hodges and Royce Waltman for most victories over a nationally-ranked team (four) in the history of the program. Lansing is currently sixth on the Indiana State all-time coaching victories list and needs 15 more to tie John Longfellow for fifth.
Television Particulars
The Missouri State game will be televised locally on WTWO-TV as well as world-wide on The Valley On ESPN3.
A Little History
Indiana State is currently in its 120th season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,452-1,247 all-time on the hardwood.
Devonte Brown Keys Sycamores To Win Over Evansville, Named MVC Player Of The Week
Devonte Brown had an impressive week for the Sycamores as he scored 26 points at Southern Illinois and then posted 24 more in the win over Evansville to earn his second career MVC Player of the Week Award. Brown averaged 25.0 points and 5.0 rebounds and hit 14-of-27 shots from the field (51.9 percent). He added a 3-of-5 from bonus distance with six assists. Brown opened the week by going 7-of-14 from the field (50 percent) and hit 12 free throws as he scored 26 points and tallied six rebounds at MVC second place Southern Illinois. He came back with 24 more points in the home win over Evansville as he hit 53.8 percent of his shots and was 3-of-4 from long distance to go with five rebounds and six assists. Brown scored the final nine points of the first half as the Sycamores used a 15-2 run over the final four and a half minutes to turn a one-point lead into a 45-31 halftime lead over the Purple Aces. He scored the Sycamores' first points of the second half to make it 11 points in a row and his 3-pointer with 9:22 on the clock opened up a 63-48 lead to answer a 7-0 Evansville run. Brown now has 999 career points scored and is just one shy of becoming the 37th member of the Indiana State Basketball 1,000 Point Club.
Point Guard Everett Clemons Making His Mark On The Glass
Indiana State junior transfer Everett Clemons continued his strong initial campaign with the Sycamores by averaged 6.5 points and 11.5 rebounds as the Sycamores earned a split against Southern Illinois and Evansville. Clemons added five assists and steal over the course of the week. He opened the week with four points and a career-best 16 rebounds from the point guard position at SIU. Clemons' 16 rebounds are the most in a single-game by a Sycamore since former All-MVC selection Matt Renn tallied 15 on his senior day against the Salukis in 2001. He scored nine points and paced the team with seven rebounds in the team's 82-65 win over Evansville to conclude the week's action. He was 5-of-6 from the free throw line and added one steal and an assist in the victory.
Sycamore Duo In Top 5 League Only Scoring Average
The Indiana State duo of Devonte Brown and Brenton Scott eclipsed the 20-point mark together for the second time this season as the Sycamores earned an 82-65 win over Evansville on Sunday afternoon. Scott and Brown each scored 24 points and it was the second time this season the duo accomplished the feat in the same game with the other coming in non-conference play at Saint Louis. In league games, Brown ranks second with a 19.4 ppg average while Scott is third at 18.9 ppg. They join in the Evansville duo of D.J. Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius as the only teammates in the league to both rank in the Valley's Scoring Top Five during league play. During league play, both Brown and Scott have reached double figures scoring in all eight league games while Brown has four 20-point scoring efforts and Scott has four also including a 30-point outburst against Northern Iowa. Scott has scores at least 24 points in four of the Sycamores' last five games.
Devonte Brown In Top 10 Nationally For Free Throw Attempts
Indiana State senior Devonte Brown led the team with 24 points at Saint Louis on the strength of a percent 14-of-14 shooting performance at the free throw line, which is a new Indiana State single-game record topping Jake Odum's previous best of 13-of-13 at Bradley in 2014. For the season, Brown is ranked 12th nationally with 121 free throw makes and is eighth nationally with 160 free throw attempts. He leads the MVC in both categories. Brown also currently stands at 975 career points and with only 25 more will become the 37th member of the Indiana State 1,000 Point Club and the 13th either recruited by or played for head coach Greg Lansing.
Sycamores Own Third-Best Record In MVC Play Over Last Five Seasons
In the last six seasons under the direction of head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores have amassed a total of 57 Missouri Valley Conference victories. Those 57 MVC wins by coach Lansing are second-most in the history of the program as he trails only Royce Waltman who won 69 league games during his tenure. Additionally, the 57 MVC victories for the Sycamores since the 2010-11 campaign ranks third-best among current conference members. Wichita State's 83 leads the league while Indiana State has 57 and Northern Iowa is second with 58.
Sycamores Adding To 1,000 Point Club This Season
Khristian Smith went over the 1,000 career points scored mark on January 2 in a home game against Loyola and needs 10 more rebounds to become just the 17th Sycamore all-time to record at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds during his career. The countdown continues for senior Devonte Brown to join the elite club as he enters Wednesday's home game against Missouri State with 999 career points in an effort to become the 37th member of the Indiana State Basketball 1,000 Point Club. Currently 33 percent of the group was either coached or recruited by sixth-year head coach Greg Lansing which is the most members that one coach can claim as one of their pupils. With Brown's next point that will make 13 of the 37 members of the 1,000 Point Club either coached or recruiting by Lansing.
Greg Lansing Sixth Head Coach To Record Victory No. 100 at Indiana State
Indiana State sixth-year head coach Greg Lansing earned his 100th career victory as Indiana State recorded a 73-61 victory inside Hulman Center on December 22. Lansing is just the sixth Sycamore basketball head coach to reach the career milestone and is sixth all-time in victories at Indiana State. He needs 19 more to tie John Longfellow for fifth on the all-time victories list with 120. Lansing is the fourth quickest head coach to 100 victories as it took him 177 games to reach the milestone. It took Glenn Curtis (replacement of John Wooden) only 135 games to reach 100 wins in the late 1940's and early 50's.
Greg Lansing Selected For Induction Into Iowa High School Basketball Hall Of Fame
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing has been selected for induction into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Basketball Hall of Fame as part of their 2016 class. Lansing and the other selected inductees will be honored individually at halftime of the Iowa Class 4A State Championship Game at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Saturday, March 12. The IHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame is the highest honor the Iowa High School Board of Control can bestow on a high school coach or former player. Lansing graduated from Harlan High School in 1986, where he was coached by his father Dave, who was inducted into the IHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 as a coach. The Lansing father/son combination of Dave and Greg will be just the 10th father/son duo to both be inducted into the Hall of Fame since 1969.
63 Is The Magic Number
The Sycamores win by the score of 74-60 on January 13, 2016 vs. Northern Iowa was ISU's sixth this season in which they held an opponent to 63 points or less and earned the victory. Under sixth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 70-8 when allowing less than 63 points to the opposition (including a 17-0 mark when holding teams to 53 or less).
Sycamores Have Had Success In Bounce Back Games Under Head Coach Greg Lansing
In the last six seasons, the Sycamores have been known as a team with the ability to bounce back from defeat. Since the 2010-11 campaign, the Sycamores are 47-31 (.603) in a game which follows a loss. Indiana State rebounded from last week's loss at Southern Illinois to down Evansville by the score of 82-65 on Sunday afternoon.
Good Starter On The Battery
Indiana State's starting five has outscored the opposition's top five in 12 games so far this season. Under sixth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 67-20 when the ISU starting five scores more than their opponent's starters after doing so in the win over Evansville.
Sycamore Success Against “Power 6” Teams Under Greg Lansing
With its 83-70 victory over Notre Dame two years ago, the Sycamores have won back-to-back games against the Atlantic Coast Conference as ISU downed Miami (Fla.) on December 25, 2012 as part of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Classic. Under fifth-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 5-7 against teams from “Power 6” Conferences, and all 12 of those contests have either come on the road or on a neutral court.
Sycamore Success Inside Hulman Center Under Greg Lansing
The Sycamores are 60-20 (.750) inside Hulman Center under sixth-year head coach Greg Lansing. The Sycamores have won 50 of their last 66 home games. Additionally, the Sycamores have won 38 of their last 49 MVC games at home. The Sycamores are 7-2 at home this season. Indiana State owns a win in their last meeting with every MVC opponent at home with the exception of Wichita State. The longest stretch of consecutive victories is against Illinois State which has now reached nine.
Jordan Barnes Inks National Letter Of Intent With Sycamore Basketball
On National Signing Day (November 11), the Indiana State Basketball program received a NLI from Jordan Barnes, a 5-11, 155 point guard from St. Louis, Mo., who is a senior at Christian Brothers College High School. He helped his team win Missouri's Division 5 State Championship in 2014. No stranger to the spotlight, Barnes connected on a double-clutch, 3-point buzzer-beat for the St. Louis Eagles, his AAU team last summer in a play which was featured on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 plays. As a junior, Barnes averaged 15 points, six assists and two steals per game. He was rewarded for his outstanding play by being named a first team all-conference selection. In addition to his other offensive exploits, Barnes is a 48 percent shooter from 3-point range. Barnes played for head coach Justin Tatum at Christian Brothers.
Sycamores Record 25th 20-Plus Point Margin Of Victory In Their Valley History
While any win in the Missouri Valley Conference is tough to come by, a win by 20 or more points is even more rare for the Sycamores. Since Indiana State joined the league for the 1977-78 campaign, Indiana State has earned 25 victories by at least 20 points. The Sycamores' win by 21 points over Drake on Valentine's Day 2015 was its first over 20 points since a 2011 victory over Northern Iowa by 25 points. Indiana State added a 20-point win over Southern Illinois on February 21 for its second of the season. Indiana State's 65-44 victory in 1998 at Northern Iowa is the program's only road win by at least 20 points against a MVC opponent.
Up Next
Indiana State hits the road to take on Loyola to close out the month of January. The road trip to Chicago is set for Saturday, January 30 and will be televised on MVC TV. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. (ET).
